MUSIC FOR FILM, TELEVISION, ADVERTISING, AND NEW MEDIA
Technical: Music Editor
JOB OVERVIEW
A music editor coordinates the technical aspects of film scoring between the production company and the composer.
PREREQUISITES
To succeed, you should possess musicality, and technical knowledge of, and skill using, music editing equipment; you must be highly motivated, and have the ability to deliver on schedule. “Being diplomatic; able to listen carefully to what people are trying to communicate and then fulfilling their desire without a lot of problems, guesswork, or questions back and forth. It is very important to shut off your mind and listen carefully to what the director is trying to say to you.”
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Music editor Jeff Chabonneau's schedule is dictated by where he is in the process of adding music to picture for his current project. On a film spotting day, he meets in the studio with the film producers, director, film editor, and composer. They review scenes to determine where the music should start and end, discuss any stylistic concerns, and address any other issues. If there is a temporary score already in place, they might discuss whether it works in different scenes. They talk about specific songs they want to use and address any synchronization problems, if there is a live performance. The director may discuss a statement he wants to emphasize with music in a particular scene. “Involvement in the spotting session varies from film to film and project to project. Sometimes the composer and the music editor will spot the film on their own, and give their notes or ideas to the producer or the director, although that is very rare. On the series I work on, which is the X-Files, I do all the music spotting on my own. I give my notes to the composer and the producers, and they give me feedback. The reason we've done it this way is to streamline the process, because we don't have an enormous amount of time to do the score, and there is a lot of music in the show. They trust me with knowing, or figuring out, where to put the music in, and where to take it out.”
After the spotting is complete, Chabonneau goes through the film to time the sequences and create timing notes, a breakdown of what is happening in each scene. This is typed out for the composer to see. Within a couple of days, the composer returns with the score, and the music editor and an engineer mix the score. Then, the music editor goes to the re-recording stage and guides the music mixer on how the music should fit into the scene, such as where the music is too loud or too soft, where it should build and fade, and any background source issues. Depending upon the project, the re-recording process can take one to three days, or three to four weeks. “On a television show, we're usually on the stage for about two days.” Next, the producers and director may suggest changes, such as adding a sound to a scene, or switching out a particular piece of music. Those changes are made immediately. The next phase is to document the music. The music editor writes down the timing and order of each piece of music used in the film, adds the author's and publisher's names, and turns over the information to the studio legal department to issue contracts and licenses. The last task is to create a backup of all the materials so they can be placed in the studio vault, and a copy of the score is sent to the Library of Congress for copyright purposes.
CAREER TIPS
“In this business there is always a deadline. A person has to be able to deal with that pressure and accept that responsibility. Know that you're going to have to set aside your own personal life at times in order to fulfill the job. That can be stressful when you've planned a weekend and that gets dumped because the schedule has changed, and you have to get things done by Monday, as opposed to Tuesday or Wednesday. Deadlines are very important. Being punctual is extremely important. These are skills that are necessary.”
VOICES OF EXPERIENCE
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“The element I like the least is the egos and personalities involved in the business.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“The work itself. I've got the type of brain where I like doing something very creative. I think I have a real aptitude for combining sound and image together in a way that works. I enjoy that aspect. I like the challenge. I view it as a puzzle that I can solve. I like being able to go through and measure music against a picture and make it work.”
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
“The way I got established was to work on low budget and no budget films to gain some skills and meet people. When those people ended up working on bigger projects, they took me along with them in a lot of cases. This job takes an investment in material costs, too. You have to essentially own a mini recording studio in order to be viable in the present film economy. No one wants to rent equipment for you. They want you to come fully equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and know how to operate it effectively. When they consider hiring you to do a project, the first questions asked are, ‘Do you have a ProTools system? Is it transportable? Can you bring it to a stage? How much are you going to charge us to rent it?'”
JEFF CHABONNEAU, MUSIC EDITOR
After playing in rock and roll bands as a teenager, Jeff Chabonneau studied classical guitar at the University of Wisconsin before switching to biology in his junior year. He began his graduate work in anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles. “About the four-year point of graduate school, I ran out of scholarship and grant money, and decided I really needed a job.” Through a friend, he was introduced to another academic who had returned to music as a composer for New York-based Score Productions, writing music for television soap operas, game shows, and sporting events. Impressed with Chabonneau's musical talent, the composer helped him land a job as music supervisor of the soap opera Capitol, filmed in Los Angeles. A year later, he was ready for a bigger challenge.
When he heard that the major film studios had jobs for music editors, but not knowing exactly what that entailed, Chabonneau boldly called 20th Century Fox to apply. Told that he needed both experience and union membership to qualify, he left his phone number anyway. Two days later, he got a call to interview for an apprentice music editor position. Hired for his ability to both play and read music, he worked there for two years before the studio closed down the department. For the next three years, Chabonneau worked in television at a small firm in Burbank, frequently with well-known composer, Mike Post.
When Post opened his own music editing company, Chabonneau was one of four editors hired. After two years at Interlock, he returned to film work at MGM, then went out on his own as a freelancer, specializing in temporary music scores for film previews. Chabonneau served as music editor on the highly acclaimed series The X Files from 1993 to 2002, when the series ended. He went on to work on another acclaimed series, 24.
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Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and ProfilesCareers in the Music BusinessMUSIC FOR FILM, TELEVISION, ADVERTISING, AND NEW MEDIA - Creative: Vice President • Senior Vice President Of Music (film Studio), President Or Vice President Of Music