Tips on scoring a serious topic in documentaries?
- Thread starter catohoeben
- Start date
- Watchers 7
AlexandreSafi
Active Member
As music can illustrate anything better than my endless words, have a deep look at "Angels In America score by Thomas Newman"!
The score is all about Life & Death, Love, Hope, Sadness, Sickness/AIDS, Religion/Faith, Danger/Chaos, but about Love & life in the end...
It's a masterpiece, it's got everything, and i think has inspired tremendous amounts of sonic colors in the realm of TV...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... E8FF704B0E
Good luck!
The score is all about Life & Death, Love, Hope, Sadness, Sickness/AIDS, Religion/Faith, Danger/Chaos, but about Love & life in the end...
It's a masterpiece, it's got everything, and i think has inspired tremendous amounts of sonic colors in the realm of TV...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... E8FF704B0E
Good luck!
Matt Hawken
Member
Hi Cato!
I have zero experience in this area but here's the advice I can think of.
As ever, the key thing is not to score what you see on the screen but the emotion behind what we see. For example, there might be a scene where we need to feel for ourselves the sadness and pain of the patient and their family. Or perhaps they're battling heroically with the disease, or are hopeful of progress. Identifying these kinds of moods will help with the storytelling and steer you away from depressing sounds. I'm sure the director's vision is to inspire hope in the progress of research and compassion for the sufferers. These are positive emotions that you can help stir up.
If it were me, I'd aim to use mostly acoustic instruments to emphasise the human element of the documentary, along with some synths to show the energy and progress of the research. This is probably too obvious and I'm sure you can be more creative than me!
I have zero experience in this area but here's the advice I can think of.
As ever, the key thing is not to score what you see on the screen but the emotion behind what we see. For example, there might be a scene where we need to feel for ourselves the sadness and pain of the patient and their family. Or perhaps they're battling heroically with the disease, or are hopeful of progress. Identifying these kinds of moods will help with the storytelling and steer you away from depressing sounds. I'm sure the director's vision is to inspire hope in the progress of research and compassion for the sufferers. These are positive emotions that you can help stir up.
If it were me, I'd aim to use mostly acoustic instruments to emphasise the human element of the documentary, along with some synths to show the energy and progress of the research. This is probably too obvious and I'm sure you can be more creative than me!
Ned Bouhalassa
Senior Member
For me, the most important thing would be to do a really good job at spotting the film with the director, letting them tell me when they felt music was needed most, and when there would be no use for music, the scene works as is. In cases like what you've described, I've found that less is more, subtlety and suppressing one's ego helps, not trying to make memorable melodies, but rather set a mood using texture and rhythm.
vicontrolu
Senior Member
Ned is spot on. This, and avoid minor thirds 
reddognoyz
Senior Member
Ned is spot on. This, and avoid minor thirds
and go easy with the xylo's
JohnG
Senior Member
A few ideas, some of which are already in this thread:
1. If the film already is strong, don't do too much. For example, if the scene is already serious and sad, it doesn't need more of that. However, you can still lend scale to the scene -- maybe high shimmer of some kind that gets higher and more intense, then adds a little (volume-wise) very low bass later on.
2. Neutral can be very strong in a movie like that -- alternating major and minor modes, even on the same root, can be interesting.
3. A little propulsion never hurts. Check out John Williams' tempos in Schindler's List. A tragic film but those tempi are surprisingly fast.
4. A melody can be fine, but sometimes it needs to be "just" a tune. The marvelous documentary, "The Civil War" (about the American Civil War) scores many very tragic bits with a solo violin / fiddle playing some old song. In fact, they used only two songs, for the most part, in a very long series, but they are surprisingly affecting, without being explicitly "sad."
Good luck!
1. If the film already is strong, don't do too much. For example, if the scene is already serious and sad, it doesn't need more of that. However, you can still lend scale to the scene -- maybe high shimmer of some kind that gets higher and more intense, then adds a little (volume-wise) very low bass later on.
2. Neutral can be very strong in a movie like that -- alternating major and minor modes, even on the same root, can be interesting.
3. A little propulsion never hurts. Check out John Williams' tempos in Schindler's List. A tragic film but those tempi are surprisingly fast.
4. A melody can be fine, but sometimes it needs to be "just" a tune. The marvelous documentary, "The Civil War" (about the American Civil War) scores many very tragic bits with a solo violin / fiddle playing some old song. In fact, they used only two songs, for the most part, in a very long series, but they are surprisingly affecting, without being explicitly "sad."
Good luck!
Patrick de Caumette
Senior Member
You may be asked to score wall to wall for this.
I think that piano and strings is still very efficient.
Ostinato lines, leaving plenty of space, which can be very dramatic.
A couple of organic pads.
Find an appropriate, simple, melody and do variations on that theme...
I think that piano and strings is still very efficient.
Ostinato lines, leaving plenty of space, which can be very dramatic.
A couple of organic pads.
Find an appropriate, simple, melody and do variations on that theme...
chillbot
Sock Muppet
I was reading your second paragraph and already typing your third paragraph in my head, if that makes sense. Less is definitely the way to go, as many have mentioned but I find just holding pads or long chords or even solo notes or drones in an effort to be "minimalistic" actually comes off as overly melodramatic. And piano with or without strings can be very cliché so be careful with that. I love pulsating repetition with emphasis on repetition. A single note that pulses or rhythm or ostinato that repeats and repeats and repeats can be emotional or can build tension or can be anticipatory. Also pedal tones... keeping the bass on the tonic and moving chords over it, or else keeping the ostinato or pulse constant and moving the chords under it. Keep things moving, texture and rhythm as Ned said.
Minimalist scoring, not forgetting to lighten it up when necessary. That doesn't always mean a major key, but on the other hand, if you've got someone on screen that has a fairly severe rheumatoid muscular skeletal condition, you don't want to come at the audience with some kind of upbeat Rodeo either.
David Story
Senior Member
Acoustic saves lives.
The right orchestration is 60% of this gig.
Be a supporting player.
Find the melody, but two notes is enough.
The right orchestration is 60% of this gig.
Be a supporting player.
Find the melody, but two notes is enough.
Living Fossil
Senior Member
99% of today's scoring is cliché, and very often not in a very intelligent way.
So basically, what i would recommend you is not to be afraid of using "clichés" per se.
Clichés have become clichés because they furfill their function. They give to the audience what the audience wants, and usually that's quite basic stuff. And what producers and directors want, is usually even more basic. If you do what they would have done, they are happy and they feel smart.
Follow your instincts but keep in mind that it's important not to forget the polished surface. So you should really keep an eye on the sounds you choose, and on the whole production. An interesting thing in our time is that the audience forgives you musical stupidity, but not a bad sound...
David Donaldson
Active Member
If the doco is any good it will have a shape and take the viewer on a journey.
Highlight the areas that are positive or at least neutral. e.g. Opening and closing credits, positive outcomes in the story telling, travelling scenes, interesting characters, a sense of place, medical information etc.
As has already been said, the powerful story telling bits often work best without music. Chose your moments to underscore these, be subtle.
Highlight the areas that are positive or at least neutral. e.g. Opening and closing credits, positive outcomes in the story telling, travelling scenes, interesting characters, a sense of place, medical information etc.
As has already been said, the powerful story telling bits often work best without music. Chose your moments to underscore these, be subtle.
SeattleComposer
Member
Let us hear a bit when its done, eh?
