If you are looking for scoring rules, you won’t find them here. Selecting music can be quite personal. But we do feel there are several characteristics of a strong music score. These are (1) Authenticity, (2) Purpose, and (3) Impact. We will start with authenticity, a subject about which Cheryl and I are passionate when it comes to sound and story. Just as we would not want to use a sound effect that doesn’t fit the period or the image on the screen, we also avoid musical sounds and styles that are not authentic to what is happening visually. For example, when working with a composer, I might already have in mind a particular instrumentation that I feel will work as a score element, to introduce a character, a story line, or a recurring theme. Or, I might feel we need to stay away from a particular instrumentation that feels too stereotypical. When I told the story of Holocaust survivor Eli Weisel, composer Todd Hahn and I decided to stay away from a violin theme, as we felt that was just too evocative of the famed theme of “Schindler’s List.” But he did write an award-winning score which opened with a haunting cello theme supported with faint vocal echoes in the deep background, to introduce this very personal story. Because we were using Weisel’s own voice from speeches as the narration to the piece, and his voice is in a higher register, having a deeper registered instrument worked well in this opening. However, when designing your music score, whether using a variety of stock tracks or working with a composer, be sure that the music authentically fits the world of the film and the characters in it. Find themes or styles appropriate to a particular character, or an important moment in the rising story arc. Play the themes separately from the images and see if they still evoke the locations, characters, and story. To me, this is the sign of an authentic score. One that really belongs as an authentic part of the film.

Authenticity is tied to the purpose of a piece of music. Why is this particular style or rhythm needed at this moment in the story? Could a different cut of music fit better? Why or why not? I try to ask myself these questions each time I am working to find the right cut—either as a temp track or final cut in my film. Sometimes, when asking yourself questions about the purpose of music in a particular story segment, you will discover there is NO purpose to having music there! Perhaps there should simply be silence or natural sync sound. Perhaps there is a rhythmic element that is happening visually—like someone tapping a pen on a table—which can become the score for the scene. Always ask yourself the purpose of a piece of music in a scene. What role does it play in explaining a character or situation? One role it might play is to change direction. I’m especially fond of breaking up a long stretch of soul-searching drama with something lighter—a piece to change the subject and mood. As you work with a composer or make selections from a stock library, consider how contrasts in tempo, style, and emotional weight can serve your story and its characters. Composer Damion Wolfe explains,

“If you just put a smattering of emotional music throughout, no one will really come away remembering it. Be careful about dumbing down the music, or [making it] so generic that it actually distracts from telling your story. This is one of the reasons to bring on a composer. You can create your own sonic hook—a theme, or even something short like a three-note motif—something that comes back to the listener.”

Finally, we call your attention to impact. What impact does a particular instrument sound or melodic line have on the audience? Does it remind them of a recurring theme or character? Does it make them nervous? Anxious? Excited? Music connects with us in such a visceral and emotional way. Try playing different pieces with the same stretch of film and see how the impact changes. The flip side of this equation is lack of impact. If the music feels like “wallpaper” then it probably is! Find something better. The bottom line is that every story deserves its own musical story that supports it.

Each instrument brings a unique sound to a story. You can take advantage of some of the inherent qualities of certain instruments as you listen to stock music or work with a composer. Composers who write custom scores, and those writing for stock houses, can call on a range of musical traditions and instruments from around the world. Some of your options include piano, guitars, Western symphonic and band instruments, Eastern sitars and santoors, Middle Eastern ouds, African wind and rhythm instruments, South American flutes, etc.—the list is endless. And, of course, the oldest instrument of all, the human voice. If you are considering using Western symphonic instruments and aren’t familiar with all of the sounds they can make, you’re not alone. You may just know what you like or don’t like. That’s fine, but you might want to learn the names and specific sound qualities of the major instrument groups in order to help you search for what you need in a stock library or to communicate more clearly with your composer.

