Summary

In this chapter, we discussed how to deal with tempo in film music, how to evaluate a movie by watching it with a metronome, and how to use Tap Tempo. We also learned about marker positions and how to create a tempo map, as well as exploring different methods of how to find a suitable tempo. Additionally, we discussed how a movie can reveal to a film composer its own tempo by looking at the movie cuts or events.

Since there are different ways of finding a tempo, knowing and experimenting with the different options can be useful in many situations. This process can be time-consuming and challenging, but it is an important part of the beginning stage of scoring to picture. Music that will be written needs to create not only melodic or harmonic support but also rhythm and overall tempo. As with all areas, with more practice and repetition things will get smoother when scoring to picture.

In the next chapter, we will discuss working with beat mapping.