Preliminary Discussions; What Directors And Composers Need To Cover In Their First Meeting

The first introduction between a director pitching their concept and a composer who is trying to get the job can be filled with unknowns. It is both an exciting moment to work with someone new and one that inherently involves risk and a leap of faith. The priority on both sides is always to get the best sound possible.

So what should be discussed…

Put simply, everything can be summarised by agreeing:

• What the job is

• How the task is going to be carried out

• Who gets what out of it at the end

This is an over simplification but if either party doesn’t have satisfactory answers problems can arise. At best this can cause doubt or frustration as the project develops, at its worst it can set unmatched expectations and derail the process. 

As a composer, here is what I like to cover early on, and the actions I take after the first meeting:

1. Gratitude & who’s who

I always start a meeting by giving my thanks to a director. They dedicate their time and effort into researching your suitability to the project before making contact, they have listened to your demos and considered your portfolio. They have already invested in you so thank them. Anything from this meeting onwards is the composer’s chance to prove their worth.

It is also important to note that during a first meeting multiple people can be in the room. It should be obvious, but if you don’t know someone or their role, do the awkward ice breaker pleasantries and find out about the people you are going to work for. Better to ask upfront now than appear incompetent later on.

2. Basic project details

Finding out the core concept of the project is the priority. Find out what type of project you are working on, the basic synopsis, genre and story arc. What is the big vision for the film and how is music going to function overall? Asking a director to openly talk about their film for a few minutes can be rather revealing in their requirements for music whether they realise it or not. 

This is the moment where the early vision is touched on, but a further discussion into tone, references, temp tracks and stylistic boundaries will need to take place before spotting.

A lot can be learned by asking open ended questions here. It is the time for the composer to stop talking and listen.

3. Practical Constraints

Budget

The most significant impact on a composer’s planning when approaching a film is the budget. This is not because composers are financially driven money goblins, it is because this outlines the time a composer can allocate to scoring, and what they can invest in recording, mixing, and as a result, the sort of sound they can offer to the director. 

Responsibilities

Is the composer responsible for just creating the score or everything music related, including additional elements such as sound design? Is there a music editor or others in the music team? Is licensed music or source music required?

What are the delivery requirements? Are stems or alternate mixes required? What is the realistic expectation with revisions?

Timeline & Workflow

Establish what is happening and when. Find out the production schedule and deliverable deadlines; when the first/locked cuts will be delivered and at what point the composer will be required to start scoring.

Set expectations for any key dates to be included in the schedule such as concept analysis, spotting, frequency of review meetings.

4. Request Materials

If you haven’t already been given concept boards, scripts, script reading recordings, reference tracks this is a good point to ask for them. The more information the better! If you have all this ahead of time the director may want to speak more about the details of where music will be required and the nuance of themes that they want to carry through the film. Be prepared, bring notes and suggestions to be able to match the level of detail the director wants to discuss.

5. Logistics

Once you have all the basic information you can set up what is going to happen from this point. You will have the director’s schedule so now is the time to include timeframes for key meetings and deadlines. Set out what needs to happen and when on your end. For example, even if you are unsure of when recording sessions will need to take place you can still ear-mark time. Key meetings like script/theme reviews and spotting sessions etc. should definitely be set.

After the First Meeting

Straight after the first meeting it is important to follow up with a summary email. This does a number of things. It:

• Shows the team you are working professionally, are attentive to their needs and have understood what they want from you. You can reaffirm your interest in the project and ask follow up questions if needed.

• Outlines the key points of the discussion, sets the framework of what has been agreed upon and outlines the basic schedule for the music dept.

• Is a reminder for any actionable items such as the delivery of reference material

• Most importantly it allows the director to flag anything you have misunderstood. It gives them a low-pressure environment to change their mind or challenge any initial misunderstandings.

Naturally this is a dynamic process and each project will have its own requirements to establish. However, I find that if I have a framework of clear points I need to speak about all my bases are covered and can guarantee that I walk away from the meeting with all the information needed to get started on the job. It also allocates time for the composer to stop asking questions giving the director a clear opportunity to ask what they need.