The Sound of Music

Music is a funny thing. It can add so much to the scene, but it can also take so much away. I remember reading once that a good film stands on its own, the visuals alone, no music, no dialogue, but I don't think this is strictly true. While I agree that a movie shouldn't rely too much on music and dialogue to tell its story (it is a visual medium), I think they can, and this is especially true of music, enhance the entire sequence or story. The right piece of music will give you a feeling that no amount of visuals or dialogue or foley can ever hope to achieve.

In fact, I rank music up there as one of the most important parts of film.

And then some.

At the moment Follow The Crows has a lot of temp music. This helps you cut the scenes to a certain pace, and gives you an idea of how the entire film is going to come out looking. It's an odd process because you find yourself becoming accustomed to the temp music, so much so that the scenes and the music become one and you can't even begin to imagine another piece in its place.

As is how I have come to view many of the scenes in the rough cut of our movie. The temp music has become so entwined with the structure of the film that it's almost too perfect.

So, when you have a really, really good composer come on board and, while using the temp music as a basis for what you're going for, give everything their own spin, the results are often rather special. This was the case when I cut together our trailer.

I used a piece of temp music while editing that and it fit so well that I was almost disappointed that I wouldn't be able to just use it. Alas licensing fees and copyright stand in the way of those things (and rightly so, otherwise I'd just use the same music over and over - yes, I'm that creative), and so we had to send it off to a composer.

The composer takes with the job was Graeme Osbourne, and, as I'm sure most of you will have already seen our trailer (and if not, then go watch it here right now! DO IT!), you'll know that he did a spectacular job. Such a spectacular job, in fact, that it has now become so entwined with the visuals of the trailer that I can't even begin to imagine anything else go with it.

Funnily enough just as I did with the temp music.