INTERVIEWS

The Other Kind of Notes: Jeremy Borum on Scoring Scripts

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By Sam Roads.

Jeremy Borum is an established music composer working within the film industry, having orchestrated such films as Need for Speed, American Gangster and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008). He has also worked on TV shows, video games, and live concert productions. At first glance, screenwriting and orchestration might seem to have little to do with one another, the latter usually taking place after the former is finished. However, as we discovered on interviewing Jeremy, the script can greatly influence the score. So read on for a fascinating insight into this crucial aspect of film-making.

need for speed

Need for Speed. Orchestration by Jeremy Borum

How would you describe what you do?

I am a storyteller. A screenwriter tells stories with words, a director tells stories with images, and I tell mine with music. And if all three of us tell the same story well then a great film emerges.

How often do composers work from a script instead of from video?

Music is part of post-production, which means that composers usually work with video. They may not even be hired until after principle photography is finished and the film is being cut together, and in all cases if the picture is there the script is not helpful.

The exceptions are almost always born from established collaborative relationships. In cases where the director has worked with a composer before and knows far in advance that they will score the film, the composer can potentially be involved as early as the script writing process. It is a fairly rare luxury, but there are a few composers who insist on that level of deep collaboration. Phillip Glass, for example, refuses to write music for any films that are already in fixed form. He insists on a fully collaborative process in which his music has the ability to affect and change the film all the way down to the script level.

Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank in the Truman Show, soundtrack by Philip Glass

Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank in the Truman Show. Soundtrack by Philip Glass

So do you have any direct interaction with the screenwriter?

Communication with the director or screenwriter is essential. On two occasions I worked from the script alone without other input, and in both cases it was an absolute disaster, because the same script can become ten different movies depending on how it’s shot and directed. Writing music from a script without input from the director or screenwriter is a lost cause, like throwing darts in the dark. In both cases I completely missed the mark, because I would need to be either a mind reader or extremely lucky to hit the bullseye. My demos were totally wrong, and other composers were ultimately hired to score both films.

In many other instances I have been attached to projects early enough that I could read the script early and be on-set during production. When I’m able to have active dialogue with the screenwriter the scenario changes completely. I’m able to understand the script on a much deeper level. If the script is still being written, most of the script critiques and revisions can be re-interpreted as musical direction for myself. Similarly, on-set direction to actors can also inform the music. When the communication between screenwriter and composer is strong, it is enormously helpful.

Do you know of some situations where the score changed the script?

I have scored seven films for writer/director Robert Rollins. After all these years I am so integrated into his team that I see script drafts, business and budget plans, schedules, story boards, and everything else. It is a true collaboration from start to finish. We begin talking about musical themes and genres when the scripts are still being written. Our discussions about music and pacing have affected dialogue pacing, scene length, costumes, and many other things. When two artists are co-creating it’s inevitable that one will influence the other.

Trent Reznor began writing music for David Fincher’s The Social Network before it was shot. His experience recording and touring with Nine Inch Nails gave him a lot of musical experience, but scoring a film is totally different and that was his first film score. He was a little nervous and started writing extremely early, and so his score was in everybody’s ears even as they were finishing and revising the script. Because of his early connection to the film and the highly collaborative nature of his relationship with Fincher, his music had a powerful shaping force on the film. It affected the script, lighting, costumes, editing, everything. Ultimately he wrote and produced about 200 minutes of music for the film. Only about 1/3 of the music made it into the film, but Reznor says he was very grateful for the back and forth collaboration that allowed the script and music to have equal influence on each other and on the finished product.

In documentary and reality TV the music often affects the script. There is no script or screenwriter per se, so the script is actually created in the edit, but if music is pre-existing and the editor is able to drop it in while editing then it can very much change the pacing, timing, mood, and approach of the final product. Depending on the working relationships between the director, editor, producer, and composer, that can also be a highly collaborative experience in which the script and music are equally important to the production.

In musicals, of course, the composer and screenwriter must be partners from day one. They share equal responsibility for propelling the drama forward, they need to work side by side, and each affects the other constantly. 

Jesse Eisenberg asMark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Soundtrack by Trent Reznor

Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Soundtrack by Trent Reznor

What kinds of script do you prefer?

In short, good ones!

Screenwriters and composers are both story tellers. If a script is truly compelling then the composer will be able to rise to that level and tell the same great story with music instead of words. A bad script doesn’t inspire much, and the role of music is often reduced to fixing problems or adding emotion that is lacking.

