Everything you ever wanted to know about Evan Evan’s Sporadic Notes of the Jerry Goldsmith Seminar of April 1996 Somewhat Organized, but you were too afraid to ask...

CONCEPT/MISC

Establish some thematic idea around the concept of the film
Repeat it quite often in different shades throughout the picture

Enhance emotions
This moves the story forward
Do not illustrate the evident

Create an atmosphere and wait until something happens to the main character

Less is better
(Jerry Loves the use of Silence(Emphatic Use))

Sometimes, in a crunch, Jerry’ll give the sketch directly to the copyists

Jerry said he was alot “cueer” before, then now

A good composer is like a method actor
You have to feel the characters

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Talk in terms of Drama

Don’t intellectualize the music, just translate the drama in your style

Collaborating

The more you do it, the better the result

When a producer has a hard time articulating what he wants to convey, just keep going over it until you get it

Keep the conversation going

You hope the filmmaker has enough respect for you to listen to what you have to say

WORKING PROCESS/MUSIC

Stuck?
Stop and go and play it into the computer
Play it back with picture
Then it works or it doesn’t work and you fix it, and your not stuck anymore

Ideally it’s best to start from the beginning and score through to the end

If there seems to be difficulty in making something work sometimes it’s because the scene is badly edited

The best editors have an inate sense of story and rhythm

The rhythm of the film should work with the rhythm of the music

Jerry tries to write 2 minutes a day, but no more than 3

Getting the right tempo for a scene is sometimes harder than getting the notes

Harp & Piano in Unison

Piano Solo is nice texture

Never echo the orchestra with the piano, just complement it

Entrances
Try to find a pattern

DIALOGUE

Changing dynamics is a very good tool

When people talk put breaths into the music
Breath for a few seconds here and there

Be sparse under dialogue

Other composers are bolder, but less is more

SESSIONS

Use clicks when working with the orchestra at a session
Eye contact with players is extremely important

Dubbing
Trust your music editor
Boring
The mixing engineers just go back and forth on one line of dialogue

Average 7 to 10 Minutes a day in 2 session blocks

QUOTES (Chronologically)

“Creativity is a fear driven life”

“How the film impacts us, is how we should express ourself musically”

“A composer is more than a composer, he’s a mediator”

“Remove the panic!!!”

“Never be intimidated by any instrument”

“You have to have a good dramatic sense”

“Temp. music is a new syndrome”

“Sheer stupidity does upset me”

“‘we’re paying you so much!’, well this is not by the pound.”

“Creativity is self-criticism”

Before Starting: “‘What do you hear for this picture?’, I don’t hear anything.”

“Do their idea, but your way"