The Secret To Good Film-making That No One Seem To Care About

It’s no secret that music is an unseen force that dictates the tone of the film - recall the suspenseful music in 1975 classic Jaws- but it remains common practice for emerging filmmakers to neglect it.

The common mistake: music is seen as an afterthought.

At the start of my filmmaking journey, I never saw the value in hiring a composer to score a tune - it seemed too cumbersome an affair for a simple video. In its place, I turn to the bevvy of online licensed royalty free music. After all, it’s there when you need it.

But with stock music, rarely do you get a track that is attuned with what you’re after. Often times, you have to rework the film around the music to produce a seamless video rather than vice versa.

I got to work with a music composer to produce a music score for a short film project.

Admittedly, I had been apprehensive on how the process will go. But the bespoke experience turned out to be amazing. The tailored process meant creative freedom, and we could play with different elements to eventually craft an audio piece that fitted the video immaculately.

Below is the completed short film produced:

Listen Up

The prominence of sound has quickly risen to the foreground and it suffices to say music is no longer a secondary device to enhance a film. Custom music may feel like a splurge but what you get in return supersedes popular stock tracks that have been used and reused to death.

But don’t take my words for it, watch the film to see what I mean.