Scoring (cont'd)

In the past, composers would hand-write the music after reviewing the film with the director. An orchestrator would then write out a master score containing the parts for every instrument. This process of assigning musical elements to each instrument is called "orchestrating." Today there are several ways to score a film. A composer may still hand-write the entire score or just a "sketch," a shorthand version of his musical ideas. A composer may also flesh out parts of the score with the sequencer, inputting the musical ideas into a sequence, or computer software program. A sequence enables the composer to hear the score with samples, or digital sounds. This also allows the producer, director, film editor and music editor to easily conceptualize what the live music will sound like. An orchestrator or "take-down guy" then reads the digital files generated by the sequencer and creates a master score on paper.

After the score has been created by the composer or orchestrator, a music copyist writes out the individual parts, or sheet music, for each instrument. The parts are either hand-written or computer generated. At one time, copyists were permanent members of a studio’s staff. The hand writing of scores has almost become a dying art form with the advent of computer-generated music.

Now the scoring session itself begins. Depending on the actual length of the score, a session can last anywhere from two to nine days. The number of highly trained, professional musicians in the orchestra can vary from 40 to 100 or more. The skill of these musicians cannot be overstated, since they receive their music the day they report to the scoring stage and are expected to play it well and with very little practice. The conductor (who is often the orchestrator or the composer) rehearses a music cue, or a specific musical moment, just a couple of times before recording that cue. Although the conductor and composer often use notes during rehearsal, the level of professionalism is so high and the daily cost of a scoring session is so great, that only a few takes of each cue need to be recorded.