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Billy Brinkworth

Introduction

This essay focuses on the profession of film composing. I chose this career because I have a strong interest in film composition and want to have  a better understanding of what it means to be a film composer. Although this is a career path deviates from my main focus of study being music production, I would like to be a versatile producer. Film composing could be another skillset to broaden my horizon of opportunities. Through the research I aim to understand the role of a film composer and how this profession may be a skill to explore alongside my music production career. This would consider aspects of what qualifications, attributes and skills I may need to enter the world of film composition. 

• What are the (academic and professional) qualifications and/or experience required to enter the profession?

To be a film composer the usual academic requirements are “GCSEs and A Levels” and have a “relevant degree such as Bachelor of Music in Composition for Film and Theatre.” (Indeed Editorial Team 2025) However, as with all creative work a degree is not essential which is evident when looking at the famous film composer, Hans Zimmer. Zimmer has a background in music being able to play melodic instruments such as guitars and pianos, with an in depth understanding of synthesizers. He has no degree in film composition or music production but nevertheless, has become an accomplished film composer.

Hans Zimmer’s extensive portfolio of film compositions showcases his experience and establishes him as a highly respected composer within the film industry. This highlights how experience can play a bigger part into whether a film composer can get work. However, to enter the profession, one could create examples of scores that they have created. This would show how the composer’s work sounds rather than having to start with trying to get placements with large films as this would be unrealistic. It would be preferable that the composer would have a deep understanding of DAWs such as Pro Tools, “Logic Pro,” “Ableton Live” and “Cubase” as these are industry standard software (Masterclass 2021). An understanding of music theory and being able to play an instrument would also be necessary to enter this profession as this is one of the key factors that makes a person able to do the job. Although music can be created without a deep understanding of music theory, knowledge of music theory helps shape listeners’ emotions, which is a key responsibility of a film composer.

• What knowledge, skills and personal qualities/attributes are needed for success within the profession?

A key skill that can be seen in many different successful film composers is that they are able to collaborate and take on board other people’s ideas in order to get the outcome that the director would like. Due to the fact that a music composer is highered by a director, they do not usually have full creative freedom when creating their scores or possibly sounds within those scores. This means that a film composer must be able to take on other people’s views and be able to take criticism and stay professional in order to get the best outcome.

A film composer needs to “be a very good listener” (Holkenborg 2024) which can mean different things. Being able to take on feedback as I have mentioned previously is one, but another would be being able to take inspiration from many different places. This could be listening to lots of different genres but also listening to music from all over the world, old and new. A good example of this is the composer Hans Zimmer who created the soundtrack for Dune (Dune 2021). The movie uses middle eastern inspired sounds which fits the setting of the movie.

When one looks at the soundtrack for Forrest Gump (Zemeckis 1994), there are many different types of songs by various different artists like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin. However, within this soundtrack there are songs like “Forrest Gump Suite” (Silvestri 1994) or “That’s My Boat” (Silvestri 1994) which are of the classical genre. When one listens to these scores, it is clear that they are not structured like the other R&B/Rock/Pop songs in the soundtrack. This again shows how important a knowledge of classical music is when composing film music.

• What are the duties and responsibilities of the profession – what does a typical day’s work involve?

In today’s climate it is often difficult to get enough work to support yourself as purely being a film composer/music producer. Consequently, people in the music industry have many different jobs to help support themselves. We can see this when we look at how Tess Tyler is a composer for “television”, “film”, “video games” and releases her own music and also creates “library music” for people to buy and use (Tess 2023). The collection of work that she does means that she can support herself financially without needing to have other non music related jobs. This is the reality for many music composers as it does not necessarily pay enough to support someone financially. It seems that a days work as a film composer differs from one day to the next, as they are unlikely to just do the one job.

Outside of the music composition aspect of the profession, a common factor that is seen in music composers is that they choose to promote themselves on social media platforms. Many other jobs in the music industry choose to do this as this helps showcase their ability. This works for some as social media creates the opportunity of spreading to a wider audience but seems to only be useful if this leads to job opportunities.

Another aspect of the profession would be getting work and having to create music for the client. This is not as simple as creating a piece of music and the client using the music. There is usually feedback and a discussion of what needs to change in order to fit the scene better in the clients eyes.

For some music composer there will be spells of no work, so practicing the craft of composing should be done regularly even without work. This will help the composer improve and keep creating ideas that can be used for a potential future work.

There are also examples of film composers who are able to work on movie soundtracks. In a typical day, a film composer could be “Hiring musicians and staff” to play the compositions, “Writing and recording demos to audition various themes for the director’s consideration” and composing and recording (Masterclass 2021). There would also be some aspects of watching clips from the film or possible “mock ups” of ideas that the director has. This gives the film composer a informed idea of what the music should sound like (Masterclass 2021). Music in film is focused on emotion and if the music is not evoking the right emotion, it will not fit the scene and or movie.

