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When we’re scoring, we’ll likely watch any given scene dozens of times.
But we have to assume our audience is seeing it for the very first time.
And as viewers, we need time to process what we’re seeing.
(Don’t believe me? Watch this - jump scare warning)
For context, our protagonist is hearing her baby cry from the neighboring room. She goes to check on the baby, and… 👻
With this in mind, here’s the most important rule of film scoring:
Don’t use music to anticipate moments. REACT to them with your audience.
As a general rule of thumb, delay your music by three frames minimum.
<aside> 💡 As an example, if you want to modulate the music with a cut to a new location, don’t modulate ON the cut. Wait until three frames AFTER the cut to modulate.
</aside>
This allows the audience processing time, and makes you feel like you’re responding with them instead of telling them how to feel.
It seems subtle, but it can make or break your score.