Composer


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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Highlights
Mike Post on the process of scoring a television episode
02:42
Gerald Fried on conducting his scores for film and television
02:09
Mark Snow on how he learned to score for television and mistakes he made when he was first starting out
04:26
W.G. Snuffy Walden on his approach to writing music
02:16
Vic Mizzy on how he figures out when to put music into a scene
01:37
Alf Clausen on his favorite types of music and composers and his own style
01:27
Who talked about this profession

Lee Adams

View Interview
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their collaborative process
01:43
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what makes for the best Broadway musical and how they work together
01:37
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on advice to aspiring musical collaborators
02:40

Buddy Baker

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Buddy Baker on his harmony system of arranging music
02:45
Buddy Baker on the process of composing for film and television
01:01
Buddy Baker on the Disney sound
03:43
Buddy Baker on writing music for television and film and budgets for each
03:37

Alf Clausen

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Alf Clausen on the challenges of underscoring a scene with dialogue 
03:32
Alf Clausen on doing research for a music composition 
00:55
Alf Clausen on where he composes and his process for composing
05:05
Alf Clausen on the role of music in a television production and the most important thing to remember when composing a theme song for a television show
03:01
Alf Clausen on the business aspect of composing for television 
01:47
Alf Clausen on his favorite types of music and composers and his own style
01:27
Alf Clausen on advice to an aspiring television composer
00:37

Bill Conti

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Bill Conti on wanting to write dramatic music
02:04
Bill Conti on differences between composing for film and television
01:02
Bill Conti on how composing for second and third installments of miniseries, (or for sequels) differs from composing for the first
01:33
Bill Conti on the best advice he ever received about composing
02:15
Bill Conti on advice to aspiring composers
01:31

Ken Corday

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Ken Corday on composing music for Days of Our Lives since 1979
00:38

Alexander Courage

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Alexander Courage on the differences between composing, arranging, and orchestrating music
02:21
Alexander Courage on the process of orchestrating for television 
02:02
Alexander Courage on how orchestrating for television is different from scoring for film
01:20
Alexander Courage on the cavalier attitude toward scoring for television in the 1960s
00:42
Alexander Courage on advice to aspiring film and TV composers
00:57

John Debney

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John Debney on conducting his music
01:26
John Debney on composing for different genres
01:17
John Debney on what music does for a television show or movie
04:47
John Debney on using an orchestrator, and on visiting sets
02:37
John Debney on rituals he has when composing
01:07
John Debney on the differences between composing for animation, for television, and for features
05:57
John Debney on using choirs in his work
01:05
John Debney on the business aspect of composing for films
02:12
John Debney on advice to an aspiring film and television composer
04:46

Ramin Djawadi

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Ramin Djawadi on what he loves about composing
01:46
Ramin Djawadi on learning multiple instruments when he was young and why he liked to play music
01:11
Ramin Djawadi on music he liked listening to when he was young, and on being in a band
02:14
Ramin Djawadi on being drawn to the instrumental music in TV and movies, and on TV theme songs that he enjoyed growing up
02:07
Ramin Djawadi on attending Berklee College of Music
01:18
Ramin Djawadi on the technology used for film and TV scores in the early 2000s
02:16
Ramin Djawadi on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
01:49
Ramin Djawadi on how he started to compose for television, and on the process for composing for a weekly television show
02:47
Ramin Djawadi on decisions about when to use a live orchestra or not and how budgets can impact those decisions
01:31
Ramin Djawadi on his thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in music composition
03:26
Ramin Djawadi on how composing for video games differs from composing for film or television
01:12
Ramin Djawadi on the role of a composer and the excitement of writing music
02:24
Ramin Djawadi on how he deals with creative block
00:47
Ramin Djawadi on having synesthesia and how he learned that he has it -- he associates music with colors
03:29
Ramin Djawadi on his process for writing music and primarily working alone
01:21
Ramin Djawadi on working with music supervisors, editors, and sound mixers
00:52
Ramin Djawadi on music clearance for covers
00:31
Ramin Djawadi on how he knows when a piece is finished
00:44
Ramin Djawadi on enjoying the variety of his work, and on working on multiple projects at once
01:52
Ramin Djawadi on being the sole composer on several television series
00:47
Ramin Djawadi on the business side of composing -- not retaining rights but receiving royalties
00:17
Ramin Djawadi on his greatest challenge as a composer
01:02
Ramin Djawadi on his musical style
01:24
Ramin Djawadi on whether or not the genre he works in plays a role in how he works -- on making scary music for the film Slenderman
02:15
Ramin Djawadi on how music is used on Game of Thrones
01:03
Ramin Djawadi on receiving notes from studio and network executives
02:27
Ramin Djawadi on how composing has changed since he first started in the industry
01:20
Ramin Djawadi on how opportunities have changed since he first started in the industry and on his mentors
01:13
Ramin Djawadi on advice to an aspiring composer
00:50

