Scheck still has a year remaining at BU, she hopes to once again join forces with Berklee students. Both Scheck and Azul have worked with putting music into films, but the procedure for music composition and scoring is very different. In some cases, composers can gain performance royalties for music in advertisements and TV shows, but it is important to realize that the artist is not always the writer. “If you are a song writer and you get your song placed in a movie, now you are earning royalties,” explained Brad Hatfield, an Emmy Award-winning composer who teaches at Berklee and Northeastern. Songs can be exclusive to certain shows or films, or can be non-exclusive and be picked up for many different uses. Scoring an entire film is different from composing music for TV shows or commercials. The score created by a composer supports the specific moments of a film: think Indiana Jones and the distinct melody associated with his adventures. Generally, this music is not licensed and becomes the property of the producing studio. The studio will pay the composer, and it is unlikely that it will be reused since it is created for a specific story. For the most part, music supervisors are all about getting the licensed use of existing music. Directors usually call the shots for the movie and many times will already have the soundtrack somewhat scripted in their head. It is up to the music supervisor and licensing departments to acquire the rights for these songs and edit them to fit the story; think American Hustle, which contains hits from artists from the Bee Gees to Elton John. Sometimes songs are created solely for the movie—like the melody for Titanic turning into “My Heart Will Go On” in the ending credits. Though she still has a long way to go, Azul already understands the challenges that
await. “How a composer maintains their style and also is able to portray what the director wants to do ... it still has to be the composer’s music,” Azul explained. However, she also sees the middle ground. While looking out at snow-covered trees that line the Charles, she felt inspired. “I feel like I can write a piece of music about it,” Azul said. “Using that as an inspiration to write a movie and using that to write an inspiration for a piece of music would give you two very different results, but I feel like you would still be able to find the connections between them.” Though each process is unique, many of the same skills are needed. Hatfield believes it is all about being a team player. “You have got to put your ego to the side,” he said. When you get to the root of it, though they have their differences, the worlds of music and film are all about engaging audiences and telling stories.    
THE BUZZ | SPRING 2014 | 33