A great script understands the function of music and leaves space for it to work. In the Dreamworks’ film How To Train Your Dragon, one of the most memorable scenes is the one in which the main character first meets and befriends his dragon. The screenwriters William Davies and Chris Sanders trusted the effectiveness of visuals and music, and there is no dialogue through the entire scene.

The composer John Powell says he felt enormous responsibility to the scene, and he wrote something like twenty revisions of the music to make sure that it was exactly right. The story is told entirely with movement, eyes, and music, and it’s one of the most intimate and comical scenes in the film because of it. The script intentionally had a five minute hole in it, and the film is substantially better for it. Montage scenes can accomplish similar things, because they leave room for music and visuals to tell the story.

Another very important aspect of a script that affects the music is pacing. Music is dependent on repeating regular time intervals, and is therefore very tied to dialogue pacing. A well paced script controls the unfolding of dialogue so that the pace is always appropriate for that portion of the dramatic arc. When the script is carefully controlled it makes it much easier to act, shoot, edit, and score. Dialogue interplay affects musical tempo, and well paced dialogue makes composing much simpler and more rewarding.

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon. Composer John Powell

What advice can you offer to scriptwriters on how to help the composer, and ensure that their script gets a great score?

1. Avoid Derivative Scripts

When screenwriter writes a script that consciously mimics existing films or genres, it pre-defines the film and therefore limits the music. It can be helpful to have a clear goal from the beginning, but chasing the aesthetic of another script can make the musical options very limited and it can become difficult to do anything innovative.

2. Don’t Explain Everything

If everything is spelled out there is no subtext, and then the music’s only job is to re-iterate what is already obvious on screen. A well written script leaves some feelings and internal motivations unexplained, and music can then suggest or guide the audience to fill in those blanks.

3. Don’t Spot the Music

I have seen many scripts that indicate where background music is intended to enter, exit, swell, etc. I absolutely appreciate the fact that the screenwriter is thinking about music and how it might work in the scene, but music spotting is the responsibility of the composer and director. The spotting also can change throughout the scoring process as the final edit is refined. Indications about music in the script should be omitted unless the music is part of the story and the characters in the film can hear it.

4. Avoid Short Scenes

Scenes that are too short can be difficult to score elegantly. Short musical cues begin to sound like TV, and if the drama dictates that the music needs to be contained entirely within that scene it can be hard to do well. I personally try to skip very short scenes because I prefer not to write thirty second pieces of music, but it’s often required. What I typically do when confronted with short scenes is have the music span over several scenes to connect them. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. There are always exceptions, but in general short scenes don’t solicit great music from the composer unless it’s a stylistic theme throughout the film.

5. Avoid Clichéd Scenes

How many scenes have you seen where the bad guy gets the upper hand, and instead of carrying out his mission he has a monologue in which he explains his motivation or reveals a secret? Don’t do it. Bad guy monologues aren’t interesting and they’re hard to score. Likewise, how many scenes have you seen in which a budding romance blossoms while one person is tending to another’s wounds? These and other cliché scenes are always hard to score with anything other than cliché music.

6. Add Depth

The more depth that exists in the script, the more depth and greater possibilities exist for the composer and everybody else. Every aspect of the script has a profound affect on every aspect of production, so I would encourage all screenwriters to pursue artistry, stretch themselves and their genres, and make great art. 

Guerrilla Film Scoring, by Jeremy Borum

Guerrilla Film Scoring, by Jeremy Borum

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out Jeremy’s book about film composition: Guerrilla Film Scoring.

(Also available as a 90-minute documentary.)

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Sam Roads

Editor

Our Executive Editor is also Creative Director at Facebook developer Microcosm Games, writes graphic novels and has won awards for <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> games. <br> <table> <tr> <td><a href="http://twitter.com/@samroads1"><img src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/twitter.png" style="height:25px"></a> </td> <td><a href="http://twitter.com/@samroads1">@samroads1</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="mailto:sam@creativescreenwriting.com"><img src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/email.png" style="height:25px"></a></td> <td><a href="mailto:sam@creativescreenwriting.com">sam@creativescreenwriting.com</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://www.samroads.co.uk"><img src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/website-2-small.png" style="height:25px"></a> </td> <td><a href="http://www.samroads.co.uk">www.samroads.co.uk</a> </td> </tr> </table>

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