"Whoa!", you say.. "This should be written under the 'post-production' heading!!"

Hear me out.

When your film's music is an after-thought, that's exactly how it comes across. It's shame, because I see so many potentially great films where the director throws in some cheapo library music at the last moment before sending it to mix. When this happens, you end up with less-than-powerful scoring which doesn't really support your artistic vision.

Instead, what I propose (and what is done on successful films) is to bring in your composer early on. Invite them to set. (Or at least send them frequent updates?dailies in the form of raw or rough footage or stills). This allows for a longer term of creation and collaboration to get the right sound you're looking for.

Take Hans Zimmer on "The Dark Knight" for example... He was sent regular still shots and clips of what Heath Ledger was doing as 'The Joker' in order to inspire him to come up with that nasty, spine-tingling score.

Yes, a great composer can still take your nearly-finished film and create something wonderful that enhances the emotional contour of your film... But with just a LITTLE more effort on your part, the composer can get plugged in from the first frame and do something truly remarkable.

Planning ahead makes a WORLD of difference!!

My 2.3 cents...
Patrick

"The fine art of storytelling through music."
www.PatrickAThompson.com