Discover how RAVEN was created entirely on home computers!
Part 6: Music To Kill Demons By
Most motion picture scores are designed to be invisible - to flow continuously with the on-screen action and provide the film's emotional landscape, without ever becoming obtrusive. While the music in a particular scene may go unnoticed, the absence thereof would be painfully obvious to audiences, leaving the film naked and emotionally detached. Ever try watching a movie with the sound turned off? For the most part, the most recognizable portion of a film score is it's main theme (such as the Star Wars theme, or Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark or Halloween, for example) but it is the subtle textural changes of the film's underscore which draws us deeper into the drama of the moment.
Creating a score for RAVEN was a challenge in itself. Since the film was to be produced in three seperate acts, composer Ryan Wummel was required to come up with thematic textures for the first 8 minutes of the movie without ever seeing how the film was going to come together, and then continue that musical soundscape into the second and third acts, each months apart.
Download Ryan Wummel's MAIN TITLE music for RAVEN, in .MP3 format!
Requires Windows Media Player or similar .MP3 player
The process in which a scoring session begins is always similar: the composer and the director sit down together and watch a version of the movie with burned-in timecode running along the bottom of the frame. This timecode will become the guidepost for synchronizing the music playback. During this first viewing session, called "spotting", the composer and the director view the film multiple times, each providing input as to where music should start, where it should end, and what feeling and emotion are called upon to best suit the on-screen action.
From this point, the composer works mainly alone, retreating back to his studio to begin recording a musical track. For RAVEN, Wummel used a toolset conisting of a Roland MIDI keyboard, drumset, MIDI sequencer and four-track tape machine. MIDI data is unique because music played on the keyboard is not recorded as actual sound, rather as computer data that stores which keys were pressed, in which sequence, and with what assigned instrument. Multiple instruments can then be layered upon each other in multiple tracks of data, as to create the sound of a large orchestra or band. The benefit of MIDI recording is that each of the multiple tracks can be edited seperately, and fine tuned after the fact. Say you had recorded a sequence of music as a pipe organ but later felt it would sound better on a grand piano. A few button presses later, and you've got your new sound, all without having to go back and re-record the music.
While using the on-screen timecode as reference, the composer lays down music to fill in the gaps between the previously decided in and out points. Some music may last only a couple of seconds, others a few minutes. After a rough version of the music is approved by the director, the music is "fleshed out" by adding more instruments, or altering the instruments to achieve a specific sound.
Download Ryan Wummel's music for the FLASHBACK sequence
Requires Windows Media Player or similar .MP3 player
For RAVEN, once the music is completed, it can be played back and recorded as audible music onto analog tape, on a four track recorder. The four track allows for four seperate tracks of musical information to be recorded seperately, so that each track can then be fine tuned and mixed at appropriate volume levels later. The four-track recorder was then hooked up to the editing computer, where the RAVEN video files are stored. Once again, the music is converted to a digital format by being recorded as a waveform file into the host computer, and from there it is lain in against the video tracks in the editing software, in this case Adobe Premiere. Using the timecode present in the timeline ruler of Premiere, the director is able to determine the exact in and out points of each musical piece, as recorded by the composer.
Q & A with composer RYAN WUMMEL
Q: Describe the step by step process of scoring a film, from the composer's perspective.
RW: As the scenes roll in from the director, you first watch the cut footage. This first viewing is extremely important. The pictures can sometimes tell you what kind of musical tones and movement is needed. You watch and envision what needs emphasis- character actions, themes, scene changes, camera pans and dialog. And then - when does this emphasis need to take place to really drive home the visual image. The score is an audible backdrop or "musical scenery" that carries and links pictures together.
After the initial viewing, a general plan or mood is created. Then a meeting with the director is very important. In this meeting we will "spot" the movie, determining cues, discussing my initial musical ideas along with the directors ideas. Once we understand what direction to take, the fun starts. To properly synch up the music with the film, we used "poor mans SMPTE". SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) is the industry standard tool for synchronizing audio and video, by using a method of measuring the rate of frames-displayed-per-second on screen. In my efforts to get the best synchronization without proper equipment, I have found that if, for example, a cue is to start at 00:10:00 on the timecoded video, then I will pick a point earlier to start recording a dead air lead in. When the timecode scrolls to 9 minutes and 55 seconds, I'll push record on the sequencer. Then, if my cue begins at 00:10:00 minutes (and if my count is correct), every time I start the playback at 00:09:55, my cue will be in sync. Your final cues may be a few milliseconds out of sync, but this is as good as it gets without expensive high end equipment.
Q: What kind of musical background do you have, and how did it prepare you for scoring a movie?
RW: I played the cello for 10 years in the school orchestra. I have also been playing the drums since I was 11, and along the way have taken organ, saxaphone and guitar lessons. I was in a band, "Cappy's Convulsions", as a drummer for four years. After the band broke up, I decided to start recording on my own, which in turn led me to the electronic aspect of music.
Playing the cello was probably the most important experience for me in preparing to write a film score. The feeling that you get from being in an orchestra is amazing. Classical music is so expressive that the music and movement can lead you to happiness and then a second later rip your heart out. Having felt this power, I began to experiment with ambient composisitions that can suck you in to them while you're listening. Once you are able to create moods in soundscapes, the the true test is to condense these ideas for film work. The trick is to come up with these short, 30 second cues that will still convey a solid mood or emotion. Previously, I had been trying to lengthen my songs so that the driving rhythm or powerful sound would have time to develop. With this, my true challenge is to get my point across, as directly and efficiently as possible.
Download Ryan's DEMONSLAYER cue
Requires Windows Media Player or similar .MP3 player
Q: How is it different, composing a score for film as opposed to a song?
RW: Score composition requires the gathering of moods as they are translated from the images. You then take these moods and imagine the tones that best describe them. When composing a song, I start with a groove, (bass line, guitar riff, a drum beat) and then see where that groove takes me. When adding in new instruments, each addition can either continue the groove by reinforcing it, or change the groove completely - depending on how the sound of it inspires me.
For me, songs tend to consist of one or two generalized emotions during it's running time, but with movie music you need to have the music convey a whole spectrum of emotions, sometimes in rapid succession.
Q: Any favorite artists who've inspired you?
RW: The Cure, Joy Division, Love and Rockets and Aphex Twin.
Q: What goals did you set for yourself in doing the music for RAVEN?
RW: Since writing orchestral, "motion picture"-styled music is new to me, I wanted to be sure that the music complements the images by making you feel what is going on with the characters. I wanted to incorporate general character themes into each scene, and still be able to portray their emotions and personalities. For example, with Raven's theme, I wanted to use quick bass tones to announceher presence, and also underscore realizations about her past. I used lengthened, drawn out chords to symbolize her confusion and ultimate recognition of truths. I wanted give her music that would be at once heroic, vengeful, and ultimately tragic.
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