A film score is music created specifically to go along with a movie or TV show. The score includes several short musical pieces called cues, which start and stop at certain times during the film to help tell the story and affect how the audience feels about the scenes. These scores are written by one or more composers, who work with the film's director or producer. They are then played by a group of musicians, such as an orchestra (often a symphony orchestra), solo instrumentalists, or a choir, and recorded by a sound engineer. The term "film score" is not usually used for music made for other media like live theater, radio, or video games, which is instead called a soundtrack or incidental music.

Film scores can be very different in style, depending on the type of movie. Most scores are based on Western classical music, but many also use influences from jazz, rock, pop, blues, new-age, ambient, and various world music traditions. Since the 1950s, more scores have included electronic sounds, and today, many mix orchestral and electronic instruments.

Because of advances in digital technology, many modern films now use computer-generated sounds to copy the sound of real instruments. Some scores are even written and performed entirely by the composers using software, synthesizers, samplers, and MIDI controllers. Songs like pop or rock tracks are usually not part of the film's score, even though they are part of the soundtrack. While some songs in musicals may share themes with the score, scores typically do not have lyrics unless they are sung by a choir or soloist as part of a cue. Similarly, pop songs played in a scene (like a song on a car radio) are not considered part of the score, even though a composer might write an original song based on their themes, such as James Horner's "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, which was written for Celine Dion.

Terminology

A film score is sometimes called a background score, background music, film soundtrack, film music, screen composition, screen music, or incidental music.

Process of creation

The composer usually begins working on a film near the end of filming, around the same time the film is being edited. Sometimes, the composer is present during the entire filming process, especially if actors need to perform with or react to music that is part of the story. Before the film is fully edited, the composer sees an unfinished version called a "rough cut" and discusses with the director or producer what kind of music is needed in terms of style and tone. The director and composer watch the entire film together to decide which scenes need original music. During this time, the composer takes detailed notes about the timing of each musical piece, including where it starts and ends, and which moments in a scene need music to match exactly. This process is called "spotting."

In some cases, filmmakers change the editing of their film to match the flow of music instead of adjusting the music to the final version. For example, the film Baby Driver, directed by Edgar Wright, was edited to fit its music. Director Godfrey Reggio edited his films Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi based on the music of composer Philip Glass. Similarly, director Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone worked closely, and the final scenes of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America were edited to match Morricone's music, which was written months before filming ended.

Steven Spielberg also used this method for the finale of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He allowed composer John Williams to write the music without seeing the film and then edited the scene to match the music later.

Sometimes, composers write music based only on the script or storyboards without seeing the film. This gives them more freedom to create music without worrying about specific timing or matching the emotions of a scene. Directors who prefer this approach may insert the music into the film during post-production whenever they choose. For example, composer Hans Zimmer wrote music for Inception in 2010 without seeing the film, and composer Gustavo Santaolalla did the same for Brokeback Mountain, which won an Oscar.

When writing music for a film, one goal is to match dramatic events on screen with musical events in the score. Composers use different methods to sync music with the film, such as sequencing software, math formulas, or free timing with reference timings. They use a system called SMPTE timecode to help with syncing.

When syncing music to the film, a small delay or early start of 3–4 frames is usually acceptable. A method called "free timing" involves a conductor using a stopwatch, clock, or watching the film on a screen while leading musicians to match specific timings. These timings are marked on the film by the Music Editor with vertical lines (called streamers) and bursts of light (called punches). These marks correspond to specific beats in the composer's or conductor's score.

A written click track is a way to write music with consistent timing, such as four beats in 2.66 seconds, to set a steady tempo instead of using a metronome. This is useful when conducting live performers. If a metronome is used, the conductor hears a steady beat, which can make performances feel stiff. A standard beats-per-minute (BPM) value can be converted to a written click using the equation:

60 / BPM × X = W

Where X is the number of beats per bar and W is the time in seconds. The result is rounded to the nearest 0, 1/3, or 2/3 of a second. For example, at 88 BPM:

60 / 88 × 4 = 2.72 → Rounded to 2.66 seconds.

To find the musical beat that matches a specific moment in the film, conductors use the equation:

(BPM × SP) / 60 + 1 = B

Where SP is the sync point in real time and B is the beat number in 1/3 increments.

After the spotting session and timing decisions are made, the composer begins writing the score. Some composers use traditional tools like pencils and paper, while others use computer software such as Digital Performer, Logic Pro, Finale, Cubase, or Pro Tools. Software allows composers to create MIDI mockups, which are early versions of the score for the filmmaker to review before the final recording.

The time a composer has to write the score varies. Some projects may only allow two weeks, while others give up to three months. Normally, the writing process takes about six weeks.

