Score: A Film Music Documentary

The documentary describes how film music is made. It talks with composers, goes into the studios and shows orchestral sessions. What is discussed is technical: looking at a scene and finding the theme, writing to a duration, locking the orchestra to the picture, meeting the delivery date. It also gives a history, coming from live music in the silent era through the orchestras of the studio period, the arrival of synthesisers and the working order of today. Accounts of how famous themes came about are set in between. Matt Schrader directs. Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Trent Reznor, Rachel Portman and Quincy Jones are among those speaking. Its money was largely raised by crowdfunding; it was made as an independent documentary. Its best sections are the studio recordings; how the orchestra is synchronised to the picture is shown directly. It also touches on composers' working conditions; the delivery times are short and the pressure high. Its limit is scope; the film gathers a great many names and finds time to go deep with none. Another limit is viewpoint; it is largely centred on Hollywood and barely enters the composing traditions of world cinema. Who it is for: anyone curious about film music and wanting to see composers at work. Who it is not for: it is surface level, weak in criticism, and close to a promotional register.