What is the Film Scoring Club?

The Film Scoring Club (FSC) is a collection of students from Berklee College of Music who share an interest in film music and sound design and have come together to learn from each other and make a presence in the film community. We also connect our organization with television, film, and media departments at other universities nationwide to offer a two-way learning experience by composing music or sound for student projects that want original scores.

Who can be a member?

Members must be current Berklee College of Music students, and students should regularly attend the weekly meetings and presentations. Member status is independent of chosen major or semester level.

What benefit does my film school have in collaborating with the FSC?

Directors and producers have a lot to gain by working with us. The film industry can be as dependent on relationship building as it is on creativity. By getting a chance to work with others outside of one’s familiar setting, students will learn how to communicate creative ideas effectively in a learning environment before being exposed to the real world. An original score will also aid the content of the director’s work in a way that existing music often cannot.

What kind of projects do you work on?

The FSC is anxious to work on media projects of just about any type. Animation, film, television, media, commercials, documentary, video games, experimental media, and even the simplest class projects all easily fit into our abilities as sound and music artists. Everyone learns through this process, so please feel free to contact us about any projects you have questions about, as we’d love to get involved. We need projects, you need music and sound. It’s a win-win relationship.

How much does this cost?

All music and sound produced by the FSC for any student project is completely free. These projects allow everyone to learn from each other, gain experience, and create a diverse portfolio, not to make money. What happens to my film?

Directors/producers will always own their original work, and the composer will always own their music. Credit should be given to the director anytime that project is used in a demo reel for the composer, and credit should be given to the composer if his/her music is used on the director’s demo reel.

Who will be writing the music for my project?

There are three ways that composers can be matched up with directors.

1. Feel free to browse our website section titled “Music & Sound” to listen to demos from our active members and learn a little bit about them. Directors can certainly request a composer from this website, and that composer can work one-on-one with you.



2. The FSC can also send a package to your film department with a DVD demo reel of our composers that serves in the same basic fashion as the website demos.



3. Alternatively, if a director or producer does not want to listen through demo after demo, the administrative board of FSC is happy to match up composers for incoming projects. We try to match up similar levels of composers to the projects coming in so that a first year composer would not be scoring a graduate student’s thesis documentary, and our graduating seniors would probably not be matched up with a freshman intro to film production project. This keeps the intimidation level low, allowing everyone to work comfortably and feel good about the work they are doing. Also, if two lower level students gain a director-composer relationship, they may continue to work with each other as both improve their techniques, ultimately even taking that relationship into the professional world.

What might be the complete process, in a nutshell?

Starting at the production school, a student completes a class project or independent work and sends it to us either by uploading to the website or by sending us a package in the mail with the video and submission form filled out. Once we have the film, we’ll look to see if a specific composer has been requested, and we will honor that request if the composer is available. Otherwise, we will watch the project and pick a suitable composer for you. We take the director’s ideas and get to work! Once the composer is finished, the audio mix can either be done by us or sent back to you for your own editing.

- FSC