# What does a technical score assistant do?



## H.R. (Sep 16, 2014)

Hi

I'm wondering what does a techincal score assistant do and what are his responsibilities ?

Thanks.


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## JohnG (Sep 16, 2014)

He / she secretly writes all the music. Like in "Barton Fink."


(I have no idea. I never heard of this position.)


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## gbar (Sep 16, 2014)

JohnG @ Tue Sep 16 said:


> He / she secretly writes all the music. Like in "Barton Fink."
> 
> 
> (I have no idea. I never heard of this position.)



Maybe he means Technical Score Advisor? I don't know what that is either, but I see it in film credits, and everybody who does that seems to claim to be a composer, so?


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## Brobdingnagian (Sep 16, 2014)

o[])


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## Mike Marino (Sep 16, 2014)

Perhaps it's the assistant to the technical score engineer? 

I was assured there'd be no math....


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## H.R. (Sep 16, 2014)

Mike Marino @ Tue Sep 16 said:


> Perhaps it's the assistant to the technical score engineer?
> 
> I was assured there'd be no math....



That leads to another question: who is the technical score engineer ?


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## bimberl (Sep 17, 2014)

I am fairly confident that this is an invented title given to a composer's assistant, assistant engineer, or someone without an official title who was helpful to the process in some way whom the composer wants to reward with a credit. They need to come up with a title that sounds official so that the studio doesn't reject it. Hence: technical score assistant.


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## JT3_Jon (Sep 17, 2014)

I've gotten the "Technical Score Assistant" credit on some projects where I did midi mockups of cues to picture, some recording of live instruments used, overseeing picture conforms, as well as stemming for the final mix, etc. 

I've also done all the same things and got the credit "synth programer" or "score programer" so there you go. I find the whole credit titles very strange.

From my position, a technical score assistant assists the composer in everything technological, thus my credits. But perhaps it should instead be called "technological score assistant?" Either way I think it sounds better than "synth programer" which is a very small part of the gig (for me at least). In my experience, at least when it comes to assistants, you will never know exactly what they did on a project based on the credit they were given as there really aren't formal positions with established titles like "cinematographer" or "director" - even "orchestrator" can mean COMPLETELY different things, depending on the project.

I still remember finishing helping a composer on a project and him asking me how I would like to be credited. I said "I'll have to get back to you" as I had no idea how to wrap up what I did as a title, lol!

On a side note, I've worked for a very well known composer on projects and he ALWAYS asks to have his whole teams names in the actual credits of the film, and even offers to pay out of his own pocket to make it happen, and for whatever reason I've still gone uncredited on many films I've worked on. In fact, that probably happens more often than not! I really dont understand how the catering always gets credited, even the stars "drivers" but composer assistants can be left off the credit roll. :( I'm not implying that their positions are not important, but sometimes I feel its a slap in the face when those who worked for MONTHS on a project are not properly acknowledged.


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## H.R. (Sep 18, 2014)

JT3_Jon @ Wed Sep 17 said:


> I've gotten the "Technical Score Assistant" credit on some projects where I did midi mockups of cues to picture, some recording of live instruments used, overseeing picture conforms, as well as stemming for the final mix, etc.
> 
> I've also done all the same things and got the credit "synth programer" or "score programer" so there you go. I find the whole credit titles very strange.
> 
> ...



Thank you very much Jonathan. :wink:


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## Mr. Anxiety (Sep 21, 2014)

I believe, with most major studios, they only have a certain list of credits that they allow, and regardless of the main composers' credit requests, they will only allow for the credits they generally give. So technical score assistant, midi score programmer, etc. are never on the list. Orchestrator, copyist, conductor are.

Now indie films can usually do whatever they want.

Mr A


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