‘The Director – Composer Relationship – A Creative Collaboration’

Filmmaker/Composer Collaboration

Workshop Leader - John Welsman
Tuesday 10th April/Thursday 12th April, 6 pm - 9 pm
Sunday 15th April, 2 pm - 5 pm

By Pre-selection ONLY
Please contact Annette Nias @ 417 6630 – if you are interested in participating

Matching filmmakers with composers, this 3 day workshop explores the process of scoring (composing) for film. The goal is to familiarize participants with what it takes to effectively compose music for motion picture, and for those who already have some experience, it will be a chance to improve the skills they already have.

This workshop is produced in collaboration with the National Cultural Foundation of Barbados.

"Our goal is to familiarize participants with what it takes to effectively compose music for motion picture, and for those who already have some experience, it will be a chance to improve the skills they already have. The plan is to match up filmmakers with composers or musicians and lead them through the process of film scoring. The main focus will be on the creative process by walking through each step in the process.

We’ll spend the most time on the spotting session – deciding where music should be added, and discuss how to effectively communicate about the tone and feeling of the music.

We’ll discuss how the composer works on themes, decide on instrumentation, sketches a music cue, and presents a demo. The director can make comments on it, and the composer can make revisions, and finally make delivery of the final music mix to the producer.

My intention is to take the first workshop to introduce participants to the world of music for picture – we’ll likely have people there who know a fair bit about this already, but we have to start at the beginning for the number of first timers we’ll no doubt have in the group. We’ll talk about the language of film music, take a scene without a score and go through the process I use to compose for that scene. I’ll have a scaled down music production setup, one that will effectively show people my own methods for working.

Part two will involve people teaming up to work on scenes that the filmmakers have themselves brought to the workshop, or, if they have none available, I will supply scenes to compose to. Each team with do their spotting session, and then present to the group what it has come up with for the approach to the score." John Welsman | March 2012

About John Welsman

Thirteen-time Gemini Award nominee and five-time Gemini Award winner, John Welsman has over 7 theatrical features, 14 movies for television, 14 television series, and 50 documentaries to his name. Career highlights to date include the hit dramatic series “Road to Avonlea”; documentary series “The Nature of Things” with David Suzuki; and James Cameron and Simcha Jacobici's “The Exodus Decoded” and “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”.

He’s also well known for his work with director Ingrid Veninger, most recently for the feature film “Modra” and for his long, successful relationship with Corus Entertainment on such children’s animated series as “Franklin and Friends” and “My Friend Rabbit". Welsman began his career performing as a singer-songwriter, recording with artists Laura Smith, Available Space, Jane Siberry, and Cherie Camp. Later, he would arrange for internationally renowned recording artists The Canadian Tenors with Sarah McLaughlan (The Perfect Gift); Loreena McKennitt (An Ancient Muse, and The Mask And Mirror); Stephanie Hardy (Brand New Skin); and Allanah Myles (I Believe). He co-wrote with Cherie Camp and recorded the self-titled WEA album Cherie Camp, produced by Gene Martynec. Welsman and Camp recently won the 2009 Genie Award for ‘Achievement in Music – Original Song’ for Oh Love, “Nurse.Fighter.Boy”.