Practical Advice on Composing for the Screen - An Interview with Jeff Rona

Jeff Rona's impressive composer credits include Ridley Scott's White Squall, contributions to Traffic, Black Hawk Down, Mission: Impossible 2, and Gladiator as well as Chicago Hope and Profiler and even music for the 2008 Olympics. In the newly expanded edition of his book The Reel World, Rona details the technical, business, and creative aspects of becoming a successful film scorer. Jeff Rona recently spoke to ASCAP with some great advice and inspiration for aspiring composers and songwriters and film lovers.

For those who don't know… briefly explain the process a composer goes through when composing film music?
Step one is to actually get a job! That comes from either submitting a demo of music similar to whatever the film is looking for, or through some kind of word of mouth from someone involved. Agents are helpful but by no means the only way to find projects.

Once you've been hired, and the business is settled (contracts, fees, budgets, deals and the such) a composer will meet with the director and others to 'spot' the film. That's a meeting to discuss the placement of music in the film, and to articulate as best as possible what each piece of music is to achieve. Music might be in a scene to add tension, make one character more sympathetic (or less), or help convey to the audience any of a wide range of emotions. From the spotting session comes the master list of cues to be written for the film.

After the film is spotted, the composer will go hide away in his or her studio to create some sketches of themes for the film. For me, this is often the most exciting part of the process. Not working to picture, but developing the essential sound and feel for the score. Eventually these sketches get presented to the director for approval. Some directors are open to listening to music on it's own, but if not, then a scene or two can be scored to show the music in context to the picture.

Then comes time to score the film, one cue at a time. Computer mock-ups of each cue are written to picture. As handfuls are completed, they are presented to the director for approval or notes for changes. As the score is close to being composed and approved, comes time for orchestration, copying, contracting of musicians, engineer, studio, mixing and delivery of the music for the final sound mix. That takes very careful planning and time management.

And of course, after the mix is complete, a 'cuesheet' that lists every piece of music in the film with it's overall length is submitted to ASCAP so the composer can get paid royalties for the film's performances!

Your book focuses on maintaining individual creativity while also working with other professionals within the film industry. What traits would you say a film composer should possess?
There are many. The first is open-mindedness. Good composers need to think on their feet and assume nothing. We are often taught so many 'rules' as students, and it can be a daunting task sometimes to try and forget many of them. Film music is a purely emotional art form.

After that come musicality, talent, perseverance, ambition and the very important ability to communicate well with the rest of the creative people involved on every project. Directors and producers count on a close relationship with their composers. We speak different languages in many ways, but emotionally it must all come together as one idea.

Composers must often deal with stressful and less than ideal situations. Low budgets, short schedules, finicky or indecisive directors, last second re-edits. If you are not prepared to deal with all of that at one time or another, and do it with some grace, this job will kill you.

What advice would you give an aspiring film scorer?
Learn about the field as much as possible. I'm often invited to speak on panels and seminars on film music, and it amazes me how many false assumptions and myths there are. The guidance of an experienced and knowledgeable composer can be a huge help. There's theory, and then there's the real world. Seeing a film score created from start to finish is a great learning experience. Even if it goes poorly!

Start listening to music from the perspective of that person in the audience hearing your music for the first time. There's no room for emotional ambiguity in film music. Good film scores say a lot with the least effort possible, and that takes a real sense of both craft and purpose. Film music comes from the heart, not the head.

Composers need to have as much range and flexibility as possible. The styles and genres used in modern scoring are broad beyond belief. Successful composers can integrate elements of classic orchestral writing with electronica, beats, rock, you name it. Young composers need to be able to write modern sounding scores that are hybrid in nature. That's the main approach to films today.

Finally, film composers must also be film score producers. Filmmakers look for composers with the technical ability to create excellent sounding demos and final masters as well. It's all part of the process. Merging samples, live players, and getting a sound that is top quality at both the sketch and final phases of production is essential.

What inspires you when making music for a film?
I am, like every film composer, a story teller. Every project has a different entry of sorts - a unique way into the heart of it. It often begins with some good conversations with the director, whose vision I am there to help fulfill. There might be research, such as listening to music from different cultures or periods or styles - though I do that all the time. I listen to everything from Persian folk music to ambient electronica to blistering metal.

I believe strongly in giving myself time to experiment. To try ideas out and discard things that don't fit. There's a huge difference between good and right in film music. You can write something absolutely terrific, only to have it get utterly lost in the context of the film itself. Film music is, to me, just as personal as any other form of musical expression, but it does pass through a filter of collaboration and destination.

In many cases the directors, producers and editors on the films I do have contributed great ideas and vision that become the springboard for the music. And I'm not just talking about temp music tracks, though even those can be a great start for a kind of 'wordless conversation' about how musical choices change the emotion of a scene.

I also love to collaborate with great and creative musicians to bring unexpected elements into the music. And because I've worked so extensively with music technology for as long as I have, I've learned how to use my music system as a great 'playground' for new sonic ideas I can blend with the themes and other elements of my scores.

Lastly, name your favorite piece of music used in film and why?
Oh my, I think there are too many. But I'll name a few favorite film music moments (not the same as my favorite film scores, by the way):

The baptism scene in The Godfather is near perfect in how it begins as a simple organ piece from a church and becomes the accompaniment to one of the greatest bloodbaths in cinema. The scene in The Day The Earth Stood Still when the spaceship is first landing, simply because it is one of the stillest pieces of music imaginable for such a tense moment. John Williams' use of "When You Wish Upon A Star" in the last scenes of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. The use of Arvo Pärt's music in There Will Be Blood, Krzysztof Penderecki's music in The Shining, The Propellerheads music in The Matrix and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World.

But there are so many more.