Level 2
3-Credit Tuition
$1,545Non-Credit Tuition
$1,290Film and media music today are thriving. This is partially due to the success of the streaming industry expanding content at an astonishing rate, thus creating a demand for media composers like never before.
In this course you will get a strong foundation for what a job as a film and media composer entails. The ultimate goal of this course is to help you transition from being a composer to becoming a media composer. Film Scoring 101 provides the necessary link between film and music that will help demystify this highly fascinating art form.
After a quick overview of the media industry today, you will learn the technical and aesthetic challenges in this highly competitive field. You will be able to analyze and spot a film score and become a better storyteller through various writing exercises.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- analyze the story in a film based on the common three-act structure
- appreciate the art of filmmaking as a collaborative process of many different departments, music being just one of them
- understand the historical and technical challenges in film and music synchronization
- understand the creative process of writing to picture
- set up your DAW with appropriate tempo and meter maps
- tackle the most common challenges film composers come across, including:
- main titles
- passages of time
- action scenes
- tension-filled scenes
- dialogue scenes
- develop thematic material
- spot a movie
- use electronic synthesis as a creative tool
- navigate the intricacies of the business, including:
- Contracts and deals
- publishing vs. writer’s share
- self-promotion
- career paths
- import video and create an offset start point in your DAW for scoring purposes
- create final audio mixes within a QuickTime movie
Syllabus
Lesson 1: An Introduction
- Overview of the Media Industry Today
- The Narrative, Programmatic Nature of Film Music
- The Absolute Nature of Music
- The Role of Film Music
- The Role of Silence
- The Key Ingredients to a Great Film Score
- Assignment 1: Create a Program Note and a Short Composition
Lesson 2: Technical Aspects
- The Three Stages of the Film Production Process
- The Who-is-Who in the Film Biz
- The Film Music Production Process
- Syncing to Picture
- Assignment 2: Analyze the Filmmaker’s Decisions in Your Favorite Film
Lesson 3: Understanding Drama
- The Basic Structure of a Modern Drama
- The Basic Signposts in a Film
- The Filmmaker’s Lingo
- Film Music Lingo
- Understanding a Script
- Assignment 3: Analyze a Film’s Dramatic Structure
Lesson 4: The Different Writing Styles in Film Music History – Part 1
- Motivic Writing in Short Blocks
- Strong, Long-Form, and Thematic
- Americana Style
- Rhythm- and Chord-Focused
- The Epic Sound and Power of the Triad
- Dissonant-Rich Scores
- Assignment 4: Research and Analyze Different Musical Styles in Film
Lesson 5: The Different Writing Styles in Film Music History – Part 2
- Small Ensemble – The Close-Up Sound
- Modal-Based Scores
- Orchestral, Minimal, and Pattern-Oriented
- Sound Magic
- Modern Minimal, Poignant, and Emotional
- Assignment 5: Your Musical Approaches to Different Genre Films. Write a score suite for one of the musical approaches you wrote.
Lesson 6: Frame Rates, Time Codes, and DAW Setup
- Picture Sync
- Frame Rates and Timecodes
- Setting up Your DAW to Match Window Burn
- Creating Markers
- Tempo and Meter Maps
- Assignment 6: DAW Work – Plus Add Percussion Track: Planet Earth 2
Lesson 7: Spotting
- Ins, Outs, and Scene Changes
- Main Functions of a Cue
- Songs in Films – ‘Needle Dropping’
- Spotting Analysis: The Theory of Everything
- Assignment 7: Analyze Five Cues: The Theory of Everything
Lesson 8: The Writing Process
- Learning the Language of Film Music by Building a Vocabulary
- Main Titles
- Passages of Time
- Tension Devices
- Music Editing as Source of Inspiration
- Assignment 8: Analyze and Transcribe Tension in Three Film Scenes
Lesson 9: Theme Adaptation
- Thematic Material
- Theme Adaptation and Drama
- Common Techniques for Theme Adaptation
- Theme Adaptation in Modern Media Scoring
- Assignment 9: Adapt a Theme to Five Distinct Dramatic Situations
Lesson 10: Create an Underscore Cue
- What is Underscore?