Instrumentation affects story, as certain instruments evoke emotional responses. Probably one of the more famous uses of instruments to tell a story in western music can be found in Sergei Prokofiev’s famous “Peter and the Wolf.” You might even listen to a recording as a way to hear the unique storytelling qualities of each of the sections of the orchestra—winds, brass, strings, and timpani. In this work, the oboe, with its somewhat plaintive but also slightly comical sound, evokes the waddling duck. The flute, which can lightly flutter up and down scales, represents the bird. The deeper, contemplative sound of the clarinet, often associated with the human voice, is used to tell the story of the cat. A walking line of the deeply-voiced bassoon provides the role of Grandpa. The French Horns, often called upon in scores for major heroic moments, play their famous theme for the wolf. The loud percussion instruments provide the sounds of the hunters. The strings, with their varied range and collective strength, give us the various melodies as Peter makes his way through the forest. You can truly visualize the story as each instrument makes its entrance and exit in this masterful work. Ultimately, when I’m listening to a possible cut of music for a film, or considering various instrumentations or styles, I try to watch my cut with the voice tracks volumes turned down, or even off, and hear what music my mind imagines. Each character or scene introduced usually brings its own musical ideas. And then I can test those ideas and see if they support the emotional essence of the story on the screen. (See our Resources section for some websites that can help you navigate different musical styles and elements.)

Many stock libraries include music from various countries. The problem I often have is that these cuts tend to use overly traditional instruments, and so they can undermine a contemporary story line if not used judiciously. One popular category in stock libraries is “World Music,” which can blend multiple origins, instruments, and styles. Again, this can work against your story. If it sounds too generic, or the instrumentation is completely wrong for the country your narrative is focused on, then it can fight the narrative. One solution is to record music as “wild sound” while you are travelling. You will want to be sure you know who the musicians are, in case you need to secure rights that do not fall within the fair use doctrine. (For more on Fair Use, see Chapter 8, Music Licensing). One handy thing about working with stock libraries is that, with some direction from you, many will help you pull selections to audition.

Rhythm is essential to storytelling. Your editing has a certain pace depending on what is happening in the story arc. A slow, deliberate section taking place in a quiet, small town might contrast with a fast-paced montage to introduce a new urban location to which the main character has moved. These pacing changes often require rhythmic elements in the score. But rhythm and percussive elements are sometimes overlooked because of a concern that these sounds will “fight” with narration or dialogue. (More on how to solve that in Chapter 7, Your Mix Session). But we would encourage you not to shy away from percussive elements, which aren’t always drums. Two instruments that have percussive elements are the piano and the acoustic guitar. Guitars must be strummed, and the body of the instrument can be tapped, giving a sense of motion to the score. There are several different types of guitars, each of which offers a different storytelling style. I’m a fan of the 12-string guitar, which has a richer sound than the traditional 6-string. You will commonly hear a 12-string guitar in folk music, but it can also be used for a more folk-pop sound. I’m fond of using this instrument for a story that requires some simplicity and honesty in its music score.

The piano brings a percussive element to a score, because the strings are literally struck by hammers. Pianos have 88 keys, which give them a range of just over seven octaves. A piano can be part of a score, adding depth, or it can be used alone as a solo instrument. One of my all-time favorite examples of using percussive elements to drive nonfiction story is in the short animated film The Girl Effect (2001), a movement launched by Nike Foundation to end global poverty by intervening in the lives of adolescent girls. The ticking clock motif in the animation is propelled by a base note repeated in the left hand of the piano, and amplified by staccato bow strokes by the celli. This is one of the few animated shorts that makes me and my workshop attendees cry every single time we play it, and I believe this impact is largely due to the score by Elias Arts founder/composer Jonathan Elias and composer/recording engineer Nate Morgan. Give it a listen and see if you agree.²

Tempo changes are some of the best ways to keep the audience engaged with your film. Just as you may want to change the tempo of edits depending on the emotional content of the scenes, so you might also change tempo with music. Another way to build in an element of surprise or a break from the past segment is to change the key. This can be a real issue if you are using stock music. Because stock music is composed by so many different artists, and their tuning is not precisely the same, I’ve even come across tracks that are a half-tone off. This means you really can’t play them back to back. Sometimes it feels right to stay in the same key, while segueing to a new piece of music with a different tempo or style. Most of the time, though, when transitioning to a new segment, I want a key change as well, to provide a cue to the listener/viewer that we are in a new place in the story now. One of the things to look for in a good music library is the ability to search by musical key. This is one of the aspects of the Audio Network library that I like so much—being able to identify the key of the piece, so I can consider an interesting key change from one cut to the next. And also, so that I can avoid a transition that will be boring—like three cuts in a row in the same key—or one that would clash, like a half step change.

