Project: Music for movies 1 | Film Scoring
The music that supports a movie’s dialogue and action is called the score. Its job is to draw viewers deeper into the film by connecting with their emotions.
Terms
Setting: When and where the story happens, and what that place is like.
Premise: Who the main characters are, what problem they face, and why it matters.
Plot: The big steps in the story—something starts the action, things get more exciting, the most exciting part happens, and then everything wraps up.
Narrative: How the story is told from beginning to end.
Chord Pair: Two chords played one after the other to create a specific mood.
Palette: The set of instruments used to give the music its style.
1 | Choose & TItle
2 | Setting & Premise
Fill in the setting & premise in the planner
Where | Location
When | Time Period
World | Universe Details
Who | Main Character
What | The Conflict
Why | The Stakes
3 | Plot & Scene
Determine the stages of the story: Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, and Resolution in your planner. Provide details about the scene that you will score.
4 | Find A Reference
Find an example of a score from This Youtube Playlist that you will use as inspiration. Try to find scores that do not contain melodies or themes. Write a wish list for your score in the planner.
5 | Pick The Palette
Choose a palette using the Palette Template.
Drama: Piano, Strings.
Horror: Organ, Brass, Strings
Action: Drums, Brass
Western: Guitar, Piano, Fiddle
Sci-Fi: Strings, Synth, Drums
Fantasy: Harp, Flute, String
6 | Choose The Chord Pair
Find a pair of chords that matches the mood of your scene.
F - G | Uplifting
C - Em | Nostalgia
Dm - G | Whimsical
Dm - Em | Tense
Dm - Am | Tragic
Ebmaj7 - Abmaj7 | Peaceful
Ab - Eb | Tense
7 | Medium Energy Section
Create the medium energy section of your score starting with the pad, adding in the bass, and then using some sort of arpeggio or rhythmic chordal part.
8 | Low/High Energy Sections
Copy the medium energy section and add an additional chordal layer for the high energy section and remove chord parts for the low energy section
9 | Sound FX & Automation
Add in sound effects from the loop library to add realism to the score. Use volume automation on the instrumental tracks to increase the intensity of the score over time.
10 | The Resolution
Add a short piece of music and/or sound effects to the end of the score to finish off your scene.
11 | Write The Narrative
Take the elements of the premise, plot, and scene to write a narrative that your audience can read before listening to the score while looking at the concept art.