- Examples of Underscore
- Script Analysis
- Underscoring Tools
- Practicing Underscoring
- Assignment 10: Create a Dialogue Underscore Cue
Lesson 11: Create a Sound Design-Based Cue
- Less Pitch – More Sound!
- Electronic Synthesis Basics
- Basic Sound Manipulation Techniques
- Hybrid Scoring
- Assignment 11: Create a Sound Design-Based Cue
Lesson 12: Business Aspects for Aspiring Film and Media Composers
- Promoting Your Work
- Networking and Career Opportunities
- Budgeting Tips
- Contracts and other Business-Related Topics
- Typical Career Paths
- Assignment 12: Develop a Budget and Final Project
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Completion of Music Theory 101, Music Theory and Composition 1, and Basic Ear Training or Ear Training 1 or equivalent knowledge and experience is required. Students should be comfortable with the features and workings of their DAW (digital audio workstation) of choice, be it Logic, Pro Tools, Digital Performer, or any of the other programs specifically listed. An existing competency in creating music, combined with a thoughtful awareness of drama and human emotion will be critical assets to draw upon from your own background.
You should have the following prerequisite musical and technical skills:
- Ability to read and create music
- Ability to compose music and create scores (either from a notation program such as Finale [full version] or Sibelius) or handwritten and scanned
- Some experience with MIDI sequencing and digital audio software for producing and finalizing musical mock-ups via sample libraries
Courses that may help you prepare for Film Scoring 101 include the following: - Pro Tools 101
- Producing Music with Logic
Textbook(s)
- Recommended: Complete Guide to Film Scoring: The Art and Business of Writing Music for Movies and TV (2nd Edition) by Richard Davis (Berklee Press, 2010)
- Recommended: Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music by Andy Hill (Hal Leonard, 2017)
- Recommended: Reel Music: Exploring 100 Years of Film Music (2nd Edition) by Roger Hickman (W. W. Norton & Company, 2017)
- Recommended: Film Music: A Very Short Introduction by Kathryn Kalinak (Oxford University Press, 2010)
Media and Subscriptions
- You must have access to the following films:
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Catch Me If You Can (2002)
- One of the following:
- Alien (1979)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- The Fugitive (1993)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Parasite (2019)
Software
- One of the following DAWs:
- Logic Pro
- Pro Tools Studio or Ultimate
- Cubase Pro
- Students are required to produce scores and submit them in PDF format. Options include:
- Notation software (recommended option), such as Finale (full version), Sibelius (Artist or Ultimate), Dorico (Elements or Pro), MuseScore (free), etc.
- Handwritten notation captured by a digital camera or a scanner can be used in lieu of notation software.
- Deeply sampled orchestral libraries covering all standard families, such as Orchestral Tools Berlin Orchestra Created with Berklee
Hardware
- MIDI keyboard controller
- One of the following studio monitoring options (both recommended):
- Studio monitors (pair), such as JBL 305Ps or better, as well as an audio interface and necessary cables
- Over-ear studio headphones, such as Sennheiser HD 600, Sony MDR-7506, Philips SHP9500, Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, etc.
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Chats. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author & Instructor
Patrick Kirst is a German-born film composer based in Los Angeles. He’s best known for his work on the highly successful romantic comedy trilogy, The Kissing Booth. The sequel was released in summer 2020 and for a second time achieved a record-shattering number of streams on Netflix. The release of The Kissing Booth 3 in 2021 completed the trilogy as one of the most successful franchises on the Netflix platform.
In 2007, Kirst became an integral part of Aaron Zigman’s team, where he earned orchestration and additional music credits on top-grossing films such as The Proposal, The Ugly Truth, Sex and the City: The Movie, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, The Shack, and The War With Grandpa, to name a few. Kirst’s other composing credits include Disney’s first nature documentary Earth, Seaworld’s documentary-style theme park show Orca Encounter, the Swedish survival drama Breaking Surface, the political documentary Welcome to Pine Lake (CBSN), the opioid crime drama Inherit the Viper (Lionsgate), and the Netflix crime series Totenfrau.