Charles Fox

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Charles Fox on composing theme songs
03:16
Composer Charles Fox what a composer does in terms of creating the style of a show; on composing the theme for The Love Boat
08:34

Gerald Fried

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Gerald Fried on his musical influences when he was growing up
01:15
Gerald Fried on what he learned attending Juilliard
02:13
Gerald Fried on conducting his scores for film and television
02:09

Herschel Burke Gilbert

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Herschel Burke Gilbert on composing for features produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven, and on them going into television with The Rifleman
06:44

Jerry Goldsmith

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Jerry Goldsmith on the craft of composing music for live television broadcasts and on the process of composing for television
04:30
Jerry Goldsmith on composing for Dr. Kildare and other shows and his process of composing for television
05:06
Jerry Goldsmith on the difference between composing for features and composing for television
04:12
Jerry Goldsmith on advice to aspiring composers
02:12

Earle Hagen

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Earle Hagen on the difference between composing for film and television
05:46
Earle Hagen on writing the theme to The Andy Griffith Show
03:21
Earle Hagen on composing music for Don Knotts' character on The Andy Griffith Show
00:58
Earle Hagen on the terms "click track" and "free timing"
03:38
Earle Hagen on being attuned to how things would sound though a small television speaker, and on post production of the music
03:31
Earle Hagen on being a "packager" or on the business end of composing music for television
07:36
Earl Hagen on using different types of beats for different scenes on The Mod Squad and on the band he used for the show
07:52
Earle Hagen on becoming a teacher of music
06:11
Earle Hagen on writing books on music composition
02:39
Earle Hagen on the role of music in television, and on how things have changed in the industry since he started
04:37
Earle Hagen on advice to an aspiring television composer
00:31

Lee Holdridge

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Lee Holdridge on working with studio musicians
05:07
Lee Holdridge on his process for writing music and who he writes for
03:33
Lee Holdridge on the role of an orchestrator vs. the role of a composer
03:43
Lee Holdridge on the most important skill a film composer must have
00:58
Lee Holdridge on working with temp tracks
02:46
Lee Holdridge on differences between writing music for film and for television
01:56
Lee Holdridge on working on multiple projects as once
01:48
Lee Holdridge on believing creativity can not be taught
00:43

Quincy Jones

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On composing for his first television series, the sitcom Hey Landlord!
03:56
On composing for European Eye, The Pickle Brothers and The Bill Cosby Show
01:48

Jay Livingston

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Ray Evans and Jay Livingston on how they work together and how song "To Each His Own" jumpstarted their career
00:53
Ray Evans and Jay Livingston on their music partnership
01:02
Ray Evans and Jay Livingston on how they work together and how song "To Each His Own" jumpstarted their career
00:53
Ray Evans and Jay Livingston on their music partnership
01:02

Barry Manilow

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Barry Manilow on his early fascination with orchestration
00:48

