QUICK LISTENING
Prefer a quick overview, without digging into each individual project ? Here is a curated selection of compositions covering various genres.
Works I did as a film score composer, check my projects and discover my music
What makes a good score : the craft of the film score composer
There are a couple of objective AND subjective factors that will set a good score apart from a bad one. And here, once more, a lot of score composer have a different point of view on the question. To me, I think that the main quality of a good score is to support the film. There is no negotiation about this point, the movie is the king. The experienced composer will create a music that compliments the scene, as a part of its DNA. Expect for some cases, the film music must not stand out as being off the film. The way the music enters the scene or how it goes out is crucial, as these transitions can be meaningful. A score crafted with talent can be heard and achieve all its function, without being in the way of the other information (like the actors performances, the dialogs, the sounds). In spite of these requirements, the music of the film shall not be too smooth or generic. It often stands as an additional character of the story, sometimes being on the side of the audience, sometimes on the side of the screen.
I am a score composer and I love to compose for films
It sounds cheesy? Perhaps. But that is exactly what it is. Since my young age I nurtured my ears with all the soundtracks I felt in love with, and have been composing my own cinematic music. Writing for films is the achievement of a dream. In my role of writing the music for a movie, I take to heart all the stakes it implies. Trying to write an original music that works finely with the scene, does not overpower it, serves the story, reflect the creative vision of the director. Score composition has nothing to do with any other type of music. It follows no structure, and flows along the shots. It relies on some codes (to deliver a certain mood), but tries to be original at the same time. Quite often, the ideas I had at the beginning of a project evolve greatly throughout it. The simplest arrangement can be perfectly effective, while some other scenes require a flesh and complex orchestration. The film composition of a scene can call for 3 instruments or for 100. There are so many different ways to express the same mood that limits are infinite. At some points, the score can use an old ethnic instrument, at some others, completely abstract synthesis. Music sometimes blurs lines with sound design.
How to hire a score composer
Early exchanges with a film composer will probably answer that question. Best film score composers are team players, they know how to listen to and understand the director. Skills play also a major role, as experienced composers are able to create great scores that compliment the film and can stand out for their musical qualities. Score composers have a great range of genres under their belt, and can easily jump from one to another, like from a drama to a thriller, a sci-fi story or a horror film. Some are type-casted in a specific genre, basing their career on this.