The Art of Film Composition: An Inside Look at How Film Composers Create Music

I’ve been working in the film industry for over 35 years, handling theatrical feature films, television series, and theatrical marketing for the past 16 years. I’ve been involved in over 20 to 25 high-profile projects each year. Music plays a crucial role in the post-production process, often playing a pivotal role even as the film is still being edited.

The Role of Temp Music and the Composer’s Involvement

Many composers don’t start their work until they see the final cut of the film. Take Danny Elfman, for example. He was the composer I worked with multiple times, and as I remember, the process was fairly standard – the filmmakers provided initial music, later replaced by the composer’s contributions as the editing progressed. However, there are instances where temp music is used right from the initial assembly of the film.

Variety in the Film Composition Process

Each composer has their own unique approach to creating music for a film. To give a single definitive answer to the question of how film composers create their music would involve a multi-volume treatise. Successful composers, like Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman, have different ways of working, and their methods may not always align.

Case Studies: Different Approaches to Film Composition

Hans Zimmer: According to Zimmer, he may have a team of helpers who work with him throughout the film’s production, making spontaneous compositions. The exact timing of his involvement depends on the filmmaker’s and his personal preference. Danny Elfman: Elfman, on the other hand, waits until the film has a final cut, adding music to that version. This approach involves a more iterative process, typically working on the film once it’s complete and edited. John Williams: John Williams is a notable exception. He often composes music before the film is finished, sometimes using existing music from other projects. For example, in the Harry Potter series, Williams wrote the iconic themes in the first three films and then allowed others to continue the work.

John Williams is an exceptional case, as he has a reputation for writing significant portions of the music before the film is edited. Many other composers, however, work on the project once it has a final cut.

The Challenge of Broad Generalizations

Trying to generalize the process of film composition can be challenging. There are countless books and resources that detail the process of writing a movie score. An answer that summarizes all these methods would be impossible to provide in a concise format, especially given the wide range of approaches that composers take.

Improv and Traditional Methods

One example of an unconventional approach is the collaboration between Miles Davis and a French rhythm section for the score of Ascenseur pour l’echafaud. They improvised the music based on Louis Malle’s scenes, completing the entire process in a single day. This is a far cry from Howard Shore’s meticulous method, where he carefully tied musical motifs to specific themes in the story, creating a deeply thematic and emotionally resonant score over years of production.

The Use of Improvisation and Pre-existing Themes

David Shire’s approach, on the other hand, involved composing music using Schoenberg’s twelve-tone system. Each cue in his score adhered to the same tone row. Even when expanding the end title music to something more romantic, he still maintained the same tone row, showcasing the flexibility and complexity of his method.

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