Music can be a fundamentally important element in a film’s soundtrack, for the mu- sic can either make or break a film. It is hard to define good and bad music in a film soundtrack. Sometimes a piece of music can be exquisite and yet be so inappropriate or overpowering in a sequence that it might be deemed bad. On the other hand, bad music used in the right context for a movie can be considered good. Perhaps appropri- ate and inappropriate is a better way to describe music utilized in a film. To avoid any misunderstandings or conflict of creative interest, it is important that you carefully con- sider the kind of composer used. Some composers are good at one particular thing; others are good at different or many things. Sometimes a completely off-the-wall choice can produce something quite unique. Rock guitarist Mark Knopfler was given his first attempt at writing a film score when he worked on the movie “Local Hero” many years ago. The effect was both entrancing and entirely original. Sometimes spec- ulation and experimentation with the music can completely ruin a film also. Generally, if the audience is aware of the music in a film, then it is inappropriate or overly used, unless the film is something like “Fantasia,” where the music was an intrinsic part of the action.
When the music score composer is selected, then you and the composer should spend some time together, discussing exactly what will be required for each of the film’s se- quences; you might even play some existing music you like, as reference for the com- poser. The majority of composers will welcome this (as long as you give the composer the creative freedom to interpret the samples, rather than simply demand they be rep- licated). As with professional voice artists, experienced (and even inexperienced) com- posers can bring something to the party that you might not have thought of, and you would do yourself a disservice to eliminate their suggestions without consideration. Ultimately, the synergy between the filmmaker and the composer will (hopefully) pro- vide a successful, perhaps innovative, use of music in the film. Music can invoke so many moods and emotions and, like animation, it can transcend language. It is impor- tant, therefore, that the music used in any film (animated or otherwise) complements, rather than competes with, the visual action. Much of this discussion on soundtrack recording supposes that the filmmaker is working with a relatively reasonable bud- get. However, in reality, many animated filmmakers reading this book will be in more of a “stone soup” situation than a Hollywood megabuck one. As a result, the issues re- lating to soundtracks may prove financially taxing ones. Accomplished actors, for ex- ample, may be beyond the pockets of most filmmakers. Yet the great filmmakers are the ones who can think outside the box. Instead of employing professional actors for a soundtrack, why not consider amateur ones from a local dramatic society? You may even have friends or colleagues who have amazingly interesting voices and can deliver the lines satisfactorily. Drama schools or operatic societies will also have voices that could fit the bill of many film soundtracks. Many of these people will be delighted to be given the chance of appearing in a film (or at least, having their voice heard in the film), and a fee for doing so may not be an issue. A name in the credits at the end of the film may be all that they will really ask for.
It is the same with composers. Most towns have some kind of orchestra (professional or otherwise), every kind of band, singer, musician, and musically inclined individual, among which might well be the perfect person to produce an adequate music score or soundtrack. A little imagination and a lot of enthusiasm can go a long way. There may even be local tape or radio enthusiasts who have the equipment to record your soundtrack material for free. The reality is that the resourceful filmmaker will never know what they can achieve until they try. Just don’t be tempted to use existing, copy- righted material without permission. This may be legally tolerated for a small, student- based production that does not reach out to a paying audience. However, should the project ever get exposure beyond that (or even work seeking interviews), it is likely that you would eventually hear from a less-than-friendly lawyer, protecting their angry cli- ent’s stolen intellectual property!
Most films will have the music scored and created by the composer after the film is complete or close to completion. With live-action films, the composer begins to block in the sounds and moods the music will take from a rough cut of the film. However, this process, being the last in a long line of production processes, is inevitably against the clock and therefore a source of stress for the composer. With animation, since ev- erything is essentially pre-edited, the music creation schedule can be more relaxed. In fact, a composer can start to block out their musical thoughts as early as the animatic (filmed storyboard), or even perhaps with the final film pencil test (completed, uncol- ored animation in 2D films) in place. Whatever stage the composer picks up the rough cut from the filmmaker, it will undoubtedly be far sooner than in a live-action produc- tion, giving him or her much more time to work on the score.
There are exceptions, of course. In “Fantasia,” the music was required up front because without it the filmmakers could hardly have planned and choreographed the action. Therefore, if there is any form of integration, or interpretation, between the music track and the animated action, the music will have to be pre-recorded to accommodate this. Quite often this can prove to be a logistical or budgetary problem. Sometimes, planning and production timings beyond the filmmaker’s control impose technical requirements that dictate the music score being produced at the end of the produc- tion schedule instead of the beginning, whereas the animators will require it to be pro- duced before. It would double the music budget costs to record the music both at the start of production and at the end, and the post-syncing of recorded sound might be a problem for the musicians also.
I encountered this problem when producing the animated title sequence for “The Pink Panther Strikes Again.” Henry Mancini was to record the whole film’s final music score at the end of production, but I needed the title music of his theme at the beginning, to choreograph my animation to it. It would have been impossible to have put together an entire orchestra twice or to interrupt the composer’s already busy schedule to fly him to London (where I was doing the work and the film was being shot at the time) just to do a few minutes worth of music track at the beginning of the film. A compro- mise was eventually struck. Once my story ideas for the title sequence were approved by the film’s director, Blake Edwards, it was negotiated with Mancini that an experi- enced composer friend of mine, Howard Blake (who went on to compose the wonder- ful and haunting music for the animated “Snowman” TV special), would produce an accurately timed adaptation of the familiar Pink Panther theme for me to work with. Howard’s (ultimately brilliant) arrangement and score had to be approved by Mancini
before it could be recorded. But, once it was, Howard hired a small group of musicians (as opposed to a full orchestra) to record the arrangement as it had been planned out by the composer and me. A metronome click beat was dubbed into the final demo re- cording, so that when the final orchestral arrangement was recorded by Henry Mancini months later it would be identical in both pace and timing. With the approved demo track, I was ultimately able to accurately time and choreograph my animation, produc- ing the award-winning sequence that appeared in the movie.
Since then, contemporary digital technology has brought significant advances to this approach. Now, with sophisticated synthesizing and sampling software, it would be entirely possible to create that Pink Panther demo track without using musicians in a studio and have it approved online within minutes from anywhere in the world! In- deed, in reality, it might even be possible to create the entire final recorded piece with synthesized equipment, although I have to say that the thrill of experiencing live mu- sicians in a large, professional recording studio is irreplaceable. There truly is no sub- stitute for live music, no matter how good modern digital technology is, although modern budgets and schedules often make such things impossible to contemplate. For example, the music for “Endangered Species” was created entirely with synthe- sized sound. Ultimately though, whatever means of recording is used, be it a simple piano track or large orchestra recording, the essential ingredient of a pre-recorded demo track is the timing. With a mechanical metronome click track in the demo mu- sic, it is entirely possible for a perfect synchronizing of the final recorded material and the initial demo track. If the click track timing is constant between the two, they should match perfectly. If not, there could be a disaster when the final track is ultimately re- corded to the animation.
Programs such as Premiere Pro make it extremely easy for animators to work with sound using the wave form audio file layers that can be visually assigned to images via the timeline.