Leeman joked that she would serve as Cutler's Ed McMahon for the evening. And she did, interjecting Cutler's tips and stories about scoring films by bringing the "every-filmmaker" point of view to the conversation. (The two are currently working on an upcoming feature documentary, One Lucky Elephant, the epic story of one man's determined quest to find a permanent home for Flora, the 26 year-old African elephant he adopted after she was orphaned in a culling.)
Throughout the night the two talked about what to expect when budgeting for a composer (and even provided a deal points memo template as a handout), tricks to make the music in your film sounder bigger with fewer musicians, when it's most effective to not use any music, and more.
However, the key point the two often returned to throughout the night is that a working relationship between a filmmaker and composer needs to click both professionally and personally, and that comfortable collaboration is necessary. Do your research, and make sure the composer is right for your project and you.
"It's like a marriage in that you are talking about all of these feelings and emotions in your film," said Cutler.
"You've got to enable your composer to soar," added Leeman. "Make sure it's a good brief marriage."
Doc U is taking August off (because we'll be busy with DocuWeeks 2009). Check back for the September event.
Related Stories:
Composers Confab: Creating The Best Score For Your Film, by Lisa Leeman
Book Review: Hey, That’s My Music! Music Supervision, Licensing, and Content Acquisition, by Michael Galinsky