Here is some of of what went on with my previous project:
1. The opening scene of the film happens in a grocery store. I needed to come up with grocery store music. The music I created was not 'musak' enough. Eventually we agreed to leave music out of the opening scene. The opening scene mockup with the score was made available on day 1. The music was pulled prior to the mockup on day 3.
2. I mentioned that the opening scene music would be used for the 2 min of end titles. 8 days after completion (day 15), I received feedback that the director and sound editor agreed that the music I used for the end title was not a good fit.
3. Cue #1 after the opening scene was pulled, was behind dialog. After completion the filmmaker said they told me no music on dialog. I did not have that in my notes. They could have just pulled out the cue.
4. There was a 'montage scene' where the film maker supplied a temp track which had a piano playing a constant repetition (ostinato) flowing into a cello playing random jumps. I decided to have an acoustic bass playing a repetition and my 'sound' by default is more melodic. It seemed to me that I could have a sax do a little swing thing. Filmmaker in their final feedback, said I didn't follow instructions - the cue was not close enough to the temp track. I could have recreated a closer match had I known the feedback sooner.
5. Then came the relative lack of collaborative communication. I spoke to the film maker once at the beginning and once right as I was beginning to score the end titles. The project lasted 7 days and the film maker received 6 mockups with the score as it was progressing. Feedback happened only twice as described above.
So there could have been reworks but none were requested. The two cues on top of dialog could have been simply deleted as the cue on the opening scene but were not asked to be. The project started Mar 30. I had an Apr 5 deadline. I finished on Apr 3 leaving 2 days for reworks. Texted completion on Apr 3. The film maker was out of town shooting another film. No response. Texted completion again on Apr 5. On Apr 7 film maker texts they are about to get on a plane and will contact me in the afternoon. Never did. I went ahead and posted the completed score on Apr 7 and let the sound editor know. Yesterday/Apr 11 asked for / texted status? Noticed the dropbox music folder had music files added which were not mine. Asked for status today/April 11 and received a very long and detailed email with all the above feedback and letting me know they have decided to 'move in a different direction' and will not be using the score.
I was of course disappointed but ultimately the director/producer/filmmaker does have the say as to what music gets put into the film. The inability to use the score in this case in my opinion has multiple causes: (1) my inability to score acceptable cues on the first take, (2) my not being totally attentive to the needs and requests of the film maker, (3) the lack of ongoing collaboration by the filmmaker and (4) the filmmaker's lack of interests/time for re-works,
These are my personal assessments and I am willing to take ownership that no matter how well I liked the score in the mockups, I am still a service provider and work at the pleasure of the film maker.
I have looked back at all my scores over the years and have noticed while I have had 35 scores released in films, I have also have scored 12 films where in many the score was completed but not used.
Here are some reasons:
1. In many of them the filmmakers should have listened to my scores / music and understood the type of 'sound I normally create' but waited for the cues and then realized the music did not match their expectations and so they moved in a different direction.
2. In one film, I had it nearly finished when I explained the score needed to go as a single unit starting at 0m0s. This was not a work for hire. The filmmaker insisted they wanted to be able to break the music into parts and put it anywhere they liked. And so the score was rejected.
3. The filmmaker wanted me to work along with multiple composers on a feature for free. I had already scored the end titles first.
4. The filmmaker proposed a contract that gave them ownership and the ability to remove the score after 1 year if they chose. This happened after a full score was created for the film in a festival they decided to leave/exit from.
5. One cop/police/shoot em up film I start scoring and then they just decided to go in a different direction with no explanation.
6. In one film the score was finished and the night before the deadline the film was unlocked and things moved around. The filmmaker/director claimed they didn't have the score to resync it themselves. I had thought I was going to do it in the morning not realizing they had to go to work by then and need the sync sooner. that one was definitely my bad.
So in summary I would say that most of the time but not all of the time, if I create a full score and it is not used, I likely had a role in the cause. So they all serve as learning experiences of what works, what doesn't work and ways to improve.
The question:
have you had one or any number of films that you have scored where the score were not used in the film? Fell free to share your experiences if you want. It could be a learning less for all of us.
By the way, this was the score I had written that was discussed above:
I like the score, Joel Irwin. Glad you're able to see these as learning experiences. Thanks for sharing the post. There are points in it for composers and filmmakers.
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Wow !
I as #4 in the contract ? Sure hope so.
Seems a lot of lessons we need to learn.
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Seems like nice score; real Cyms / Drums may have made 1st cut a little better( they do sound nice).
KK
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So has anyone have one or more scores they completed paid or unpaid and the score was not used in the film? What happened? I am sure I am not the only one.
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When they want you to match a temp track things go awry. I say listen to my idea with an open mind and heart and it could go farther than the temp track. But most the time they want the tempo track sound. sorry bro
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I had a very unique experience during my first job as a composer for a feature film.
I had to juggle two fundamental roles in the production: the director and... the owner of the film!
I say this because the film was based on a novel, and the author was also the film's main character and main executive producer. And, as if that weren't enough, he was also a musician!
So the way we worked was quite unusual. He would come to my studio with ideas, I would set up the microphone, and he would sing the melodies he came up with for the different scenes in the film. Then I had to base those melodies on the film to create an orchestral composition.
But (there's always a catch) I also had to interpret the director's needs and his own vision for the film (which is more common in this field).
I ultimately ended up creating my own compositions for many parts of the film, and several scores ended up in a drawer, both mine and those of the book's author and main character.
I definitely learned a lot from that project. Especially about the different visions people (including me) can have for the same scene.
I think every project is a learning experience, and that, ultimately, is what allows us to improve day by day, or at least work on it.
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Anyone score a whole film and then none of it was used? Hard to believe it only happened to me....