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Survey of Film Music
MUSC2663

Steiner, Max. "Scoring the Film (1937)." In The Hollywood Film Music
Reader, edited by Mervyn Cooke, 55-68. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2010.
6
Max Steiner: 'Scoring the Film"
(1937)
The founding father ofan indestructible lingua franca oforchestral film. music
in the early years ofsound cinema was the Vienna-born composer MaxSteiner
(1888-1971), one ofa clutch ofimmigrant musicians from Europe who shaped
the Hollywood film score with sturdy but largely old-fashioned compositional
techniques borrowed from opera, operetta, and stage melodrama. His career
had begun in Europe as a musical director of stage shows, and it was in this
capacity that he began work on Broadwayfollowing his emigration to NewYork
at the beginning of the First World War. After the Wall Street crash in 1929,
theatrical productions were affected by the harsh economic realities of the de-
pression and a number of experienced musicians (among them Alfred New-
man, soon to become a major musical and administrative force in Hollywood)
left Broadway for the new opportunities offered by the film industry on the
West Coast. When Steiner began work for RKORadio Pictures in 1929,he was
already skilled as a composer, arranger, and director ofboth classical and pop-
ular musical styles, and therefore (again like Newman) proved equally adept at
scoring dramas and arranging musicals.
Steiner's breakthrough film-scoring assignments were King Kong (dir,
Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933) and The Informer [dir,
John Ford, 1935), his score for the latter winning one of the film's four
Academy Awards for RKO. (The music award had been instituted in 1934,
Source: Nancy Naumburg. 00.. We Makethe Movies (New York: W.W. Norton. 193" London: Faberand
Faber. 1938): 216-39.
56 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Max Steiner conducting his score to RKO's landmark monster movie King Kong(dir.
Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack) in 1933.The projection screen for the
benefit of the conductor is clearly visible at the rear ofthe studio, and the suitably
outlandish orchestration includes a sousaphone (far left). (Photofest; © RKO)
and until 1938was given to the studio's music department as a whole and not
to individual composers.) After moving to Warner Bros. in 1936, Steiner
became one of the most prolific of all Hollywoodcomposers, scoring massive
assignments like Gone With the Wind (dir. Victor Fleming, George Cukor,
and Sam Wood, 1939) with the aid of a team of brilliant orchestrators and
copious quantities of Benzedrine. His musico-dramatic methods were some-
what literal-minded, with a heavy reliance on leitmotifs, quotations of imme-
diately recognizable preexisting melodies (for example, national anthems
appropriate to a film's geographical setting), and graphic Mickey Mousing.
The last technique, also known as "catching the action" and gaining its pop-
ular label from its habitual use in cartoons, involved musical gestures di-
rectly imitating the physical actions to which they were synchronized, and
Steiner's sometimes slavish adherence to this approach occasionally met
with harsh criticism.
In her comprehensive symposium on the mechanics of film production
in the later 1930s, "independent documentary filmmaker Nancy Naumburg
r'o'". /', STEINER: "SCORING THE FILM" 57
(19II-88) included chapters devoted to producers, story editing, scriptwrit-
ing. directing, set designing, casting, acting, photography, sound recording,
editing, composing, color design, and animation. One of the two chapters on
acting was contributed by rising star Bette Davis, who (like many of the
book's contributors) was then under contract at Warner Bros., and for many
of whose films Steiner composed the music, winning an Academy Award
for his score accompanying her fine performance in Irving Rapper's Now,
Voyager in 1942. Steiner's contribution to the volume provides revealing
insights into his daily work as a busy film composer and includes an account
of his role as musical director for RKO's Gay Divorcee [dir, Mark Sandrich,
1934),one of several musicals made by the studio to showcase the talents of
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and the first winner of the newly instituted
Academy Award tor Best Song (Con Conrad and Herb Magidson's "The
Continental").
Steiner begins by describing how background music gradually made its
way onto film soundtracks at the start of the 1930Sin reaction to the general
avoidance of such descriptive music in the early years of the sound film
(1927-30), when it was widely believed that audiences would be confused by
the ghostly presence of invisible musicians and needed a clear visual justifica-
tion for each music cue.