Sometimes music is the “glue” that can help smooth abrupt transitions between scenes, or help to connect scenes that belong together thematically. A great example is the documentary Moving Stories directed by Rob Fruchtman and produced by Cornelia Ravenal, Mikael Södersten, and Wendy Sax, which I was lucky enough to catch at the Chesapeake Film Festival. The film follows different dance teachers as they coach at-risk students in four different countries. The climax of the film consists of the final dance performances of these students, who just a few short weeks ago were not dancers. It is a transformational moment. Each group of kids and their instructors dance choreography they have been practicing for only a week. Each dances to a distinct piece of music. The producers decided that rather than hear all the different tracks of music to which the performers are dancing, and intercutting them, that the scene required a unity that could only come from one piece of music as a score. Producer and co-editor Mikael Södersten spoke with me about the process of coming to that decision.

“Our director and I both worked on editing the film. Coming from a cinema verité tradition, Rob was used to using diagetic music, which is part of the world of the scene. So when it came to the climactic performance sequence, he edited sequentially, using the music that was playing when each performance was shot, because he wanted it to be truthful to where each happened. But coming from the world of fiction filmmaking, Cornelia and I felt we needed a unifying principal. We also saw the opportunity to elevate the audience’s experience. We see it all the time in narrative – like Hitchcock’s orchestral score in The Man Who Knew Too Much and in American Graffiti, where all the music comes out of these teenagers’ cars but is applied thematically so that it comments their relationships and heightens the emotional impact. So, what could we do? We agreed with Rob that we didn’t want to impose non-diagetic music onto the performances. We felt the music needed to come from inside the world. So, we used Channels and Winds by Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, the piece the Indian girls danced to, for all four. Then Cornelia and I re-cut the footage, choosing and interweaving images that built to a climax as the music did.”

This piece begins the sequence as diagetic music and ends up as the score of the remaining sequence, carrying the scenes to their climactic ending. The result is magical, powerful, exhilarating.

Let’s back up to preproduction. Generally, very early in my process—as early as when I’m conducting pre-interviews for a doc-style piece—I am already getting ideas for music. Perhaps the music is inspired by a particular location. While I try not to be too literal (we see a cowboy, so we hear cowboy music; we see someone from India, so we hear what we think of as Indian music), I do try to make the music feel like it fits the people and places we are getting to know on screen. Often, I am jotting down possible music style notes in my shooting script. Certainly, by the editing script, I have ideas written down. I might even reference some stock music tracks, or have started collecting them in a folder so I can be listening to them as I review the cut. If we know we are going with stock music rather than scoring, then certainly by the second rough cut I have made selections and am testing them out, and perhaps we are even cutting to them in certain scenes. The flavor of the film is strongly influenced by music for me so I want to start shaping that component of the storytelling as early in the process as I can. So just a quick road map for this workflow:

     Preproduction

• Budget for music

• Begin auditioning tracks for temp tracks or actual tracks

• Speak with a composer about deadlines, budget, and stylistic approaches

• Consider music that is relevant to characters and locations

     Production

• As you film and conduct interviews, consider how you could accomplish different pacing later in your edit. Can second camera coverage help?

• Shoot b-roll sequences with enough latitude that you could linger on a shot and change the pacing when editing to music.

• Shoot sequences that will allow you the flexibility to create a montage to a score—for example, if you have shot many scenes with dialogue or interviews, be sure that you have plenty of shots that can establish locations, personalities, or simply change the pacing once you are editing. This means ensuring your shot list and scene coverage plan includes a variety of lengths of shots and different lens techniques—rack focus, whip pan, static, etc.

• A sequence of static shots can also hold more meaning when cut to music, establishing, for example, the emotional connection a central character has to place.

     Postproduction

• Audition more tracks, now that you have most if not all of your footage shot and have a sense of the different styles and pacing you might need.

• Use temp tracks for your rough cut or start working with your composer to audition some samples as you begin editing.

• Fine cut should include most if not all tracks, if you are going the route of stock music; when working with a composer, these can be used as temp tracks.

• Before delivery of final cut, make sure all licenses are secured; keep copies of licenses in multiple places—including inside the project folder on your NLE.

