7 Reasons Your Production Needs A Film Music Consultant.
The astronomer Neil De Grasse Tyson, is clearly a perfectionist. After watching the 1997 movie, Titanic, he approached the director, James Cameron, with a bold observation (stay with me here…). De Grasse Tyson had noticed that, contrary to the depiction of the film, the star formations in the night sky would have appeared completely differently on the fateful night of April 14th, 1912. My lasting memory of the film was that surely Kate Winslet could have moved over a bit on her raft to stop Leonardo Di Caprio succumbing to hypothermia. However, Cameron clearly felt the accuracy of this seemingly small detail was important, and obliged by making the change for the movie’s 20th anniversary re-release.
As a music consultant for productions such as ‘The Great’ (Hulu), and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Disney), I am constantly impressed at the level of detailed research that the various departments have carried out. Props source the most exquisite accessories for a room, and the costume department ensure that they have historical accuracy down to the last cufflink. However I often notice, along with many of my musician colleagues, that when it comes to musical performances on screen, accuracy can be sorely lacking.
I’d love to offer you an insight into what an experienced film music consultant can and should do for your production, and show you why you will save time, money, and stress. Here are a few reasons why I think your production could benefit from hiring one:
Organise now and save last-minute panic. One of the main services I provide is booking background artists. These are professional musicians that have all been prepped to appear on-set, so you can completely trust that they know how to perform or mime, whatever is required. No supporting artists that played the violin once when they were 5.
First-hand experience. If you are able to hire a music consultant that knows what they’re doing, it will save so much stress. They will know which departments to lease with for each particular task, and anticipate the questions you didn’t know needed answering. In this role, I know when I need to help props source a particular instrument, or advise on the kind of instruments in use at a particular time. We can liase with the composer, without any need to scrub up on technical jargon. We hope to become the new best friend of the Second AD, when they realise that they don’t have to suddenly research how to book five balalaika players. And finally, we know how the vast machine of a film production works- in quick, often high-pressure situations, with a degree of hierarchy that non-experienced hires might not be aware of.
Last minute script changes. Even if a music consultant hasn’t been formally hired in the lead up to a shoot, it can be useful to have a number to hand. I have experienced late-stage changes to scripts where Second AD’s suddenly have to rush around and hire musicians in, which can be totally overwhelming. An experienced music consultant should be able to get this fixed up for you easily, allowing crew to concentrate on their million-and-one other tasks.
On-set supervision. If you have booked musicians to come on to set, it can be really useful to have an experienced on-set music supervisor booked for those shoot dates. They will be able to liase with the sound department, which can save vital time as there are so many different possible scenarios- live performance, miming, miming to playback, taking direction. It’s really useful, especially if you have more than one musician, to have someone checking that the performers are miming accurately. A well-prepared music consultant will be able to arrange with the sound department exactly the plan for the day, and be flexible if it needs to change. And the 1st or 3rd AD will be able to give the music consultant instruction which can then be passed on to a group of artists, saving vital minutes between takes. Do you need a conductor to come in and conduct off-scene? We’ve certainly had to do this before for choral scenes in particular.
Budgeting. It’s a good idea to make sure that you seek the advice of an experienced music supervisor or consultant in your initial prep. It’s amazing how often musicians pop up in scripts or background scenes, or that one of the central characters plays an instrument. Do you need to budget for background musicians? Remember that the rates will be slightly higher than regular supporting artist rates, because of union regulations, which is fair because they are providing a specialist service. Will your background artists be recorded live (which is a higher rate again), and do you know what they will be performing? A good music supervisor can advise on appropriate tracks and ensure that they are licensed in time. Will any of your actors need hand doubles, or private instrument or vocal tuition? Particularly for the latter, this is something that you would want to schedule well in advance. In the long run, this all saves money. The music consultant will take care of all of the licensing and recording paperwork (necessary for musicians recorded live), ensuring that you are covered legally. And you won’t be stung by any musicians suddenly announcing that they are contacting their union, because a friend has told them they haven’t been paid fair rates.
Historical Accuracy. If you are prepping for a historical drama, it can be really useful to hire a music consultant early on in the process, because it will ensure that you maintain accuracy throughout. If there is a choreographer coming in, for example, they can then liase with each other about suitable music to ensure the dancers and musicians both have the same tracks from the beginning. Even though we might think that instruments such as the violin, cello, and piano have remained the same over the years, but it’s not the case. And it would be such a shame to get all the details for your production set in 1650 correct and then use a piano (it hadn’t been invented yet). Except if it was for anachronistic purposes of course.
Scores and sheet music. You’re probably aware of this, but unfortunately it won’t look great if musicians just turn up and try to mime to a track they don’t know. Ok, it might not be noticeable in some scenarios, but on shoot days we want to be prepared for every eventuality. A good music consultant will be able to tell you whether the track you have chosen needs arranging (written down for the specific instruments), or whether the music is already available for public use. They should also be able to arrange it for you (I do a lot of this, and have even had to do it on the day!), or make sure that one of their colleagues prepares this.
In short, you will be confident that the musical aspect of your shoot has been taken care of, making for a calmer prep and shoot. You’ll hopefully gain a valued member of your team, an adaptable, resilient team player. A specialist, but with specific knowledge of film production. much like a military advisor, or intimacy coordinator. And we’ll stop you from going over-budget, except if an orchestra is suddenly written into the script at the last minute! Although we’d still be prepared, because, in film, you never know.