Film editing/Editing dialog for music/Film scoring procedures

Under Construction This Month

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The moods and how to create them
 

The spotting session

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No director; No composer
In the spotting session, the director tells the film composer what music he wants. In this case, the director has not given us any notes and there is no music composer. You are both the film composer and the editor.
Therefore, you will have to decide what moods are needed and how you will create the music which will create that mood.
 

Write down all the moods

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Preparation
The first scene is very long so it has lots of moods. This movie is a melodrama so there are even more moods that normal in a motion picture.
 

The moods of the first scene

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Part 1
In the hall outside the law office, we have many moods:
  • The blindman is having a very serious conversation. Busy, busy, busy. Since this conversation is not important to the story, we can cover the conversation with music. This is one of the exceptions when you can use narrative music which covers up the dialog of the actors. You don't want the audience to worry about this conversation so hide it with music.
  • When the man offers a ride to the blindman, we don't want the audience to feel anything. Therefore, there should be no music now.
  • When the man plays a joke on the man, we need to explain that the two men like each other. If we use the wrong music, the audience would get the wrong idea. The music must be humorous yet warm and friendly.
  • When the man enters the office, we don't want the audience to feel anything special. Therefore, no music as the blindman enters the law office.
  • When the beautiful law partner begins to joke, we need to tell the audience that she is not serious and that she is happy. The dialog is not clear on this. With the proper music, this could be interpreted many different ways.
 

Background vs. Narrative music

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Background music
You c
Narrative Music
You ca


 

The next page of this lesson

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The next page tells you how to save your finished scene

Contact your instructor

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