Qualifications and Experience

Typically film composers have studied at university level or equivalent and have a degree in music, whilst the actual degree is not a stumbling block in entry to the role, directors and filmmakers who will pay you and hire you will be looking for portfolios and previous work which undertaking a university degree produces. As Elliot Goldenthal puts it in an interview with sound on sound magazine, “Is it the only way to develop? “No, but I think it’s an advantage because a teacher becomes more of a doctor and psychiatrist, and can get the best out of you, as opposed to getting the best out of a class.” (Wherry, 2003)

Furthermore, the entire industry of film music relies on what you have done and who you know, a director will want to see what actual work they can expect to come out with and where their money is going. Networking events, film festivals and exhibitions are key in not only displaying your own portfolio of work but also seeing what your colleagues are up to, and who you may want to collaborate with in future projects.

Knowledge, skills and personal attributes

When working with a director, one of the key things to note is that you both do not speak each other’s language. A director has a vision for the music they want, but cannot communicate it literally to a composer, because they do not understand music literally. What directors do understand however is emotion, and the purpose of any choice made in the filmmaking process directly relates to the emotional content of the story being told (Thierman, 2020). Therefore, a film composer has to have an astute understanding of complex emotions and how they can be synthesised through music, this could include use of scientific models such as Robert Plutchik’s emotion wheel and a comprehensive grasp of music theory and its ability to induce emotional responses. Furthermore, knowing basic film grammar and how to read a script can be a tool for composers. It allows them to have a deeper understanding of what the director is attempting to convey, yet simultaneously gives the composer the opportunity to read into the film and provide their own interpretation of the story. This is because knowing why the director is shooting what they are brings the emotional content out of the subconscious and into the conscious. Additionally, library music is a huge part of a composer’s work, especially when work is dry or projects are at a standstill. It is music written to a brief, and being able to hit that brief more accurately than other people is what will get it chosen over everyone else’s work. (Shapey, 2019)

Vitally, a composer has to be personable, approachable and understanding. At some point in a project a director will want to change something and it eliminates the risk of conflict if they feel like they can voice their opinions to the people they are working with.

Day to day work

Initially, if you are lucky enough to get any work at all it will be supplemented with other jobs to give you a living wage, whether that is odd jobs in music recording for people, playing in bands, or just a part time job completely separate from music. (Wherry, 2003)

The daily tasks of a composer could vary depending on the project and how far through that project they are, and what level they are at. Typically consisting of spotting, conceptualising, composing, mocking up, orchestrating, mocking up again and recording. At a lower level you may be expected to do all of these by yourself, however when projects start having bigger budgets these can be offloaded to external sources, such as a separate orchestrator, and sometimes composers do not even attend recording sessions. Of all of these, spotting is the most widespread between levels of projects, as all directors need to communicate basic ideas such as where the music should come in and out. Different composers have varying methods when writing, some like to pre-write material, others write as they see the film/episode for the first time, but a common occurrence with all composers is a structured work day, especially when working from a home studio. This could be from 8am to 4pm with regular breaks in between, but the key is to have a set work day to avoid meandering around a project. (Elliot, 2022).

All freelancers will at some point have to deal with admin, being self employed means that there is a greater responsibility to handle financial and legal processes yourself, and setting out time to do this, whether it is a portion of every day, or one day a month, or several, having some semblance of regular admin time is routine. (Seguin, 2019)

Financial and legal issues

“Copyright is a legal term that refers to the exclusive rights that authors have to their original artistic and intellectual works. It protects musical compositions and sound recordings from unauthorized use, copying, distribution, and performance in the film composer industry.” (Mike, 2023). Copyright in the film industry is a little more difficult than in the purely musical world, because film studios, producers and directors are introduced, alongside any music labels and producers who may already take a cut. When working on a project it is important to make sure that any files sent over to producers and directors have correct dates and timestamps, as copyright can only be claimed in a tangible form such as manuscript or a recording. However, as soon as the work is created, the copyright is created alongside it, there is no need to actively register copyright. (Musicians Union, 2023)

Lots of composers do not own their music, especially when it comes to library music, because as soon as it is uploaded to a royalty free site, it becomes just that. You still earn money from people using it and buying the recording from the site, however only a portion of that goes to the composer. Sometimes composers are not even sent the final version of their own music, and whatever they hear in the final release of the film is final, this makes fighting for royalties extremely difficult, as edits in the film may be so drastic that your music does not match what is released in the final cut. To get around this, the norm is to charge a flat fee, this also makes it easier to budget and plan finances for the year. If you know you can take on ‘X’ amount of projects in a month, and charge ‘Y’ for them you can calculate an estimated income. Furthermore this makes taxes a lot simpler, as being self employed means you need to submit a self assessment and having multiple lump sums as opposed to relying on royalties better informs you of what your take home at the end of the month actually is. (Musicians Union, 2023) (Independent Society of Musicians, 2021)

Marketing and promotion

A composers portfolio or website is their livelihood, it is an epicentre for previous work, examples of directors and creatives they have worked with, contact details and sometimes dates of availability if booking studio time. Most importantly they advertise your skills as a composer to potential clients, just as a business owner would offer a service or product, only you yourself and your unique skillset is what you are offering. Also, social media could be used as a smaller bite-sized version of the website. Possibly a first point of contact for someone looking for a composer, who stumbles across a short clip of yours or an insight into your process that resonates with them enough to look deeper and find your website. It also allows people to contact you and stay updated with where you are at with current projects and ideas, and where they may be able to fit in with those. (Brewster, 2021)

