GREAT FILM SCORES
Original music written specifically for the film it appears in (as distinct from "jukebox" soundtracks below).
GREAT JUKEBOX SOUNDTRACKS
Soundtracks which primarily use pre-existing pop and rock songs, folk music and/or classical pieces to evoke a time period, place or character. The meaning of "jukebox" has here been re-appropriated from the term "jukebox musical."
RECOMMENDED READING
- Series: Film Score GuidesThe Film Score Guides series draws together a variety of analytical practices and ideological approaches in film musicology for the study of individual scores. These guides offer a substantial, wide-ranging and comprehensive study of a single score. Subjects are chosen for the series on the basis that they have become a widely-recognised benchmark for the way in which film music is composed and experienced.
Music Supervision: The Complete Guide to Selecting Music for Movies, TV, Games & New Media by Call Number: 781.54/1Publication Date: 2005One of just a few books available on the topic of music supervision specifically ('matching' music to TV, live events, film, video games, ring tones, and a host of other media). This book guides you through real-world scenarios and legal landmines, explores sound design, and profiles key players.
Complete Guide to Film Scoring: The Art and Business of Writing Music for Movies and TV by Call Number: 781.542/98 (2nd ed.)Publication Date: 2010Essential for anyone interested in the business and process of writing music for film or television, this book teaches the Berklee* approach to the art. Topics covered include preparing and recording a score; contracts and fees; publishing; royalties; and copyrights. Includes interviews with 21 film-scoring professionals. (*As in Berklee College of Music)Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music by
Call Number: 781.542/118Publication Date: 2017This guide treats music for motion pictures as a compositional style worthy of serious study. Through extensive analyses of original concert scores, it offers both aspiring composers and music educators a view from the inside of the actual process of scoring-to-picture.Keeping Score: Interviews with Today's Top Film, Television, and Game Music Composers by
Call Number: 781.5420922/5Publication Date: 2010Over 30 composers are interviewed in this interesting look at scoring for screen. Interviews are divided into three sections by medium: film, television, or new media.Film Music: A Very Short Introduction by
Call Number: 781.542/96Publication Date: 2010Kalinak introduces readers to important composers, musical styles, and modern theoretical concepts about how and why film music works. Compact, lucid and engaging, the book embraces a global perspective, examining film music in Asia and the Middle East as well as in Europe and the United States. Key collaborations between directors and composers come under scrutiny, as do the oft-neglected practices of the silent film era. She also explores differences between original film scores and compilation soundtracks.- On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring by Call Number: 781.542/22 (2nd. ed.)Publication Date: 2003This monster of a book offers a comprehensive guide to scoring for film and television. It covers everything from script reading to budgets and schedules to score mock-ups to rhythm & orchestration in extensive detail. It also analyses score excerpts and recommends scores to study. Due to the sheer volume of information, the text would be overwhelming for a beginner, but it is highly recommended for more advanced students and working professionals. Contains over 100 great interviews.
From Score to Screen: Sequencers, Scores, & Second Thoughts by Call Number: 781.542/67Publication Date: 2004The New Film Scoring Process
Composer Sonny Kompanek teaches film scoring at New York University, and here shares those lessons. It includes career assistance, including a rundown of the professionals that film composers work with, and advice on networking and creating a promotional demo. Learn how to compose themes, battle writers' block, preview a score with the director and manage requested changes.
Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration by Call Number: 781.374/8 [New ed.]Publication Date: 1986Featuring recorded musical examples performed by Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther, Peter Gunn), this is an inspiring and visual guide to orchestration with a jazz and big band slant. It is filled with score samples and includes sections on woodwind, brass, the rhythm section, and strings. A CD is included to follow along with the printed scores.
The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound by Call Number: 781.542/119Publication Date: 2017This comprehensive overview of screen music and sound studies addresses the ways music and sound interact with narrative media. A diverse range of international scholars have contributed chapters that are organised into five areas of study: Issues in the Study of Screen Music (foundational topics of the discipline); Historical Approaches, Production and Process (collaboration, institutional politics and impacts of technology); Cultural and Aesthetic Perspectives; and Analyses and Methodologies.Composing for the Cinema: The Theory and Praxis of Music in Film by
Publication Date: 2013Adapted from lectures and seminars, prolific film composer Morricone and musicologist Miceli demonstrate different approaches to analysing sound design, and offer musical solutions for different film types. While aimed at composers, the exposition is easy to understand without musical training. This book intertwines analysis with score examples and practical details of film music composition.