As an integral part of the thriving media industry in Los Angeles, Kirst continues to share classic composition techniques and new innovations through both his work as a respected composer and as a professor at the University of Southern California. Read Less
Instructor
Jack Freeman has been teaching courses in film music editing, composition, and history at Berklee College of Music since 1991. He also supervises and designs facilities and classrooms in support of the Berklee curriculum. Freeman has extensive experience in film and video production, working in the fields of network broadcast, cable, and community television, and is well-versed in a wide variety of analog and non-linear editing platforms. He has given seminars and demonstrations in film music for the "Grammy in the Schools" program among others, and has composed original music for a variety of documentary, industrial, and experimental films and video productions.
A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Freeman received a bachelor of music in education degree from the University of Regina (SK), and a bachelor of music degree in film scoring from Berklee College of Music. He was an artist in residence for the Saskatchewan Band Association, conducting numerous clinics and workshops across the province, and composing and publishing several works for concert band. Freeman continues to play trombone and piano in a variety of settings in the Boston area, and assists non-profit groups in video production. Read Less
Instructor
Kevin is a Berklee Film Scoring (’05) alum that has worked as the U.S.A west coast product specialist for Steinberg’s Cubase for the last 6 years. He frequently gives master classes, clinics and demos at some of Los Angeles' top studios and production facilities such as Remote Control Productions (Hans Zimmer), Warner Brothers, Music and Motion Productions and Westlake Pro. He has a vast amount of experience in film composition, song and remix production as well as invaluable music and entertainment industry experience. Primarily, Kevin is a film, video game, and tv composer and has worked on a variety of projects including the recently released biopic “Pele - 2016”, “The Legend of Hercules - 2014”, “The Hundred Foot Journey - 2014”, “Million Dollar Arm - 2014”, a soon to be released X box game, and ABC television shows. In addition to his frequent collaborations with A.R. Rahman (Oscar Award Winning Composer for “Slumdog Millionaire - 2009”), Kevin is developing a new gestured based musical instrument with Intel Corp. and was featured at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with Intel’s CEO.
Instructor
Dario Eskenazi is a Grammy Award winning pianist and media composer based in New York City.
He studied classical music in his native Argentina before moving to the USA to attend Berklee College of Music where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Film Scoring.
He has written original music for films for Latin America (“El Robo Del Siglo”, “Happy Hour”, among others), Europe and the USA (“The Last New Yorker”) as well as several shorts, video games (“CityLife”, “Th3 Plan”) and commercial work (NeimannMarcus and Avocado Mattress campaigns).
Dario is also a much sought after pianist around New York City where he performs with many jazz, Brazilian and Latin artists. He recently played and created midi orchestrations in Al DiMeola’s new album “Opus''.
He has been part of the renowned faculty at the Screen Scoring Dept. at Berklee College of Music since 2011 where he teaches courses in dramatic scoring, orchestration, and post-romantic composition techniques for film. Read Less
Instructor
Award winning composer George Oldziey got his first big introduction into the world of film scoring when he joined forces with film director Robert Rodriguez to create the score for Spy Kids 2 and has since served as composer, contributing composer, orchestrator and score producer for other feature films such as Spy Kids 3D, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Kill Bill, Volume 2, Sin City, Grindhouse - Planet
Terror, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Shorts and Sin City; A Dame to Kill For and the Christmas 2020 Netflix release We Can Be Heroes.
George has also scored numerous documentaries and short films, including the award-winning short film Remember Me, which won the award for Best Musical Score at the 2017 168 Film Festival. He also won Best Musical Score at the 2018 Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival for the Best Picture winning short film Arrow and Oil.
George was an in-house composer for Electronic Arts for whom he created scores for some of the most iconic hits in the video game industry, including the Wing Commander, Ultima and Crusader series. After leaving EA he continued to compose and produce music for other games, including Spongebob Squarepants for Playstation 2, the epic orchestral score for Shaiya, Red Faction: Guerilla and the Certain Affinity game Crimson Alliance.
George is also a much sought after orchestrator and arranger, having done all the arranging for Chilean singer Mon Laferte's 2019 Latin Grammy winning album Norma, horn arrangements for Aerosmith's Dueces are Wild tour, and orchestrations for the 2018 film The Grinch.
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Film Scoring 101 can be applied towards these associated programs:
Associated Certificate Programs
Associated Degree Majors
Related Music Career Role
Employers look for skills learned in this course, when hiring for the following music career role:
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