One of the great joys of filmmaking for me is to work on the music score. The process often involves a “chicken or the egg” question: do we lay down a track first and let it provide our pacing, or do we cut first and then add a score? Almost always the answer is “both.” What I mean by that is, for some scenes, in order to achieve the proper pacing, we’ve got to get a track of music in there that feels right. Fast montages or very slowly paced scenes often need to be edited with a soundtrack playing. That doesn’t mean we can’t change our minds. But often the score drives the energy and cutting style of those sequences. For other scenes, we may wait until we have a rough cut that I can “watch down” several times before I get a sense of what style of music might work. The scenes have their own rhythm and generally invite a particular approach to the music.

Of course, there are many stories in the feature film industry of how certain temp tracks actually ended up in the finished movie. I can understand how that happens. Those scenes go through dozens of recuts and tweaks. People reviewing them get used to the temp track. Then the score gets done and it feels “wrong”—like it doesn’t belong with the film. This might be why director James Gunn decided to have composer Tyler Bates go ahead and create the major themes for Guardians of the Galaxy in advance. In fact, in his KCRW podcast interview with Elvis Mitchell, he talks about how he was inspired by Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), for which scores were written by Ennio Morricone early in the filmmaking process to help establish a pace and style for the camera shots. Gunn and Bates worked together on the big themes and also selected the pop songs in advance so that they could play them on set and similarly set the pace and vibe of the scenes. (To hear the podcast interview with James Gunn, go to our Resources section.)

While in a nonfiction piece you are not going to play your music on set, you can also use a similar strategy of thinking through the musical styles and pacing in advance of your edit. You can even work with your composer early in the process to test out some thematic material or try a particular instrumentation as you develop your edit. (More on working with a composer in a moment.) The goal is this: don’t add music like wallpaper after the room is built. Music is integral to the filmmaking process. It is an essential element of your storytelling and should feel like it belongs with those scenes and characters.

One of the common usages for both stock music and custom music is what I call “copycat scores.” A particular song is popular, so you want to replicate that sound and style. I get it. And occasionally I do it. But mostly I avoid it. Bottom line is that a sound that is popular at this very moment is likely to be out of fashion by the time your video gets posted. I find it fascinating that many of the popular mini-biographies now flooding social media are cut to more classical-sounding scores. Perhaps because the producers realize these are more timeless.

If I’m working with a composer, I try to bring them into the process as early as possible—often while I’m still scripting or planning the shoots. I might send some track ideas at this stage. I might send links to pieces I really like, or identify styles I feel are currently being overused and want to avoid. If I have the time in the editing process, my preference is to send a draft edit to the composer early on, so he or she can get a sense of the approach and try out some thematic ideas (Figure 9.1). Of course, sometimes the temp tracks we send lead us in the wrong direction. The composer I work with regularly will often surprise me with a different approach to a scene. This is why that collaboration is so important in the music scoring process of filmmaking. Composer Todd Hahn is one of the leading scoring artists in the country. Here is his take on the process of scoring:

“The bottom line is the visuals drive the music—you are making a musical metaphor for what you’re seeing. The visuals and the dialogue are working the analytical part of your brain. The music’s job is to be a catalyst for your emotional response. With a really compelling visual, the music writes itself; it’s just kind of obvious what the music should be, and the composer has more options.”

Of course, sometimes speed is of the essence, and there is not much time for back and forth with the cut. In these instances—such as delivering a commercial spot or show promo by a deadline—you will have to deliver “picture locked” scenes to your composer. That means you have received all final notes and approvals, and there won’t be any timing changes to the visuals. Be careful to include exactly as much black at the open and close as you will have in the final show. The final fade is particularly important and is often overlooked. Then you get your music back and it doesn’t feel like it rings out properly—because you didn’t provide any pad for that to happen.

A common problem with post-scoring a film with no time for tweaks is that filmmakers often forget to leave enough silence between scenes for musical transitions. If your composer has written a theme in 4/4 time, for example, and there are only three beats between the end of one scene and the start of the next, that requires a measure with irregular meter. Most good composers work with these issues all the time and manage to make the score seamless. But it’s a good idea if you are working for the first time with a composer to build in more “air” to your edit. It’s much easier to tighten a transition later than to open one up. And remember, the score doesn’t need to be—and probably shouldn’t be—wall to wall music. There should be natural spaces where natural b-roll sound and voices can emerge. And even places with no music score at all. The story drives these choices during the final sound mix, which we address in Chapter 7.

