Getting the Best Out of Original Music in Independent Film
2 Mar 2015
Working with original music in independent film offers a unique set of challenges and opportunities for directors, editors, producers and composers. Based on my experience writing music for award-winning independent feature films, shorts and documentaries, I want to outline a few suggestions and reflections to filmmaking teams hoping to get maximum value out of their collaboration.
1) Any budget is better than no budget
Let's get the most obvious point out of the way straight away. Anyone working in independent film is familiar with the budget constraints that come from working outside of big financing structures.
Many people, young musicians and composers included, are prepared to work for free for a certain amount of time to get their careers kickstarted. However, this does not mean that they perform at their peak when they are doing unpaid work. Most likely, they will be squeezing in this work around a busy schedule of other, less creative, paid work. This may mean annoying delays in the production, festival deadlines missed etc.
Avoid this by recognizing work as work and by finding at least a small budget for work that requires a serious amount of time. How much time it is reasonable to expect someone to give for free is highly personal, but if you consider creative freebies as a form of work experience, then more than a couple of weeks' full time work is probably the limit of good taste. Anything beyond that, and you'll risk getting derivative work that adds little original thought and clarity to your project.
2) Allow your team to play to their strengths
The more firmly you hold in mind some elusive big budget ideal, the less likely you are to get something unique and suitable to your film. While there is nothing wrong with looking at well-crafted films and film music and taking inspiration from their formal and intellectual approaches, trying to copy a specific sound rarely gets results that stand on their own two feet.
The danger is of being derivative - attempts to position yourself alongside certain big budget forms of film-making risk being sniffed out at the first instance and not taken seriously by audiences and fellow industry professionals.
Instead, ask your composer what is special about their skillset and studio setup. Maybe she plays a rare instrument or is really good at manipulating digital effects, or has access to a local choir. The driving question should always be - what have we got to work with that can be used to give our film a unique voice? I always think of punk and the 1980s indie music scene as a perfect example of turning limitations into advantage. Bands and producers, faced with being ignored by the mainstream industry, made a virtue out their small budgets by proudly integrating the sound of cheap instruments and equipment into their aesthetic - an aesthetic that is still being copied today!
3) Relationships are everything
Even if you are working with a (most likely modest) budget, money is unlikely to be the primary motivator and glue holding your team together. Ask yourself why people want to be involved with your project. The most likely answer is that it is inherently enjoyable and fulfilling to be working together with other people on making stories come to life.
The key to respect and admiration from your collaborators is to recognize that this is not a lonely, ego-driven pursuit. Have chats and give each other time and space to make sure your ideas evolve naturally from conversations and mutual exchange. What you want to avoid is giving the impression that others are just replaceable tools in fulfilling your brilliant vision. Show that you value them, and they will gladly give you more of their creative energy than you could have hoped for!
4) Don't make promises you may not keep
A common procedure to secure someone's work for free or little money is to promise them work on your next big project/all future projects etc. Be very careful what you promise - remember at all times that you rely on your reputation to attract and keep talent around you. If you have told someone that you will take them with you on your next project in order to convince them to work with you, you have to mean it. Crew and heads of departments talk amongst themselves and you risk alienating talented people if you don't keep your side of a bargain.
5) Listen to your characters
There are few things as inspiring as a well-written script with a story that takes you in and characters you want to get to know better. What do the characters feel like? What is their world like? What could it mean to make their world come to life musically?
If you are writing, directing or producing an independent film, chances are the scope of the story will be fairly small and personal. It takes a lot of money to credibly conjure up intergalactic threats to mankind or deadly pandemics, and it's much easier to ensure high production values for a story about a few key characters battling against personal or emotional adversity.
As stories get smaller and more personal, there is scope for the music too to become more quirky and less generic. War films involve impersonal forces battling against each other and require big drums and swashbuckling, epic orchestral scores - but your unique story about a boy's fear of losing his mother doesn't. There is an advantage to telling small stories, in that there is more scope to be specific and unique in the music and to let the characters themselves inform the musical choices.
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In my experience, high production value comes above all from being true to the essence of a story, to its characters and settings. Using your music team's unique abilities and resources, you can make a film that has lots of personal flavour and emotional resonance, and that stands apart from other similar productions that are more derivative. Dare to be original and let the specific talents of your crew, heads of department and cast lead you to a place where noone has gone before - and audiences will love you for it! Older Post Home Newer Post
Working with original music in independent film offers a unique set of challenges and opportunities for directors, editors, producers and composers. Based on my experience writing music for award-winning independent feature films, shorts and documentaries, I want to outline a few suggestions and reflections to filmmaking teams hoping to get maximum value out of their collaboration.