In the spring of 1931, due to the rapid development of sound technique, pro-
ducers and directors began to realize that an art which had existed for thou-
sands of years could not be ruled out by "the stroke ofa pen:' TIleybegan to add
a little music here and there to support love scenes or silent sequences. But
they felt it necessary to explain the music pictorially. Forexample, if they wanted
music for a street scene, an organ grinder was shown. It was easy to use music
in night club, ballroom or theater scenes, as here the orchestras played a
necessary part in the picture.
Many strange devices were used to introduce the music. For instance, a
love scene might take place in the woods, and in order to justify the music
thought necessary to accompany it, a wandering violinist would be brought
in for no reason at all. Or, again, a shepherd would be seen herding his
sheep and playing his flute, to the accompaniment ofa fifty.piece symphony
orchestra.
Half of this music was still recorded on the set, causing a great deal of
inconvenience and expense. Whenever the director, after the completion of his
58 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
picture, made any changes, or recut his film, the score was usually ruined as it
was obviously impossible to cut the sound track without harming the under-
lying continuity ofthe music. Occasionallywe were able to make cuts that were
not too noticeable.
At this time the process of re-recording was slowlybeing perfected, and we
soon learned to score music after the completion ofa picture. This had two ad-
vantages. It left the director free to cue his picture any way he pleased without
hurting our work, and we were able to control the respective levels between
dialogue and music, thereby clearing the dialogue.
To go back to 1931: With re-recording being rapidly improved, every stu-
dio again began to import conductors and musicians. At the time, I was gen-
eral musical director for RKO Studios. I wrote Symphony ofSix Million, and
Bird of Paradise soon after, the first of which had about 40 per cent, and the
latter 100 per cent musical scoring. Both pictures had been shot for music.
The directors and producers wanted music to run throughout, and this gradual
change of policy resulted in giving music its rightful chance. One-third to
one-halfof the success ofthese pictures was attributed to the extensive use of
music.
After that many pictures were completely scored, one of which was King
Kung[I933j. This score I wrote in two weeks and the music recording cost was
around fifty thousand dollars. The picture was successful and the studio again
attributed at least 25 per cent of its success to the music, which made the artifi-
ciallyanimated animals more life-like, the battle and pursuit scenes more vivid.
After this other studios followed. suit and began to score their pictures. At this
time I wrote the music for The Lost Patrol [1934], directed by John Ford. Mr.
Ford also directed The Informer [1935], and he and I conferred on the use of
music for this picture before it was shot. This was not the case with The Lost
Patrol. At first it was not intended to have any music, but after the picture was
finished the producer decided that, because of the long silent scenes, it was
necessary to underscore the entire production.
In order to explain the modern technique and procedure of composing,
directing, and recording music for the screen, I will outline my way of scoring
which may differ to some extent from the systems adopted by composers and
directors in othe,r studios: but the fundamentals are the same.
When a picture is finished and finally edited, it is turned over to me. Then
I time it: not by stop watch, however, as many do. I have the film put through a
special measuring machine and then a cue sheet created which gives me the
exact time, to a split second, in which an action takes place, or a word is spoken,
as in the following example:
tIF'r,/" "
r STEINER: "SCORING THE FILM" 59
Excerpt from cue sheet of Reel III, Part I, of The Informer.
MIN. SEC. FEET FRAMES
CUE: The captain throws money on table a a
1. Gypo grabs money and exits 20 30
2. Door slams 26 39
3· CUT to blind man 33 49 5Gypo grabs blind man's throat 41 61 64·
5· Gypo leaves him 58
87
6. The blind man's step is heard I 5~ 97 7
By comparing the respective timing, the reader will be able to discern the
method of underscoring. The music for each cue is timed exactlybythe number of
feet and extra frames and by the number of minutes and seconds each cue runs,
While these cue sheets are being made, I begin to work on themes for the
different characters and scenes, but without regard to the required timing.
During this period I also digest what I have seen, and try to plan the music for
this picture. There may be a scene that is played a shade too slowly which I
might be able to quicken with a little animated music; or, to a scene that is too
fast, I may be able to give a little more feeling by using slower music. Or per·
haps the music can clarify a character's emotion, such as intense suffering,
which is not demanded or fully revealed by a silent close-up, as, for instance,
the scene in The Charge ofthe Light Brigade [1936], where Errol Flynn forges the
order sending six hundred to their death.
