9. Share Your Taste

from

Working With A Composer




The composing work is made of a plethora of tiny decisions. Every one of those decisions has to be taken in regard to the others in order to keep a strong homogeneous feel to the entirety of the soundtrack. Bad early decisions can have an impact on the rest of the process and stay much longer than they should, which is why it is important to communicate constantly and lead the composer on the right track early on. After all, if it is your project, you are the one who will have the final say, and the composer will want to make you happy. By knowing you personally and your musical tastes, everyone will save time and avoid frustration.




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  • I strongly advise sharing your general taste in music at the beginning, your favorite music that is not specific to a project. If you are someone who, in your spare time, listens to The Cinematic Orchestra, Radiohead, or Katy Perry, it will give the composer a lot of information on the type of production, chord progressions, level of experimentalism you appreciate in general. Even if that specific music were completely wrong on the specific project you are working on, that is something the composer will keep in the back of their mind for the duration of the process. And probably refer to when those tiny decisions I mentioned need to be made. Chances that you will be satisfied are higher, and therefore the process goes faster.




  • Some artists—I am thinking of film directors and writers in my own experience—will also share music playlists they used at the genesis of a project. It is tremendously helpful, but should be done in addition to the general taste I was talking about. That kind of playlist clearly shows the mood the artist was in when generating the project, it can be a billion times more useful than a temp track, as that music profoundly shaped the project.



Comments, suggestions, experiences you had with composers, and consequent advice for others are encouraged.
This blog will be updated with new experiences and illustrations as they occur.

Pre-productionRafael LeloupMusic, Playlist, Spotify, Streaming, Share, love, frusttration, Speed, Experimental, Writing, Scenario, General, Taste, Test, Favorite, Artist, Musician, Composer, FilmComment