0. Introduction
My name is Rafaël Leloup, film composer. I started my musical journey as an accordion player when I was 6 years old, and shifted my musical focus to composition at the age of 14. Since then, I have studied composition, film music, and electronic music in Brussels (Belgium), Bologna (Italy), and New York (US). Nowadays, I work mostly in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and London writing music for films like The Other Lamb and Circus Of Books from the producers of Whiplash, Drive, Nightcrawlers and American Horror Story. Before that, I spent time working as a solo artist as well as collaborating with others across the media of theater, dance, visual art, fiction, animation, video, and more.
This blog is aimed at filmmakers who are considering working with a composer, but may not be equipped with all tools for a smooth collaboration.
Over the years, I have experienced all sorts of situations, sometimes good sometimes unexpected. Even though it would be complex to make a blog that lists and solves every single possible situation, most of them could have been avoided if only they had been predicted. Keep in mind that composing is a very different process than most other disciplines. Just like a writer, the progress happens less on the field/in the moment, more after a lot of preparation and reflection. Unlike writers, though, there is no such thing as a “composer’s room” where ideas are thrown on a table. The composer’s process happens most often by him/herself, and sometimes (rarely) in a group where different composers are assigned a different part of the work under a lead composer. Therefore, the job being a loner’s job, composers make up their own rules, the rules that work best for them. I will mention as often as possible when and how those rules may be different from one composer to another.
I hope this list of tips, technical vocabulary, opinions, … will help every filmmaker wanting to add music on their project to get the best out of their collaboration.