Heartwarming Life Stories

Was: Film Scoring Schools

Compiled by Lukas Kendall

Last week I printed a letter from someone inquring about colleges with film scoring degrees, in and in my response waxed philosophical on life choices and the paths one takes to a career. It was pretty cool, and here are some interesting letters we received:

From: "Chris Tilton" <Chris46@email.msn.com>

Subject: Going into Film Scoring?

I read your 5 reasons NOT to concentrate on film scoring and I really agree with you. I do hope to someday score films, but that's not why I'm here. I am majoring in music composition because that's what I like to do. I want to compose music and if I get into film scoring to make a living, then that's what happens. I also want to write concert pieces, I'd love to do all sorts of things. That's why I think it is very important for a composer to concentrate on composing music, not scoring films. Of course, you do have to take courses in the film scoring process, but it's important to have a good background. We all love film scores, but I personally think it's a crime to listen to film scores and not classical music, which is where ALL our favorite film composers get there ideas. It's important to know the background of which you are studying. There aren't too many composers at my school, but I do run into a lot of composers, whether it be in person or on the internet that are so single minded. They want to do "film scores", but there are so many more oportunities and possibilities out there that limiting yourself to film scoring would be an awful waste of time. I am really happy at the school I am at (The University of the Arts in case you're curious) and I feel that I am learning much more than I would be if had gone to some school with some type of "film scoring" major. Those are my thoughts.

From: Steven Bias <photogra@m4.sprynet.com>

I would like to reply to the article about film scoring degrees. I agree with you 100%. I am a music composition undergraduate at Marshall University. I have private lessons with two composers there. (One of which had private lessons with a comp professor whose teacher was Arnold Shoenberg.) The thing they constantly drill into my head is craft. Inspiration won't last forever so you have to be technically capable of producing new music.

Point Two: Get involved with the University Theatre Department. Remember how composers like Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams started out doing live TV? I think writing scores to plays is a good way to getting your feet a little bit wet. I am writing music to three productions this coming semester and scoring one right now. They include literary classics like Othello and Crimes of the Heart and Midsummers Night Dream. One thing I have learned is you ABSOLUTLY MUST BE WELL ROUNDED. I set with the director and we more often than not discuss things other than music. Like scores of last weeks football game,paintings of the french impressonists and WW II (He changed Othello's setting to WW II). To be able to communicate you must know things other than film music. Knowing film music is fine, great. There are many modern day masters in film music today. But you need to be familiar with the old masters too. Like Mahler, Wagner, Stravinsky, Brahms ect. I think knowing this is crucial, along with having a working knowledge of theory, counterpoint, harmony and orchestration.

From: "RomanDeppe" <roman.deppe@metronet.de>

I knew from my earliest age on that I want to make movies... at the end of school I was shortly playing with the idea of becoming a marine-biologist and study whales or follow a career as a crime-psychologists, but either my grades weren't good enough or it appeared to be a subject not worth to study so many years, i.e. un-employement would have been the case. My love for movies never stopped and so I just started working as an intern at a small company. I did everything from fetching cigarettes to direct small advertise-spots... later I moved on to help students out at the filmschool. I was considering to attend the filmschool, too, but the first time I got rejected, so I kept on working on different projects at the company where I started (and never tried to attend filmscool again).

My boss happened to be one of the closest friends of Roland Emmerich, with whom he co-wrote his early German movies and worked on them. He encouraged me many times to move on, but moreover told me to ask myself consistently what I really wanted. I finally gave up my plans to attend film school and took a kind of an apprenticeship as an film-editor. As the projects went by I came to the conclusion that this is probably the better way to achieve my goals: By practice, not by studying... in my opinion you should really try to start first as something little in the filmindustry and check out different jobs, watch others and what they are doing and maybe after that you have a much better idea of what you really want.

There are many ways to achieve your dreams, and maybe (or surely) the easiest or the most obvious way isn't the best or the right one. On the long path there is maybe even something that is even more interesting to you, soemthing you never thought of.

From: Brandon Moore, BFMOORE@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU

Interesting article on film music schools. I am an aspiring film composer myself and find info like this very useful. I just wanted to mention that The University of North Carolina has started what I think is an actual film composition degree. It might be for graduates, I am not sure. I noticed on the flyer that it was created by film composer David McHugh. Also, I have found that my study as an undergraduate in a regular Theory/Composition program has helped me develope a style of my own. This way a composer can learn the styles of the past and see how modern film composer's have been influenced. FSM always mentions these composer's and how one can here a little bit of Stravinsky in this score and Debussy in that. Thanks to FSM, I finally learned what a twelve-tone row was before we covered it in theory class!

