12 Weeks
Level 4
3-Credit Tuition
$1,545Non-Credit Tuition
$1,290The first course in a two-part series, Music Composition for Film and TV 1 teaches you to write music in the style of Hollywood films and TV programs. The course begins with an overview of important considerations for composing music for visual media, including how to balance music and dialogue, how to influence the audience’s emotional response, and how to create music that elicits a location or time period. The course also addresses issues specific to television, including main title theme songs, commercial bumpers, and working with music libraries. From there, each week focuses on a different genre of music for film and TV—themes such as romance, drama, action, horror, and fantasy. This music composition course analyzes each genre in terms of melody, harmony, counterpoint, tempo, rhythm, and orchestration, forming a template for each genre that you can apply to your own writing. The course features music from the biggest composers in Hollywood, including John Williams, Alan Sylvestri, James Newton Howard, James Horner, Alexandre Desplat, Marco Beltrami, Bernard Herrmann, Aaron Zigman, and others. The goal of the course is to give you a thorough understanding of the compositional styles used in Hollywood projects, in addition to arming you with a portfolio of film and TV music that you can use as demos.
The course features scores from the biggest composers in Hollywood scores that are typically not available publicly. The musical examples include composers such as John Williams (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Hook, Schindler's List), Aaron Zigman (Mr. MagoriumÂ’'s Wonder Emporium, Bridge to Terabithia, Flicka), Alan Sylvestri (Forrest Gump, Polar Express), Marco Beltrami (Hellboy, Live Free or Die Hard, iRobot), James Newton Howard (Atlantis), Pinar Toprak (Light of Olympia), James Horner (Braveheart, Troy), Jerry Goldsmith (Star Trek), Wendy Carlos (The Shining), and Alf Clausen (The Simpsons) who composed a piece specifically for this course! The goal of this music composition course is to give you a thorough understanding of the compositional styles used in Hollywood projects, in addition to arming you with a 10-piece portfolio of film and TV music that you can use as demos.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Understand creative considerations for writing to picture, including balancing music with dialogue, hitting pictures cuts, and more
- Identify and apply harmonic devices specific to themes such as romance, sadness/sorrow, chase, heroic action, action adventure, horror, suspense, magic, fantasy, and comedy
- Identify and apply melodic considerations specific to themes such as romance, sadness/sorrow, chase, heroic action, action adventure, horror, suspense, magic, fantasy, and comedy
- Identify and apply rhythmic considerations specific to themes such as romance, sadness/sorrow, chase, heroic action, action adventure, horror, suspense, magic, fantasy, and comedy
- Understand and apply appropriate orchestration specific to themes such as romance, sadness/sorrow, chase, heroic action, action adventure, horror, suspense, magic, fantasy, and comedy
- Understand the logistical path of a musical idea from initial conception to final recording, including composition, orchestration, and recording
- Create a 10-piece portfolio of film and TV music in various genres for demos
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Creative Considerations in Writing to Picture
- The Role of Music in Film
- The Complete Audio Landscape
- Factoring in dialogue, sound effects
- Highlight Visual Events
- Other Roles of Music in Film
- A Framework for Analyzing Scenes
Lesson 2: Considerations Specific to Television
- The Television Main Title
- Commercial Bumpers
- The Role of Music Libraries
- Strategies for Maximizing Licensing Usage
- Similarities and Differences: Music in Film and Television
Lesson 3: Love Themes 1
- Intimate Ballads
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Write a Chord Progression for an Intimate Ballad
- Score Analysis
- Summary of Observations: Intimate Ballads
Lesson 4: Love Themes 2
- Intimate Ballad
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet
- Orchestrate a Love Theme for a Small Setting
- Orchestrate a Large Statement Love Theme
- The Positive Ballad Template
- Score a Positive Ballad Scene
Lesson 5: Sad Themes 1
- Sad Ballad
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Write a Chord Progression for a Sad Ballad
- Score Analysis
- Write a Melody for a Sad Ballad
Lesson 6: Sad Themes 2
- Sad Ballad
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Orchestrate a Sad Ballad—Small Instrumentation
- Score Analysis
- Orchestrate a Sad Ballad—Large Orchestration
- The Sad Ballad Template
Lesson 7: Horror and Scary Themes 1
- Strategies for Creating Dissonant Harmonies
- Write a Chord Progression for a Horror Sequence
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Write and Sequence an Aleatoric Idea for Pizz Strings
Lesson 8: Horror and Scary Themes 2
- Horror and Scary Themes
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Compose Music using Octatonic Counterpoint
- Bernard Herrmann’s "The Knife"
- Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
- Template for Horror Music
Lesson 9: High Intensity Action 1
- Action Cue
