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so, my buddy is a director and he wants me to do the soundtrack for his new feature film. its a no-budget indie thing, but its got some interest and may do some festivals. pretty rad.

anyway, anyone here done one before. im not sure how to begin. or end. or, uh, the middle.

i mean, any rules of thumb? im doing independent research of course but it would be helpful to get a nudge in the right direction.

I've done a little soundtrack work. One "rule" I've tried to always keep in mind is that the music is secondary to the film. It's not the right place to show off your composition/arrangement/whatever chops. There are of course exceptions where the music needs to step forward quite a bit, but even in these cases it shouldn't distract, it should always add. If music isn't enhancing the scene, it's pointless and shouldn't be there. The old less-is-more chestnut.

Experience from the other end of this transaction: Look for one central motif or theme that'll be the crux of the whole thing, then try to extrapolate that into as many similar--in mood & tone, not necessarily instrumentation or length--pieces as you can. Then take the best ones from that.

friendship wrote:I've done a little soundtrack work. One "rule" I've tried to always keep in mind is that the music is secondary to the film. It's not the right place to show off your composition/arrangement/whatever chops. There are of course exceptions where the music needs to step forward quite a bit, but even in these cases it shouldn't distract, it should always add. If music isn't enhancing the scene, it's pointless and shouldn't be there. The old less-is-more chestnut.

this is something im constantly considering even in a band context. i love that i have that perspective now. i wish other people were as open to this way of doing things.

thanks for the input.

D.o.S. wrote:Experience from the other end of this transaction: Look for one central motif or theme that'll be the crux of the whole thing, then try to extrapolate that into as many similar--in mood & tone, not necessarily instrumentation or length--pieces as you can. Then take the best ones from that.

This is great advice. Very, very helpful in doing soundtrackery.

Having done a couple soundtracks in the past, one thing I've learned is that really the only times your compositional chops are noticed are at the beginning prior to the credits, and afterwards while the creds are rolling. So my best arrangements always go there, but the pieces based off of those ideas/ambient things etc. go as under-riding material.

Also, I like to study the music done in similar films. Try to find out the director's inspirations to his movie and either watch/listen to those. Knowing his film and lighting style also helps how you want to write as far as the mood goes...

But do remember that although you're complementing his work primarily, it's not a time to completely back down and be background noise.

Have fun with this project, dude!

the trailer is being finished with my first track. ill post it when its done. unless you wanna hear it sooner.

Let's see it with the trailer. Puts it in perspective
Looking forward to hearing your work!

The producer(s)/director(s) should give you notes on when they need music cues and what kinds. As far as how to deliver the files, you should find out from whoever is doing the final post production audio mix on the whole film. Ask about samplerate and bit depth - usually for video/film the samplerate for an audio mix is 48K, and 24bit audio is also pretty standard, but it's always good to ask. Also see what types of files they want - again WAV is typical. Ask if they want stems or just a stereo (or surround) mix from you. Ask if they want audio files that run the length of the film (ie one big file as long as the film with all music cues in it at appropriate times - if you have overlapping cues, you will need to make 2 tracks and "checkerboard" (alternate) them. If he/she doesn't want big files like that, he/she may ask you provide just the audio files for the cues and give specific timecode of when the cues start (from the beginning of the file including silence and/or fade in if applicable)... Or if you are both using the same DAW (eg Pro Tools) then they may just want a copy of the session you did... All this is assuming you are composing to picture with timecode.

As far as how to do it in between the notes from producers/directors and delivering to the post production audio mixer - that's all you, and that's why you were selected. Congratulations - should be a fun gig.