From: "Larry Best Sr." <becis@email.msn.com>

I believe that you are sincere in your caution to budding young composers to realize that on average many have not worked on a major project until after age 30. However please don't be a dream stealer. After following and working in the music and film industry over the last half century, my experience has given a different point of view.

The industry in question is difficult to break into but it is possible if the dream, the ambition, and the perseverance are strong enough.

To all "want-to-be film composers, please, don't ever let anyone steal your dream, especially those who cannot relate to someone who has chosen their life's ambition at an early age (that doesn't make them bad or wrong, just indecisive).

Personally, I chose my field by age fourteen. I decided to become a professional sound engineer in the film industry and to own my own recording company. By the time I was 25, I had reached both goals and went on to achieve many other goals and dreams that were in related areas.

It is my experience that the earlier one makes the commitment to a dream, the sooner it will be achieved. The luck of being selected to score a film at a young age is not luck at all. My perception of luck is Laboring Under Correct Knowledge and then persevering diligently until the goal is achieved.

James Horner (as an example) placed himself in the right place at the right time on purpose by following the logical steps to be available when a very low budget movie (the first of many cheap rip-offs of Star Wars ) Battle Beyond The Stars, needed a John Williams, Star Wars type score to pull it off.

The story is told that Horner had never attempted anything as large as a major motion picture, but he convinced the director that he could deliver the goods. He states that he was hired, not because of his claims, but because he could do the job cheaper than anyone else.

Sometimes it simply comes down to dollars and cents. At least in Horner's case, that was the bottom line.

In my opinion, as one who speaks from experience (that of making one's dreams a reality), the music business is "business". Show business is "business". There are two paths. You can either be an artists who "gets discovered by chance", or you can be a talented business person who learns not only the trade, but the workings of "the business" and then places him or herself in the most likely position to seize opportunity.

If composing music for film is what you really want to do, learn everything you can about the "process of film music selection" get the facts about success in the industry. I suggest that a good place to start would be a music talent agent such as The Kraft Benjamin Agency who represent many of the leading film composers. Tell them you are a student doing research on how composers are selected for projects, and get an appointment with an agent. Then proceed to get all your questions answered by an expert. Most agencies have a "new talent" specialist. This is a person who can most likely point you toward some of the "right doors". The do "exactly everything they tell you to do, don't try to take any short cuts. Most likely, you will be given a list of steps that that will turn out to be the shortest possible path.

Remember, learning to compose music, do orchestrations and arrangements, are only the elementary side of the craft. Furthermore, learning to conduct a studio orchestra and fit your cue into a limited length of film in sync with screen action or to underscore dialog or whatever, is only a matter of practice, practice, practice. There are many many very good music schools, universities and trade schools that will teach you the mechanics of the craft. All you need do is supply the talent (unlike acting, which in many cases only required a "look" and no talent) the film music composer must have some talent to start with, even if he or she ultimately turns out to be one of those who repeatedly produces a mechanical "slick commercial craft" (as is unfortunately found too often in TV series scores).

At any rate, my advice is first get the facts, know that your career involves work, Look for related opportunities such as composing radio, or TV advertising jingles, and studio orchestrating and arranging opportunities (this is how Jerome Moross - The Big Country - broke into film music) these can be the bread and butter jobs that pay the bills in your field until you get that first film score.

Another avenue for new composers is independent film. I suggest that you contact Sundance near Park City, Utah. Many independent films make it to major distribution and though they are often "buy outs" (you don't get paid until the film is sold to distribution, which may only be limited distribution) it is also a good place to start.

After all, where do you think all the 20 to 30 year old composer are anyway? They don't just hatch. They are out there and they are working in the "start-up" areas of the industry. We, the listeners to the music of "seasoned composers", will likely never hear the early attempts of Goldsmith, Horner, or Bernstein that may be gathering dust in some obscure independent film vault because those works never received national distribution.

Remember, perseverance and diligence. Don't let anyone steal your dream, and someday you'll make it. For the most part, those who don't eventually make it are those who quit. Don't quit, and don't get discouraged. Keep at it and learn "the business". Learn to work the business and work within the business.

There is a line in The Music Man, that spells out what you need, "you gotta know the territory". I know a few film composers (both major and minor)personally, and I've never heard one say that the struggle up the path to major films wasn't worth the struggle or the time it took.

Sender: mike@zoesis.com

Excellent piece in today's issue. The point you made about the need for an intellectual/artistic underbed to anyone's professional life (especially as quirky and abusive a professional life as that of a film composer) was right on. I suspecet the same holds true for filmmakers as well - most of the better directors I know went to film school as graduate students (if at all), after studying or doing something else in the real world.

The flip side of course is that programs like USC's simply didn't exist a generation ago, which is why today's top composers didn't attend them. It'll be interesting to see if the next generation of musical living legends includes many proteges of Buddy Baker.

