Your Big Score Begins Here

What we call film music is a language of signs. It speaks to us through a multitude of
musical gestures that, over time, have come to have meaning for the audience. As with
any system of signs, the sender must be competent in their use to convey messages that
are clear and cogent. This course is an introduction to the vocabulary of music for the

screen. In it, you will learn the language of screen scoring through a series of visual music exercises and assignments in writing for short scenes of different media types and
genres.

In order to solve the dramatic and story problems posed by all forms of on-screen media, composers need to understand how artists who have preceded them have grappled with the same problems, such as how to evoke sympathy, apprehension, terror, nostalgia, and the full compass of human emotional experience. During this course, you will study scores and analyze both iconic concert works and landmark film music to give you the foundation to develop your own style.

Basic skills in instrumentation and arrangement are the first steps toward accomplishment in the craft of orchestration, which is the ability to make musical instruments “speak together” in a powerful and coherent way. During this course, you will go beyond basic grounding in orchestral instrumentation and learn about instrumentation for screen media, which incorporates a wide range of non-symphonic, folk, ethnic, electronic and even invented instruments and techniques for how they can be blended effectively to produce the contemporary hybrid score.

The platform for music composition and production in visual media is the Digital Audio
Workstation (DAW). In this course, which will employ Apple’s Logic Pro X as its model
DAW, you will learn about the most widely used tools and explore topics such as MIDI
sequencing/programming, MIDI editing, use of MIDI CC’s (continuous controllers) and
articulation sets, building of templates, basic digital signal processing, and the precise
synchronization of music with picture. In addition, you will become familiar with the full
array of Virtual Instrument (VI) libraries.

As any experienced film composer will attest, the principal job of the composer is to support the story and the filmmaker’s intent in telling it. In musicological terms, the craft of doing this is called musical narratology, literally, “telling stories with music.” Narrative cinema is constructed based on classic story form, which includes exposition, conflict, resolution, three-act structure, and manipulations of time and space. You will score three assignments to picture, and through this exercise, learn to create a linear partnership between the story’s structure and the score that accompanies it.

Maurice Ravel, acknowledged as one of the greatest orchestrators in musical history,
distinguished instrumentation from orchestration by saying that the orchestrator
painted the colors around the individual instrument in such a way that these colors
became more important than the identity of the instrument itself. The analogy to
painting is fitting: works like Daphnis et Chloe and Mother Goose Suite are highly visual
and textured in a way that can almost be felt. This course will put Ravel’s musical
paintbrush in your hands. In addition to orchestration techniques, you will also learn the
fundamentals of score preparation, notation, and engraving to prepare you for the live
recording sessions that will occur at key stages of the program.

The “mock-up,” a digital simulation of an acoustical/orchestral performance, was once
just a demo used to show the client/filmmaker one’s intent and obtain approval of the
music prior to live recording. With the extraordinary advancement in the quality of
digital instrument libraries, what was once a demo now frequently becomes the final
product and the critical medium by which the composer communicates intent to the
filmmaker. In this course you will develop the skills to create these digital products to
meet the high standards of production and authenticity currently expected in the
industry.

“Find your voice” is the imperative given to every student who enrolls in the Master of
Fine Arts program. It is not always a straightforward process, as you must hone, winnow
and polish to clear away what is merely imitative and arrive at something truly original.

This is what the industry demands. In intensive individual sessions, your work will be
critiqued and shaped in order to bring out the gold of your own personal identity.

Material assigned in MFA511 will be recorded in a series of sessions held in Nashville.

In this course, you will work with indie game developers at the Media Design School and
other selected locations to create music for these adaptive, interactive experiences. You
will be involved, as most top game composers are, from concept to completion of short,
model game projects for which you will write the music, record it in session, and then, as
a music designer, implement it in middleware, and work with the team to integrate it
with the game engine to produce a final integrated product. Just as in the earlier Screen
Scoring modules, where the musical and dramatic challenges posed by individual short
scenes or sequences served as exercises in development of your craft, you will work in
short-form so that your finished work can furnish pieces for your portfolio.

In this third and final in the technology sequence, the focus will be entirely on the
emerging craft of music design, the integration and implementation of the linear musical
elements provided by the game composer into the game engine via what is known as
middleware. In-depth exploration of platforms such as Wwise and FMOD, as well as the
vast creative possibilities for creating immersive experience in non-linear media.