After my themes are set and my timing is completed, I begin to work. I run
the picture reel by reel again, to refresh my memory. Then I put my stop watch
on the piano, and try to compose the music that is necessary for the picture
within the limits allowed by this timing. For instance: For fifteen seconds of
soldiers marching, I may write martial music lasting fifteen seconds. Then the
picture might cut to a scene at a railroad track, which lasts for six seconds, when
I would change my music accordingly or let it end at the cut. Once all my themes
are set I am apt to discard them and compose others, because frequently, after
I have worked on a picture for a little while, my feeling towards it changes.
Having finally set my themes I begin the actual and tedious work of corn-
posing according to my cue sheets, endeavoring to help the mood and dramatic
intent of the story as much as possible. The great difficulty lies in the many cuts
(sections; different locations) which make up a modern motion picture. For
example: The first two minutes on my imaginary cue sheet consist ofthe arrival
of a train in some little town. I would use music that conforms with the pound-
ing of the locomotive, a train whistle or the screeching of the brakes, and
60 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
perhaps some gay music to coverthe greetings of people getting on and off the
train. After these two minutes. the picture cuts directly to the death bed of the
father in a little attic in an outlying farmhouse, the scene lasting three minutes
in all. I must, therefore, devise some method of modulating quickly and
smoothly from the gay music in the station to the silence and tragedy in the
death room. These two scenes would consume fiveminutes of the ten-minute
reel, and at the point of the father's death we might cut directly to a cabaret in
New York where the daughter is singing, not knowing that her father is dead.
Here is a transition which I would not modulate at all. Instead, it would be very
effectiveto let a hot jazz band bang right in as soon as the cut, or short fade. to
the cabaret was completed.
There is nothing more effective in motion-picture music than sudden
changes of mood cleverly handled, providing, of course, they are consistent
with the story. During this cabaret scene, while the jazz orchestra is playing. if
the daughter is notified of her father's death. it would be absolutely wrong to
change from the hot tune in progress to music appropriate to her mood. We
must consider the jazz orchestra as actual music, not as underscoring; and, in
order to make this sequence realistic, we should contrive to make the music as
happy and noisy as possible. For, in the first place, the orchestra leader does not
know what has happened, and would, therefore, have no reason to change his
music; and, second, no.greater counterpoint has ever been found than gay
music underlying a tragic scene, or viceversa. The latter, ofcourse, applies only
if the audience is aware of tragedy taking place unknown to the players.
Standard symphonic music, such as Beethoven's Broica, should not be
used in its entirety for the same reasons stated in my last paragraph. The
change oflocale and cutting back and forth make it almost impossible. For ex-
ample, if I were to use a funeral march from the Broica, however well it might
fit the scene and mood, if the picture cut on the twelfth bar to a cabaret in the
Bronx,what would I do with the funeral march by Beethoven? I would have to
rewrite, discontinue or break it up in some way, and I, for one, am loath to
recompose the old masters.
Furthermore, it is my conviction that familiar music, however popular,
does not aid the underlying score of a dramatic picture. I believe that, while the
American people are more musically minded than any other nation in the
world, they are still not entirely familiar with all the old and new masters'
works. I am, therefore, opposed to the use of thematic material that might
cause an audience to wonder and whisper and try to recall the title of a partic-
ular composition, thereby missing the gist and significance of a whole scene
which might be the key to the entire story. Of course there are many in our
industry who disagree with my viewpoint.
STEINER: "SCORING THE FILM" 61
In composing a score there are certain facts which I have found important
to consider. For instance, it pays to watch the particular pitch in which a person
talks. Ahigh voice often becomes "muddy," with high-pitched musical accom-
paniment, and the same is true of the low pitch. I rarely combine these except
when I want to attain a special effect, such as matching voiceand orchestra so
that one is indistinguishable from the other.
The speed of the dialogue is also of great importance to the modem motion-
picture composer. Fastmusic, over a slow dialogue scene, may help to speed up
the action, but it may also ruin the mood, whereas slow music, over a slow
scene, may either fit admirably or retard the action to an unprecedented extent.
I rarely use fast music over fast dialogue. Instead I try to punctuate a fast-
moving dramatic scene with music which seems to be slower, but which, in
reality, approximates the same speed.
