The area of the creative industries which I would like to pursue is becoming a composer for video games/film. This is only natural considering I am currently studying on the Film Music degree. It is a notoriously difficult industry to penetrate into, as is the case with all music, so in this essay I will be exploring what it will take for me to be successful in this industry.
Firstly, regarding academic and professional skills and/or experience which may be required, it is very common in the industry for composers to have a degree in music of some kind due to the heavy emphasis on music theory which is often required due to film music’s close relationship with the orchestra. Even standard job sites such as ‘Indeed’ acknowledge this trend, stating that it is common for media composers to have music degrees (Indeed, 2024). Obviously, this is something which I am currently in the process of obtaining and it will no doubt be of use to me later on in my career. However, while having a degree is useful, experience is the most important thing required in this industry. Many composers first worked as arrangers or orchestrators under already established composers first in order to gain experience and worked on small projects on the side to build up their portfolio. Additionally, in games specifically, some studios want composers to be able to use sound engine software such as FMOD and Wwise, although this is rare. This is not taught on my degree, so it may be worthwhile for me to practice this in my own time.
In terms of the knowledge, skills and professional qualities/attributes which are needed for success within the profession, once again music theory is one of the most important. Many film and game scores use the orchestra which obviously require theory knowledge, but also the style of composing which is common in games and films is often theory heavy, as being able to modulate key and change time signature easily is very important for smoothing over transitions and things like that. However, it is not enough to just know theory; having good production skills is also a necessity in the modern era. Some projects will not want to use a real orchestra due to budget reasons, so it may be up to the composer to produce a realistic mock-up on a DAW instead, using sample libraries. Furthermore, having good media literacy and emotional intelligence are very important for a film composer, as these are very useful when it comes to understanding how to score a scene. These are attributes which can not just be practiced like producing or theory skills; they are instead attributes which are assimilated throughout the course of one’s life.
When it comes to personal attributes specifically, it has been noted that being both creative AND disciplined are required in this industry. These 2 attributes are often not strongly associated with one another. But, the most important attribute, according to Paul Thompson, established film/TV composer and co-founder of Spitfire Audio, is resilience. In his online interview with Guy Michelmore, he states that not giving up, even when you are not seeing success, will immediately put you ahead of 99% of people, and will drastically increase your chances of success within the industry (Michelmore, 2022).
How about the duties and responsibilities of the profession – what does a typical day’s work involve? Well, it depends on the stage that the project is in. The beginning stage of the project, which can vary massively depending on the project (games usually have longer deadlines), the composer will often be experimenting with finding a palette of sounds which they want to use for the project, and work on some musical sketches. Throughout the entire process of the project, the composer will be showing the movie/game director their ideas and seeing if the director approves. Later into the project, the composer may be working on using the ideas from the beginning stage to compose music to actual scenes. It is common for ideas to be rejected by the director, and scenes will often take multiple attempts to get right. And the final stage of the project usually involves the mixing/mastering of the music, and the fine details of the implementation. Regarding the day to day processes, it is common for composers to work long hours, especially if the deadlines are strict (which they usually are, to an extreme degree, TV in particular). John Williams stated in an interview with The Times that he used to work 10 hours every single day (Hoyle, 2019). Projects often also require the composer to travel, perhaps to oversee the orchestra or to meet with the director and other people from the studio, but these days it is becoming more and more common to work remotely.
There are quite a few main financial and legal issues which may impact a composer in this profession. Unfortunately, at least in the US (where a lot of film composers are based), the music rights may be owned by the company you composed for, rather than yourself, according to IRIS Plus, a European Audiovisual Observatory (Blázquez, 2009). In the US there is such a thing as a ‘work for hire’ contract, where the composer will not be considered the author of the work with regards to copyright, but rather, the author will be considered the company that the composer worked for. The composer will not receive any royalties but will instead be paid in a one time fee from their employer. Some game studios are known to have in-house composers who are employed with work for hire contracts, for example Bungie or Blizzard Entertainment, which are both US based companies. Another problem with the work for hire type contract is the possibility of being laid off; Bungie, for example, laid off Michael Salvatori, the head composer who had been with the company for over 10 years and worked on various projects. But, if the composer is instead hired as an independent contractor, they will be considered the author and will receive royalties. Most films hire composers as independent contractors. In Europe, there is no ‘work for hire’ type contract, meaning the composer will always be considered the author of the music, and so should be eligible to receive royalties, in most cases.