Vic Mizzy

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Vic Mizzy on wanting to be a composer when he was a kid
02:02
Vic Mizzy on how he figures out when to put music into a scene
01:37
Vic Mizzy on the role of music in a TV show
01:37
Vic Mizzy on how the business of film scoring has changed over the years
01:26
Vic Mizzy on how technology has affected scoring
00:23
Vic Mizzy on advice to an aspiring composer
00:58
Vic Mizzy on his style
01:01
Vic Mizzy on his musical style
02:30
Vic Mizzy on his conducting style
00:51

Mike Post

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Mike Post on his process of writing musical themes
03:27
Mike Post on how he got hired (by Stephen J. Cannell) and his work ethic
01:47
Mike Post on coming up with the theme music for The Rockford Files, using a synthesizer, being a "behind-the-scenes" guy
05:08
Mike Post on the process of scoring a television episode
02:42
Mike Post on what he's proudest of in his music career
04:03
Mike Post on how the business of television scoring has changed since the '70s
03:43
Mike Post on advice to aspiring television or film composers and how he'd like to be remembered
01:52

Lalo Schifrin

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Lalo Schifrin on his process for writing music for television; on writing music for Universal and for MGM
03:28
Lalo Schifrin on differences between composing for film and television
01:16
Lalo Schifrin on his music style
01:20
Lalo Schifrin on composing chamber music
01:30
Lalo Schifrin on combining classical music and jazz influences into a single work
03:21
Lalo Schifrin on the role of music in a television show and how it elicits an emotional response
01:04

Mark Snow

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Mark Snow on how he learned to score for television and mistakes he made when he was first starting out
04:26
Mark Snow on the process of composing for TV movies versus episodic television
00:43
Mark Snow on how synthesizers affected his writing process and the business of music composition
05:45
Mark Snow on the rhythm of The X-Files theme
01:11
Mark Snow on who owns the rights to The X-Files theme song
01:10
Mark Snow on underscoring dialogue on TV shows
01:46
Mark Snow on using music to build mood on TV shows, particularly The X-Files
04:22
Mark Snow on composing for The X-Files spin-offs Millennium and The Lone Gunmen
04:30
Mark Snow on the "Mark Snow style" of music
00:47
Mark Snow on advice to aspiring television composers
05:28

Fred Steiner

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Fred Steiner on learning to score by watching his father score cartoons
02:40
Fred Steiner on the craft and composing and arranging for television, and tailoring the music to fit the star
04:51
Fred Steiner on the process of composing for a pilot
02:06
Fred Steiner on what makes for an outstanding score
01:06
Fred Steiner on on the sound stages he's recorded on
05:35
Fred Steiner on the logistics of a recording session for a television score
03:01
Fred Steiner on following union regulations for musicians in recording sessions
01:01
Fred Steiner on his studies in musicology
02:43
Fred Steiner on writing his dissertation on Alfred Newman, and his study of musicology
10:18
Fred Steiner on advice to an aspiring television composer
01:45

Charles Strouse

View Interview
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their collaborative process
01:43
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what makes for the best Broadway musical and how they work together
01:37
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on advice to aspiring musical collaborators
02:40

W.G. Snuffy Walden

View Interview
W.G. Snuffy Walden on feeling like he could have a career as a composer
03:39
W.G. Snuffy Walden on starting to write his own music
01:03
W.G. Snuffy Walden on composing the theme for thirtysomething
02:49
W.G. Snuffy Walden on composing for thirtysomething
00:30
W.G. Snuffy Walden on his approach to writing music
02:16
W.G. Snuffy Walden on writing music for episodic television; on the challenges of scoring to dialogue
06:43
W.G. Snuffy Walden on building a library of music cues for a show, researching music, and his studio space
07:02
W.G. Snuffy Walden on how he decides when and where to add music to a show
01:29
W.G. Snuffy Walden on the most important thing a composer can bring to a television show
01:42
W.G. Snuffy Walden on what he strives to achieve with his work
01:53
W.G. Snuffy Walden on his style
00:33
W.G. Snuffy Walden on advice to aspiring composers
01:35
About

Composers write the music for television series, including the theme song and scoring.