Pronounced high solo instruments or very low ones, or sharp or strident
effects (oboe, piccolo, muted trumpets, screaming violins, xylophone. bells,
high clarinets, and muted horns fortissimo) are taboo with me, because we
should be able to hear the entire combination of instruments behind the av-
erage dialogue. But I have found muted strings, harp, celeste and low wood-
wind effects to be successful. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and
in many of my pictures I have broken it entirely.
In fact, by now,the reader may well ask: What's the matter with Steiner? In
one paragraph he gives advice and sets down a rigid rule•.and in the next he
reverses it. That is true ... there are no rules, and there won't be as long as
music continues to assume more and more importance in pictures, and the
development of sound continues to make such rapid strides.
When the music has been composed and orchestrated, the orchestra as-
sembles on a sound stage, especially treated for acoustics. The modem music-
recording stage has soft and hardflats (panels) which can be moved around the
stage on rollers at willto accommodate the different orchestral and vocalsounds
produced. The reason for the flexibility of these flats is the varying sizes of
orchestras and choruses required to score a motion picture. Naturally,inside a
theater an orchestra has a different tone quality than it would have out-of-doors;
and, by the same token, a singer in a fairly small room would sound entirely
different than the same singer in a large concert hall. In order to reproduce
these tone qualities as closely as possible, these flats are moved around either
to reduce or enlarge the size ofthe tone space required. Often these flats are not
used at all, particularly when the orchestra or chorus is verylarge.
The monitor booth is usually located on the first floor. out of everyone's
way. That is the room in which the recordist sits and manipulates the various
dials (channels) which combine the different microphones and thereby produce
62 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
the final orchestra sound track. This recordist, in most instances, is himself a
former musician, or at least a person who has great interest in music. His work
is tedious and ofgreat responsibility, because ofthe enormous expense incurred
during the recording of the picture, involving musicians' salaries and film
expense.
Ifone considers that the orchestra may have to do ten to twenty takes ofthe
same number in order to get one good recording, one can imagine the time
involved, not to speak of the thousands of feet offilm needed.
A good take can easily be spoiled by the noise of an overhead airplane.
Many times mail planes pursuing their duty swoop a little too low over the re-
cording stage during a very tender violin solo; and, of course, this recording
cannot be used, as the most modem microphones are extraordinarily sensitive.
Also accidents occur, such as the scraping of a chair, the dropping of a mute or
a bow, or even the scraping of a shirt button on a stand, the swish of music
sheets being turned over,or an unavoidable cough. It is not always a wrong note
or a conductor's mistake which causes a take to go wrong. Sometimes the
projection machine freezes (gets out of order) and it may take fifteen or twenty
minutes to repair. With a fifty-piece orchestra the expense is about two hundred
and fiftydollars in unused salaries for this twenty-minute delay,as the musician
gets paid from the time he is called until he leaves, whether he plays or not.
Toget back to our first rehearsal ofa new picture: The orchestra is rehearsed
a little more thoroughly than other orchestras, for the better an orchestra plays,
the less takes will be required and the less money spent on salaries and film.
During this rehearsal the recordist places his microphones according to the
wishes of the conductor, who indicates what instruments or orchestra sections
shall be specially emphasized or miked. Then, when this is accomplished, while
someone else conducts, the conductor goes upstairs to the booth to determine
whether everything is to his liking. If it is, we then record our first take. Of
course long association between recordists and conductors results in tremen-
dous speed in balancing. I work with recordists whom I trust so implicitly that I
rarely go up into the booth unless the recordist asks for advice, such as in the
case of a special orchestral effect I wanted for the money theme in 'The Informer.
After our first take, we play it back. That means a loud speaker plays back
the record that has been made on a separate recording machine, but which re-
produces exactly the same result as on the film itself It stands to reason that we
cannot replay an undeveloped film; for, first ofall, the negative would be spoiled,
and, second, we would need a dark room for unloading, loading and re-wind-
ing. Should this playback be satisfactory, we go into our next sequence; reo
hearsal again, and we proceed exactly as before. We make as many takes as
necessary until we get a perfect recording.
STEINER: "SCORING THE FILM" 63
Each film is divided into sections of a thousand feet, and one such section
is called a reel. A modem feature film consists of approximately nine to ten
thousand feet. The latest projection machines in the theaters are able to run
films of two thousand feet each, which are simply the first and second thou-
sand-foot reel spliced together. However, the laboratories only develop thou-
sand-foot reels. In recording music we divide a reel into as many sections as
possible, for it is much easier for musicians and conductor to remember a two-
minute scene than a ten-minute one.
