How do you pick music for a featured film?

Great question, right? This is something that has always piqued my interest, so I wanted to share my research with you!  

 

According to the website, Musiquest.la, this is a very interesting process which involves the producer, as well as the film director who ultimately has the final say.

 

Using music in movies fall into three categories:

 

Category #1:  Set background music. This is ideal for a tone in the movie.

 

Category #2: “…….specific songs used in the film. Sometimes producers decide on using preexisting songs that fit the mood of their film. A good example is the song “Hungry Heart” from Bruce Springsteen that was used in “The Perfect Storm” or the song “American Woman” by The Guess Who in the academy award winning ‘American Beauty,’” (http://musiquest.la/how-is-music-chosen-for-feature-films/, June 29, 2013).

 

Category #3: Incorporating a song which was recorded and produced specially for that movie.

 

All of these three very different categories involves a separate process and has individual sets of their own.

 

“Successful soundtracks add public interest to a film. Who doesn’t remember such monster soundtracks as “Saturday Night Fever” or “The Big Chill?” Film soundtracks have been among the best selling albums of all time,” (

http://musiquest.la/how-is-music-chosen-for-feature-films/, June 29, 2013).

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that music adds a public interest to a film or does the public interest lie in the story line of the film?

Personally, I believe that it is both. It is critical that your story line appeals to your audience, but also includes interesting music.