Whilst it is important to build a presence online through websites and social media, ultimately your music is being created by you, and clients will benefit massively from speaking to you face to face, at events, film festivals, and even through zoom if you are not local to each other. This is because it not only establishes to your clients that you are a personable character and can effectively communicate, important for when issues arise or simply just organising logistics, but that you put the effort in and genuinely care about their project which they will have spent lots of time and money and poured their heart into. (Scoring, 2023)

Intellectual and personal issues

A career in composing can be extremely stressful. Projects have deadlines especially in the film world and you cannot hope to extend those deadlines. Because there are so many parties involved the director will have agreed specific dates to screen and show the movie in theatres, or release on streaming sites, and seeing as the music is the last thing to go down, a composer can be pushed for time. For example when James Horner was working on Alien, he had not even seen the film with only 2 weeks remaining until the release date, and subsequently he suffered an acute mental breakdown. He was nominated for an Oscar for his score and one could argue that the pressure was the reason it was so well received, but it poses the question, is the stress and subsequent creative outpour worth the very real mental health struggles faced by composers when timing is tight? Furthermore, composing can be lonely, oftentimes working in a home studio means that you don’t see anyone all day. Breaks are self monitored and you need to be diligent and proactive to ensure work gets done on time. It is normal to, once involved emotionally with a project, have a vision for it. However, if this vision does not align with that of the director, or if they do not like what you are imagining the film to be you will need to change what you have written. Although the most probable changes will be small adjustments, the music may not work at all and you need to scrap it and save it for another time. This is difficult for composers as it is easy to get attached to something, especially if lots of time has been spent on it and it becomes embedded in the film mentally. Therefore it is crucial to remember to treat it as a craft and not an art, that way creative decisions feel more like a professional discussion than a personal affront. (C, 2020) (Maro, 2022)

Career progression

For a film composer career progression could come in the form of bigger budgets and more prolific directors. For less established composers it may look more like being involved with more of the writing side of a project whilst working for a bigger composer. In general, once you reach the level where you can sustain yourself with your music, the ability to diversify your work makes itself available to you. For example, composing and producing music for art installations, other forms of media like tv shows, games and adverts, and also passing on skills in the form of teaching. Additionally, the widening of skills may lead you to development of products, since an in-depth knowledge of operating and utilising products such as sample libraries and midi controllers is useful when designing and creating a product to sell. (C, 2020)

Conclusion

In conclusion, to become a film composer, a wide set of skills are needed. In depth theoretical and technical knowledge of the music creation process, an understanding of filmmaking, marketing and self promotion and how to conduct yourself as a business. Such a niche corner of an already saturated industry requires absolute dedication and determination, often starting earning very little or even nothing at all, however once your foot is in the door, the career is rewarding and allows you to express yourself within all sorts of creative mediums.

Bibliography

Brewster, W. (2021). A Day in the Life of a Film and TV Composer. [online] Mixdown Magazine. Available at: https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-film-and-tv-composer/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2025].

C, C. (2020). Sound On Sound. [online] Soundonsound.com. Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/nainita-desai-film-composer-podcast [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].

Elliot, C. (2022). A Day in the Life of a Composer – Staff Me up. [online] Staff Me up. Available at: https://blog.staffmeup.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-composer/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2025].

Independent Society of Musicians (2021). Five steps for building financial wellbeing for musical freelancers. [online] Independent Society of Musicians. Available at: https://www.ism.org/news/five-steps-for-building-financial-wellbeing-for-musical-freelancers/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2025].

Maro, E. (2022). The Director/Film Composer Relationship: How to Make the Collaboration Sing. [online] Stage 32. Available at: https://www.stage32.com/blog/the-directorfilm-composer-relationship-how-to-make-the-collaboration-sing-3027 [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].

Mike (2023). Music Rights For Film | Copyright and Licensing Music. [online] Scorecraft Academy. Available at: https://scorecraftacademy.com/copyright-and-licensing-a-guide-for-film-composers/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2025].

Musicians Union (2023). Copyright for Songwriters, Composers & Lyricists | Musicians’ Union. [online] musiciansunion.org.uk. Available at: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/composing-and-songwriting/copyright-for-songwriters-and-composers [Accessed 2 Nov. 2025].

Scoring, C. (2023). How Composers Get Chosen for Films: A Look Behind the Scenes. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@cinemagicscoring/how-composers-get-chosen-for-films-a-look-behind-the-scenes-440930de851a [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].

Seguin, J. (2019). John Seguin. [online] John Seguin. Available at: https://www.johnseguin.com/working-with-a-composer-for-film-directors [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].

Shapey, R. (2019). Interview with film composer Jon Brooks – I Can Compose. [online] I Can Compose. Available at: https://www.icancompose.com/interview-with-film-composer-jon-brooks/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2025].

Thierman, J. (2020). A Director’s Guide to Communicating with Composers – Jamie Thierman. [online] jamiethierman.com. Available at: https://jamiethierman.com/2020/06/a-directors-guide-to-communicating-with-composers/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].Wherry, M. (2003). Elliot Goldenthal: Composer. [online] www.soundonsound.com. Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/elliot-goldenthal-composer [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].

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