How Animators Work With Composers

Original music composition helps to lift our student films to a professional level, as our students learn to collaborate with composers and sound designers to push the level of quality of our film projects.

An original score also helps to avoid problems with copyright music, which can be a barrier to entry in film festival competitions.

So, how do our students work with composers to get the best possible results? 

Start with a Temp Track

Scored by Stuart Bramwell

You don't want to go to a composer until your picture is "locked", so the trick is start by cutting some music that you like into your animatic.  The director and editor work together to find music that serves the picture, and matches the emotional arc of the story.  

At this stage, you are not worried about copyright, you are just using music that works in the context of the film.  You can show this version to your composer, but don't get them to start doing any actual work until your picture is "locked" - which is to say - finished. 

Lock Picture

Once you are finished with the film, and all the animation and rendering is done, you are now "picture locked", meaning that no further changes to the edit will be made. Each shot must stay the same length, the running time must be fixed in stone. No further changes. Now you can give this version of the film to your composer to score the final edit - he or she is now ready to work. 

Why Do Composers Need Picture Lock?

Jerich0 - scored by Alexandra Harwood

Syncing the music with the picture is one of the biggest challenges that film composers face, and the final short will only work if the music and the visuals are perfectly co-ordinated.  

If you change the edit after the composer has finished their work, then you will make it look as if the composer has not properly analysed the visuals and hasn't scored it well.  Some composers will even ask their music to be removed from the film if it no longer matches the picture.

Film-making Resources

Alma - scored by Maria Cortes-Monroy

For more information and resources on the making of animated short films, follow the links below:

Development & Pre-Production

• How to Write a Story
• How to pitch your film idea
• Why Animators Need Mood Boards
• Why Animators Need Colour Scripts
• Managing Group Projects
• Why Animators Need a Storyboard Animatic
• How to Record Voice-Overs
• Sound Design for Animators

Production

• Why Animators Must Wreck Their Rigs
• What an Animation Editor Does, Exactly
• Ten Rules of Animation Dailies
• Why Animators Must Check Their Hookups
• What are CBBs? (Could be Better)
• Using Lighting to Tell the Story

Post-Production

• How Animators Work with Composers
• Colour Grading your film
• Thanks and Special Thanks - Getting Film Credits Right
• How to Create the Perfect One-Sheet Movie Poster (and Why You Need One)
• Getting Yourself (and your film) Listed at IMDB

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link. To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here. For the next 12 week animation course, click here.