The radical changes in compositional technique introduced by Modernism, Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, and other new forms, as well as simultaneous breakthroughs in electronic music and the integration of non-Western tonal systems into popular music, have had a profound effect on the way music for visual media sounds and the expectations content creators have for it. In this course you will continue the work of Cinematic Score Study I to explore the paths that brought music to where it is now, and consider where it is going in the future.

“Find your voice” is the imperative given to every student who enrolls in the Master of Fine Arts program. It is not always a straightforward process, as you must hone, winnow and polish to clear away what is merely imitative and arrive at something truly original. This is what the industry demands. In intensive individual sessions, your work will be critiqued and shaped in order to bring out the gold of your own personal identity.

Material assigned in MFA521 Screen Scoring III to be recorded in remote/virtual
recording sessions conducted in Europe but monitored by students and staff in Atlanta.

This advanced composition class will pair you with a group of young independent or
advanced student filmmakers to collaborate on the scoring of a selected series of short
films that are either festival-bound or have been featured on the festival circuit. From
spotting to scoring and mixing, the course will model professional practice at every
stage. The resulting scores will be professionally recorded in the capstone quarter on a
selected European scoring stage with students in attendance. All sessions will be filmed
and scores professionally mixed. Recording is expected to take place over an extended
period in the designated country.

Tools for AI-assisted music creation are currently in a formative state, but considering their rapid rate of advancement it is not unreasonable to expect that in the near future many lower budget projects and library catalogs will be at least partially scored with AI utilities. These are the same projects that today support the early careers of many composers. It is therefore essential that you become familiar with these tools, and that music creators find ways to become their masters rather than their servants. This course is a survey of existing AI technology and includes an analysis of current and future trends for AI-assisted music creation. You will also practice composition utilizing leading AI music platforms.

Music editing, the assembly, recombination, processing and pre-mixing of all music
elements in postproduction, is both a gateway profession for those wishing to compose
and an alternative career path for those who opt for a more stable occupation that is
nonetheless at the heart of the craft. The music editor is the composer’s most valuable
ally and is present throughout the entire scoring and re-recording (dubbing) process.
Music supervision encompasses the entire range of content needed to satisfy a project’s
music needs, from clearing and licensing pre-existing songs for use in the project to
serving as an executive music producer and recommending and securing a composer for
the score. Music supervisors often come onboard with editors and have taken on many
of the functions once performed by studio executives.

“Find your voice” is the imperative given to every student who enrolls in the Master of Fine Arts program. It is not always a straightforward process, as you must hone, winnow and polish to clear away what is merely imitative and arrive at something truly original. This is what the industry demands. In intensive individual sessions, your work will be critiqued and shaped in order to bring out the gold of your own personal identity.

The composer of music for visual media is a self-employed independent contractor as well as generally the sole proprietor of a small business. Whether the composer is the only employee or oversees a staff of forty, they must be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the business. In this course, you will become familiar with the language of both “work-for-hire” and “all-in package” contracts, the metrics of performance royalties, their administration by Performing Rights Organizations (PRO’s), copyright law, and the rules and regulations governing intellectual properties in the age of AI. In addition, you will learn what it means to be your own publicist, and in the early stage of a career, an agent.

The media composer who is also able to conduct his or her music will not only have an
extra measure of creative control over the outcome of their recordings, but may become
eligible for additional earnings as a hired studio conductor. In preparation for the
capstone recording sessions in the EU in MFA 536, all students will undertake this
workshop and thereby gain the competence and confidence to conduct your summative
piece.

During this course, you will undertake to score complete live-action narrative, animated, or documentary short films to demonstrate mastery of the craft and prepare you for your thesis capstone project. You will write for varying large orchestral ensembles blended with electronic elements, and your work will be recorded in live session on a designated European scoring stage with full professional crew, complemented by cultural learning experiences. Note: Recording is anticipated to occur over a period of 1-2 weeks in the designated country. This SoundTrek occurs in the final quarter of the program, travel to a designated European studio location is required. Full participation in this exercise is required. All travel expenses (e.g., airfare/transportation, lodging, incidentals, and meals) are the responsibility of the student. Strayer will cover the studio reservation and recording fees. Students are responsible for securing their own visa, if needed.

In the capstone course, you will undertake and complete a signature project that demonstrates your competency in the field of music for visual/screen media. This will be a major work of music written and produced for an audio-visual project such as a narrative or documentary short film offestival quality, a video game, an interactive or virtual reality project, or another approved audio-visual collaboration. You will also submit a written commentary, a finished composer “reel” suitable for professional use, and a composer website to showcase your accomplishments.