Daily Film scoring bits
Welcome to the Daily Film Scoring Bits. On this page I post little tips, tricks and advices about film scoring in general but also more specific topics like orchestration, composition, working relationships, business advices etc.
Use the search bar on the right to find specific topics or click on the tags to filter posts by specific topics.
Please don’t hesitate to comment on the bits, a lively discussion with different points of view is desired 🙂
You can follow these social profiles to be notified every time a new Daily Film Scoring Bit is posted. Make sure to adjust your notification settings on these platforms accordingly.
If you want to get more in-depth articles, exclusive content like composition walkthroughs and extensive articles, please consider joining me on Patreon.
Demo Mock-Ups
The media world nowadays doesn’t work anymore without detailed mock-ups (aka sample produced demos) of cues. The times when composers just presented their ideas on the piano and the directors trusted them that it will sound…
Composition Speed
Many composers are concerned about their output rate and feel intimidated by hearing that composer x wrote the score for feature film y in just a few weeks or something like that. However this whole issue shouldn’t be bothering you…
Musical Hits on Cuts
Try to avoid placing hit points or musical accents/downbeats on cuts except for moments where it is meant to be like that (e.g. trailers/spoofs). In general, you should rather try to disguise cuts with your music rather than making them…
Dealing with Piracy of Your Music
Music piracy or illegal use of your music is something that every composer needs to struggle with these days. As soon as you publish something, there is a chance that somebody uses it without your permission and without paying you…
String Divisi Part 2
As a follow-up on my post about string divisi from two weeks ago, here a few more things to consider: 6.) Four-part triadic homophone harmony in violins, especially in the higher register is best divided in the way that the first violins…
Writing “For Samples”
Even with all the advancement in sampling technology, you unfortunately still need to write “for samples” nowadays. This means that you need to keep the strengths and weaknesses of your samples in the back of your mind and strategically…
Repeating Pitches in a Melody
When writing a melody, many inexperienced composers tend to overuse certain pitches, their melody kind of gets stuck at a pitch and keeps on using it over and over again. For a certain length it is okay to hover around one pitch but it can…
Re-creating Temp Tracks
Some of the most annoying jobs as a film composer are the ones where you are requested to “simply recreate the temp-track” and unfortunately, there’s no shortage of such jobs. Sometimes directors/producers get so used and comfortable…
The “Post Project Hole”
The contrast between being under extreme pressure and suddenly not having anything to do at all can sometimes be quite extreme in the media world. While on one day you’re doing all-nighters to hit a deadline, the next day you might…
Woodwind and String Runs
Runs on strings and woodwinds are a very common effect in orchestral writing and can create very lively textures. However when writing them, put some thought into it. First of all they should always have a motivation and not just be there for no…
Click Track Bleed
Click track bleed is one of the most annoying things that can happen in a scoring session, especially when it only gets discovered later in the mix. It results from the click on the headphones of the musicians spilling over to the microphones…
Highest pitch in a melody
One common property of many sucessful melodies is that the highest (and lowest) note of it only occurs once in the melody. This is a pretty essential thing in order to give it a proper dramaturgy. Also, the highest note shouldn’t be a…
Scoring the Climax scene first
When scoring a quite long movie, there is a danger of losing the focus for a proper dramaturgy. Sometimes you work your way up to the climax of the movie but when you reach it, you notice that you scored the few preceding build-up…
Momentum of a Big Project
Once you’ve finished a project that is rather big for you considering your portfolio, don’t fall in the state of “Now, I’ve done this, time to relax a bit.” Use the momentum of the project and try to aquire new jobs. It is much easier to push…