Couple things to think about. Not every show needs to have wall-to-wall music...even though it may be possible to create an emotional bed that supports what's going on visually. John Williams tends to go more "wall-to-wall" vs. other composers tend to spread it out a little more.
So, I always think in terms of scoring sections that have the following elements to them:
- Movement - motion, something fast or intense going on
- A re-enactment or "drama" of some sort
- Intro to a movie - helps draw me in with titles, etc. Even if the song fades out or ends it's nice to let people know "the show is starting." "Watch!" Plus moving title graphics (or still graphics) tend to work well with music.
- End of a movie - same idea as the above bullet point.
- Transitions to sections of a movie. For example, let's say you have one section of your video on "Safety Tips" and another section of your movie covers "Employee Benefits"...you might want to create some sort of "title" or "graphics" transition between the two and use music to "fuse" the two together.
- And if you do end up using music under someone speaking (voice over or host on camera) choose something that's not too busy. Something that doesn't get in the way. We want to hear what he/she is saying while feeling like the music makes sense with the visuals / broll.
Another example, I see a lot of editors using that intense rock groove under a video that has no fast moving edits and nothing that is energizing going on visually. So why are they using an intense rock song that makes me think I'm watching a Nascar race? Know what I mean? Choose music that really fits the scene.
- It's key to find variety. Choosing a song that runs for 5 minutes can get VERY LONG very fast.
Hope some of these ideas help.
Stephen Vidano
TuneSociety.com
"Set Your Music Free"