When it comes to potential marketing and promotional aspects of the profession, film composers sometimes have the luxury of being able to piggy-back off of the marketing that is done for that movie/game; both because of the publicity the piece of media may bring to itself, but also to the music specifically, as often times some variation of the music made by the composer is used in marketing material such as trailers. If a game or movie ends up becoming extremely popular, then by extension the composer usually gets to enjoy massively increased attention as well. However, when it comes to marketing yourself as a composer, it is quite difficult in the beginning. The main people a composer would want to market themselves towards are directors, and the best way to market yourself is with a good portfolio, which will then hopefully attract said directors. It is in this early stage where doing any work which you can get a hold of, and doing the best you can, is especially crucial. These early projects will often times be student films or games, and are usually unpaid. When you build up your portfolio enough, then you may start to move on to more paid projects. In Leeds, there is the University of Leeds which has a film course; so as a composer it is very important that I go ahead and work on my portfolio, so that I can reach out to film students and start doing some actual work in the industry rather than just working on clips from the Conservatoire’s TV and Film library, as those clips cannot be uploaded anywhere due to copyright.
There are also quite a few intellectual and personal challenges presented by the profession. One notable one is the fact that it is an extremely taxing job, often times due to the lack of free time, the massive amounts of stress because of the usually short deadlines, and the obsession a composer may feel since the work they are doing is reflective of their skill as a composer and will affect their ability to get projects in the future. I think to manage these, it is very important to set boundaries. Someone like John Wiliams treated it like a 9-5 job often times; he would clock in, and then clock out, mentally speaking. Then, his free time was actual free time for him to relax and do whatever he wanted. And despite this boundary he set up, he very obviously still managed to be wildly successful. This is the mentality I try to follow as well. I try and treat composing like a job which I happen to enjoy, not a passion which I happen to be making money from. Treating it like a passion all the time results in an obsession which will negatively affect other aspects of your life. Furthermore, this is also part of the reason why I am wanting to score games most of all, as game scores usually have the longest deadlines and larger budgets, and more creative freedom. Compare this to something like the TV industry, where the producers just want the composer to make something as quickly and cheaply as possible, which limits real creativity. This is another challenge which may be faced by composers, and that is the lack of creative control. Sometimes, a game/film director may be difficult to work with and do things such as using too many temp tracks (temporary music put to a scene to get a feel for what the director wants the composer to do). This is why it is important to find directors that you enjoy working with and understand, a famous example being John Williams and Steven Spielberg.
The film music industry also has lots of opportunities for career-progression and development. While studying on the film music course, it’s common for lots of people to work on student films/games in order to increase their portfolio as well as gain experience with a real project. With regards to games, there are video game courses which I could potentially email to ask if I could score one of their student’s games, like the University of Bournemouth for example. Other options are things like Roblox games, which have evolved significantly over the years, and some have their own bespoke soundtracks. Additionally, there are lots of different roles in the world of film music which people can progress through. Working as arrangers and orchestrators are common ones, but Berklee college of music has a list of them, and some others include copyists, assistant composers, music editors, music supervisors, and session conductors (Berklee, n.d.). Having so many roles which are so closely associated with each other also broadens the scope of jobs which may be available to me once I attain my degree.
In conclusion, while the film industry is very tough to break into, I think that after looking at the required skills and attributes which are often required to make a successful game/film composer, I believe that I have what it takes to keep improving and eventually succeed at finding work within the industry.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
-Indeed (2024) How to become a film composer (with skills and FAQs). Available online:https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-become-film-composer#:~:text=Becoming%20a%20film%20composer%20generally,Composition%20for%20Film%20and%20Theatre (accessed 5/1/25)
-Michelmore, G (2022) What does it take to be a professional composer? [INTERVIEW With Spitfire Audio’s Paul Thomson] (video). Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvLe1lwUTvQ (accessed 5/1/25)
-Hoyle, B (2019) John Williams, the best film composer — in the galaxy. Available online: https://www.thetimes.com/article/john-williams-the-best-film-composer-in-the-galaxy-l7jx0f8gq (accessed 5/1/25)
-Blázquez (2009) An Introduction to Music Rights for Film and Television Production. Available online: https://rm.coe.int/1680783407#:~:text=Copyright%20ownership%20vests%20in%20the,the%20author%20for%20copyright%20purposes (accessed 5/1/25)
-Berklee (n.d.) Careers in Film and Media Scoring. Available online: https://college.berklee.edu/film-scoring/careers (accessed 5/1/25)