• What are the main financial and legal issues that impact on this profession?

A legal issue that is not specific to this profession but is still found in film composition is the use of samples. Although the theme song by futurama is not strictly film composition, I believe it could be interpreted as being under the same umbrella. The futurama theme uses three different songs as samples and these songs, for the most part, create the theme. However, the legal issue with samples is that the composer/producer has to “clear the sample” (Musicians union 2022). If this is not done, the people who created the song, or people who have the rights to the song can sue. This can sometimes lead to major loss in income as the people with the rights can take all the profit away from the composer/producer. To sample legally, the producer would have to “obtain permission from the owners of the copyright in the recording you are sampling.” (Musicians Union 2022).If the producer goes to the owners of the music that they have sampled and they agree that the producer can use it, they often have to give a percentage of what the producer earns on the song/theme to the people that own the song. Although this is fair, it means that the producer earns less from the music.

A film composer is often self employed meaning that they will have to be responsible for their own taxes. Consequently they would have to be responsible for sorting out their taxes at the end of each year.

• What would the potential marketing and promotional aspects of this profession look like?

A common way for a film composer to market and promote themselves would be to create a website. Laura Rossi’s website is a good example (Rossi 2025). This website contains general information about what compositions she has created, where her scores have been played and what awards she has been nominated for. She also has a section on what her music sounds like and a contact page which makes her look professional and gives the person on the website a clear understanding of what she does. This could be an effective way of getting work because someone that is looking for a film composer could easily see what she has done, what her music sounds like and can contact her.

Another way a film composer could promote themselves, is on social media. This can be a great way of showing their work to a wider audience and build a following. An example of a film composer is Suraj Vaja’s Instagram account which shows his ability of being able to create music that fits a scene. It can be an effective method to reach a greater audience than a website but could be a less effective way, as it may create likes and follows but not lead to any work. The combination of having both is likely most beneficial as the social media account could drive people to the website and this could lead to more work.

• What are the intellectual and personal challenges presented by the profession and how might these be dealt with? 

Not being inspired or otherwise known as “beat block”, is often an issue with any creative in the music industry. This is a major issue as a film composer because they often have deadlines. Consequently, something has to be made regardless of the composers mental state. There are numerous ways of attempting to get rid of this issue. Examples include “clean up studio space”, “pick up and play a real instrument” and “changing your environment” (Lavoie 2025). These attempts at getting inspired do not always work however, if the composer is consistent enough, eventually something usually can be created.

As previously mentioned communication between the director and composer in the making of the musical compositions is vital. The composer will have to understand what needs to be changed in order for it to fit what the director’s vision. This could be challenging as it may not align with the vision of the composer. In order to complete the job, the composer may have to compromise. In the process, having good communication skills and being able to understand the director’s intent is paramount.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the profession of being a film composer has its challenges, not least obtaining steady work due to a competitive market. As much as there is not specific academic qualifications needed to be a film composer, the job requires a great understanding of music theory and Pro-Tools. Both of these skills I would need to improve on. I am not certain that this is a profession that I will want to pursue but I do find it interesting. If I continue with this fascination, I could make an attempt to improve my knowledge of music theory and Pro-Tools.

Realistically my future career may need multiple sources of income in order to make a living. Being a film composer and doing library music could be one of these sources.

Bibliography

Fair, V. (2022) How Dune Composer Hans Zimmer Created the Oscar-Winning Score. Youtube https://youtu.be/93A1ryc-WW0?si=4QUkcRnVE9AdCfP6

Indeed Editorial Team. (2025) How to become a film composer (with skills and FAQS) Indeed.  https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-become-film-composer

Masterclass. (2021) What is a film composer and What Does a Film Composer Do? 3 Film Scoring Tips From Hans Zimmer. Masterclass https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-a-film-composer-and-what-does-a-film-composer-do-3-film-scoring-tips-from-hans-zimmer

Rossi, L. (2025) Luara Rossi – Composer. Website. https://www.laurarossi.com/

Musicians Union. (2022). Using Sampling in Your Music. Website. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/working-as-a-recording-artist/using-sampling-in-your-music

Villeneuve, D. (2021). Dune. Film.

Zemeckis, R. (1994). Forrest Gump. Film.

Silvestri, A. (1994). Forrest Gump Suite. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/track/655OjsI6LbHdo3565qEfbE?si=71a2ed2ab84148b0

Silvestri, A. (1994) That’s My Boat. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/track/6PCLgQWGhnu2dw2zjGAUnT?si=9e29f9bf90764d6a

Lavoie, A. (2025) Beat Block: Why it Happens and 11 Ways to Overcome it. Landr Blog. https://blog.landr.com/beat-block/