Film scoring/Score SBTDS

Under Construction

Interesting examples by FIREborn: Fear.ogg ---- Sad.ogg ---- Tired.ogg ---- Surprise.ogg ---- Joy.ogg ---- Fast like the wind.ogg.
This school is:
Narrative film production - Wikiversity Film School and School of Music - Wikiversity Film School
This course is:
Film scoring
The pages in the course is:
Introduction to film scoring
Create the sound of fear from a single note
Create other moods from a single note
Create the sound of joy using a delicate rhythm
Create other moods from delicate rhythms
Quiz: Music which tells a story
Create a mood with a melody
Create a story with a melody
Quiz: The Spy Story - Who is who?
DVD-Video: Scoring your first scene - The Promotion
Create four motifs - Mama, papa, baby, and Goldie
Create continuity with a single motif
Foreground / Background music - soft vs. loud
Quiz: Watch a short movie - George Lucas In Love
DVD-Video: What is a "Spotting Session"? - Only A Dream
DVD-Video: Write two musical cues for Home Wrecker
More musical theory
Butchering Midi - The starwars theme
DVD-Video: How would you score Green Tea Smoothie ?
DVD-Video: Write a film score for Blindman's Bluff
Write a film score for Seduced by the Dark Side! You are here!


Part III - Score a real scene
Ordering the disk

Disk required for this lesson

Lesson requirements
You must purchase a disk from the Star Movie Shop. If you have enough points, the disk will be free.
When you are ready and you have enough points, tell me that you want the disk called "Home Wrecker". clicking here
Earn points for the next lesson.
When you complete a film score for this scene, you earn enough points to receive the next disk free.
Getting Started
If you need help setting up your program

There is a page which tells you how to set up GarageBand to do film scoring. If you have not done this before (with any program), go to How to score with GarageBand.

Write a film score

What did she do last night?

The real thing
Finally, you get to score a scene from a real television drama.
This scene is on disk #6 from the Star Movie Shop who is the sponsor of these lessons. This disk is an editing workshop for young film editors but the disk also contains two different edits of the scene for you to create a film score.
Extremely boring
This scene is not very exciting. In fact, it is extremely boring. Nothing happens on the screen.
So why am I asking you to create a film score for such a boring scene?
Your music needs to make this scene interesting. That is a great challenge. Can you do it?
The story (background)
The young woman is a super hero. She protects the world from vampires. And she is super strong.
But after 6 seasons of slaying vampires on television, the young woman still cannot get a boyfriend (because of her super strength) and she cannot get a good job (because she is too busy killing evil monsters.)
He is one of he undead. But he is really, really cute.
What is a girl to do?
Now it is the morning after. Now she realizes what she has done. (And she wrecked the house doing it.)
The story of this scene
  1. The young woman and the man are sleeping.
  2. The young woman wakes up and is suprised... and maybe horrified or perhaps secretly happy.
  3. When the young woman realizes that the house has been destroyed and she asks, "When did the house fall down?"
  4. The man replies, "I don't know. It must have been between the first time and..."
  5. The young woman (and the audience) thinks about this for a while.
  6. Finally the young woman says, "Oh. Oh my Gosh!"

End of scene.

Your film scoring exercise using a real scene



Your assignment

Compose and perform the film score for this scene:
Load the edited version of the scene with time code into your music program.
The music can start two seconds before the beginning of the scene. This creates continuity between scenes.


Timecode 01:00:00:00 to 01:00:21:00
1. Narrative music - the two people are asleep and it is now almost morning.
  • With your music, you must explain that it is morning and these two are sleeping (or that all is peaceful.)


Timecode 01:00:21:00 to 01:00:36:00
2. Narrative music - the woman is surprised and even horrified.
  • With your music, you must create the feeling of fear and surprise.


Timecode 01:00:36:00 to 01:00:39:00
3. Faint background music or absolutely no music - Perhaps add the emotion of astonishment when she asks, "When did the house fall down?"
  • No music.


Timecode 01:00:39:00 to 01:00:46:00
4. Narrative music - the man looks around in wonderment.
  • Your music must express is amazement or maybe his sinister delight at this amazing situation.


Timecode 01:00:46:00 to 01:00:51:00
5. Faint background music or absolutely no music - Perhaps add the emotion of surprise when the man replies, "It must have been between the first time and..."
  • No music.


Timecode 01:00:51:00 to 01:01:06:00
6. Narrative music - Explain to the audience what the man and the young woman did last night to cause the house to fall down.
  • I think it is called "Sex!"
Your music must explain what kind of sex would cause a house to fall down. (If you are under 18 years old, do not do this part of the assignments. You are not supposed to know about things like this.)


Timecode 01:01:06:00 to 01:01:07:00
7. Background music or no music - Perhaps add the emotion of surprise, horror, joy, or disgust when the young woman says, "Oh."
  • Your music (or just one musical note) must explain how she feels.


Timecode 01:01:07:00 to 01:01:15:00
8. Foreground music - Drown her expletive with music when the young woman says, "Oh my Gosh!".
  • Your music must express her anguish and at the same time, hide the fact she used bad words.


Note: The ending music can continue to 01:01:20:00 (which is into the next scene.)
This creates continuity between the scenes.




Hide her words!

Here is the exception to the rule.
The rule
Previously, you learned that you never use foreground music (loud music) when there is dialog.
The exception to the rule
When you do not want the audience to hear the words of the actor, you can cover the words with loud music. The audience will still hear the words but because of the loud music, the audience will not understand the words or pay attention to the words.
Please cover her words
That is needed here. You must add music to prevent the audience from thinking about the words of the young woman. She was supposed to say, "Oh my Gosh!". She said something different.
Getting Started Scoring "Home Wrecker"

Start here - Your first assignements for Home Wrecker

Start with the two longest cues
Please start by creating the cue for Sleeping
When you are finished, send this cue to me.


The second cue is "What they did last night?"
Next please create the cue for what they did last night. This is probably the most fun to do.
When you are finished, send this cue to me.
To more exercises in film scoring using real scenes

The next exercise

Next, you will create scores for two more scenes. Click here for your last lesson.


Contact your instructor

Your instructor for this course is Robert Elliott. You can send me a quick email by clicking here.





NOTE: To submit assignments
To submit assignments, attach your completed assignments to an email and send it to me at "r_elliott innercite.com".