1) Any budget is better than no budget
Let's get the most obvious point out of the way straight away. Anyone working in independent film is familiar with the budget constraints that come from working outside of big financing structures.
Many people, young musicians and composers included, are prepared to work for free for a certain amount of time to get their careers kickstarted. However, this does not mean that they perform at their peak when they are doing unpaid work. Most likely, they will be squeezing in this work around a busy schedule of other, less creative, paid work. This may mean annoying delays in the production, festival deadlines missed etc.
Avoid this by recognizing work as work and by finding at least a small budget for work that requires a serious amount of time. How much time it is reasonable to expect someone to give for free is highly personal, but if you consider creative freebies as a form of work experience, then more than a couple of weeks' full time work is probably the limit of good taste. Anything beyond that, and you'll risk getting derivative work that adds little original thought and clarity to your project.
2) Allow your team to play to their strengths
The more firmly you hold in mind some elusive big budget ideal, the less likely you are to get something unique and suitable to your film. While there is nothing wrong with looking at well-crafted films and film music and taking inspiration from their formal and intellectual approaches, trying to copy a specific sound rarely gets results that stand on their own two feet.
The danger is of being derivative - attempts to position yourself alongside certain big budget forms of film-making risk being sniffed out at the first instance and not taken seriously by audiences and fellow industry professionals.
Instead, ask your composer what is special about their skillset and studio setup. Maybe she plays a rare instrument or is really good at manipulating digital effects, or has access to a local choir. The driving question should always be - what have we got to work with that can be used to give our film a unique voice? I always think of punk and the 1980s indie music scene as a perfect example of turning limitations into advantage. Bands and producers, faced with being ignored by the mainstream industry, made a virtue out their small budgets by proudly integrating the sound of cheap instruments and equipment into their aesthetic - an aesthetic that is still being copied today!
3) Relationships are everything
Even if you are working with a (most likely modest) budget, money is unlikely to be the primary motivator and glue holding your team together. Ask yourself why people want to be involved with your project. The most likely answer is that it is inherently enjoyable and fulfilling to be working together with other people on making stories come to life.
The key to respect and admiration from your collaborators is to recognize that this is not a lonely, ego-driven pursuit. Have chats and give each other time and space to make sure your ideas evolve naturally from conversations and mutual exchange. What you want to avoid is giving the impression that others are just replaceable tools in fulfilling your brilliant vision. Show that you value them, and they will gladly give you more of their creative energy than you could have hoped for!
4) Don't make promises you may not keep
A common procedure to secure someone's work for free or little money is to promise them work on your next big project/all future projects etc. Be very careful what you promise - remember at all times that you rely on your reputation to attract and keep talent around you. If you have told someone that you will take them with you on your next project in order to convince them to work with you, you have to mean it. Crew and heads of departments talk amongst themselves and you risk alienating talented people if you don't keep your side of a bargain.
5) Listen to your characters
There are few things as inspiring as a well-written script with a story that takes you in and characters you want to get to know better. What do the characters feel like? What is their world like? What could it mean to make their world come to life musically?
If you are writing, directing or producing an independent film, chances are the scope of the story will be fairly small and personal. It takes a lot of money to credibly conjure up intergalactic threats to mankind or deadly pandemics, and it's much easier to ensure high production values for a story about a few key characters battling against personal or emotional adversity.
As stories get smaller and more personal, there is scope for the music too to become more quirky and less generic. War films involve impersonal forces battling against each other and require big drums and swashbuckling, epic orchestral scores - but your unique story about a boy's fear of losing his mother doesn't. There is an advantage to telling small stories, in that there is more scope to be specific and unique in the music and to let the characters themselves inform the musical choices.
---
In my experience, high production value comes above all from being true to the essence of a story, to its characters and settings. Using your music team's unique abilities and resources, you can make a film that has lots of personal flavour and emotional resonance, and that stands apart from other similar productions that are more derivative. Dare to be original and let the specific talents of your crew, heads of department and cast lead you to a place where noone has gone before - and audiences will love you for it! Older Post Home Newer Post