Film Scoring – Part 1: Techniques for the Modern Composer

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In this course, we will learn the essential techniques used in writing music for film. Through a series of analysis’ of well-known film scenes from your favorite movies we will learn what makes a great cue, and then apply those techniques by writing our own. I’ll be showing you some of my own projects for film and television throughout the class, and walk you through my process when composing music for a film project.

By the end of this course, students will understand the tools, lingo, and techniques used in the film composing world and will be ready to dive in to their own projects. I’ll walk you through how to get started on your first project by using freely available movies that need a score.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked with major American orchestras, film studios, and video game designers. I’m also a PhD in music composition and a university professor (of music composition).

Recently I was named as a semi-finalist for the Grammy Foundation’s Music Educator of the Year award because of my in-person university classes. Now I’m taking those classes to Udemy in an online format in order to reach more students, and give them the joy of Music Theory.

What will I learn in this Course?

  • Tools of the trade
  • Finding the emotional response
  • Music Theory and Genre
  • Using Modes in Film Scores
  • Finding the Message
  • Learning from Temp Cues
  • “Spotting” the film
  • Working with industry budgets
  • Diegetic music and nondiegetic music
  • Score and Source
  • The Ostinato
  • Working with silent films
  • Setting up a session
  • Marking hits
  • Scoring the opening credits
  • Motive and Lietmotif
  • Working with Lietmotifs
  • Working with rhythm in cues
  • POV
  • Finding and analyzing POV scenes
  • Composing using POV
  • Any much, much, more!

About the Instructor

J. Anthony Allen is an Ableton Certified Trainer, and a PhD in Music Composition and master of Electronic Sounds. His music has been heard internationally in film, radio, video games, and industrial sound, as well as the concert hall and theater.

He currently is an adjunct professor of composition at the University of St. Thomas, and is the CEO and co-founder of Slam Academy in Minneapolis.

Praise for classes by J. Anthony Allen

“Without a doubt the best explanation and east of use that one can get. It leaves you enough room to go explore. The classes go by quick, so you can be on your way at being proficient. What are you wait for!”

“Amazing – Seriously Loved It! I took all his courses and have to say I’m so happy! Learnt loads! Jason is an awesome teacher!”

“I have never had any formal training in music at all. Trying to learn all the notes and how everything translated was a serious challenge. After going through this class, Dr. J has totally brought down the barriers. The content was very useful and was easy to grasp for me.”

“I like these courses because you can get up and running quickly without having to spend hours of time wading through TMI (too much information!). Jason hits the high points but shows you what you need to know. Thanks!”

“I’ve watched many other videos on scales and chords before, however, this one has been the best. I now understand minor scales and chords and even how to analyze songs. It really gave me the confidence to start producing music because I feel like I have some structure and guidelines to follow. AWESOME!”

“Clear and Informative – Jason has a clear uncluttered style (with the important dashes of humor) of presentation that is focused on the important key aspects of this course. Recommended for those starting out!”

“Dr. Allen does it again with his music theory series. This course really opened up everything I learned from the 1st section, and now I understand more about the composition side of things for music. I highly highly recommend this course to anyone!!! Really opened my eyes to many things I wasn’t aware of.”

“The Best Teacher Ever, who makes you understand the ins & outs of Music Theory by all means without giving what you don’t want to know.”

Course Information

Estimated Time: 4 Hours

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Course Instructor

Mary Hoskins Author
 

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Welcome & Overview

Introduction

Welcome to the class!
Tools of the Trade, and a Look at One of My Projects

Let’s take a look at some of the tools by way of a project I recently did.
What I’ve Found in Other Film Scoring Classes

I’ve done some homework on other film scoring classes, and they mostly seem to be missing one big thing.
A Note About the Examples in this Class

The examples I’m going to put together for you here, are, well, examples.

Emotion and Music Theory

Finding the Right Emotional Response

First things first: We need to look at our scene and find the emotional response.
Music Theory and Genre

Let’s talk about the intersection of music theory and genre.
Using Modes in Film Music

Modes are a good way to nail down a specific emotion or mood.
Finding the Message of the Film

The message you think you see might be different than what the director sees.
Threnody for the Care Bears

That title says it all.

The Process

Learning from Temp Cues

If you get temp cues, there is a lot you can take away from them.
Spotting the Film

“Spotting” is a process we do that helps to make sure the director and the composer are on the same page.
Budgets

You might get put in charge of the music budget. If you do, a few things you need to know about.

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Music

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Music

Where is the music coming from?
Score and Source Example: JAWS (1975)

In this example, there is a great example of Score and Source music.
Source Music Elements

If the music is coming from an instrument on-screen, it’s source.
When Score and Source Collide

Score + Source = “Scource”
Analysis: Battlestar Galactica

Let’s look at this beautiful example for “Scource”.

The Ostinato

Analysis: Captain America

In order to start to understand the Ostinato, let’s look at an example from Captain America.
Analysis: Requiem for a Dream

Another great example of the Ostinato.
The Ostinato

Ok, let’s get down to business with the Ostinato.
Working with Silent Films

Silent Films are a great way to practice scoring to film.
Setting Up a Session

Let’s dive in and start making something!
Composing with Ostinatos

Let’s fine a cue that will let us use some ostinati.
Building on Ostinati with More Elements

We can spice up our ostinato pattern with more elements.
Marking Hits

Sometimes we find a spot that we really want to hit, and if that happens we should “mark” it.
Finishing Up our Intro

Let’s wrap up this intro section with a few more elements.
A Quick Analysis So Far

Let’s take a look at what we’ve got so far.
Download: MuseScore (Notation) File

Here is the MuseScore file with notation if you want it.
Working with Notation

A few notes about working with traditional notation.

Motive and Leitmotif

Motive and Lietmotif

A few definitions to get us started on this topic.
Analysis: Star Wars

You can’t talk about motives without talking about Star Wars.
The Opera Connection

Where does this come from?
Locating Lietmotifs

Let’s find some spots in our film where this concept might work.
Composing Lietmotifs

Now that we have identified some spots, let’s write the motives.
Adding Rhythm

We can always spice things up with rhythm.
Our Long Cue So Far

Here is what we’ve got so far!

Point of View (POV)

What is POV?

Another round of definitions – this one you might actually see in a script.
Finding and Analyzing POV Scenes

Let’s see if we can find a scene in our film with a mixed POV.
Scoring a POV Scene

Now that we have a scene, let’s score it keeping in mind the POV we are using.
Analysis of our POV Scene

Next, let’s do a quick analysis and see what we did here.

Wrap Up

Split in 2!

Whoa – so much more to cover here!
Coming in Part 2!

Here is what is coming in the second half!
Thanks for Watching!

That’s it for now – see you in part 2!

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