In writing the music and recording it, great care must be taken by orches-
tra and conductor that the overlaps are properly handled, so that when the film
is finally completed the listener is not conscious of the "breaks."
With our first day's recording over, we await the next morning with great
expectation, or, shall I say ... anxiety ... when the laboratory sends the devel-
oped and printed recordings back to the studio for us to hear and pick takes. We
sometimes print two or three recordings of the same number to be on the safe
side, and in some instances intercut from one to the other. For instance, in a
composition of one hundred and twenty bars' duration, the first ninety bars
may be perfect whereas the last thirty may have been spoiled by anyone of the
Our profession is not always "a bed of roses," and looks much easier to the
layman than it really is. The work is hard and exacting, and when the dreaded
"release date" is upon us, sleep is a thing unknown. I have had stretches of
work for fifty-six consecutive hours without sleep, in order to complete a pic-
ture for the booking date. The reason for this is the fact that the major film
companies sell their pictures for a certain date before they have even been pro-
duced; and, if the film's final editing has been delayed through some unfore-
seen happening, the music and re-recording departments have to pitch in to
make up for lost time.
After we have picked our developed takes which have been returned by
the laboratory, and providing everything is satisfactory, these takes are turned
over to the music cutter and he synchronizes them to the film and dialogue
track. When these tracks have finally been set up the entire film is taken up
to the re-recording room. There both dialogue and music are mixed and reg-
ulated; again numerous takes are made; and impurities of the film and sound
tracks are ironed out. These re-recording sessions are every bit as tedious and
painstaking as the original recordings, since they constitute the final product.
The next day, when these re-recorded takes come back from the laboratory,
the same procedure ofpicking the best takes is followed. This time, ofcourse,
more attention is paid to the ratio between dialogue, music and sound
effects.
64 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Then, some evening, the picture is given a sneak preview at some obscure
theater, where only the highest executives are allowed to witness its initial
showing. The studio management thereby wishes to prevent any unfavorable
opinion from penetrating the papers before the final editing. Should the
projection equipment have been in mediocre or very bad condition, the sound
and music departments would be the butt of unfavorable criticism. Happily for
us, all picture theaters, including the small neighborhood houses, are gradually
buying or renting new first-class standard equipment. I think most of our trou-
bles in that respect will be over in another year or so.
I have often been asked: What are the requirements that make for a com-
petent film composer-conductor? I would answer: ability, good disposition,
PATIENCE. Athousand and one things can happen to a music sound track from
the time it leaves the composer's brain until it is heard by the audience. I have
had pictures which did not require any music whatsoever, according to the
producers. Some of these turned out to be 100 pet cent underscoring jobs. On
other pictures I was told that a certain film could not be released without an
entire underscoring job, and I would work for weeks, day and night. When the
finished product left the studio to go to the exchanges, only 60 per cent of all
the musk written remained, Many factors cause this: a bad previe-w- reaction,
very bad sound, the unfortunate presence of a director or producer, who might
still be opposed to the use ofmusic throughout, or dialogue that may have been
recorded too softly at the outset, so that no music could be heard at the low level
required to keep this dialogue intelligible.
In some instances a composer or musical director himself may feel that
music did not help a particular scene, This is not always easy to recognize in
the studio projection room because of the absence of any audience reaction.
Besides, one who works close to a film is apt to get so used to the dialogue that
he knows it by heart, and, therefore, does not miss any part of it during the
multitude of runnings which are required to complete the job,
Underscoring of musical pictures, apart from the actual performed songs,
dances, or orchestral selections, is handled precisely like background music in
dramatic pictures. But as far as the songs or dances are concerned, musical
directors in the 'industry follow different methods.
I will endeavor to explain my method of handling a musical picture by
using as a specific illustration The Gay Divorcee [1934), for which I directed,
orchestrated and composed some of the music.
