Music can add more to visual content than you can imagine. Jog your memory back to all your favourite movies. The Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxies, the soundtrack of each and every movie elicits a specific mood and immerses you into the characters’ world.
Who picks these songs and puts them in the perfect spots in a movie or TV show? A music supervisor.
The following article will provide you with everything you need to know about music supervision and the challenges associated with the craft.
So, get started.
Who is a Music Supervisor?
Music supervision is a whole profession on its own, especially in high-budget movies. The music supervisor’s primary job is to stay in touch with the directors and producers to decide the tempo and type of music needed for a film.
A director may have a list of all the songs that they want to use in a movie. The music supervisor’s job is to make sense of that list and place it in the best possible order.
Moreover, a music supervisor can be the glaring difference between an average soundtrack and an excellent soundtrack. They find the perfect pieces to solve your film’s music puzzle and monitor the entire process.
All in all, they make the lives of the producer and director a bit easier.
What Does a Music Supervisor Do?
A music supervisor is responsible for handpicking pre-existing songs to be used in a new visual content piece.
Besides, they are also responsible for handling the licensing and copyright issues.
But that’s not it. Music supervision comes in with several more responsibilities. Some of them are discussed below.
Facilitate the Connection
One of the primary objectives of music supervision is to facilitate the connection of the director’s and producer’s vision. They are considered the head of the music department in a film’s production.
A music supervisor does his thorough research and comes up with several unique pieces for a film. If these suggestions don’t go well with the project’s visionaries, the process starts again from the drawing board.
Spot the Right Places
It’s a music supervisor’s job to find the probable spots in a film’s rough cut that can support a particular piece of music. After this, they are to draw out the whole blueprint of where the background score, main title score, and credits music will come in.
In addition, they are also entrusted with the responsibility of deciding whether a film needs an original score or not.
To decide all this, the music supervisor works in close proximity with the music composer. They decide whether they’ll compose an original score or use a pre-existing one.
Take Care of Licensing and Negotiations
If the music supervision team has decided to use an existing piece of music, they need to negotiate the costs and rights with the licensing authorities.
These negotiations usually occur between music supervisors and the licensing team assigned by the label. The negotiation is usually related to the cost.
However, sometimes it can also be related to persuading an artist to let you use their music.
Final Words
Music supervision is something that can elevate the level of your production manifold. Without constructive music supervision, the entire film’s creative and lyrical aspects could fall apart.
It is what separates a regular soundtrack from something that people will remember for the long term. That’s what you want for your special project, right?
