Film Scoring Quotes

“The function of music in a film is to either underline or foreshadow.”

“Film music should have its own life, it's not just about accompanying the image.”

“Film music is a strange art form. It's not concert music. It's not pop music. It's a special kind of music that's designed to work with a picture.”

“I was trying to create a mood, a feeling... an atmosphere.”

“A director can't tell you how to score a film. He can only tell you what he's trying to achieve.”

“I've always been interested in the way that music can comment on the action, not just accompany it.”

“My approach to scoring is to find a world of sound that's unique to the film.”

“A film is a director's vision, and a score is a composer's vision.”

“Every character has a sound. Every situation has a sound.”

“The sound of the desert is in 'Lawrence of Arabia,' and the snow is in 'Zhivago.'”

“You want to create a sound that is the musical equivalent of the film's visual style.”

“He should not be a stepchild, someone who is called in at the very end to write some music.”

“You have to have a feeling for the story. You have to be a storyteller yourself.”

“When you're a film composer, you're telling the story with the music.”

“I feel that music on the screen can seek out and intensify the inner thoughts of the characters. It can invest a scene with terror, grandeur, gaiety, or misery.”

“My purpose is to get inside the drama. My purpose is to amplify it.”

“I’ve always believed that the score of a film can be its heart.”

“A film score is really a kind of wallpaper. It's there, you notice it, but you're not supposed to pay that much attention to it.”

“I have a great-grandsomething, and when she was 2, she was terrified of 'Jaws.' Just the music.”

“I try and find a sound world that is particular to that film.”