from KPCC.org.

Long before movies could talk, they still had the power to tell a story – withmusic. In the silent era, Charlie Chaplin not only acted in and directed his own films, he wrote music for them. As film making evolved, so too did the process of scoring for the cinema.

Some of the greatest scores in film history are the product of a shared vision between directors and composers. The legendary pairing of director David Lean and composer Maurice Jarre resulted in some of the most memorable movies and scores of all time, creating a landscape both visual and musical, impossible to separate. Picture Doctor Zhivago and Lara defying the Russian snows with their passion, Lawrence of Arabia rallying his troops from the top of a train – what music do you hear?

When he made Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977, Steven Spielberg hired long-time collaborator John Williams to score the film before even one frame had been shot. But these days, movie budgets are shrinking and composers are feeling the pinch. Film scores generally comprise a very small portion of a film’s budget and are often commissioned so late in the game that the deadlines and demands on composers can be brutal. American films used to be scored by large orchestras; these days, thanks to budget and time constraints and the convenience of electronic music, live scoring is becoming a lost art.

What does all this mean for the future of film music? Are we losing touch with the art? How has technology changed the business? Is there more or less originality in movie music now than 20 or 30 years ago? Is the golden age of film scoring over? How are today’s working composers able to overcome the many challenges?

Watch the video at SCPR.org.

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This article was written for EOSHD.

“One of the great things about Vimeo is that it feels like a big university campus, off the main street and away from regular commercial business. On Vimeo you can usually let your creativity go unfettered by copyright concerns, advertising banners and troll comments. Quite different from YouTube.

Unfortunately I recently had a take down notice on my Philip Bloom London Meet-up video because the record company behind the sound track for A Clockwork Orange threatened Vimeo and asked for the video to be removed. I didn’t really mind too much – because to the music industry’s credit, the corporate attitude of days-gone-by does seem to be changing and their understanding of the internet is growing.”

Read the rest of this article from EOSHD.

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Read this article from Bostonist

“On Friday, Berklee hosted composers, filmmakers, and miscellaneous artistic types for a Music for Film networking event. Co-sponsored by Beanywood, the evening offered the opportunity to hear music from up-and-coming composers, as well as panel presentations from folks in the industry. Overall, it was an excellent opportunity to meet people dedicated to the pursuit of making music for films, and a chance for writers like us to get a glimpse behind the scenes of movies.”

This article is from Film and Game Composers.

“A while back, I read “A Complete Guide to Film Scoring” by Richard Davis. Its a great book and definitively well worth the read. Here is the synopsis of the book:

“If you’ve ever wondered how to write music for film or television, The Complete Guide to Film Scoring is a necessary resource. This guide will take you through the film-making process, preparing and recording a score, the history of the field, and the business side of film scoring including contracts, fees, publishing, royalties, and copyrights.

Learn from the career experiences of 19 film-scoring professionals in interviews with composers such as Michael Kamen (Mr. Holland’s Opus, Brazil), Alf Clausen (The Simpsons, Naked Gun), Alan Silvestri (Forrest Gump, Contact), Mark Snow (X-Files, Millennium) and Elmer Bernstein (To Kill a Mockingbird, Airplane, Rainmaker).”

Anyway, I recently found this video series by Richard Davis on youtube which is very interesting. Topics he covers include:” Watch videos here.