Film Scoring 101

Create original music to accompany a visual medium by learning fundamental to more advanced film scoring techniques.

Today, more than ever, music fulfills a vital role in feature films, documentaries, and television shows. The works of Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) and David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) are almost as well known for their musical components as they are for their visual content, thanks to their scores by Mark Mothersbaugh and Angelo Badalamenti. Drawn from Berklee College of Music's film scoring curriculum, Film Scoring 101 guides you through the process of creating original music to accompany a visual medium. The course begins by focusing on the aesthetics, terminology, procedures, and technical aspects of film scoring. As the course progresses, you'll apply these skills towards your class project of scoring a short film. By using a broad range of techniques including click tracks, spotting, scoring under dialogue, free timing, and the creative use of overlap cues, you'll learn how to develop a dramatic concept for your score and how to synchronize it seamlessly to visual events. You'll also learn some invaluable self-promotion tips, such as creating an effective scoring demo and ways to collaborate on scoring projects. If you are a composer drawn to the challenges and rewards of professional scoring assignments, this course is for you. By the end of the course, you will:

• Analyze and express an understanding of various dramatic situations
• Demonstrate a facility with fundamental and advanced scoring techniques
• Create a musical concept and score several visual sequences of varying content
• Understand the expectations of professional scoring and identify a variety of scoring opportunities

For more course information visit Berklee Music