Do you want to compose for film and TV, but don't quite know where to start? We spoke to Ragnar Bjerkreim, one of Norway's leading composers in the field, who is happy to share good advice.
/ 20/04/2016 / codexText: Kai Lofthus, photo: Willy Martinsen
He makes it seem so simple and straightforward, Ragnar Bjerkreim, one of Norway's leading creators of music for film and TV. When TONO-Nytt meets him to gain insight into this market, he says:
– Sometimes it's a bit random.
The point is that, even though the work always consists of many elements, one must believe that it can be done. For example, are Norwegian authors active enough when the music for several Norwegian productions is done by foreign composers? Scottish Patrick Doyle, for example, wrote the music for Håkon Håkonsen, and Danish Kristian Eidnes Andersen composed the music for the NRK series Kampen om tungtvannet.
It is certainly not a problem of lack of talent, according to Bjerkreim. He mentions Jan Inge Berentsen Anvik (Kinge), Gaute Storaas, Magnus Beite and Martin Horntveth as examples of how good the talent situation is today.
– There are so many talented composers who have emerged, in line with new film productions. I'm not worried about the future there, because they maintain a high international level. Working with Disney, for example, was completely unthinkable in my time, he says.
It's the big dream for many: To write the the song for an album, TV program, film or other big occasions that make the TONO fees and licensing fees just roll in. Ragnar Bjerkreim knows that feeling. For example, he wrote the music for Kamilla og tyven, where Morten Harket performs the classic Kamilla og Sebastian. Among other works he has on his conscience are music for Jakten på nyresteinen and the BBC series the Kon-Tiki Man.
It was of great importance to him to recognize what he had the most genuine interest and talent for. He grew up in the village of Bjerkreim, between Jæren and Ryfylkeheiene/Setesdal and there were no environments for starting bands at the time. The spark was lit at home:
– There was a need for expression in a little boy in the 60s in rural Norway, in a family where there were many instruments in the home. My brother Trygve was the organist in the church. There was no music school or cultural school there, and youth choirs were part of the education. I took music theory in middle school, and learned voice leading, choral composition and stuff. It was just plain fun. I played classical pieces, and I never became a band guy. I had that streak in writing and thought that it required a separate focus. It's something I've regretted a bit; maybe I would have been a better composer if I had developed my playing skills a lot more. But if you were going to work with music for film, you had to learn the technique at that time. Eventually, I came into contact with film communities in Stavanger and made short films, he says.
Making contacts is naturally where you have to start if you want to enter this market, and there you are of course at the mercy of your own abilities and efforts, or partners who can open doors to the production environments. Once you have made a contact, it is important to put an agreement in place.
The contract should include finances, time perspective, scope of work and musical style. A template for a standard agreement has been prepared that can be used as a starting point (http://nopa.no/veiledende-satser/originalmusikk-til-dramaproduksjoner/).
– Should you hire a lawyer?
– It's about trust, and no contract is so solid that it can take everything into account, he says and continues: – You have to trust each other, it's teamwork and you have to deliver. If there are foreign clients that you don't know that well, a contract is even more important, but there are many who want work, so there are some limits to how much you can stir up with issues.
He is careful to remind that the film music budget must take into account NCB fees and the costs of musicians, sound engineers, external studios, travel, accommodation, sheet music printers, co-arrangers, artists, composer fees and absolutely everything else that costs money.
– If you're going in with a large orchestra, the money runs out and the budget can quickly be used up in a couple of days, and then you can't say: Sorry, we couldn't make it happen.
Another of his tips is to be as concrete and precise as possible in presenting your musical visions:
– The music must communicate the mood well. Good sketches can get you assignments and bad sketches can make you lose them. The producer/director in question is not always a trained musician. People only hear what they hear, and the music must be self-explanatory, because there is not always room for an overexcited composer sitting next to them and explaining.
How do you work with the basic musical ideas, we ask?
– I can spend many days finding the notes, the core notes. A short progression often has to be created that can round something off or build on. It can be melodic material that I can orchestrate, or something rhythmic and percussive, or something more abstract. One development is that songs have become more and more relevant, even in documentaries and dramas. In Mammon there are songs in both the intro and outro. Broen and Forbriytelsen too.
– There are many elements to consider, what kind of function the music should have: Introduction, ending, tempo, geography, recurring theme and whether there should be more themes; love theme, personality theme, etc. Music should add an emotional undercurrent to the film. In feel-good films, there can be big scenes where the music can drag on so that the popcorn and Coke go down. The most important thing is to be an integrated partner, a kind of waiter for the director: – I would suggest this, or this.
Ragnar Bjerkreim is a current member of TONO's control committee (2015-2017). He was chairman of TONO 2006-2008 and 2011-2013, chairman of NOPA from 2008 to 2014, and has previously been a jury member of the EDVARD Prize.