How does one become a film/tv composer?

The growing popularity of film music, now even broadcast regularly on the radio, has intensified the desire of many composers to enter the world of film, tv and games music. But AI changes everything.

In light of this profound transformation, how does a young person enter the profession? What skills do they need, what training should they seek, what attitudes should they develop to help them achieve this goal.

In this talk, Stephen Deutsch will discuss the qualities which aspiring film/tv composers should develop in order to help them enter the film/tv industry.

He will describe the attitudes and abilities necessary for engaging in the profession, the training available, and give a general outline of the production processes from a composer’s point of view.

2 hours including Q&A session.
Each ticket includes free access to a recording of the event for 6 months.
See Help With Online Events for information about tickets and your participation through Zoom.

Stephen Deutsch has composed over forty scores for film, theatre, radio & television. His many collaborations with the late playwright Peter Barnes include Jubilee (2001), the Olivier Award winning play, Red Noses (1985) and the feature film Hard Times (1994). He has significant expertise in the fields of Electronic Music (including sampling and synthesis), 20th century music techniques; the composer in the marketplace; and issues having to do with film, tv, broadcasting and related subjects.

At Bournemouth University, he is Emeritus Professor of Post-Production. In 1992 he founded the University’s PGDip/M.A. in Electro-Acoustic Music for Film & Television (later MA in Soundtrack Production: Composition for the Screen). This course, which was the first of its kind in Europe, was designed to equip post graduate professional composers with the skills necessary to engage in writing music for film, tv, radio, & other multi-media packages. He was also Visiting Tutor in Screen Composition at the National Film & Television School. Within both institutions he has trained over 60 composers and sound designers, some of whom have since provided music for feature films, theatre, television and computer games.

Read Stephen’s compilation of essays, ‘A Philosophy of Film Music’,  along with ‘Engagement versus Immersion’, and ‘What is Real, Anyway?’) in the READ section of this website.