The style of the score depends on many factors, such as the emotions the composer wants to express, the characters in the film, and the setting. Scores can include different instruments, genres, and styles. For example, composer Howard Shore used a tin flute in The Lord of the Rings to evoke a Celtic feel, representing the Shire and a character's sense of nostalgia.

Some scores also include popular music to reflect a character or time period. For example, Guardians of the Galaxy and Back to the Future use songs from the 1980s. Composer Alan Silvestri included tracks like "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time" by Huey Lewis and The News in Back to the Future.

Many scores draw from global influences to create memorable sounds. For example, Ennio Morricone's score for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly blends post-tonal music, Celtic songs, Gregorian chants, and mariachi trumpets to create the sound of a spaghetti western.

Once the music is written, it must be arranged or orchestrated.

Elements of a film score

Most movies have between 45 and 120 minutes of music. However, some movies have very little or no music, while others have music that plays almost the entire time.

Sometimes, film composers are asked by directors to copy the style of music in a temporary track used during early film planning. In other cases, directors prefer the temporary music over the original score written by the composer. A well-known example is Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, where Kubrick used existing classical music by György Ligeti instead of the score written by Alex North, even though Kubrick had also hired Frank Cordell to create a score. Other examples include Torn Curtain (Bernard Herrmann), Troy (Gabriel Yared), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Alan Silvestri), Peter Jackson’s King Kong (Howard Shore), Air Force One (Randy Newman), and The Bourne Identity (Carter Burwell).

Movies often use different musical themes for important characters, events, or ideas. This idea is linked to the work of composer Richard Wagner, who used recurring musical themes called leitmotifs. These themes can change depending on the situation they represent and are often mixed with other background music. The specific themes for characters or places are called motifs, and the rest of the music in a track usually centers around these motifs.

This technique is often unnoticed by people who watch movies casually, but it is widely recognized by fans of specific movie genres. For example, John Williams’ music for the Star Wars movies includes many themes tied to characters like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia. Similarly, the Lord of the Rings film series uses recurring themes for main characters and locations. Another example is Jerry Goldsmith’s Klingon theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), which was later reused in other Star Trek films for the character Worf. Michael Giacchino used character themes in the 2009 animated movie Up, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Score. His music for the TV show Lost also relied heavily on themes tied to characters and situations.

"Source music" (or "source cue") is music that comes from a visible or implied source within the story. In film theory, this type of music is called "diegetic" because it is part of the story world. An example is the use of the Frankie Valli song "Can’t Take My Eyes Off You" in The Deer Hunter. The 1963 movie The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock has no non-diegetic music, meaning all the music is part of the story. Dogme 95 is a filmmaking movement that began in Denmark in 1995 and banned the use of non-diegetic music in its films.

Artistic merit

The artistic value of music in movies is often discussed. Some experts believe it is very important, citing composers like Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Aaron Copland, Bernard Herrmann, and others. Some people think film music is a major part of classical music in the late 20th century because it is the type of classical music most people hear. In some cases, music from movies has been added to the official collection of classical music. These are usually works by well-known composers who created movie scores, such as Sergei Prokofiev’s music for Alexander Nevsky or Vaughan Williams’ music for Scott of the Antarctic. Others believe most film music is not valuable, saying it often copies music from earlier works. Movie score composers usually create about three to four scores each year. While the most famous works by composers like John Williams are not yet part of the official classical music collection, some classical musicians and critics are beginning to recognize the importance of composers like Williams. For example, Norwegian composer Marcus Paus has said that Williams is "one of the great composers of any century" who has "found a very satisfying way of combining complex sounds and modern techniques within a larger musical structure." Even though film music is often the most well-known classical music to the public, major orchestras sometimes perform concerts featuring this music, as do pops orchestras.

In 1983, a group called the Society for the Preservation of Film Music was created to protect the "byproducts" of making movie scores, such as written music, documents, and studio recordings. These materials are needed to perform the music in concerts or make new recordings of it. Sometimes, it takes many years before a film score is released on CD as an archival recording.

History

The beginnings of film music are not clearly agreed upon, but it is often linked to artistic traditions from the 1800s known as Romanticism. Kurt London said that film music started not because of artistic reasons, but because of a problem: the loud noise from projectors disturbed people watching movies. At that time, there were no sound-absorbing walls between the projector and the audience. To solve this, cinema owners used music to cover the noise. James Wierzbicki, a film historian, argued that early film showings, like those by the Lumière brothers, were social events where the noise of the projector was not a problem. As films moved from exhibition spaces to vaudeville theaters, which already had musicians, it became common to add music to films. Audiences expected music in these theaters, so live musical accompaniment became natural.

