ABSTRACT
This chapter moves the discussion of music for media to longer-form pieces, such as production tracks, trailer tracks, video game scores, and film scores. Primary topics include techniques for dramatic writing and thematic development in film and television scores, as well as horizontal and vertical approaches to game composition. Students also engage with non-Western compositional techniques in the context of dramatic scoring, such as the use of modes from the diatonic collection, the Hirajoshi scale, and the Gong scale. Additional topics include leitmotifs, stem sessions, and the “80:20 ratio” of drama and region.
