A review of The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack
Inside the Discordant New World of Film Scoring.
A book with interesting perspectives on the future of media composers
by Stephan Eicke
Many books have been circulating for years about composing film music. Classics such as Music Composition for Film and Television by Lalo Schifrin, On The Track by Karlin & Wright and a more recent release such as Scoring The Screen – The Secret Language of Film Music by Andy Hill explore specific composition techniques for the 'moving image' through thorough analyzes of existing film music. In addition, there are bookcases full of books about the effect of film music in relation to that moving image. Here too, there are classics such as Unheard Melodies by Claudia Gorbman and Film Music: A Neglected Art – A Critical Study of Music in Films by Roy M. Prendergast.
However, books that give a detailed insight into the entire process of composing and producing film music are quite rare. If they are, they often focus on technology in the form of the latest DAW and they are already outdated at the time of publication. And sometimes they show a series of interviews like The Score – Interviews with Film Composers by Michael Schelle in which the questions are limited to some specific projects and the interviews are not placed in a broader context.
Published in 2019, the book The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack – Inside the Discordant New World of Film Scoring by Stephan Eicke is an exception and therefore a very valuable addition to the large and still expanding library of film music. The book is based on more than forty interviews with not only film composers but also sound designers such as Walter Murch and Randy Thom. A discipline that, together with the composer, is responsible for the final soundtrack of a film.
In his book, Stephan does not so much deal with specific composition techniques as with situations and contexts in which film composers find themselves and the methods and strategies that composers use to 'handle' those situations and contexts. This naturally concerns topics such as temp track, mock ups and how to deal with these topics but it also discusses the disappearance of melody in film music, the editing that goes on to the bitter end and orchestral recordings, striping, music production methods and techniques.
The current state of affairs with regard to music publishers, the role of producers, contracts and fees, the so called Hans Zimmer method, the (whether or not present) collaboration with the sound design department and editors are discussed. Other topics include the workload for a film composer, being a ghost composer, creating your own sounds and developing your own voice. All in all, all imaginable aspects of the creative process, the thoughts and struggles of a composer 'behind the screen'. All this puts the writer in context, i.e. he refers to 'how it was, what is going on now and what are probable future developments’.
It is striking that the book focuses on American film music, but that all described situations and tendencies without exception also apply to the European and therefore also to the Dutch situation. I have rarely read a book that explores the work of a film composer in such depth and with an eye for detail. My copy is full of notes, underlines, and exclamation points. So I can only say: buy this book because it can give you new ideas and insights! The only downside I can think of is the publisher. The cover of my copy is starting to fall apart, a good sign in itself because the book is apparently used a lot but the content deserves a better edition in my opinion.
The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack – Inside the Discordant New World of Film Scoring by Stephan Eicke.
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-7631-9
ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-3700-6
Stephan Eicke
composer, lecturer, publisher and writer
Stephan Eicke is a composer, lecturer, publisher and writer involved with many projects and publications such as MediaSound Hamburg, the CD-label Caldera Records, Oticons Faculty and the film music magazine Cinema Musica.