Filmmakers What are you looking for in a Composer?

^What a coincidence!  Ron Owen came to my university and gave a lecture about his work on End of the Spear.  It was interesting; we watched a rough cut of a scene and followed along with copies of the score he passed out.

It was cool to read the different cues and hear/see them on the screen.  For instance, he wrote flute/piccolo rapidly descending scales to go along with someone falling down a hill.  I like stuff like that.

   

Actually, now that I think about it, I care very little about the actual quality of the music. Probably 75% of my opinion is based on how much I like the person.

I mean, really. I make movies for fun, so I want a fun composer.

Call me crazy.

that's very true.

I'd say:

1/3 the person, 1/3 the quality of the music, and don't forget 1/3 how well it fits the video both timing wise and mood.
Actually, that might even be up to like 1/4, 1/4, 1/2.
Probably 1/3 all though. All are very important.

I would venture to place "quality of music" and "fitting with the video" in the same category.

It's not the same to me at all.

Many people love great music with lyrics. To me, for most of the films that I have made, it would be a terrible soundtrack.
Likewise, I have a track or two with subpar music that is timed perfectly to the movie, so it still works, on some level.



but... yeah:
1/3 how it is working with the composer, 2/3 the music

Well, yeah, I guess I wouldn't completely lump them together, but they're very closely related, since music will sound different in the context of different films.  What doesn't sound as nice in one film might blow you away if used in another.

James Horner's music is almost always dull listening by itself, but when put to film, it's phenominal.

Quality of listening?  Poor.

Quality of writing? Fair.

Quality of music good.

Quality of mood/timing fitting with film?  High.

Quality of Score?  Fantastic.

 

Yes, there's a slight difference between "music" and "score".  In many cases, score doesn't stand alone very well, and merely supports what is on screen.  I know John Williams has made some concert arrangements of his movie cues, and they sound fantastic on screen and on stage!

And knowing is 1/2 the battle!

*theme music*