From: Richard and Scott Hanson <srh@shore.net>

Great article on film scoring education. I thought I'd point out that even though they don't have a department for film scoring, Emerson College in Boston (http://www.emerson.edu/) has classes in it. Berklee has an overview of their film music department at their site (http://www.berklee.edu/).

From: mleneker@webtv.net (mark leneker)

I agree. I am an actor, but I did a lot of general theatre and liberal arts in college before I got my BFA (actually its REQUIRED as part of the major). Its the same in music. Study MUSIC, concentrate in film scoring later, or take an internship. You see, anybody can compose a film score (aren't they called "hummers"?) But if you are going to go far and be recognized in a competitive field learn as much as you can about your art...it can only help you.

Medicine is similar. Before these guys choose a specialty they have to learn general medicine, then intern, then choose a specialty and intern again, and study, and then FINALLY become a G.I doctor or a cardiac specialist, etc...

Lastly, of course, your first professional gigs are an entire education upon themselves. You probably realized it, Lukas, when you started FSM as an honest-to-God magazine. I sure went "back to school" when I did my first 2 Off-Broadway NYC shows back-to-back...you never stop learning, and that is why its not so weird to hear that the older you get, this less you know. Its actually quite wonderful and thrilling. Wouldn't life be absolutely boring if we just knew everything and had nothing at stake? Blech!

From: William N Zarvis <wz977@bard.edu>

I hope I don't come across as trying to ingratiate myself towards you, but your FSD article on Nov. 4th was very honest and poignant. I know you kept apologizing for the off chance that you may have depressed some young aspiring film composer, but your words rang more true than anything yet written on this website. That is not to say that the quality of articles is low, quite the contrary, it just implies that you have made a personal statement that will, I believe, reach many of your readers and help those who are particularly young understand the future possibilities of reaching for personal dreams.

I coudn't agree with you more on your point that the path towards success is a long one and that intrinsic value of a means to an end is not so much the chosen preparation but instead the social knowledge and personal wisdom aquired along the way that lays the foundation for rich creativity and discipline.

I wonder if you feel like you're not living the life you want when you say you don't know what you want to do.You say you want to have fun and that is important, yet your article has a sad feeling behind its message. Hey, listen man, you have a unique and charismatic style. I can see it in your writing and in your wit. Someday somewhere you are going to be recognized as a powerful force in the entertainment industry; mark my words.

You say that you are living your own advice, well I'm here to give you some advice or rather some words of encouragement on the subject of dreams. Read this short bio and proceed.

I was seventeen when I quit high school, a total academic disaster and for the next couple of years I worked odd jobs in the Berkshire Mall in Lanesbourough Mass. I finally got my act together enough to get my GED and try my hand at a local community college, BCC. After a horrible first two years at the college, only taking two classes a semester, doing poorly and still working at the mall, I got a glance at my future: Burgers and Fries for $4.25 an hour. By god I turned my life around, declared a major and got high honors from there on in. So after four and a half years (the first two years wasting time) I graduated with an Associates Degree in Theater Arts. This fall I just transfered to Bard College in New York as a Film Major and I am doing well.

I'm 24 years old and I am pursuing my dream to one day soon begin my carreer in directing movies. I want to captivate my audience's imagination, hypnotize them with powerful stories and open their minds to new paradigms. That is my dream. It is simple, yet infinitely complex. Many tell me that I have a good chance and that makes me feel confident.

However, I know that the reality is that only if I have talent and discipline will I even have a shot at realizing my dream. Well that may sound daunting, but so what? I have no doubt that someday it will happen. I will make it happen.

Now you are asking yourself, "Why the hell is this guy telling me this?" I felt it was incumbent upon me to tell you that you have talent and that you have a great future ahead of you.I think that you might feel unsure of yourself since you moved to L.A. and that things are moving slow for you. I don't mean to psychoanalyze you, so forgive me for being so forthcoming. Just allow me to say this:You must adopt the same attitude of self-determination so you can be hungry for success and blow everybody away with your Creativity and Energy!!!

I took me five whole years of my life to do a complete 180 degree turn around in my habits, my focus and my attitude! It is like you say, it takes time for an individual to mature before they can seriously produce their great works of art. So I know that I have a long but wonderful journey ahead of me...YEE HAH! I laud your understanding of this process, but I don't want you to give up on your dreams. Maybe you haven't and I am reading to much into your article. If this is the case then I am sorry for pontificating for so long. If however, I have struck a nerve, then please understand that I only wanted to inspire you because anyone, anywhere, can do whatever they dream and put their energies towards. Now go drink your Ovaltine! Take care and good luck!

Thanks everybody for your interesting and in some cases inspiring life stories. These letters just for me are useful for getting inspired to work again, and keeping a level head. Best wishes, folks.

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