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PAUL FARRER: Writing The Soundtrack For Shakespeare's Macbeth

Interview | Composer By Paul Farrer
Published April 1997

Paul Farrer describes the trials and tribulations of writing the soundtrack to the big‑screen movie version of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

As a young boy I used to be enthralled by the music I heard at our local cinema, and never ceased to marvel at the powers of the soundtrack writers who could make your heart race or bring a tear to your eye when you watched Star Wars or ET. I used to wonder how this band of mainly anonymous people managed to pack so much raw emotion into their music, and what it would actually be like to be given such a responsibility: writing a soundtrack to a big‑screen movie seemed both a glamorous and a rewarding thing to do. Earlier this year, I had the chance to undertake just such a project, and this is an account of my experiences.

Prologue

I was first approached by Macbeth's executive producer back in August 1996; he knew my work quite well as I'd scored another movie of his earlier in the year — a film called The Bruce, starring Oliver Reed and Brian Blessed — as well as writing the music to a series of programmes that he'd produced for American television. He told me about his new film project and how it was to be a full‑screen adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth starring Jason Connery and Helen Baxendale. He was very excited about the location filming that they had just finished in Scotland over the summer, and told me that he expected the film to last about two hours.

We met to discuss the time scale and I soon realised that, much as I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to fit the film into my schedule, as it conflicted with a big album project that I'd already committed myself to. Reluctantly, I turned it down. Fast forward three months, and I found myself in another meeting with the film company. They had fallen a bit behind schedule with the editing of the film and had yet to commission a score; was I still interested? You bet I was — and five days before Christmas I sat down with the film's editor and director to view a rough cut of the film. At this stage we talked about musical styles, what emotions had to be expressed at which point, and what sort of instrumentation would be needed for each scene.

Is This A Deadline I See Before Me?

In any project for which you need to write music for a specific set of images the timings are absolutely critical. One of the biggest problems in this respect is that a feature film (like many TV programmes) is much more fluid and flexible than you might have thought — the upshot being that the length, pace and style of a scene can be changed quite dramatically in the editing suite, almost right up until the day when the final cut is sent off and the cinematic print made. Music is generally one of the last stages of the film process and, in a project of this size and budget, when the deadlines are looming, the soundtrack writer is the first one to be encouraged to hurry up... please! The soundtrack writer's dilemma, then, is: do you get hold of the film as early as you can and write music to certain scenes which may then have to be drastically changed and edited to fit new pictures, or do you wait as long as possible, get the film later (but in a more finished state) and work like mad in order to deliver the score in time for the imminent deadline? In reality, it usually ends up being a bit of both.

This production was a historically accurate setting of the play, filmed entirely on location and with period costumes and battle scenes to match. It was felt that the score should be mainly orchestral, but it did need to capture the threatening aspect of the script. For those of you unfamiliar with the play, Macbeth revolves around the title character and his wife, who is hell‑bent on gaining power at any cost, and the repercussions of their actions. It's a fiercely dark and sometimes savagely gruesome tale of murder, revenge and conspiracy — in other words, a soundtrack writer's dream. The time constraints and budget restrictions (ah, the joys of the British Film Industry!) meant that I had to work fast, and so a good deal of the writing and production would have to be programmed and performed using a contemporary MIDI studio, and not a real orchestra as I would have liked.

When Shall We Three MIDI Again?

I had already made a start, thinking of tunes for certain themes, weeks before I received a video copy of the final cut, and I was constantly adapting and customising these tunes to fit to the pictures as they arrived. I did the bulk of the writing with Emagic's Notator SL for the Atari, not because I feel it's the best software package available but because I know the program inside out, and so could work very quickly without having my attention distracted from the job in hand. The Atari controlled the bank of samplers and sound modules I was using and the whole thing was slaved to the video machine from an audio SMPTE code on one channel of the stereo VHS tape; the other track of audio contained rough mixes of the dialogue and some ideas for ambient effects.

