Arts & Entertainment, Music

Chasing a Moving Edit

Lesson time 11:01 min

Composing to an evolving film is a challenge. Danny explains how to find the editor’s tempo and rhythm, how to get in to and out of musical phrases, and how to sync to picture.

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Topics include: Finding the Editor's Rhythm · Process: Getting In and Out of an Idea · Syncing to Picture

Danny Elfman

Teaches Music for Film

Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman teaches you his eclectic creative process and his approach to elevating a story with sound.

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] - How to find the tempo of an editor is a really-- it's something I learned way back at number one, "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure." And I was trying to teach myself, how do I catch cues? I was in the breakfast machine. I was in a couple of different cues. And I realized it wasn't that difficult. But then I also realized later why it wasn't difficult. It wasn't difficult, because I had a good editor. And Billy Webber, who was the editor on that film, did a really good job. And what I discovered was that I didn't have to count anything out. I was intuitively finding the pace of the editing. And if I found the editor's pace, making things fall where I wanted to was just magical and easy. And I thought, wow, this is, like, so much easier than I thought. I'm starting a phrase here. And it ends right, boom-- right on that-- wow, how did that happen? Well, it wasn't magic. I just didn't know it at the time-- that the editing had a pace to it. And I found that editor's rhythm. And once I found that rhythm, making things hit and fall where I wanted it was really easy. Now here's the hitch. First version of a film-- early versions are usually the best paced with the editing. There's a point-- not the rough cut. But it's an early cut. And you're finding that you're scoring it. And, wow, I'm making everything fall just where I want it. I'm not fighting it to make it happen. And now, over the next eight weeks or 10 weeks, the film is going to tighten, and tighten, and tighten. And there's a number of screenings that are going to happen. And as the screenings are going to happen, notes are going to come back. And then things start getting shorter, and things start getting tighter. And all of the sudden, they're saying, oh, you got to redo this cue. And you can't make it work. And it's like, Jesus, I'm fighting it right now. And that's because towards the very end in the 11th hour-- I don't know whether all editors necessarily realize this or not. I don't think directors really do-- they're losing their pace. They're losing their tempo. And I can't tell you how many films I've worked on that, between what I thought was the final-ish cut that I was scoring and the cut that was released, it's two minutes shorter. It's three minutes shorter. It's no big deal. But it feels longer. And it feels longer, because lots of little cuts-- many, many many little cuts happen. And a little bit of breathing room is cut at these moments. It becomes like a fear factor that happens, where it's like, there's a dead spot. Bam, cut it. And the tempo starts to disappear. And now, as the composer, we're stuck in this terrible place. This is where the sound effects guys are really lucky. Because the individual effects, you just tighten, and tighten, and tighten. And you go with it, and you go with it, and you go with it. But when you're in tempo, and you've got 4/4 and 3/4 going, and you've got a tune that's happening, and suddenly...

About the Instructor

From The Simpsons theme to the soundtracks of Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman’s compositions are original, memorable, and exuberantly weird. Now the Oingo Boingo founder and four-time Oscar nominee shares his unconventional (and uncensored) creative process. Step into Danny’s studio and learn his techniques for evoking emotion and elevating a story through music.

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Danny Elfman

Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman teaches you his eclectic creative process and his approach to elevating a story with sound.

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