There are more and more stock music libraries emerging every day. Some have quite wonderful pieces of music you can use, and certainly a wide range of styles. Some have unique features. For example, Audio Network gives you the key and the meter of each piece, which I find very helpful as a musician. APM Music offers filters for archival and vintage tracks, which can be handy for certain projects. Killer Tracks has thousands of sound effects in addition to musical themes. Premium Beat has low prices and useful industry articles on its blog. Here are some strategies for finding what you need:

1. Make use of filters. Most good music libraries allow you to search using a number of filters. These can include tempo, style, length of cut, and whether or not sound effects or vocals are present. You can narrow down and save the types of pieces you like and start building a collection that works best for your piece.

2. Don’t look at price alone. Some of the low-budget libraries don’t offer particularly good mixes of the music tracks. As a result, your end product can sound tinny, instruments can get “cut off,” and the tracks lack depth.

3. Listen with good headphones. Your computer speakers aren’t the best option when choosing final tracks. You may miss some interesting—or problematic—instrumentation or vocals in the mix. Listen to the entire cut. I recently chose a cut I really liked, only to discover an error—two clashing notes—in the middle of the rising arc of the piece right at a critical point in our story.

4. Check all the versions. Many stock tracks will offer different instrumentations, versions with and without vocals, versions with and without heavy drum tracks.

5. Is there a story arc? Music needs to tell a story in order to support your visual storytelling. Marrying stock music to the twists and turns of your narrative can be a challenge requiring multiple tracks. So, it’s helpful to find some cuts where there is a climax and resolution or some twists and turns and not the same repetitive theme.

6. Search by composer names. Stock music is written by real, live musicians! If there is a piece you like, but it isn’t quite right, chances are good that something else composed by the same artist may meet your needs.

7. Endings matter. I am a great believer that one cut of music should end, and not just cross-fade to the next, which is just lazy musical storytelling. And I can’t tell you how many times I like a track, but the ending fizzles out. So, I’ve gotten into the habit of checking the endings first before I fall in love with a track.

8. Check the license agreement. Make sure that if you are planning a long life or many variations for your project, you want to be sure you are covered. “Royalty free” doesn’t mean free, it just means you won’t pay a royalty each time your video is watched or downloaded. But if you are delivering different versions for different platforms, you are likely to need multiple licenses.

The range of fees and pricing models for music can feel overwhelming, and as broad as the range of musical styles. Generally speaking, non-broadcast rates are lower than broadcast. For non-broadcast or non-commercially distributed works, a stock cut can cost as little as $25 and go up to $350 per cut. Broadcast rates are often double that. Of course, if you need 10 or 15 cuts for a long film, then you may do better negotiating a flat rate or a custom score deal with a composer. Custom scores can range from $2,500 for a 3–5 minute short to $5,000 to $17,000 for a one-hour documentary. Some of the fee range comes from the level of experience of the composer and how much back and forth they expect for versions and tweaks. Many composers are now working out what I would call a “hybrid” deal, which can reduce the up-front costs of a project, but allows them to make money on the back end. The composer gets a flat fee for the work. In addition, the composer retains the mechanical rights so that he or she earns a royalty each time the film airs. The network or distribution company retains the publishing rights, so they also receive a small royalty each time the film airs. In addition, the network can retain a copy of the composition for its internal library, and their producers can use it—or parts of it—for other shows. When these uses occur, the composer also gets a small royalty. These royalties can add up over time and multiple airings, so this deal makes the custom scoring process affordable for the producers and profitable for the composer.

If you or your organization generate a large quantity of content every year, say for your YouTube channel, then you will have more options in terms of flat pricing, whether with a composer or with a stock library. For example, many libraries offer an annual fee to customers who produce a large amount of content. (You will still have to send in quarterly usage reports, so that they know what is being covered under your blanket license.) Some libraries, like Epidemic Sound, are offering monthly subscriptions for as little as $15/month for YouTube creators, and a higher but still very reasonable monthly rates for corporate content creators. It’s worth checking out all the options a library has to offer. Some are stronger in one genre of music than another. Some offer better mixes or more options for different versions, stems, and stingers. If you end up spending a lot of time editing and tweaking cuts, you may have lost some of the savings you thought you had in a lower initial cost.

Whether you work with a composer or a stock library, I would encourage you to call and discuss your projects in advance with these folks. I have found everyone on the music side of our storytelling industry to be ready and willing to work with content creators to bring their projects to life.