In this essay I will be outlining how I would pursue a career within the boundaries of a film composer. Going forward on this topic I will be highlighting: how I would find job opportunities for myself, the skills needed for this role and how I would produce a professional portfolio in order to advertise said skills. The reason I chose this role is primarily because of its capacity for creative freedom and the lasting impact a soundtrack can have on a film and its audiences. Through the many movies I have consumed, I find the most standout and exciting elements are always empowered by the score and most often are of such quality because of it, and the effect that it has can truly make or break a film; and I myself would want to be doing the same through my work. In addition, I feel as though communicating with and working amongst various teams to produce a film score would prove to be quite fulfilling, with effective collaboration and organisation being a large portion of the workload, which would make each project a differing experience with it’s own challenges to keep the job engaging.
Beginning with the first point, I would create job opportunities through initially building a resume of smaller scale projects, starting with student films and other areas that would provide me a sufficient canvas to demonstrate my skills – “Seek out student filmmakers, animators, and game developers who need original music. These partnerships give you real experience working on briefs, hitting deadlines, and taking feedback.” (Lovick, J. 2026) This extract is regarding portfolio building specifically, but it is also a very core element of building the fundamental skills in order to be prepared for larger future jobs. By using these small scale projects as a form of low stakes practice, I will be able to enhance my abilities, not only on the elements mentioned within this quote, but also in the technical skills necessary to develop the visions held by the filmmaker/animators, through a diversified selection of visual medias (animations, short films, theatre productions) which I may gain skills and techniques to transfer into my own film composing catalogue. This would be a good way for me to gain practical experience in this field, under semi professional conditions, working with a smaller team to produce a product fitting their vision. It would serve as great “informal” practice before moving into a more demanding working environment. In addition, I’d also post my own music over videos – “If you can’t find collaborators immediately, rescore scenes from your favourite films, create music for trailers, or compose to stock footage” (Bingham, J.
2022), this is a good strategy to practice compositional techniques in the context of existing scenes. However, thanks to modern media consumption through short form content and fast moving trends on newer medias such as TikTok and Instagram, I would be able to post the music I create over whichever scenes or animations are trending at that time, which would prepare me for the environment of “staying on top of changes and trends in the industry.” (Berklee). On top of this, the excessively fast changing trends mean that there will always be a tight deadline that will help me learn to work under pressure with a strict time limit on posts to resemble how “the composer works feverishly over the course of several weeks or months to write the score”. (Berklee) An example of a current, massively trending show that could be capitalised on is “Invincible”, an animated action show adaptation of a comic that focuses heavily on moral ambiguity and tensions within character interactions and fight scenes, this makes a perfect canvas to demonstrate and practice a higher level of composition and force an understanding of the importance of considering the actual scene that’s occurring. Therefore, adding my own music to content like this in an attempt to make myself visible through popular trends will be greatly beneficial to the growth of my career “Today, part of its success relies on whether the internet jury deems it worthy of praise and virality” (Garrate, C. 2023).
It’s important now more than ever to have an online presence, and in building mine, I would not only have a place to display my work, but a place to communicate directly with potential clients / employers. It’ll allow me to stay visible to other organisations, and building a large catalogue of “stand out work” would help promote myself passively. I would also attempt to collaborate with other artists and short film creators to reach other audiences which is another very effective way to grow ones social media following as it harnesses the followers of another creator for your own, the other beneficial factor here is that parties that I collaborate with would likely be in the acting, animating or videography subgenres of TikTok and therefore meaning I’d be reaching a completely new audience with very few overlapping followers with the other creator, which would mean id reach far more new people and vastly improve the effectiveness of this method. Through doing all this, I will have gained connections and legitimacy, which I can then cite when reaching out to larger organisations, hopefully receiving a response and being taken seriously enough to be considered for
employment, opening up doors for professional opportunities. And now to finalise the numerous approaches with arguably the most effective method that’s been utilised long before social medias, and that is the option of becoming an assistant (Bingham, J. 2022) , many excellent, successful film composers began their careers in this manner, such as: Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther, Sinners) who assisted Theodore Shapiro and Harry Gregson-Williams (The Meg, The Martian) who assisted Hans Zimmer thus proving the effectiveness of this method. However, there can be no denying that to take up such a role with a prestigious film composer is no easy task at all, and it requires a lot of luck and networking skills in order to be at the right place at the right time. “after a chance meeting with Hans Zimmer in London” (Yamaha) says Harry Gregson-Williams, who is reminiscing on the beginning of his career in film composition, he claimed that whilst he did have a “very thorough music education, and was always interested in composition, but I’d never once thought about composing music to picture.” (Yamaha) But the fact alone that he was in a situation where he was in proximity and capable of interacting with Zimmer is a testament to his existing prestige within the industry, thus proving that one must make progress enough in the music world to get into the right situation in the first place for an opportunity like this.
