THE SOUNDSCORE TO heartBEAT: A NARRATIVE-FORM MUSIC ...

CHAPTER m
METHODOLOGY AND MATERL\LS
heartBEAT features an electronically produced soundscore, utilizing current
developments in digital sampling, synthesis, and tape synchronization technologies. The
score was composed, performed, engineered and produced by the author at Broadway
Studios, Lubbock, Texas, and is the result of three years of applied study in these related
technologies.
Methodology
The Post-Score Process
The soundscore to heartBEAT was post-scored, or prepared after the visual portion
of the artwork was complete. This allowed for considerable flexibility in sound design
and aided in a more complementary musical contribution to the overall dramatic tone of
the piece.
Background. The post-score process is used widely in preparing audio for film
and television. This method saves producers and directors valuable time when in the
field filming or shooting a work, as critical attention can be shifted away from audio
elements during the filming process. Aesthetically, post-scoring allows for visual design
to remain the primary interpretive vehicle of the script. Music and sound can then be used
to provide subjective reinforcement to dramatic form.
Working Method. In preparing the soundscore, individual scenes were viewed
repeatedly until the visual tone and dramatic content suggested a musical or auditor.'
setting. While watching the screen, music was initially improvised until specific musical
dimensions of the section (tempo, key, and themes) were determined. A click track at the
chosen tempo was then gridded against subsequent playings of the scene. Visual edits,
graphic elements and spoken text could thus be converted into musical time, appearing in
relationship to specific measures, beats, and subdivisions of beats. The primary
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