The structure of the music for film industry (Unit 10)

The music for film industry is vast and composing for films requires additional skills on top of the skills already associated with music production. Throughout this post I will explain these skills and how they are essential to a composer in this industry. 

The first notable thing about the film & television business is the amount of money thats invested in it. With films such as Avatar & Pirates of the caribbean on stranger tides both having production budgets over $400 million. This makes deadlines for print masters or meetings with directors all the more important. Composers need to be able to manage they're time effectively so that they meet deadlines. If they can't master this skill and build a workflow they can get in tune with it is unlikely that they will be successful in this fast paced industry.

Continuing the topic of money composers need to be able to budget so they have enough money to complete the soundtrack. Eg paying for a large orchestra to be recorded playing the main theme of the film would be amazing until the director & producers of the film found that it meant the rest of the film had no music because the budget was gone.

An important thing for composers to understand is that they are film makers as well. To function in the industry a knowledge of the way film works and understanding its aspects such as types of camera angles, colouration of shots, panning, lighting, pace and how the roles are being played by actors. Analysing these gives a place to start from and aids composers to create pieces that accompany the story of the film. Also composers have to report back and collaborate with producers, directors, screenwriters and so on, understanding these aspects will also help when communicating with coworkers. 

Many film composers have a select few genres of film that they exel in, but because of the openness that movies have. Eg in the way that a sad scene could become a happy & joyful scene in a matter of seconds they must have a true understanding of how things such as genre, speed and different scales effect what they are creating. It also means they have to be seen as versatile by directors and other members of the production team as the film industry is a very unforgiving place and if you don't bring what they want to the table there is always a replacement for you.

To thrive in this industry you have to be able to handle being outside your comfort zone when working on a movie all while sticking to deadlines and composing music/sound that fits with the directors vision for the film. Being able to step back from your work at look at it from the consumers or the directors point of view is a valuable skill to have and along with the skills mentioned throughout the piece would help a composer function in the industry. 

https://www.recordingconnection.com/reference-library/recording-entrepreneurs/music-for-film-and-television/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2017/04/12/inside-the-competitive-business-of-music-for-film-trailers/#75db06d81fd4
https://study.com/articles/music_jobs_in_the_film_industry.html