Underscore by Frank Skinner

90.6 MB·English

by  Frank Skinner

wn 9 BO

CONTENTS
CusrrenT PREPARATION 1
Mowiola 2
Gye Lines 3
Dubbing 3
Cuxvren II WRITING A SCORE 4
‘Types of Scoring 4
Dance Routines 5 4
Click Track 5
Television 6
Moods 7
‘Actual Scoring of Themes 5
Cuseren IIL STUDENTS SUMMARY = 191
CnarrenTV ORCHESTRATION REVIEW 216
String Writing 217
Popular Music ot
Rhythm Numbers 204 ;
‘Sweet Numbers and Vocals 225
Double Stope 27
‘Wood-Winds and Horns 208
‘The Doubling of Wood-Winds 230
Brass ees
Horns and Trombones or)
Tubaand Trombones. | 5... 5 232
Harp and Celeste 233
Full Orchestra Balance om

GLOSSARY . 238
PREPARATION

Mos recamioce of scoring a picture can be applied to one

made for the theatre, or one made for television, Pictures
being mechanical, itis necestary that the music be written to
set footage, which is transferred into seconds and becomes
‘measured music, by employing a stop-watch, in order to fit into
the confines of @ certain length of film. (As the book progresses
‘you will se how this is done with actual timing sheets, with the
‘ction and dialogue timed othe split second.)

Due to the mechanicl problem, the only way the music
can be writen to fit the film, isto wait until the picture is
‘completed and edited in its final eut in order to write the musi,
1 you wrote a scene at random and they cut five feet of film
‘out, or added five feet, the music would not fit. The only time
‘this problem arises is when they preview a picture and are
forced to make certain cuts. Ifthe music cannot be cut in some
‘manner to make sense, a second recording session may be
called to resecord the cut scenes, after the music has been
reconstructed.

‘The first thing to be done when the picture is edited, is
to sit in on a general running of the pictur. This rimning is
just to absorb its content. Next, the picture has to be broken
down, reel by reel, to decide which scenes require music, Each
Scene is discussed, generally with the Producer and Director to
Aetermine where to start and stop the music on theie scenes

Each reel is numbered and each scene is lettered, For
‘instance, the main title at the beginning of eel (1) is called
(1A) the next scene is (1B,) ete, A film for television may
rly be in theee reels, whereby a theatrical film may be te
A Moviola
Used by Film Editor and Musie Cutter

Atter breaking down the film, the music cutter will r

pleted the timing sheets,
it reeds like a script, only the timing readings are indicated
this stage to write the score without looking at
UNDERSCORE.

(CUE LINES AND DUBBING

‘When seritng the score, the compoter plans to accentuate
certain dramatic impacts, or @ change of mood on certain cuts
ofthe picture, These important cues are indicated with line,
for streamer, which starts at one side ofthe film and runs diago
pally across to opposite side, When it reaches the opposite sie,
that is the conductor's cue. When recording, the conductor fl:
lows stop clock onthe podium, watches the timing on his music,
tnd catches the cues with the aid of the cue lines. When you
Study the timing sheets and sketches tha folloe, you will notice

iat the cues (circled on timing sheets) are indicated with a
‘double line on the sketches, which wil be marked witha steamer

‘on the film for recording
Dubbing is the final recording ofall the elements of sound,
such as musi, dialogue and sound effects, from separate reels

ees nly opereel yer ea
poste recording. (sce pcre of machines on page 12

tthe tare fre tp on Nw
recta, fin, wo eparate rns can be Contracted in af
forthe scenes for whith it wer writen I ne coe segue
Another, the second eve must be on a separate rel to Overap,
$0 the mixer can dial ou the frst coe aad dal i the wend
Therefore, the mie muse writen so hi ca be dane, sch
as: reative chords, et (yo will ee example i he sare,
isto)

Tsotherpoblmconfronting he composer tare chaagee fo
over, ten the operator changes rom one machine note
For crample fe havea seme withthe music playing to the
dof reat (1) and continue into rel (2), the ste teenie
ised such a lative chords or wntained ote. examples
inthe core).
WRITING A SCORE

peer 20 main dterencesbetnen wen end ation
picture scoring isthe size of the orchestra employed.

‘Motion Pictures are made on a more elaborate scale,
therefore a large orchestra is usually used, Writing for a
Smaller orchestra ie somewhat more difficult, and the music
hha to be composed very carefully to be effective with a small
group of instruments. After one masters the technique and
Adovelops a feeling fr creating musical moods it should be more
‘Simple to waite the type of material for the orchestra at hand.

‘TYPES OF SCORING.

