If you’re working as a session musician or a composer, then some of your most rewarding jobs might stem from music for the moving image. Films come in many different genres, however, and they often demand different moods, techniques, and instruments.
If you’re versatile enough to adapt to the demands of the director, then you might find it much easier to find work. More than that, the work you find might be that little bit more novel and rewarding.
When the film you work on is a big hit, you might also enjoy an extra stream of income in the form of royalties you get from the streaming platforms. But if you’re going to get the most from this, you’ll need to understand how those royalties break down.
Scoring Horror: Crafting Tension and Fear
Since Wendy Carlos’s score for The Shining, horror music has largely revolved around eliciting a visceral reaction from the audience, often by departing from conventional tonality entirely. This might be considered an extension of the harsh, staccato string sounds infamously used in Bernard Herrmann’s score for Psycho. When the music is ugly and unpleasant, it tends to make the onscreen action that little bit more horrifying.
Romantic Melodies: Evoking Emotion and Intimacy
To tell a romantic story through music, without resorting to cliché, requires a fairly careful balancing act. Love is among the most intense emotions felt by human beings, and you might feel the need to bring in a huge string section. You might think of John Barry’s work on the James Bond series. At the same time, more intimate piano arrangements might capture the required vibe just as capably.
Action-Packed Scores: Driving the Momentum
Hans Zimmer has pioneered the use of intense percussion in recent years, to the point that it’s become a trademark. If you’re scoring an action scene, then tightly-packed, rhythm-driven sequences might seem to be a requirement. This is where a good drum library comes in — or, you might take the route favoured by Tom Tom Holkenborg in the Mad Max films, and create your own library.
Versatile Composers: Mastery Across Genres
For some composers, genre is no limitation. You might think of Ennio Morricone, who worked with westerns, dramas, and comedies. Or, you might think of Howard Shore, who worked with everything from The Lord of the Rings to The Fly.
Having experience with many different genres might allow you to develop your own unique style and to apply the lessons from one category of film to the score for another. This might be a way of innovating and setting your work apart in the age of AI, during which mere imitation might no longer be sufficient.