Unlike dramatic pictures, songs to be used in a musical picture must, of
course, be composed either while the script is being written or immediately
upon its completion. All songs that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sang were
STEINER: "SCORING THE FILM" 65
recorded on the set with the entire crew present: director, cameramen, make-up
experts, chorus girls, electricians, extras, etc., and some ofthem were accompa-
nied by the orchestra I conducted-a very difficult procedure when one con-
siders that because of the camera set-ups my orchestra and I were sometimes
as far as a hundred feet away from the soloists. On a big stage where sound
might have traveled at the rate of about *sec., I had to be a little ahead of
Mr.Astaire's taps, or voice, to offset this so-called sound lag. Singers often
became uneasy because they could not see me, and because of the lag that they
sensed due to the great distance between the orchestra and themselves.
Some of the songs were recorded with soft piano, i.e., a piano with a muf.
.Her on it, which was used to keep the principals in tempo and on pitch. This
was to be covered later by the proper orchestra accompaniment, the conductor
listening through earphones to both voice and soft piano. Naturally, with both
the first and second channels working in perfect synchronization, it was pos-
sible to join the loud piano track obtained by this second channel to the voice
and soft piano, thereby giving the conductor a loud accompaniment, which was
somewhat easier to follow.
Byway of explanation: This sound microphone was placed so close to the
soft piano's sounding-board that it naturally picked up only the sound ofthe
piano, and could easily be eliminated when the orchestra accompanimentwas
recorded. This method is still in vogue and is used almost universally when
either the set-ups during the filming of a song change frequently or when
the director or dance director is shooting offthe cuffi i.e., when it is impossible
to determine in advance what is to be done with the song or how much of it
is to be used when the tempo is so rubato that a pre-recording is out of the
question.
Pre-recording means pre-scoring, pre-playing with an orchestra, piano, or
whatever is required of the song or dance number to be used in the picture.
This sound track is usually pre-recorded before the picture has even gone into
production, and then re-recorded the same way as the soft piano would have
been. What little sound has been picked up from these low·loud speakers (to
which I shall hereafter refer as "horns"), if handled properly, should not be
noticeable.
I have always insisted on my music cutter syncing (matching) these tracks
by the modulations visible on the film and not by sync marks. This is because
sometimes even that very faint morsel of tone that has seeped through gives the
regular pre-played orchestra sound track a phonograph-like quality which is
disturbing. However, if put in sync properly, this seems to disappear. For ex-
ample: the singer sets his key with the musical director, and the routine is dis-
cussed with the director, or dance director; it is orchestrated and recorded on
66 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
the proper music-recording stage with the respective soloists present. But-he
does not sing. Only the orchestra accompaniment is played, and I usually have
the soloists go through the motions, or go up to the monitor booth and actually
sing the song while I am playing it downstairs, simply to be sure that everything
is satisfactory. It is obvious that were the performers to sing along with the
orchestra on the same sound stage, the microphones would pick up the voices
as well, and this would make the pre-recording track useless. This pre-scoring
improvement was brought about through necessity. The soft piano and stan-
dard recording were cumbersome and unsatisfactory. Aclever engineer invented
a loud speaker that could be played so low that the new directional ribbon
microphones could not pick up enough tone to spoil the track. These horns are
placed as close as possible to the principals and they sing freely, The sound
track can be stopped at will, and is played back either by special records (discs)
to save time, or offthe actual film on a special film playback machine. This low-
loud speaker method has its points; but, like everything else in our world, it is
not perfect. Any singer lacking excellent pitch is always in danger ofsinging flat
or sharp, as the case may be, through his inability to hear the accompaniment
distinctly. Also it seems rather hard to get an artist to give his best, and really let
loose, with the music at a whisper when it should be lively and loud. However,
I consider this method most advisable until something better turns up.
There is one other way which is used extensively in musical pictures of a
more operatic character. Here the pre-scoring is done with singer, chorus and
orchestra together. The singer then can sing with all the abandon necessary
without fear of the camera and, in the case of more serious music, I believe,
this gives the best result.
When this kind of pre-scoring is used, the track is played back also by
horns, but at full power. The picture is then photographed silently, the singer
following his or her own voice as closely as possible.
In many instances the singer will again sing his or her part while being
photographed, while taking care to imitate as closely as possible his or her orig-
inal rendition.
