BY NICHOLAS MARKS
Melbourne composer Nicholas Marks studied at Monash and has had his film scores appear at Tropfest, the Kah Bang International Film Festival, and in the Love Your Sister project airing nationally on Network 10. He was selected to produce a new musical theme for Village Roadshow Pictures and uses his experience to provide online mentoring to musicians.
Like many creatives, I’ve worked extremely hard on a number of small to large scale projects, paid or otherwise. I create opportunities: I spend many hours writing music, I reach out to artists I feel would be great to work with in bringing the music to life, I seek out avenues for putting the music into the world. While doing this, invariably, unexpected (often very exciting) opportunities come up, too. I strongly urge any artist starting out to create as many opportunities for themselves to work as they can. Start your own projects, or research and contact people who may be looking for composers/ collaborators. You have to make things happen, and when things get busy, work even harder to ensure that momentum continues.
1. The score must always serve the narrative
Start with analysing the film from a bird’s-eye perspective to get a sense of what role the music needs to play. What is the story about? Who are the characters? How do we relate to them, and what journey do they take? I’ll also add here that its the composer’s job to use music as a way to tell parts of the story an audience doesn’t necessarily see on screen.
2. Learn from the greats
Watch films according to a particular composer, absorb elements as to their style, aesthetic, and how their scores relate to the film’s narrative. On a more micro-level, I pay attention to their use of motifs, how these vary, develop in different contexts over the course of the film.
3. Use themes strategically
Themes and motifs are powerful devices to build an audience’s emotional connection to a character, poignant moment, or setting. They are also valuable materials with which you can focus your writing and develop musical ideas as the narrative unfolds. Doing this will also facilitate cohesion in the overall structure of your score.
4. Time is always of the essence
Being pragmatic as a writer (i.e. sensing when a cue is ready, irrespective of whether or not it’s your finest work) can be very important for meeting deadlines, as is having an efficient workflow environment.
5. It’s a team game
Composing for film can be a team game, and the team’s objective is to create/produce the best-sounding score possible. I strongly advise fostering an inclusive and (if possible) close-knit working environment. Musicians, orchestrators, arrangers, copyists, recording engineers, and many others play a crucial role in bringing the music to life. It’s essential that you create a scenario in which these people feel included and have an emotional investment to make the best possible music.
*Bonus tip: Always write. This is not limited to film scoring.
Would you like to learn about film scoring with Nicholas Marks, one-on-one? He’s ready to chat with you through CutCommon’s Skype Mentoring service. Fill in the form below, and we’ll hook you up with the composer in a flash.
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