Although a large part of the music was being sequenced on a computer and generated from samplers and sound modules, it was essential to have the main elements played by real instrumentalists. I felt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth each needed a strong theme within the soundtrack that the listener could easily identify with the characters, and these would have to be independent of each other. Lady Macbeth's theme (reflecting her determined but ultimately flawed intentions) was written as a solemn cello solo with orchestral string backing. Macbeth is much more uncertain throughout the film and is constantly regretful of his actions; for his theme I chose the Gaelic bass flute to play the central melody, and this forms one of the central themes of the whole score. Other parts that were performed live included clarinet and flute solos, pan pipes, certain vocal effects, and odd bits of Scottish drumming. An Alesis ADAT XT system was used to record the live parts, slaved to the computer and video tape via JL Cooper's DataMaster unit.

Before any of the live sessions took place I had already worked out exactly what needed to be played and where, by sequencing guide tracks on the computer in time with the video. Printing these out as scores for the session musicians to follow was done by transferring the song files to a PC running Logic Audio, which has much better printing facilities than Notator's. This was a simple enough procedure, but there is a world of difference between what you play on a keyboard as a cello sound and what a cellist can actually perform and play comfortably. During the sessions I'd start by playing a video of the scene that we'd be working on, and explain roughly how it fitted into the context of the play. From there I'd play the musicians my guide tracks and show them the scores for the various parts.

I tend to think that, although you've written the tunes and know what sort of sound you're looking for, it's nearly always best to encourage your session musicians to have as much playing freedom within those boundaries as possible. For instance, the cellist was automatically making decisions about fingering, vibrato, which strings sounded best, and where to put crescendos and diminuendos; I had given her carte blanche and she responded by stretching the boundaries of playing expression as much as the timings against the pictures would allow. I find that working in this way is rewarding for all concerned: the players feel more confident in the session knowing that they have the right to say if they think something doesn't quite work, and you as a producer learn a great deal about the ranges and capabilities of different instruments — and, most importantly, the soundtrack is all the richer for having extra creative input.

It was the same story in the bass flute sessions. As the session progressed and we created a good vibe in the studio, the flautist began suggesting harmony parts and odd trill sections that I (as a non‑flute player) would never have thought of. This is one of the great joys of music production, when a multitude of ideas begin bouncing between performer and producer and you have the time and the capability to capture and record them all, selecting the best ones for the final mix. In my opinion, it's one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

Sound And Fury

With the samplers providing a good bulk of the sounds for the project, it was important to create as many samples as I could from scratch. This was necessary not only to try and capture a traditional Scottish feel, but also to move away from the more 'polished' sheen that many sampled orchestral sounds have. Large sections of the film needed to have a music bed that wasn't always immediately noticeable, but gave you a subconscious feeling of dread or unease. To this end I spent quite a bit of time sampling various woodwind and vocal sound effects. Although they can take a bit of time to edit and set up, when pitch‑shifted and used at more unusual sound ranges they can have a remarkable effect on a scene. In the famous scene of the three witches standing around a bubbling cauldron, in particular, it would have been very easy to slip into the clichéd trap of spooky high‑pitched strings, but instead I found that more subtle low cello and bassoon lines mixed in with a few of these bizarre sampled effects gave the whole scene a much stronger other‑worldly feel.

The majority of single orchestral sounds that I used came from either Roland's MOC1 module, which handles individual brass and woodwind sounds very well, or the orchestral upgrade I had fitted in my Emu Proteus 1 module some time ago. The two sample CDs that seemed to be of most help with orchestral string sounds were Peter Siedlaczek's Orchestra and Orchestral Colours. Both are releases that I would rate very highly for specific orchestral effects, but they also provide realistic string multisamples with a good bottom end to them.

The main battle at the end of the film is a key scene, the climax of the whole movie: a cast and crew of seemingly thousands were used to film it. The soundtrack to this section had to be recorded and performed as a single piece lasting about nine minutes — and over that period of time there wasn't much dialogue, either, so the music had to compensate by giving the audience musical clues to how the battle was going. From the battle preparations, to the actual fighting, through to defeat or victory, the music has to keep the audience's interest at each stage, so it's vital not to lay all your musical cards on the table too early. This can be achieved in a number of ways using orchestral arrangement ideas such as key changes, complex instrumental solo lines, and all the levels of light and shade that you can coax from your sound sources. The session musicians helped a great deal in this respect: for certain sections of the final battle a form of almost frantic improvisation worked really well set against the images of rage and confusion on a mass scale. Although the multitrack tapes needed quite selective use on the final mix, you'd be surprised just how fierce a mild‑mannered clarinettist can get if you ask them to imagine that they're playing their instrument on a ninth‑century battlefield, knee‑deep in dead bodies! Of course, Macbeth's side loses the final battle, so the piece comes to its bloody conclusion scored with orchestral strings in the key of C minor accompanied by the haunting tones of a cor anglais and French horn playing at minor third intervals.

