Looking for a place to start or end your film music cue? Look for the cuts.

Check out your favourite music composers you’ll find that some of the best entries and exits for music are at the film edit points. By doing this you will make the music seamless with the visuals. The last thing you want is for the music to distract from the dialogue.

Watch the cuts and you’ll never go wrong.

As a music composer it is important to know tools you will be working with. Today I’ll give you a brief overview of some production techniques that I use everyday. No scalpel required.

Digital Audio Workstation – DAW

A DAW is known as a Digital Audio Workstation. It works just like an analog mixing console. The biggest difference is that it also includes a digital version of a tape deck. These programs will be where you’ll spend most of your time. It’s also the place where you can add the following tools.

Reverb

This tool is used to take a sound and put it into a different space. Many plug-ins of this nature can emulate real locations such as the Sydney Opera House or an airplane cockpit. It’s important to remember that most applications only need a little bit of processing or you’ll risk sounding unnatural.

Compression

Compression is used to even out the dynamics of an audio track. It does this by “squashing” or compressing the loudness so that there is a maximum loudness to a track. In doing this, you can bring up the quite parts of a song and lower the loud parts.

Again, a dab will do you. If you use too much compression you will get a pumping sound. All effects including compression should sound as natural as possible.

Delay

Delay is simply repetition of a sound. With a delay plug-in you can create an echo effect. Many reverbs are based partially on this principle.

With a delay you can set how long the next repeat will come. You can also set the number of repeats. This effect is versatile and is worth the time to experiment with.

Gate

The job of a gate is to reduce noise. It works by only allowing sound to pass through the gate if it reaches a certain sound level. This plug-in is best used in noisy spaces or when multiple instruments are being used.

Limiter

A limiter is the opposite of a gate it works to stop sound from getting too loud. It’s also an extreme setting for a compressor. It’s main function is to protect your equipment and audio sound from clipping. Digital clipping is an awful sound so avoid it if you can. But in the analog world clipping may be desired as this is essentially what distortion is all about.

I hope this gives you enough to try and experiment with your audio recordings. If you have any questions please post them below.

When creating music for film it is important to consider dynamics, also known as loudness.

Many of you have heard of loudness wars which is the tendency for music today to be louder than what is was yesterday. In film music and classical music dynamics are a part of the excitement.

To make your music more dynamic filled you’ll need to watch your compression. You can learn more about compression by doing a search on Google, but I’ll talk a bit about it in a future post.

Compression is simply a way to keep squash dynamics to a certain high and low point. This can make your music seem louder. In the classical world this may remove much of the joy and the technical aspects of the performance.

Whatever you chose to do know that dynamics can boost your music to new levels, but so can a compressor. Way the pros and cons for each track you make.

Film scoring is a modern art form that many composers love to participate in. I think it’s part because of the chance for fame. But, I think the real reason is for the ability to be creative without many boarders.

The process of scoring music for film and TV can be simple but it usually varies depending on the workflow for the producers of the show.

In general the steps are:

1. Spot the film
2. Write the music
3. Record the music
4. Mix the music
5. Playback session
6. Send music to dubbing

As I said before the order of steps may change depending on the movie producers but almost all of these steps must be completed.

Over the next few weeks I will spend time explaining what each of these steps are. I will also fill you in on the most efficient ways to complete each of these steps.

Keep a look out for the next article.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be spending a lot of time in Toronto working with composer Tom Third. As music composers one of the things we discuss is how to get in and out of a music cue. To elaborate, we need to find the best place for music to start and end. We don’t want the music to stick out like a sore thumb.

I have discovered that many situations in life require thought on how to get in and out as well. For example, how do you start a conversation with someone. Of course the answer to this depends on who the person is and their relationship to you. Similarly in music we need to decide what relationship the music has to the picture or lyrics.

It takes time to master this but with dedicated practice you can become great at entering and exiting a cue. Take a moment to listen to John Williams and how he enters a cue. Or have a listen to Miles Davis and his masterful endings. Does the composer end abruptly? How many instruments are used at the start? At the end? Does the cue end or stop on a film cut?

Remember the goal is to assist the drama that is on screen or on stage. Music that sticks out is counterproductive. This is a simple detail but must be mastered by any expert film composer.