IN
SESSION : MUSIC IN TELEVISION
"Music
In Television" is
about as broad a topic
as "Guns In Warfare"
(and I'm not so sure there
aren't more similarities
than we'd care to admit).
Even as some generals
are sure to tell you that
you can wage better warfare
with more guns, some producers
and post-production supervisors
will tell you TV is better
with more music. For the
sake of this article,
we will be discussing
TV series, not mini-series,
not specials, not documentaries
or any other format now
is use, or yet to be devised,
just series. The information,
theories and opinions
quoted below are drawn
from the many series that
we (my partner in crime,
Maribeth Solomon and I)
have had the good fortune
on which to work. These
include Adderley, Mount
Royal, Alfred Hitchcock
Presents, Twilight Zone
and Struggle for Democracy.
How much? What type? Where?
These are questions determined
by the TV Collective Bargaining
Committee which is usually
some combination of the
composer, the producer,
the executive producer,
the director, the
post-production supervisor
and the cab driver who
took you to work that
day.
The reason this may seem
a bit vague is because
the hierarchy in the TV
business can, and does,
vary dramatically from
show to show. However,
as the composer, you have
a responsibility to try
to achieve the most artistic
solution
to all of these questions
while still delivering
the kind of commercial
impact that the powers
that be have in mind.
How
much time do I have? (or,
"They don't want
it good, they want it
Thursday"). On "Adderley"
our four-day turnaround
took seven days. Let me
explain:
Friday morning our week
started with a trip to
the production offices
for a look at that week's
episode, and a spotting
session which always includes
the post-production supervisor
sometimes augmented by
the executive producer,
producer, writers and
principal cast members.
The artistic and technical
considerations about where
to put music and why are
always interesting.
Artistic considerations
include things like drama,
emotion, suspense, and
action, whereas technical
considerations can be
anything from an act break
to
creating a background
ambiance to help cover-up
faulty location sound.
The spotting was usually
finished by lunchtime,
so the rest of the day
was spent on mechanics
(breaking down each cue
into its cue sheet format)
and thematic material
needed for this specific
episode. All of the cue
sheet breakdowns included
beginning and end cue
as well as dialogue and
action highlights listed
by time code (SMPTE) numbers.
These numbers are used
later to determine the
corresponding bar and
beat of each cue point.
Saturday
through Monday was spent
leisurely composing, arranging
and orchestrating about
seven minutes of music
per day, thus totaling
our average 20 minutes
of music per episode.
(This may sound like a
lot of music, but I swear
that never once did we
play through the commercials.)
Tuesday
was the day to finish
any last minute charts,
send all music to the
copyist, and to Rob Yale,
who did the Fairlight
programming for us.
Wednesday
was studio day. Starting
in the morning with downloading
the preprogrammed Fairlight
tracks, continuing with
live musicians (often
including Lou Pomanti,
Bob Mann, Verne Dorge
and Guido Luciani) and
finishing very early the
next morning with fully-mixed
music tracks, always checking
with picture and sound.
Mind you, there was usually
an hour break at 11:30
p.m. to watch the airing
of last week's episode.
Thursday
was spent at Master's
Workshop attending the
music lay-in where it's
positioned on a 24-track
along with all dialogue,
sound effects and so on,
making it ready for the
final film mix. This is
the time to make sure
you are absolutely happy
with the position of the
music in relation to the
film because advancing
or retarding music at
this point is quite easy.
(I admit this only takes
a few hours, but usually
I found myself craving
a bit of sleep and a civilized
meal by this time). After
this, shifting the music
means interrupting the
flow of the final film
mix, something to be avoided
if at all possible.
So,
what's in it for the composer?
Well, first let me say
that not everyone draws
the same conclusion from
a given situation, but
I found it to be both
regarding and educating.
What better way to learn
about "chase music"
than to write some every
week and see how it works.
Just the opportunity to
see your music with a
picture in such an immediate
and frequent environment
gives you a chance to
evaluate and re-evaluate
your fundamental picture
scoring criteria.
It's
necessary to identify
the differences between
T.V. and the big screen
before you start to write.
The time frame (one or
half-hour shows with commercial
interruptions) and the
structure of the show
(Adderley and Mount Royal
were basically one hour
programs in five acts,
whereas Alfred Hitchcock
and Twilight Zone were
more like two act plays)
will have tremendous impact
on the type of score you
can provide. The two other
biggest differences between
movie scores and T.V.
scores are the two things
we never seem to have
enough of, time and money.
Is
it art? I leave that to
others to decide for themselves.
For me, it's always the
same - the page was blank
when I started, I filled
it with notes that I chose
to support and enhance
the picture, and I worked
to my own standards. All
things considered, I'd
say it had it's moments.
Written by Mickey Erbe
- composer/musician in
Toronto.