Before recorded sound was used in movies, music was provided by people like pianists, organists, or even full orchestras. These musicians used cue sheets to guide their performances. For example, a pianist played at the Lumière brothers' first film screening in 1895. In 1914, Louis F. Gottschalk wrote full scores for films made by The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. Other examples include Victor Herbert’s music for The Fall of a Nation (1915) and Camille Saint-Saëns’s music for The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908). Nathaniel D. Mann’s score for The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) was similar but mixed stage and film performances. Most music at this time was taken from famous composers and grouped into categories like "dark," "sad," or "action."

German cinema, which was very influential during the silent film era, created original scores for films like Die Nibelungen (1924) and Metropolis (1927) by Fritz Lang. These films used full orchestral music written by Gottfried Huppertz, who also made piano versions for smaller theaters. Friedrich W. Murnau’s films Nosferatu (1922) and Faust (1926) had original scores by Hans Erdmann and Werner Richard Heymann. Some films, like Der letzte Mann, mixed original music with traditional tunes. These styles were influenced by German Romantic music, especially Richard Wagner’s ideas about combining music and drama, which later inspired composers like Max Steiner.

In France, before talking pictures existed, Erik Satie created what many believe was the first "frame by frame" film score for René Clair’s Entr'acte (1924). He carefully timed his music to match the film’s scenes, creating a flexible score that changed with the film’s pace. American composers Virgil Thomson and Aaron Copland were influenced by Satie’s work.

When sound was added to movies, director Fritz Lang used very little music. His film M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931) had no music except for a short whistle from a character. His film Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1931) only included one piece of music at the beginning and end. One rare moment of music was a song sung by a character to show his madness.

Early attempts to synchronize sound and images failed because of technical limits. Phonographs, the only way to record sound in the early 1900s, could not match the speed of film projectors. By the 1920s, radio improvements and sound-on-film technology helped solve this. A major breakthrough came with Max Steiner’s score for King Kong (1933), where each footstep of a character was matched with a musical chord.

In the 1940s, film music lagged behind advances in concert music. However, the 1950s saw modernist film scores. Director Elia Kazan worked with Alex North on A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), using jazz and dissonant sounds. He also collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on On the Waterfront (1954), which mixed jazz and classical styles. Leonard Rosenman used atonal music in East of Eden (1955) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Bernard Herrmann, who worked with Alfred Hitchcock, created unique scores for Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960). Jazz music, like Duke Ellington’s score for Anatomy of a Murder (1959), also became a modernist innovation.

Composers

The following list includes composers who created the music for one of the 100 most successful movies in terms of money earned but have not received nominations for important awards such as the Oscar or Golden Globe.

• William Alwyn – Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
• Joseph DeBeasi – American Sniper (2014)
• David Buttolph – House of Wax (1953)
• Brad Fiedel – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
• Alexander Janko – My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
• Bill Justis – Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
• Harald Kloser – The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 2012 (2009)
• Heitor Pereira – Despicable Me (2010), The Smurfs (2011), Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• Trevor Rabin – Armageddon (1998), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
• Thomas Wanker – 2012 (2009)
• Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me (2010), Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• Chris Wilson – My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Relation with directors

Sometimes, a composer works with a director by creating the music for many films made by that director. John Williams has a well-known partnership with directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Williams composed the music for all of Spielberg’s films except five, and for every movie in both of Lucas’ popular movie series, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Williams won all five of his Academy Awards while working with these directors. Similarly, Danny Elfman created the music for all of Tim Burton’s films, except for Ed Wood (music by Howard Shore) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (music by Stephen Sondheim).

Production music

Many companies create music for use in films, television shows, commercials, and other media projects. This type of music is often called library music. It is owned by production music libraries, which allow customers to use the music by paying a fee. Examples of these companies include Warner Chappell Production Music, Jingle Punks, Associated Production Music, FirstCom Music, VideoHelper, and Extreme Music.

Unlike music publishers that handle popular or classical music, which usually own less than half of the rights to a song, production music libraries own all the rights to their music. This means customers can use the music without asking the composer for permission, which is required when using music from other publishers. This happens because most music made for libraries is created under a "work for hire" agreement, where the company pays the composer to create the music, and the company keeps all the rights.

Production music is helpful for media producers because they can easily find and license music from a library at a fair price. These libraries usually offer a wide variety of musical styles and genres, making it easier for producers to find what they need. The number of songs in a library can range from a few hundred to thousands of tracks.

The first production music library was created in 1927 by De Wolfe Music, which originally made music for silent films. Another library was started in the 1930s by Ralph Hawkes of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers. The largest music library in the United States, APM, has over 250,000 songs available.