NFTS Leeds: Composing for Film, TV and Games

This course will be delivered in person

This 3 day course provides a unique opportunity to gain a broad understanding of the skills and mindset it takes to have a successful career writing and producing music for film, tv and games. Delivered in an engaging and interactive style by an experienced tutor, it will cover all you need to know in terms of the appropriate composing techniques and the nuts and bolts of writing and producing music specifically for the screen, with an originality that makes it stand out from the crowd.

Commissioned music needs to represent a strong artistic integrity, but because it is there to serve a purpose, finding the right balance between originality and applicability is crucial. This course will help you achieve that balance and take your career as a composer to the next level through new techniques and a fresh approach.

This course will cover:

• How to “read the mind” of your director/producer/editor.
• How to pursue the best musical idea for a specific project.
• How to deal with temp-tracks and how to write something better.
• How to find the courage to stay truly original.
• Finding the right tempo. Understanding the relation between BPM and picture.
• The deeper analysis: What is this film/tv show REALLY about? Subtext via music.
• Writing by hand vs sequencing in a DAW
• How to be an artist, but not a difficult one
• Deciding when to do a demo and when to do an almost final mix for your pitch.
• Analysing the pitfalls of any given project
• How to be able to work in almost any given genre.
• Writing for dialogue.
• How to get a better workflow. Stay organised, stay inspired.

About the tutor:

Mathias Nielsen is an acclaimed Danish composer known for his unique flair for writing catchy melodies as well as developing complex musical ideas. For more than 20 years he has been writing and producing music for film and television at DR Danish Broadcast Corporation and has been commissioned by major studios, broadcasters and theatres worldwide. Mathias is a former tutor on the NFTS  Composing for Film and Television MA and has been delivering this short course for the school for the last three years. Comments from previous participants include:

The whole 3 days was amazing. It has made me think and step up my game. 

It ticked all the boxes for me in a fun and entertaining way.

Mathias was encouraging, positive, honest, witty and extremely informative.

I have learned so much in a short space of time and also made some new friends along the way.