1) Firstly, you want to know the film almost of by heart. When you watch the film for the first time, watch it as if you were watching any movie (for the entertainment and escapism). When you watch it you will discover, like any other film, the plot, climax and structure of the film, and you can see how the audiences will see it, as (hopefully) nothing has been spoilt for you. The second time, you can then start analyzing it and paying attention to the moods and tone of the film, and the emotions you pick up from watching the film (this then helps, as later on when you're choosing your score you know what emotions to enhance through the genre and tone of the music).
Keep on watching it over and over looking out for new things each time, maybe focus on a specific micro element or technique, such as the cinematography, sound, or mise-en-scene. Even try watching it with out sound, as the sound can distract from the image, and therefore you can begin to think of the music you think will work in places. Lastly, constantly have it playing, even when you're not watching it (on the computer, lying in bed, eating). Do all of these things until you're sure you know the film well enough.
2) Make sure you stick to the rhythm of the editing, make sure it matches the story and whats happening in each frame, and lastly make sure it matches the feeling of the film.
When concentrating on the editing of the movie, you want to take into account the pace of it. So make sure you're aware of how fast the cuts are, and what effect they have on you/the audience. You want the music to match the beat of the film, so where there are fast cuts, it would make sense to include fast music (unless you're intentionally going for a contrast in the visual and sound).
You want the sound to match the story line, and each of the shots. What this means is, that if the film is sped up in a specific scene, it would also make sense to speed up the sound and the music in that scene too, unless of course you want to disobey this rule or you're syncing music to a silent film.
Lastly you want to stick to the feeling of the film, which is one of the most important rules. It is vital that you are aware of the emotions of s scene, and have the ability to match them with the right music. You've got to be able to d
etect the mood, which you should have done by now due to watching the film over and over, and now you can begin thinking about what music to apply to each scene depending on this factor (and the others).
3) Now you have a good idea of what you want to bring to the film, and have discovered yourself what music needs to go where, and what moods it is going to be bringing/enhancing. This is brilliant, and you need to make sure you have the idea of what YOU want before you get other peoples opinions, as this could then cloud your judgement on what you want from the film, preventing any creative ideas you may have.
Once you are sure of what you want, then is a good time to ask the director what he/she wants. If they have similar visions to you (for what he wants the score to bring to the film), then that is great, but if they had a different idea in mind, they might actually be enlightened by yours and find it works better. If they are still keen for their own ideas, you can then discuss and look for the mood the director wants. For example, you may think eerie music works best to create tension in a scene of a man walking through a forest, where as the director may want the sharp, horrific and intense music to scare the audience beforehand.
Also, avoid feedback and criticism unless from the director while in the creative process, as different people have different opinions, and some ones criticism may lead you of track or put you down, when the job you were doing was on the right track in the first place. If you are going to be taking advice and feedback make sure its not from one person, but many, so you get the vote of the majority, and not just one persons opinion.
4) Now its time to start choosing the instruments. You should have now got an idea of what you want from watching the film continuously, and discovered a feel for the film. You should have mental and physical notes of what you want from each section of the film (whether that scene needs music, what type of music, what pace of music).
The instruments are chosen almost purely based on the atmosphere of the film (unless you want/need to take into account other factors; for example, you intend for the music to be played by a character, and they play a specific instrument, e.g Sherlock Holmes in BBC's Sherlock). By now you have a rough idea of the atmosphere through out the film, and in specific points of the film, but you now have to start deciding what instruments work well for the atmosphere you want to create or enhance. You need to think about what instruments will work well for the moods you want, for example, you want to create a relaxed setting at a restaurant, you would go for a Saxophone, as opposed to an electric guitar. Do this for each scene in the film, until you are sure of what you want.
5) Lastly, get lost in the project. Immerse yourself into the film, and let it take over, so it inspires you to constantly be thinking about what score would work best in each scene. Try and get into the film and feel as though your in the world with the characters, and in fact put yourself in the place of the characters, to feel their emotions and help create the soundtrack to their lives.Composing Sound in the Dark Knight
Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan worked together to create the music for the Dark Knight. They both though instead of making the soundtrack for the Joker something that appeals to the audience, Hans states that he didn't want to make a 'summer block buster happy and indulgent score' and that it should be something provocative that they truly hate.
Hans Zimmer states in the video that 'the great thing about working with Nolan is, that when I thought maybe i'm going a bit to far in the deep end, he'll push me a little further." They had no problems with making the music as dark as it can get, and wanted the Joker to be made even more terrifying through the music of the film.
Three of the qualities Zimmer wanted to bring to the music of the Joker was tension, and being able to link the character to the music. Nolan talks about how Zimmer knew the character extremely well and what he wanted from the character, that he had this idea of razerblades and strings bringing in tension, and had understood the punk influence and feel of the character. He wanted the sound to immediately remind the audience of the Joker, so that if you heard a second of the track, you knew who to expect.
In the process Zimmer did many experiments and recorded all kinds of sounds, to influence and help his decisions on the Jokers score. Nolan earlier on in the production asked to hear some of the experiments he had done, and Zimmer presented him with 9 thousand bar long recordings of 'complete insanity'. These recordings consisted of things such as razer blades, pencils, piano wire, and tables, which were extremely unsettling sounds.
Zimmer then had the job to refine all of the sounds into something that was practical for the film, and the perfect soundtrack for the Joker. He decided to define the Joker in just two notes that clash with each other, and rise in tension. They decided it synced perfectly with the character, and had finally found their track.
In my opinion it works extremely well, the never ending note is extremely unsettling which is what they were going for, and the never ending notes go with the Joker as he is known to be undefeatable, and the classing notes match his dysfunctional personality. When I watched the Dark Knight, I found when ever I heard this score it automatically reminded me of the Joker and the sound enhanced the Jokers intimidating personality and madness.
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