Composing Music on Set for “The Perfect Script”
The short comedy “Идеальный сценарий” (“The Perfect Script”) is now available online.
Directed by Sergey Telin and produced by Wide Sense Studio, the 22-minute film stars Alexander Kozlov, Zoya Berber and Lana Shcherbakova. I composed its original music.
My involvement began with second director Evgenia Marokhotina. We had previously worked together on her short film “Туфли” (“Shoes”), for which I also wrote the score. Evgenia recommended me to the team of “The Perfect Script” when they were looking for a composer.
Writing the Score During Filming
Part of the music was created through a process that composers do not often get to experience.
Instead of receiving every scene after filming had been completed, I worked directly with the production while the cameras were still rolling. For several moments, I composed the music on set specifically around the scene being prepared.
This allowed the timing, mood and performance to develop together. The music did not have to be adapted later to approximate what had happened during filming—the scene could be built around the music from the beginning.
A string quartet performed my compositions live on set in the corresponding scenes. The actors heard the same performance that existed inside the story, and the musicians became part of the filmed action.
That immediacy affected the result. Small changes in tempo, phrasing or duration could be made around the practical needs of the scene, while the director and performers could respond to the music in real time.
Returning to Film Music
“The Perfect Script” continued the working relationship that began with “Shoes,” while placing me inside a different production environment.
The film was directed by Sergey Telin from a screenplay by Pavel Dmitriev and Nina Cherednikova. Pavel Dmitriev also served as director of photography, with Anton Ananyin as camera operator. The cast includes Alexander Kozlov as Kostya, Zoya Berber as Alisa, Lana Shcherbakova as Vika, Armen Davidyants and Olesya Astapova.
The film was selected for the 2018 competition program of the Saint Anna Festival, where it was presented as a 22-minute debut fiction film.
Working on the score directly during production gave me a closer connection with the visual rhythm of the film than a conventional post-production process usually allows. It also gave the string quartet a real dramatic function: the musicians were performing for the scene, the actors and the audience at the same time.
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