Translated by conductor and musicologist Gillian B. Anderson.
Access this eBook onsite at the AFTRS Library (offsite access available for AFTRS faculty and students).A Composer's Guide to Game Music by
Call Number: 781.54/5Publication Date: 2014At its best, a video game's music comprises sophisticated, complex compositions that engage the player, set the pace of play, and aid interactivity. Composers of video game music must master an array of specialised skills not taught in the average conservatory, including the creation of linear loops, music chunks for horizontal re-sequencing, and compositional fragments for use within a generative framework.
Music Editing for Film and Television: The Art and the Process by Call Number: 780.149/1Publication Date: 2015Through an overview of the music editing process, this book will equip you with practical skills to solve musical problems encountered during editing. An abundance of interviews with industry professionals provide a range of perspectives on music editing for film. The book addresses an array of project types, from a low-budget documentary, to a Hollywood blockbuster, to an indie feature film.
The Study of Orchestration by Call Number: 781.374/4 (3rd ed)Publication Date: 2002The Study of Orchestration has set the standard for orchestration texts, providing a comprehensive treatment of both orchestration and instrumentation. It’s an excellent, in-depth reference to writing for orchestra, covering information idiomatic to each family, including instrumental construction, range, and tone; articulations; and scoring techniques. The book is packed full of useful diagrams and score excerpts. The AFTRS Library also holds the companion multimedia CD set with extensive audio examples to complement book material.
The Guide to MIDI Orchestration by Call Number: 784.190285/5Publication Date: 2010First published in 1997, Gilreath's guide is the premiere text on creating realistic emulations of a symphony orchestra using samplers and computer recording techniques. The book is written for composers and arrangers of all levels, and will be helpful to screen composers, traditional orchestral composers, music instructors, and serious hobbyists. Highlights include in-depth discussions of each orchestral section; demonstrations on how to build an orchestra from the ground up; techniques for achieving balance and musical interest; recommendations for software and equipment; and details on setting up a network of 'slave computers'. Includes a companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/gilreath-9780240814131/) with enhanced content including orchestral library reviews, audio files and video demonstrations.
Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science by Call Number: 621.3893/105 (2nd ed.)Publication Date: 2007Suitable for all levels of students and professionals, this is a thorough introduction to the procedures and technical issues involved in mastering digital and analog audio. Katz discusses audio philosophy and art; sequencing, levelling; and mixing as it relates to mastering. The book begins with the basics (e.g. monitoring, dithering fundamentals) before moving to more advanced concepts like jitter and clocking, and multi-channel audio, miking, and acoustics.- Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration by Call Number: 781.374/8 [New ed.]Publication Date: 1986Featuring recorded musical examples performed by Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther, Peter Gunn), this is an inspiring and visual guide to orchestration with a jazz and big band slant. It is filled with score samples and includes sections on woodwind, brass, the rhythm section, and strings. A CD is included to follow along with the printed scores.
Alan Parsons' Art & Science of Sound Recording (2010)This 24 part instructional video series begins with a brief history of sound recording and goes on to cover practicalities of recording sound and music in comprehensive detail. Parsons looks at everything from soundproofing to mixing, and from recording guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and vocals, to recording a choir. Features input from professional sound engineers & producers.
Howard Goodall's How Music Works (2006)Directed by David Jeffcock
This documentary series, written and presented by British composer Howard Goodall, looks at melody, rhythm, harmony and bass to establish how music is made and how it comes to reflect different cultures. Goodall uncovers elements shared by vastly different styles of music across time and place. Following a trail of diverse musical talents from Mahler to David Bowie; the blues to Bulgarian folk songs; medieval choral music to disco; he reveals the tricks of the composer's trade.
Music Behind the Scenes (2001)Directed by Abigail Hedderwick
This 7 part TV series examines how music has become an integral part of movie-making, and attempts to answer the question 'What are the characteristics of a great score?'. A selection of screen composers, including Rachel Portman, Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, Elmer Goldstein and Elliot Goldenthal discuss film scores they have written for various genres, the way they work, and their influences. Producers, directors and sound designers also discuss the effect of music on the final film.
Score: A Film Music Documentary (2016)Call Number: 781.542/117Directed by Matt Schrader
This documentary brings Hollywood's premier composers together and gives viewers a look inside the musical challenges and creative secrecy of scoring for film. It features interviews with nearly 60 composers, directors, orchestrators, studio musicians, producers, recording artists, music executives, agents and journalists.
