Need Advice(re music rights).

Staven

Staven

Well-known member
Scenario:

Had Composer make score for my movie.

Had composer give me extra music bits (ie individual tracks that make up all the songs for the score). Had him give them to me to use in creation of the trailer and possibly to use during additional transitions during the film.

Upon sitting down and starting to place the music in... noticed that the pacing and flow of music didn't work very well once I watched the film start to end... also lacked structure. (would work for hours on end on one song, then move onto the next, hence not knowing how it flowed)

So, as tests I played with moving the music around, using cues we made for some parts in different areas... and also adding additional music to add tension to certain parts too. i've been able to map out a pretty good structure to the score and amp up areas that lacked intensity.

What I want to know is, is this crossing the line?? I plan to show the composer what I've done and get his opinion, but have I done wrong? What "powers" do i have as sound editor and director?? Is it common for the score to be "tweeked" after conclusion by the composer?? I mean I want to try EQ'ing some of the songs to give them a different feel to suit a scene... can I or am i stepping on the composers toes and doing something unprofessional??

thanks for any thoughts.
 
If you want me to be completely honest, I would not manually tweak his work unless you do not mind severing ties with him. Not to mention, he is extending license to you to use his works, not giving you a right for derivatives. Better case would be for you to be honest with him and ask him to tweak the music a bit to better suit your needs.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I'll just add to make sure I'm not coming across as totally going overboard... all songs he created are intact, untouched, other than finding appropriate fade in's and out's. All tweeks I've performed are merely adding a track on a timeline that can just as easily be erased.

I guess I'm really wondering what "power" does the sound editor/music editor have? The music was created strictly for this film. Can a sound editor add an extra drum hit to amplify a moment? Can a sound editor cross fade 2 songs together so they flow into each other? Can a sound editor use a cue made for one area and move to a different area?? stuff like that.
 
A lot of that is based on what kind of person he is and what kind of arrangement you two have. Like I said, if he is sensitive, and you want to work with him again, at least consult with him first before scrapping his work.
 
You have the rights to the music, right? Remember, the music is there to serve the needs of the movie. It may do a disservice to your project to not have the music placed precisely within the movie. Also, the music is just one component of your audio. With everything integrated correctly, your soundtrack should complement your movie and bring out desired emotion in the viewer.

That said, it never hurts to have an open line of communication with your composer. Perhaps he'll have a better way to do something. Did he have a copy of the project to work to?
 
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