With dancing the procedure is similar, but only necessary when the partic-
ular dance ste~s are audible, as in tap dancing, for example. This is also recorded
by the low-loud speaker system, as in the case of Fred Astaire, because it later
facilitates the clearing of the taps, and the lag between orchestra and dancer is
likewise removed. This is unavoidable when standard recording is used. Some-
times, however, loud playbacks are utilized and the picture is shot silently just
as in the aforementioned procedure when voices are to be recorded.
As to composition: It is similar to musical comedy procedure, or comic
opera. There is no difference. For underscoring we naturally paraphrase the
STEINER: "SCORING THE FILM" 67
actual songs used in the picture, and try to mold them neatly together to avoid
the intrusion of music as much as possible. It is amazing what can be done in
putting together long dance routines, such as the "Carioca," "The Continental"
and "The Piccolino." Each one ofthese dance routines was shot in short pieces,
some of them not even eight bars long; then put together like a mosaic and
freshly underscored, re-orchestrated, improved upon, then taps, sound, and
vocal effects added.
Avery important requisite is the click or tempo track. These click tracks, as
they are commonly called, are used universally in cartoon series such as Mickey
Mouse, Silly Symphony, and Looney Tunes. These tempo tracks are filmed with
every possible metronome tempo recorded on them. Conductor, orchestra and
singer, while recording music for a cartoon, all wear earphones, usually only
one, in order to leave one ear free to play on pitch. These tempo tracks even
keep the players in exact time with the animation of the cartoon. These anima-
tions are drawn in frames to correspond with the exact bars of music to be
used. I sometimes use this click track to guide me in long sequences, when the
tempo is more or less unvarying, such as storm, train, racing, or battle se-
quences. Like the cartoon people, I simply decide on a tempo and then com-
pute the frames into which the desired effects must enter, and write my music
accordingly.
It might not be amiss to mention the music-clearing procedure. All music
is divided into two classifications: copyrighted and public domain. Public
domain means music of unknown origin, unknown authorship, or music on
which the copyright has expired. Music on which the copyright is still enforced
must be purchased either directly from the composer, or from his publisher. In
order to facilitate this there is one central agency that has been set up in New
YorkCity, called the Music Publishers' Protective Association. This constitutes
the clearing house for all music publishers and composers.
There are certain compositions that are not available at all, such as the
Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Up to this writing the Gilbert and Sullivan Estates
have absolutely refused to perform their works on the screen for reasons best
known to themselves, and there are many composers of the same mind. Then
there are highly restricted compositions, usually some number from a stage
production which the producer, as co-owner of the copyright, is loath to release
for film use. He may still have hopes ofbeing able to sell the entire "works" to
some major film company, and, therefore, does not wish to break up the com-
plete score.
Economic necessity is one ofthe principal reasons why a major picture com-
pany brings well-known composers out to Hollywood, as well as the desire to
procure original music for new films. It stands to reason that if only published
68 FILM COMPOSERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
and copyrighted music were used, the cost of one hour's scoring would be pro-
hibitive, as its usage must be paid for whether it lasts fifteen seconds or ten
minutes. A circular inquiry was sent to all musical directors, asking for an
opinion as to what time limit should be placed on one complete usage. Three
minutes were suggested, and anything over this amount would constitute an-
other usage. Therefore, should a number, song or orchestral selection, for
instance, cost five hundred dollars for three minutes, three minutes and ten
seconds would cost a thousand dollars. Because of this, almost all major pic.
ture concerns have direct affiliations with, or own, their own publishing house.
The copyrights to the contract-composers' music are, of course, owned by the
respective studios. An exception of prior rights is made and already listed by
the American Societyof Composers, Authors and Publishers, if the composer
is a member.
The new wide range and ultra-violet recording has made it possible to
reproduce faultlessly the entire range of the human voice from coloratura to
basso profundo. Also, the orchestra range has been widened to such an extent
that almost no limitations are placed upon the orchestrator or composer. (Very
different from a few years ago when the low G on the double bass caused the
most unpleasant consequences.) What is true ofvocalreproduction is also true
of orchestral color. It is becoming more and more "high-fidelity" (true to life)
everyday. I agree with Mr. Leopold Stokowskithat the ultimate perfection is in
sight. More than that, I believe, as he does, that the recorded music of the
future will be made to sound, both in volume and quality, far better than is
conceivable today. I further believe that the limit of music in pictures has not
been reached and that, finally, opera and the symphonic field will find their
rightful place in this great medium.

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