The Final Reel

All the finished pieces (about 35 in total) were mixed down to DAT with SMPTE cue points marked on a DAT schedule listing their exact start times and durations. The tapes were then delivered to the film company, and I spent a day at the film studios working with the film's editor on the placement of the music and suggesting ideas for effects and levels for the final mix of music, dialogue and ambient effects. Everyone seemed pleased with the finished result and the film should have its premier sometime in May 1997.

It really is great to be able to get your teeth into a project such as this which offers so much potential for musical drama. Working with so many talented musicians is also a great buzz — and although, when you hear the finished results, you always feel that there are parts that could be better, nine times out of ten you're so relieved when it's all over that the pain and worry that went into the production seem somehow all worthwhile. Soundtrack writing does have its drawbacks, however. If you view it as a way of letting a mass audience hear and appreciate your music, you may initially be disappointed at the comparatively small role that some of your favourite pieces might actually play in the final cut. And many people would get a bit freaked out at the idea of having to be creative under such enormous pressures (the bulk of my work on Macbeth was finished in just over nine days). But if you can cope with writing music that has to follow someone else's timings and has to fit exacting criteria in relation to style, length and content, and you don't mind cutting down on a few luxuries such as sleep and food over the last few days approaching the deadline, it could be just the job for you!

Soundtrack Tricks

If you are writing music to fit a specific set of images, there are a number of points to consider. Firstly, what instrumentation will you be using? In the case of Macbeth all of the sounds needed to have an orchestral feel to them — so simply switching on the D50 and hitting a low C may work for certain things, but will probably sound out of place set against a medieval courtyard scene. Secondly, what is the overall tone of the piece you want to write? In what appears to be simply a sad scene, you'll very often find that quite optimistic themes are more effective as they add a certain irony to the emotions that the actors are portraying. Likewise, how busy does the music need to be? Somebody once said that if you notice a soundtrack to a film, it's not doing its job properly — some of the most effective film music is often the most simple (look at John William's world‑famous two‑note Jaws theme).

It's also vitally important that the music in a film enhances the actors' dialogue and doesn't crowd the voices out. A good example of this in Macbeth was during certain sections where the two central characters were having an argument about something. There was very little need for music to enhance many of these scenes, as the emotions of all concerned were so clearly expressed by the actors, but when the row was resolved and one or other of the characters broke into one of Shakespeare's many wonderful (but sometimes quite long) soliloquies, music could be a great help in establishing what mood the scene ended in, be it determination, anger, fear or whatever. It can also often help to think of a film's soundtrack as the emotional subtext to the screenplay. As a score‑writer your job is often to push the emotional buttons of an audience, getting them to feel a certain way about a given character or situation. Try watching the scariest horror movie you can think of with the sound turned right down and see if it affects you even a tenth as much as it does with the sound up!

Macbeth Equipment List

  • SOUND SOURCES
    Akai S2800i sampler (16Mb)
    Akai S3000Xl sampler (32Mb)
    Korg O1R/W synth module
    Roland MOC1 synth module
    Alesis D4 drum module
    Emu Proteus 1 synth module
    Emu Proteus 3 synth module
    Korg M3R synth module
    Roland U110 synth module
    Boss DR550 drum machine
    Roland D5 keyboard synth
  • COMPUTING:
    Atari 1040ST FM running Emagic Notator SL, with Unitor and Export plug‑ins.
    Emagic's Logic Audio on a PC for music score printing.
  • RECORDING:
    Alesis ADAT XT digital 8‑track
    JL Cooper DataMaster sync
    Behringer MX800 mixing desk
    Alesis Midiverb and Quadraverb effects
    Lexicon Reflex effects
    Aiwa DAT machine