Five Communication Tips for Working With Directors as a Composer

Two megaphone-headed people holding out hands and having an argument. — *Credit: Mohamed Hassan*

One of the best parts about being a media composer is working with brilliant, creative people. Simultaneously, it can also be the trickiest part. Every human has a unique life experience that shapes their perspectives and personality, which means miscommunications are bound to happen between two creative people.

How many times has this happened to you: you’re working with someone new for the first time, they ask you to write a piece of music within some descriptors, you think you’ve nailed it, and then… they tell you it doesn’t really fit. If you’re not raising your hand right now, you should be. Now put it down, I’m some guy on the internet, don’t let me tell you what to do.

Realistically, you will never be able to nail everything on the first try, but here are five tips you should remember when working with directors (and, as a small aside, although I use the word ‘director’, this applies to any creative person you may work with):

Woman with steam coming out of her ears. — *Credit: kinkate*

1) Don’t Take it Personally

This is the most important step. It’s easy as an artist to get defensive, insecure, or annoyed when someone critiques our work, but the reality is it’s not personal. When a director tells you something isn’t working, it’s not because you can’t write music, or even because the music you wrote is bad. It’s simply because the music just doesn’t fit the scene.

One personal example I have: a game I’m working on has a particularly awkward boat ride segment. I remember I wrote something I was really happy with, and when I presented it to the developer, he told me the piece was totally off, and that it wasn’t tense enough. I actually scrapped that whole piece and started a new one, but I all but nailed it the second try because I kept my cool and understood what needed to be changed.

Good creative relationships can take a long time to find and build up, but they can be destroyed in a matter of seconds, and nothing will destroy it faster than losing your cool and saying something you definitely shouldn’t have.

Silhouette of man gesturing towards computer screen. — *Credit: geralt*

2) Re-explain in Your Own Words

Tomato, tomato, let’s call the whole thing off…

Sometimes, words have different connotations and/or translate open-endedly into music to different people. For example, a common descriptor I’ve heard is “icy”, which can be interpreted in many ways both musically and in terms of tone; it could mean something like physically icy, as well as something more emotionally icy.

A great way to clarify intent with others is to reword what they said and say it back to them. For example, if a director were to tell you they want something “energetic”, you could respond, “so you want something to add to the frantic energy of the scene?”, or “just to make sure I understand, the goal of this moment is to get people to sit on the edge of their seats?”

This is useful because the director will be able to gauge whether what you’re saying aligns with what they meant, and will either tell you that you’re spot on, or will point out where the deviation is.

Man in a room with red lights wearing headphones. — *Credit: Gigxels*

3) Understand the Tone/Theme

In my opinion, the purpose of music in media is to act as the “support class” of the project; music is meant to reinforce the theme, tone, or meaning of what we score to. With that in mind, it is essential to try and understand what the director was thinking when creating the scene. The best way to do this is to ask plenty, and I do mean plenty, of questions regarding the director’s vision. It’s better to ask too many questions versus too few.

A recent example I can recall of me not doing this (do as I say, not as I do) is a short film I was brought on to score. I watched the film with the director, and he afterwards asked me, “So, what did you think?” Because I wasn’t entirely sure of the tone of the film, I had to fumble my way through saying, “Oh yeah, it was good.” If I had asked ahead of time for what the film was about, or what message the director wanted to send, I would have avoided a very awkward moment after watching.

Illustration of a friend asking another friend for a favor. — *Credit: Kei_Therapeutic_Art*

4) Ask for a Reference Track

One of the strongest methods a composer has for getting a good idea musically as to what someone wants is asking for a reference track. Reference tracks (sometimes referred to as ‘temp tracks’) are songs that a director feels like would fit into the scene, or has been using temporarily in the scene.

Reference tracks are both a great source of inspiration for composers and a great way to get into the head of the director. In addition, directors can point to specific moments within the music (e.g. “at 1:43”) for elements that they like that they want in the score. This allows for a pretty precise pinpoint as to what’s being envisioned for the project musically.

While reference tracks can be a really useful tool, there is a small risk of what is called “temp love”, where the temp/reference track is loved by the director so much that no amount of new composition will be able to sway them. This is pretty rare in my experience, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind.

Man shouting into a telephone made of a tin can and string. — *Credit: Ryan McGuire*

5) Actually Communicate

“Yes Andrew! Obviously communicate! That’s the whole point!” yes, yes, of course, I know… but let me make my point. I have a (potentially) controversial opinion: writing great music, while important, is not the most important part of being a media composer. There are so many great composers out there, and with something so subjective it’s hard to make objective rankings as to who is better.

The thing that will get you the next gig is communicating IN A TIMELY MANNER. I have heard so many times about people who are creatively great at what they do, but whether or when you’ll get it is up in the air. I would be so bold as to suggest (and feel free to reach out if you agree/disagree) that this is the most frustrating occurrences for directors.

This relates to what I mentioned at the end of the first tip; trust in creative relationships can take a long time to build up, but it only takes an instant to fall apart. So, the important part of communicating is that you do it in a timely and reliable manner. This will keep your relationships more than anything.

Remember these tips the next time you talk to a director you’re working for, and you’ll improve not only your working relationship, but your creative work for that project.

If you like what I write, want to ask me a question, or anything else, feel free to reach out below!

All photos are from Pixabay and linked/credited appropriately. No AI (Artificial Intelligence) was used in the writing of the blog nor are any of the images AI generated. However, this blog was created using copious amounts of AI (Andrew Intelligence).