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Write a Rhythm Appropriate for an Action Cue
- Score a High-Intensity Action Scene
Lesson 10: High Intensity Action 2
- Action Cue
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Orchestrate Material for Rhythmic Strings
- Score Analysis Activity
- High-intensity Action Template
- Score a High-Intensity Action Scene
Lesson 11: Magic and Fantasy
- Magic and Fantasy Cue
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Magical Tone Colors
- Magic and Fantasy Cue: Hedwig’s Theme
- Score Magic and Fantasy Template
Lesson 12: Supernatural Grandeur
- Supernatural Grandeur Cue
- Analysis of Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Orchestration
- Score Analysis
- Orchestrate a Homophonic Chord Progression
- Supernatural Grandeur Template
- Film Scoring Demo
- The Television Main Title
- Commercial Bumpers
- The Role of Music Libraries
- Strategies for Maximizing Licensing Usage
- Similarities and Differences: Music in Film and Television
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Completion of Orchestration 1, and any DAW-related (digital audio workstation) course such as Producing Music with Logic, Producing Music with Cubase, or equivalent knowledge and experience is required. You should be able to read notated music, sequence mock-ups of your music in your home studio, and import a given QuickTime movie into your sequencing software for the purposes of writing music to the picture.
Textbook(s)
- Creative Strategies in Film Scoring by Ben Newhouse (Berklee Press, 2020)
Software
- DAW suitable for scoring to picture and/or orchestral mockup production, such as Logic Pro, Cubase Pro, Pro Tools (Studio or Ultimate), or Reaper
- Students are required to create notation and submit it in PDF format. Options include:
- Notation software (recommended option), such as Finale, Sibelius, Dorico, 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 Classes. 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
Ben Newhouse's commercial music has been used in more than 3,000 episodes of television, including projects for ABC, CBS, NBC, and most major cable networks. Newhouse's music is the soundtrack for the Disney DVD logo, several independent films, and Las Vegas stage shows. Newhouse was awarded the BMI Pete Carpenter Fellowship in 1999.
The University Continuing Education Association awarded his Orchestration 1 course "Best New Online Course" in 2009, and Berklee awarded Newhouse a "Distinguished Faculty Award" in 2015. Newhouse has also guest lectured at Pescara Conservatory in Pescara, Italy and Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, Australia. He authored Producing Music with Digital Performer (Berklee Press), which has sold 15,000 copies, as well as the more recent Berklee Press book, Creative Strategies in Film Scoring. He has been quoted in multiple publications, including Electronic Music magazine and acousticmidiorchestration.com.
As a composer during his college years at Eastman School of Music where he received his bachelor of music degree, and graduated magna cum laude, his music was performed primarily by Eastman groups and groups along the East Coast. "Heat," a relentless overture for orchestra, received the Howard Hanson Award in the late 1990s and was premiered by the Eastman School Symphonic Orchestra. Newhouse is also a full-fellowship master's degree alumnus of the University of Southern California, completing an MBA and a Business of Entertainment graduate certificate program with the School of Cinematic Arts.
Instructor
Pianist and composer Vicente Avella has been writing and performing internationally since 1998. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, he has scored numerous independent films, orchestrated and worked on music production for major network television shows including Family Guy (FOX) and American Dad (FOX), and written music for worldwide advertising including Intel (Saudi Arabia), Red Bull Air Race World Championship (Brazil), and official branding for FPC Sports Channel (Colombia). Avella also performs regularly as a piano soloist, accompanist, and in chamber groups.
In 2013, Avella released his debut album, All the Days of My Life, produced by Grammy Award winner Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records. The record received multiple awards including Best Solo Piano Album from One World Music Awards and an Award of Excellence for Instrumental Performance Solo from Global Music Awards. The single "Bridal March" charted at no. 1 on iTunes; it is also the no. 1 "Bridal March" on YouTube.
In addition to teaching at Berklee, Avella is an adjunct professor at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California, where he teaches music theory, musicianship, and piano performance. He is the recipient of a fellowship from Eastman School of Music, where he completed his master's degree in music composition; he received his bachelor's degree in piano performance from Indiana University. Avella currently resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles. Read Less
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Music Composition for Film and TV 1 can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Related Degree Major
Related Music Career Roles
Employers look for skills learned in this course, when hiring for the following music career roles:
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.
