Scoring (cont'd)

The music editor also works during a scoring session to create a tempo and meter "map" which becomes a series of clicks heard in each musician’s headphones; the clicks act as a tempo guide. The composer usually selects the mixer who mixes the music while it’s being recorded.

The recordist keeps a detailed log of the recording session and oversees the recording equipment. Also present are the musician contractor, who hires and oversees the musicians, and the copyist, who can generate changes in the sheet music if necessary, as well as various technical engineers, who set-up and troubleshoot the scoring session equipment. Add to that various producers and assistants, and the control room is soon overflowing with people who are separated from the musicians in the recording studio by a large glass wall.

Sony Pictures Entertainment’s (SPE) scoring stage (originally MGM’s property) is one of the studio’s "crown jewels." Known for its excellent acoustic qualities, the scoring stage is the most sought-after in the world. Built in 1929, the recording studio itself has remained virtually unchanged, the birthplace of famous, award winning scores that have been heard in many classic films. THE WIZARD OF OZ, composed by Herbert Stothart, GONE WITH THE WIND by Max Steiner, and Lennie Hayton’s score to SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, were all recorded within these renowned walls, as were many of MGM’s musicals starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. Well-known contemporary composers such as John Williams (Universal Studios’ E.T. and DreamWorks’ CATCH ME IF YOU CAN), Danny Elfman (SPIDER-MAN) and Hans Zimmer (BLACK HAWK DOWN) now seek out SPE’s scoring stage to capitalize on the newly renovated and modernized control room as well as its timeless original acoustics.

Back on the scoring stage, the musicians take a break. The conductor looks back through the glass wall expectantly. The composer and director listen to playback of what the orchestra just recorded and smile as the music cue builds to a triumphant finish.