There are two types of scoring, namely: prescoring and
port scoring. Prescoring means tht the musi i recorded prior
{0 the shooting of «picture, such as songs, dance routines, and
fy mia! numbers that have tobe phtogrphed,
Postecoring means that the musi is recorded after the
Picture is shot, such ava dramatic or comedy pictore, where the
music hav to fit the ston, A sng x prerecorded on the record
ing stage, then played on the eotig cage with a playback
imechine and photographed while the singer mouthe the Tyre
inne Dance routines are shot the same way, the dancers
dance to the playback machine while the pictures beng shot
Sent Later, when the cutter lines up the mc tacks withthe
ctureitscms thatthe singer or dancers ar performing with
the orchestra, I the singers ae recorded on & separate track
fromthe orchestra, either element, singer or orchestra, can be
replaced if not satisfactory Alo each track, voce or orchestra
UNDERSCORE

can be controlled in the dubbing. This procedure can be done
by either pre-recording the orchestra first and then have the
singer use earphones and record the voice alone or it can be
done with an isolation booth forthe singer vith both the singer
fd conductor using earphones,

DANCE ROUTINES

Sometimes a dance routine is shot with @ temporary track,
such as a pitno alone, ora small group of instruments, which
J replaced later with a new orchestra track. On rare occasions,
1 song may be sung live on the shooting stage while the scéne
{s being shot, however this isnot satisfactory, because the sound
is not up to par and limits the cutting, or editing.

CLICK TRACK

‘When writing a score, sometimes a scene presents itself
where the precision should be so near perfect that the Duman
element would make it almost impossible to record. Such a
scene is a comedy routine where the composer would like to
catch every litle gag on the sereen, Thie ie made simple by
using a click track. The cutter can build one by sraping a thin
line in the emulsion ofthe film, so many frames apart, depend
ing on the desired tempo. When this is piped to the conductors
farphones he hears the click of the tempo. The composer telle
the cuter the tempo he wishes, for example, four bars of two:
four music in four seconds. The cutter makes the slick track
two clicks to the bar and gives a detailed breakdown of the
‘scene in clicks, rather than seconds. The composer can then
‘rite effects to fit the action on certain click; for instance, &
‘man gets hit on the head on click three, an accent in the mse
on the downbeat of bar two will help thie comedy. The action
an also be caught in between clicks, such as click 34, if 90,
the accent would be on the second eighth note of bar two,
6 UNDERSCORE

Remember, there are two clicks to a bar of two-four music
With the conductor following, the clicks in his earphones, the
‘muse falls into place automatica

‘TELEVISION

2 When writing a score for television pictures the composer
will find a few problems not found in theatrical films, namely’
Commercials The length of a TV film is planned to insert a
Commercial at the beginning and at the end, everything stop
fn the middle also, for another commercial, In other words,
the show isin two acts instead ofa continuous show. Therefore,
short musical endings must be composed to end Act One. These
fare short, but should come to a definite end, Also ina TV
Picture, « device is employed to te in one scene into another,
‘which is called bridge. These bridges should be in the mood
Of the outgoing scene. If dramatic, the music should describe
this mood and tie into the mood of the following scene. The
fame applies to a comedy. The music can help the comedy if
humorous music bridges these scenes

‘Sometimes the narrator describes the action, this may
hhappen at the end of one scene and the narrator describes the
following scene to a certain point, Then, the picture goes to
live dialogue. This type of writing would be in a manner such

‘this, to end the outgoing scene with some dramatic chords,
‘ra phrase ifthe picture is dramatic. Then continue the music
{oftly, under narration, ending the music when the dilogwe
foes live.
UNDERSCORE 7
oops

‘Thefe are several schools of thought about scoring « pe-
ture, One is strictly mood music with no thematic relation to
the characters in the story, another, with thematic and melodie
writing

‘Some pictures, especially TV detective stories with Gity
locales, lend themselves to a jazz treatment, pizzacato bass and
cymbal provide a mysterious background to construct menacing
jazz phrases, building to wild sounds for @ ight, or dramatic
punch

prefer thematic and melodic writing for most pictures,
for two reasons, It more understandable tothe layman, and

‘conveys more emotion than a series of chords. T realize that
relodic line will detract the viewers’ mind from the picture
at times, if the melody attracts their attention, but in a tender
scene, oF one of sorrow, a melodic line will enhance and convey
the real emotion of the actors,

1 also realize, it is better writing to play for mood at times
in a dramatic seene, one long dramatic chord says more here
than any melody can do, Infact, a melodic line could possibly
Inurt the scene

In the following pages, we will study’ a score that I wrote
for a picture which we will call “THE IRISHMAN.” We wil
study" the timing sheets, sketches and actual orchestrations,
(Technical explanations wll appear in italics.)

Although this score was written fora large orchestra, the
{echnique would be th same asif written for a smaller orchestra
‘The only difference is you would not get invelved by using &
smaller amount of instruments,

First, we will discuss the different types of themes and
seo how i planned the themes for “THE IRISHMAN,” after
reading the sript.

‘There are many types of love stories, such as sincere love,
which has lite tear and sorrow behind it, a light, gay
8 UNDERSCORE

fa teen-age puppy love, which is sweet; a sophisti-

ated love; and a very intense, dramatic lve.
For example, a theme for a sincere love scene, with a
feeling of sadness, could be

‘This theme has a certain amount of pleading and anxiety in
ite character
‘A theme for a light, gay romance could be

‘This theme can be transformed into a gay waltz

“This ie simple in character, and not too serious.
[A sophisticated theme could be:

‘The chord construction of this theme gives it a feeling
‘of sophistication and offers opportunities for rhythmic. pat
ters, such as