Orchestration for Film and TV

The field of songwriting and orchestrating for film and television has grown exponentially over the past few years, providing a promotional launching pad for new careers, as well as creating a lucrative new income stream for artists and songwriters. This extensive certificate program will arm you with the necessary skills to write and orchestrate songs to perfectly complement visuals, provide you with valuable placement techniques for your compositions, and offer you the most up-to-date tools and information to make you a more marketable songwriter and composer.

You値l start by learning the basics. In Arranging 1: Rhythm Section, you'll learn how to write for the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards) and create killer arrangements that really groove. This course directs you on everything you'll need to create an effective arrangement擁ncluding rhythm section notation, adaptation of the melody and chords, intro's and endings, articulations and dynamics, and how to create an emotional contour throughout the arrangement.

Next, you値l explore the techniques of writing music that will appeal specifically to music supervisors, editors, directors, and producers across any number of different genres in our Songwriting for Film and TV course. Throughout this course, you will write several short songs容ach of which provide an opportunity to master specific techniques needed to succeed as a songwriter for visual media. The course will also explore important business considerations, including negotiation, payment, and rights.

From there, you値l gain an in-depth background in orchestration in our Orchestration 1 and Orchestration 2 courses. Orchestration 1 begins by covering the technological considerations required to create modern day orchestral sounds: sample libraries, sequencing techniques, and different types of hardware set-ups. From there, you値l learn the characteristics and idiomatic writing techniques for each orchestral instrument family: strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion, as well as approaches for writing for full orchestra. You値l build on these techniques in Orchestration 2 by learning advanced strategies and approaches to writing for full orchestra. You値l take an in-depth look at orchestrating from single layer material such as solos and homophonic statements, to complex textures of four or more layers洋usic that is too complex to fit into a traditional melody/countermelody/harmony format.

The final required course in the program is Film Scoring 101. In this course, you値l focus on the aesthetics, terminology, procedures, and technical aspects of film scoring, and learn to apply these skills towards your class project of scoring a short film. By using a broad range of techniques including click tracks, spotting, scoring under dialogue, free timing, and the creative use of overlap cues, you'll learn how to develop a dramatic concept for your score and how to synchronize it seamlessly to visual events.

By the end of this certificate program, you will have a firm handle on writing and arranging (from basic to advanced) for visuals, a thorough background on what it takes to write specifically for film and television, and the ability to score visual sequences across any given content. You will also have the freedom to focus your studies in any number of different ways with our elective options.

Substitutions may be requested for electives. Please contact our Continuing Education Registrar at registrar@berkleemusic.com or call (617) 747-2146 to see if your request suits the overall academic requirements for your chosen program.