Music for Film at Berklee: with Mason Daring, Human Metronome, and the Nicest Filmmakers Ever

In Honeydipper, the musicians play-synched with recorded music while a vocalist did the actual singing; this type of combination was successful in providing a realistic effect throughout the film. “If you play live you can’t cut from one take to another take,” Daring said; the music will just never match up quite right. For this reason, it’s preferable to use recorded music. In a few scenes in Honeydipper, some of the instruments were played live: Daring cites a scene with live vocals, harmonica, and saxophone, but playback piano music. As long as all the live performers have a common, recorded rhythm to fit with, the combination can work.

Daring pointed out numerous sound issues that the average moviegoer probably never considers. For example, as mentioned, the musicians in Honeydipper were often play-synching to music that would be added in later. The musicians had monitors to listen to that would keep them in rhythm with the recorded music. But what about the dancers in Danny Glover’s club? They needed a beat, too, but they couldn’t dance to any actual music in the scene: this would interfere with the live dialogue that needed to be recorded alongside the action. Daring and company solved the problem by providing lead-in music to help the dancers establish their rhythm, then acting as off-camera “human metronomes” keeping the beat for those on the dance floor. As Daring said, “It’s all about preparation.” Much film and time would have been lost if the crew had not figured out how to synchronize the dancing with the music before shooting.

Composer Henry Mancini’s autobiography, Did They Mention The Music? sums up the story of a film composer’s work in one simple line. When the music works, people just don’t notice it. Great music can help make a film (and bad music can totally destroy it), but the laborious work behind making a scene will never be noticed (except by industry insiders) if you do it right. Daring says, “A lot of times it’s a composer’s job not to get noticed,” as sound that really supplements the film will be appreciated, but not necessarily noticed outright.

Daring says, “I’ve written a lot of songs, nobody knows any of them.” He is currently recording a new album in which he sings his own songs; it's Daring’s chance to make his music come alive for his own purposes, rather than for a film. When working on a movie, Daring says, “Remember, it’s the director’s film… it’s your job to serve your director.” When doing your own album, however, it’s your time to shine.

After Daring spoke, it was time for the filmmakers to have their say. “Working Collaboratively: The Composer/Director Relationship” was moderated by composer Jeanine Cowen and featured filmmakers Maureen Foley, Alice Dungan Bouvrie, and Lorre Fritchey, all of whom have worked with Cowen. The panelists covered various aspects of working with composers, from examining demo reels to sharing the rough cut of the film. All were extremely gracious and reserved, which made the panel feel like a filmmakers’ version of the SNL Delicious Dish skit at first: "We have a lot of great things in store for you." Fortunately, there was some great advice in store once the filmmakers really got to talking.

Most of the filmmakers found their composers through word of mouth—Bouvrie receiving a referral to Cowen through Foley—but agreed that they look for “diversity and range” when examining demo reels, as well as potential: “Does their song take you somewhere?” Fritchey asked. The process of finding a composer can be somewhat like casting actors for a film; directors will often have an idea of what they want that cannot be overcome. Foley said “Maybe 10% of the time your mind might be changed by a great performance,” but often you know by instinct whether you are interested in someone's work or not.

In addition to the music itself, Fritchey closely examines the accompanying cover letter for a sign of the composer’s personality and an indication that the composer is actually interested in her specific project. Bouvrie said that networking, aided by organizations such as Women in Film, has been helpful to her in finding composers. All panelists agreed that personality and compatibility were key components of the composer/director relationship, which has to be built on trust and shared goals.

When should a filmmaker start working with a composer? There’s no specific right answer, but all filmmakers agreed that music should be in mind even at the writing stage. If you don’t have any idea of what kind of tempo or mood the music would contribute to the scene, maybe you don’t have a good idea of what the scene itself is meant to accomplish, and revisions will be necessary. Fritchey feels that filmmakers should start working with composers “as early in the process as possible,” at least when editing starts. The panel discussed the importance of not getting to attached to temp tracks, temporary music fit to the film, and Fritchey even said she generally does not use temp tracks for fear of getting too wrapped up in their sound. Although temporary tracks may be necessary in some cases, as when submitting a film for festival consideration, they should serve as stand-ins rather than representations of the final products.

All the filmmakers agreed that the composer is the music expert, and should be relied upon for technical music knowledge. While it can be helpful to have some shared musical vocabulary, the filmmakers didn’t think it was necessary to use music terminology in talking with composers. It’s the composer’s job to translate your thoughts, expressed in layperson’s language, into musical concepts. They’re essentially “reading people’s minds and translating it into something,” according to Fritchey. It's a difficult but crucial component of filmmaking.

Just as a director is vulnerable when showing a rough cut of a film to a composer, so too is the composer vulnerable when sharing initial tracks. The panelists stressed the need to give the composer time: the music “won’t be perfect at first, but don’t be dismissive,” according to Bouvrie. Foley emphasized, “If you have confidence in your composer, it will be fabulous when you’re done.” The panelists agreed that some in-person meeting is desirable, but some have worked on projects by email or snail mail with acceptable results.

Everyone stressed that a contract with your composer is absolutely necessary and should be written up as early as possible. When it comes to budget, Cowen said to put aside at least 5% of the film’s funding for music. If you’re not funded, it may be possible to get a student or aspiring composer to work for cheap, free, or for the opportunity to retain the rights to their music. Whatever arrangement you come up with, though, make sure it’s in writing, and get a lawyer to look at it.

The Music for Film networking event was successful in presenting an overview of many issues facing composers and filmmakers, and we hope Berklee continues to put on events that bring creative professionals together.