Moving along to the next point, the skills which I will be tasked with acquiring in order to achieve career success. Beginning with the more fundamental, technical skills such as ‘music theory and orchestration’ (Berklee), ,music theory is a skill that can be very much acquired by oneself, due to the nature of the course I am studying I believe my theory knowledge is already at a fairly strong level, however for a comprehensive and sufficient composer that can take leading roles in projects, the knowledge must be to an excellent understanding, especially considering the importance of certain chords and how they can make the listener feel as well as how they work with one another to create feelings of tension or intensity for example, that could enhance certain scenes. As for orchestration, my skill here is rather limited but according to Berklee “you must be proficient in music theory, harmony, and ear training” (Newhouse, B. 2022) in order to begin learning. Orchestration is often the next step musically of composition and it’s needed “composer’s musical sketch and turns it into a score for orchestra, ensemble, or choral group” (Newhouse, B. 2022). But it is an incredibly important skill for a composer because in smaller projects an orchestrator may not be
available so the composer may be required to take up the role as well. Learning this skill would also provide the composer with a greater understanding of each instrument and how to combine them effectively, therefore broadening the skillset and making myself appear more appealing to employers “the ability to write for an orchestra brings substantial credibility in the musical world.” (Newhouse, B. 2022).
Another very important skill to have is of course a strong understanding of DAWs as it allows oneself to write music without the limitations of one instrument, but also is almost impossible to programme music for film without it, unless the soundtrack is made up of a single instrument like piano. However, it is essentially guaranteed to be required at some point within my career. Having this skill opens up other pathways as well as a film composer and it offers the power of a large ensemble to be channelled easily and at no expense to be used when inspiration strikes or to work alone. It’s especially beneficial in smaller productions where there is no band and just me creating the music in situations like putting music to trending medias and student films.
While there are many other skills that are needed for a film composer, I’ll be going over some of the less technical, more personal skills that are more suited to the finding of work and the supporting of the technical skills, like the ability to work under strict time constraints. “The ability to engage in an exchange of ideas is vital, as is the humility to ultimately defer and adapt to a director’s vision.” (Berklee). This is an essential component that differs a film composer from a regular one, as music is but one part of a film. It would not only be a matter of communicating what you would want to do with the soundtrack, but also adapting and understanding what is wanted by the various other parties (directors, showrunners, screenwriters). A film composer’s work should reflect the emotions, tones and themes presented by the work onscreen – not clash with it, and that can only be done by working closely with these parties to achieve a shared creative vision. There could be challenges within this, as a creative visions often differ, and a director’s technical knowledge wouldn’t necessarily extend to music theory and composition, which could result unorthodox / inharmonious requests. But in these instances, a film composer should be ready to articulate how they intend to achieve the shared creative vision, content in their abilities to achieve
technically, whilst following the guidelines set thematically; for the result to be a cohesive piece overall.
