Don't Sabotage Your Film Score
As orchestration and music preparation professionals, our careers transition from digital to human performances. Leading this process for several Oscar and Emmy ceremonies, The Lord of the Rings films, primetime TV, independent films, and most recently, the localization of songs for Disney's Moana 2 and Mufasa; we have seen how carefully handling this transition results in better and more valuable performances and recordings. We also understand that the need for care and a proper strategy is the same, regardless of the amount of money a project has.
When a score has lackluster performances, the blame is often placed on the composer or the performers. Few realize that frequently the problems arise from neglecting how the composer's music was presented to the performers. Often, this comes from ignorance of the need for a proper strategy to combine musicians, orchestration, and music preparation. Usually, it means that money, time, and personnel were not budgeted for this process. That results in failure to deliver the materials needed to guarantee a great recording.
It is an easy mistake because the work of transitioning music to live performers happens out of sight. There is an illusion of a "one-person show" in creating film soundtracks. Plus, when the process is handled perfectly, it becomes transparent. It appears the composer creates the music, tracks are approved, then everyone shows up at the recording studio, and the performers create something magical. The planning, key decisions, and, sometimes weeks or months of work preparing for that magical moment are unseen. This can lead producers, and sometimes composers, to devalue this critical part of the process.
Technology also plays a role.
Today's technology allows the composer to handle many aspects of producing a film score. This creates a misconception that composers can effectively manage the entire scoring process alone, except perhaps some interns or assistants. However, technology does not provide the essential knowledge and experience of a skilled music preparation team. As more parts of music production (and even education) are shifted to technology, this knowledge gap is becoming more prominent in film recording sessions.
Recording musicians are painfully aware of this gap. They are forced to perform music that does not play well because of poor orchestration. They also see it when they must read sheet music that is unclear or poorly structured. When these problems slow or halt a recording, there may be no one in the room with the experience to quickly understand and remedy problems efficiently. All this leads to spending more money and time in the studio with no increase in the quality of music produced. It can even mean that an otherwise great score can become one that is mediocre, contributing little to the experience of the film.
If your film is making one of the following assumptions, you should be wary that you are potentially undermining the value of your score.
"The composer has mocked up the entire score, so it's already orchestrated."
The music is orchestrated, but for a computer to perform; not live musicians. Orchestrating is the essence of translating a digital performance into a live performance. Orchestration means determining exactly which instruments will be playing which sounds, and then creating a notated score with specific instructions for how each instrument will create those sounds. This is a specialized skill. The best orchestrators are masters in giving each performer precise instructions to create exactly the desired sounds and effects. When done well, very little additional direction is required. Well-orchestrated music also balances well, making the mixing of your soundtrack easier for the engineer.
"Our ensemble isn't a big orchestra, so orchestration doesn't matter."
It may be counterintuitive, but orchestration presents more challenges when an ensemble is smaller or non-traditional. You have fewer performers, so every note counts. A good orchestrator knows the tricks to make that ensemble sound full, powerful, or plaintive. In addition, smaller ensembles often require planning to determine which instruments should be used, how many are needed, and to develop a strategy to decide how to annotate and record the music. Today, many film scores use a small ensemble augmented with pre-recorded digital or sampler tracks. A good orchestrator often aids in decisions about the best approach for distributing elements between limited live musicians and digital tracks.
"With computers, creating sheet music for musicians is a simple, one-click process."
Oh, the horror stories from people underestimating the importance of creating good sheet music for recordings. The job of "music copying", or creating sheet music for the performing musicians, is the most commonly mishandled part of the process. Often it is relegated to people with little training or experience. Good, professional music copyists know how to make music easy for different types of musicians to read. Their precision also results in fewer errors that waste valuable studio time. This means performers can focus on making the best music possible, and do it quickly. As one Hollywood studio musician commented on a well-copied part, "I look at this page, and I know exactly what I need to do!"
Summing It All Up
Don't let assumptions like these sabotage your film. Given the large role of technology in film music, a smooth transition to live recording is crucial to a successful score.
Proper orchestration and music preparation are the keys to that transition. They save studio time, enable performers to do their best work and increase the overall value of the score and the film.
Working with experienced professionals, and budgeting for this process, guarantees that your money results in a better score, and a better film.
Danita Ng-Poss and Jason Poss are orchestrators and music preparation professionals based in Los Angeles. Visit their website at https://SymbolsOfSound.comand follow them on Instagram at @symbolsofsound.
