Script 101: How to Add Music to Your Script - The Script Lab (2023)

Von:Christoph Osterdorf

put together100 million dollarsat the box office worldwide, one can say that with certaintybaby driverit became something that none of Edgar Wright's other films really was: a legitimate success.

From an excellent cast to stunning action sequences to a great marketing campaign, there are many reasons Baby Driver won over audiences. It manages to be Wright's most accessible film yet without losing the visual flair and sense of humor that have earned it such a cult following. But if there's one element in Baby Driver that fundamentally sets it apart from your average action film, it's the music. Many films have great soundtracks, but few filmmakers are able to tailor the music to their will as adroitly as Wright.

Ifdanny boyleWhen told that his films were too much like music videos, he said, "I took that as a compliment. MTV was something new and different, and that's what I wanted to do. Cinema has a certain rhythm and I try to capture that in the songs.” But unlike filmmakers like Boyle andMartin Scorsese, who are primarily directors and may consider music in post-production, screenwriters need to be careful when scoring a screenplay.

baby driveris a master class for aspiring writers on how to use music properly in a screenplay. Of course, directing your own film helps, but Wright made it clear that the music was offbaby driverit was instrumentalof the writing process. You can get that.

Write music only when absolutely necessary.

When Wright sent the script tobaby driverto the actorsThe scope of delivery includes a USB stick with connected music. He also talked about how he would include links to the song in the actual script so you can listen to an MP3 of the song on the page as you read.

That kind of attention to detail would be overkill for the average writer, but it shows how Wright made the music an integral part of each scenebaby driver, virtually inseparable from everything else on the page. It's different than writing a songhelps set the tone, but not mandatoryIsmusic that belongs there. In other words, if there are several songs that could work in place of the one you've chosen, back off completely.

have morepractical reasonsalso be insightful about how you use music in your writing. On the one hand, if you're writing a screenplay that you think might someday be made, you as the writer probably won't have the final say over the music that goes into the film (again, if you're a world-famous Writer). Writer/director like Edgar Wright, you can ignore this tip, but for everyone else it's worth considering.) Also, putting a famous song in your screenplay makes it easier for an artist to collect royalties, and almost guaranteed , that the film exceeds its musical budget.

However, while a writer who randomly throws a song (or, God forbid, several songs) into his script without considering these facts comes across as amateurish, a writer who discovers that a perfect song is discovered is more likely to impress . After all, Edgar Wright wasn't always Edgar Wright. As always with screenwriting (or any type of writing), it's important that you know the rules before you try to break them.

Consider how the music complements the storyline.

wright tienetalked aboutHow important is Jon Spencer's blues blast?"flare pants"was forbaby driveryears ago and how the concept of the film grew out of the idea

"Maybe some getaway driver listens to this song and actually tries to time their escapes and literally have the perfect score for the perfect score." With the invention of the iPod, Wright realized that it was entirely possible to make a movie complete with diegetic music to accentuate. But since none of the songs in this film were going to be background noise, each song had to add something to the scene in a specific way.

"When I wrote this script, I basically put the beats of the music in the direction of the stage along with the story," says Wright. "We storyboarded it and then storyboarded the songs so we could try to time it and make sure it worked the movie."

Director John Woo has often comparedAction movies to musicals(Say your favorite movie issing in the rain.) With that in mind, when we talk about action, it's worth thinking about not just in the context of bullets and chases, but in any scene where a character is active. Consider the scenes inbaby driverwhere Baby drinks coffee, meets Debora, or the moment she cheerfully cheers on The Commodores' "Easy" (a song that wasn't originally written). All of these scenes are as important to the film as any other. from more traditional action movie scenes, and they all share the same soundtrack.

Common ground is the notion Wright challenges how each song complements the scene in which it belongs. That doesn't always mean that a song has to fit perfectly with what's going on or what the characters are feeling. Sometimes it's just as effective to use music that's at odds with what's happening on screen. remember theuseAs a matter of factGen Kellyclassic oneClockwork Orange? or theEar clipping sceneSet to "Stuck in the middle with you."Reserve dogs?

baby driverHe gets the best of both worlds using Barry White's "Never Gonna Give You Up" when Baby meets Jon Hamm's friend at the diner. The romantic nature of the song is ironic given the scene's violent ending. However, the lyrics also reflect how far Baby and Buddy are willing to go for the women they love.

Then there's the way the characters come into itbaby drivertalk about music without ever overlooking the effect it has on them. Music is the subtextual and literal language used by the characters in the film to communicate, to relate.

The average writer doesn't necessarily have to be that intense when writing music for their film, but again, it's important to think about what a scene would actually look like if the film were made. This goes back to the idea that music to capture the sound is a thing that is usually managed by the composer, conductor or music supervisor. But music, which not only captures the tone but is also inherent in the narrative and action of the film, can be considered when writing the screenplay. Not everyone can be Stanley Kubrick and fundamentally change the way we think about music.because it was used in the movies. But every writer's goal should be to make a certain impression with their work, and if you strive to put music into your script, it should be music that fundamentally enhances the nature of a particular scene. . As Quentin TarantinoNuts, "If you do it right and you do it right, the effect is that you can never listen to that song again without thinking about that frame from the movie."

Think carefully about the music you write.

This one is a little more abstract, but bear with me. To quote Tarantino again, hesaid oncethat: "When I start to get an idea I go to my record room where I have a big vinyl collection... and I go through my records and what I'm looking for is the rhythm of the film, the sound of the film. It could be other tracks, oldies, rock and roll...all sorts of things, but I'm trying to find the rhythm and beat [of the film].He continues: "That was before I even officially started [on a screenplay]. , but I'm really starting to think about this idea seriously... Even as I'm writing something, if I need a little encouragement, I just go back and come back to it." put some of that music on and I'll be back."

Tarantino isn't the only filmmaker whowrite with musicEdgar Wright is the same. Afterbaby driverHe debuted at SXSW for the first timesaid it, “When I write, I have to write music that sounds like this outside of this film, and it has to be the right kind of music. Every time I write a script, I qualify by playing the right kind of music."

What can aspiring writers take away from this information? Well, basically it's important to have good taste. If certain music helps get you in the mood, maybe that's the song that belongs in your script. After all, the music you would listen to while writing a western isn't necessarily the same music you would listen to while writing a comedy. If something inspires you enough to write words on the page, it probably fits the scene you're writing about.

After all, almost no film can be based solely on music. I'm sure there are those who havecriticized baby driverBy the way, the music trumps the script. But whether you're writing a film with lots of music or not, the point is that you should put as much time and thought into the songs you include in your script as Wright put into creating them.baby driver. (And if you can't fully justify a particular song's existence, maybe just cut it out of your script.)

Download the BABY DRIVER script for free here

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