Scoring success

With film score writers battling computer programs to have their
music played in a movie, and with their artistic creativity limited
both by budgets and the whims of the directors and producers who
control their projects, composers may be left wondering in what
direction their art is heading.

While the music department has written and been ready to launch
a master’s degree in film composition for years now, the
program has been stopped because of a lack of funding, leaving
students to study in the music composition department and pursue
film projects outside of school.

Now that the film industry and film scoring have gone digital,
the average person can buy the software to write their own music.
And it’s not uncommon for program editors to try their hand
at writing music themselves ““ and save money by not having to
hire composers.

But composers try not to let themselves get too bogged down with
the fear that electronics will replace them.

“After a while, the program editors will lack originality
and composers will win,” said fourth-year music composition
student Derrick Spiva.

Yet the movement of the entertainment industry into the realm of
digital technology actually ends up giving students who study
composing academically an edge over their competitors.

“In the last few years, the business of music in Hollywood
has changed totally and dramatically because everything is done on
computers now, and that means students at universities get an
advantage because they get trained to use the technology,”
said Paul Chihara, professor of music composition. “But
students must learn how to use computers and to compose well
““ they have to go together. Just having computer skills is
not enough, (because) then you can only be someone’s
assistant.”

And while UCLA only offers two classes specific to film scoring,
many of the professors make an effort to incorporate film score
talk into their discussions, as well as train students in skills
that are essential to becoming a successful film composer.

“(Hollywood) doesn’t care about the degree, but they
want the talent earned from those degrees,” said Roger
Bourland, professor of music composition. “They need artists
to write in a wide variety of styles and who can write quickly
because music is the last thing you add to a film. … I had my
undergraduates write a five movement piano piece in one week. I
give them very demanding assignments so that they can learn the
technique of writing quickly.”

One of the most difficult aspects of film scoring for music
composition students is the fact that they are doing the project
for someone else, often the producer or director of the film. After
putting in hours of work, there is the possibility that a composer
may have to rewrite everything, which is hard for many students not
to take personally.

“In film music, you have a boss, and it can be
frustrating,” Bourland said. “If you’re a person
who would blow up and would have a hissy fit if you have to rewrite
something, you should not be a film composer. You have to be
willing to make changes gladly.”

Film score writers must also recognize that their music is
secondary to the film, and if it doesn’t complement, or
actually interferes with, the conversations and actions of the
characters, the film score is not successful.

In addition, composers must not only be good artists, but must
also be shrewd business people, examining each potential project
and deciding if it is something that will be beneficial to their
careers. And while many students excel at composing, they are left
struggling to master the financial aspect of the craft.

“I’m trying to have a business approach (to my film
scoring) now,” music composition graduate student Adam Barber
said. “The first things I’m concerned with when
I’m asked to do a job aren’t creative at all. I ask,
“˜What’s the budget, what’s the schedule and when
does everything need to be done by?'”

In a field where what matters most is who a person knows, new
composers must constantly build relationships with up-and-coming
filmmakers, as contacts often come back years later with work for
the composers.

“The best way to get a job in Hollywood is for young
filmmakers to marry themselves to young composers, because they
have the time to put together projects for different film
festivals,” Chihara said.

Five composers control the vast majority of the job market, but
composers still recognize that there are plenty of opportunities to
follow in the footsteps of successful alumni James Horner
(“Titanic”) and Don Davis (“The Matrix”
trilogy).

“The market is so huge because everything you see has some
kind of music in it; even if it’s a commercial or an
anti-smoking campaign, they’ll have some kind of musical
riff. And everything you hear, somebody wrote it,” Spiva
said.

And although it may sometimes look as though film scoring is
being stifled by technology and finances, composers are convinced
creativity and art will ultimately reign. They understand learning
to master computers and business in the process can actually
benefit their careers.

“A lot of people nowadays just get a computer and say that
they’re composers,” Barber said. “Well, yeah,
they can be composers, but it’s like using crayons. You can
be an artist with crayons, but it doesn’t mean that
you’re going to make good art.”