Lastly, to navigate and find success within the film music industry, I would need to construct a professional portfolio of all my best work. For many creatives, a portfolio serves as a kind of resume: showcasing qualifications and experience through more tangible means – and as a film composer, there would be a few good ways to do this. For example, many professional composers often have their own websites (Raksha. 2022) showcasing the various films they have worked on, a biography / “about me” featuring both information regarding education and work, and – most importantly – up to date contact information (Giacchino, M). These things ensure that any potential clients who view these websites gets a clear, informed look at the person as they consider hiring them, or being used in conjunction to validate an applicant during interviewing processes. Having a catalogue of previously worked on films on display will give any visitors a good idea of your strengths: what genres you may specialise in, what kind of compositions you’ve produced (live recordings, synthetic pieces), what companies / IPs you may have collaborated with. This is also helpful for the film composer too, as any displayed previous works may draw in clients with similar visions (a director of a horror film reaching out after seeing your work in the genre, for example), allowing you to effectively find a niche / particular field within the industry. Another effective way to demonstrate your work would be through a show-reel (Drane, R. 2019). A client wouldn’t necessarily not have time to scour through your work one by one; so providing them with a show-reel may be an easier, more concise alternative. This way, you could display only your best work – the sections you are most proud of – and direct attention onto it, instead of relying on website visitors to find those pieces by themselves. Alternatively, you could put together mini show-reels for each project you’ve worked on, instead of simply displaying a track list. Again, this would serve to make a viewer’s job easier; interacting with and experiencing your work instead of just browsing, leading to higher engagement and memorability among others.
After researching and evaluating the various approaches to the role of film composer, I have accomplished a much greater understanding of the path I must take. Modernisation and advancing technology has changed the way in which we market ourselves, and it’s important
to utilise both in person skills and a strong online presence to become more visible and successful in the industry. Relying on pre-existing technical skills, as well as more diverse communication skills, is key to operating within the industry, especially at a high level. Coordinating orchestra’s, directing sound mixers in the studios, working with instrumentalists to find the right sound for the production – these are just a few of the responsibilities a film composer may have to shoulder. But in turn, they themselves are also being directed: meeting with visual directors, sitting in on production meetings, having enough media literacy to understand the subject of the film. In some ways, a film composer acts like a translator, turning the themes and ideas suggested to them by members of production into a reflective soundtrack, paralleling what is shown with what is heard. Film composers will continue to remain a staple in the industry, as often times a film’s soundtrack can solidify its place in pop culture, and thusly, the larger social consciousness. It’s a balance of both creative vision and specialised knowledge, with each success bringing more opportunities to create and impact audiences globally.
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Reference list
Bingham, J. (2022) How to get into film scoring. unlike the professions most people… | by Jonathan Bingham | Medium, Medium. Available at: https://jonbingham.medium.com/how-to-get-into-film-scoring-97e14c632baa (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Composer (film) (no date) Berklee. Available at: https://www.berklee.edu/careers/roles/composer-film (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Drane, R. (2019) Composer Showreel – Part 1, film scoring tips. Available at: https://filmscoringtips.com/composer-showreel-part-1/ (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
A film composer talks shop – Harry Gregson-Williams (no date) Yamaha All Access Magazine. Available at: https://www.yamaha.com/allaccess/artists/issue12-williams_harry.asp?issue=issue12 (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Garrate, C. (2023) The role of social media in filmmaking careers: Building your online presence, Raindance. Available at: https://raindance.org/the-role-of-social-media-in-filmmaking-careers-building-your-online-presence/#:~:text=It%20will%20also%20help%20them,to%20build%20their%20online%20presence. (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Giacchino, M. (no date) The official website of the Oscar-winning composer, Michael Giacchino. Available at: https://michaelgiacchino.com/ (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Lovick, J. (2026) How to get a career in composing music for films, dBs Insider. Available at: https://insider.dbsinstitute.ac.uk/how-to-get-a-career-in-composing-music-for-films (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Newhouse, B. (2022) Orchestration: How to write for an orchestra, Berklee Online Take Note. Available at: https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/orchestration-how-to-write-for-an-orchestra/ (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
Raksha (2025) Best music composer portfolio examples, Twine Blog. Available at: https://www.twine.net/blog/best-music-composer-portfolio-examples/ (Accessed: 06 May 2026).
