In this course, we will learn the essential techniques used in writing music for film. Through a series of analysis' of well-known film scenes from your favorite movies we will learn what makes a great cue, and then apply those techniques by writing our own. I'll be showing you some of my own projects for film and television throughout the class, and walk you through my process when composing music for a film project.

By the end of this course, students will understand the tools, lingo, and techniques used in the film composing world and will be ready to dive in to their own projects. I'll walk you through how to get started on your first project by using freely available movies that need a score.

Throughout my career, I've worked with major American orchestras, film studios, and video game designers. I'm also a Ph.D. in music composition and a university professor (of music composition).

Recently I was named as a semi-finalist for the Grammy Foundation's Music Educator of the Year award because of my in-person university classes. Now I'm taking those classes to Skillshare in an online format in order to reach more students and give them the joy of Music Theory.

I'm planning on making several "sections" of this class, and this is Part 1. As the class grows, we will go deeper and deeper into my techniques.

In this class, we will cover:

Tools of the trade
Finding the emotional response
Music Theory and Genre
Using Modes in Film Scores
Finding the Message
Learning from Temp Cues
"Spotting" the film
Working with industry budgets
Diegetic music and non-diegetic music
Score and Source
The Ostinato
Working with silent films
Setting up a session
Marking hits
Scoring the opening credits
Motive and Leitmotif
Working with Leitmotifs
Working with the rhythm in cues
POV
Finding and analyzing POV scenes
Composing using POV
And much, much, more!

Dr. Jason Allen is an Ableton Certified Trainer and a Ph.D. in Music Composition and master of Electronic Sounds. His music has been heard internationally in film, radio, video games, and industrial sound, as well as the concert hall and theater. His 2015 album, Aniscorcia, reaching the CMJ Top200 Charts and radio broadcasts nationwide. In 2014 he was named a semi-finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.

Praise for classes by Dr. Jason Allen:

"Without a doubt the best explanation and east of use that one can get. It leaves you enough room to go explore. The classes go by quick, so you can be on your way to being proficient. What are you waiting for!"
"Amazing - Seriously Loved It! I took all his courses and have to say I'm so happy! Learned loads! Jason is an awesome teacher!"
"I have never had any formal training in music at all. Trying to learn all the notes and how everything translated was a serious challenge. After going through this class, Dr. J has totally brought down the barriers. The content was very useful and was easy to grasp for me."
"I like these courses because you can get up and running quickly without having to spend hours of time wading through TMI (too much information!). Jason hits the high points but shows you what you need to know. Thanks!"
"I've watched many other videos on scales and chords before, however, this one has been the best. I now understand minor scales and chords and even how to analyze songs. It really gave me the confidence to start producing music because I feel like I have some structure and guidelines to follow. AWESOME!"
"Clear and Informative - Jason has a clear uncluttered style (with the important dashes of humor) of presentation that is focused on the important key aspects of this course. Recommended for those starting out!"
"Dr. Allen does it again with his music theory series. This course really opened up everything I learned from the 1st section, and now I understand more about the composition side of things for music. I highly highly recommend this course to anyone!!! Really opened my eyes to many things I wasn't aware of."
"The Best Teacher Ever, who makes you understand the ins & outs of Music Theory by all means without giving what you don't want to know."

Robert Dorr

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