MasterClass: Spike Lee Teaches Independent Filmmaking

Once a score, particularly a great score,

is added to what you have, it just elevates everything--

everything, if you work with that--

that type of composer to do that.

I understood very early on how music

could be just as important to help tell a story

as any other categories.

I pay a lot of attention to music and how it can be used.

I mean, it's not just going to Billboard

and taking the top 10 songs and slapping them in there.

I mean that's-- that's not what we do.

I have always, always, always worked closely

with my composers.

And, uh-- I just never could understand why a director could

shoot a film--

everything's done the last minute,

like, oh, let's get a composer now.

I-- I don't know how that works.

People got their own way to work.

I understand that, but to bring in a composer

at the last minute--

to me, that shows a disrespect to the music, not necessarily

that composer.

But the importance-- if you bring

in a composer at the last minute,

after everything else is done, after the picture's cut, all

that other stuff, then that says a sign to me like you

don't really think the music is doing anything.

I like to bring in my composers early on.

With Terence Blanchard-- he's getting cut scenes.

As soon as we have scenes cut, he's getting--

I'm sending him a scene.

So let me-- let me like, let me demonstrate for you how

we do it.

I have done it with Bruce Hornsby and Terence, not

necessarily my father.

I'm sending Bruce and Terence Blanchard cut scenes.

So-- they've got-- first of all, they get the script right away.

And early on, we talk about what are the colors going to be.

When composers say colors, they're

talking about what instruments.

Different instruments give you different colors.

Then I invite the composers to New York.

Terence is in New Orleans.

Bruce is in Virginia.

Come up and watch the first cut.

Then, after they see the first cut,

we go back to the editing room.

And now, this is a very crucial part of the process.

It's called spotting.

This is where the director sits down with the composer.

Back in the day it was on an Avid.

No, no-- excuse me.

Back in the day it was on a Steinbeck and now it's an Avid.

I sit down with my composer and I tell them

where I want the music. it's called spotting.

We look at through the whole film.

I say I want music to start here in a scene and here.

Composer has to know where the music goes.

Composer has to know where the director wants music.

Then we talk about what type of music.

Then the composer go away, and they send me--

back in the day it was on CDs--

themes.

I like to have--

I like to give character themes.

I get themes, not necessarily with characters

attached to them, but just themes.

So and then I tell them, you know,

what I like-- what I don't like.

And so they now--

those themes-- they're really called sketches.

You know, it's not like any full-blown orchestral thing.

This is at the beginning stages.

And then once the picture's locked,

I tell my composers this is--

he comes back to see the locked cut in a screen room,

and I say--

I pair-- all right, this theme want to go this, this--

pair the cues, the themes, with the scenes.

Then they go away, write out the music, and then come back

and record the score.

For me, a movie is not a movie till we get the score in.

Music-- it could be score.

That's where it's just there.

Or it could be source, where it's coming from a radio,

it's coming from a television, or people playing it.

So this is an example where it's switched.

Sweeping crane shot here.

Bleek's trying to keep it together.

Uh--oh.

Look-- Ooh.

See.

Look at Wesley.

Look at-- look at--

Shadow's getting ready.

He's looking at-- it's very uncomfortable for everybody--

the audience.

Wooh.

That's what we call a clan.

See-- that's loving act.

The Shadow will come to his rescue.

Clark is heartbroken.

And Bleek just walks off the stage into the rain.

When the scene began, it was sourced,

because we were hearing what the band was playing.

But once they left the club, it turned to the score.

Because in reality, you wouldn't be

able to hear Shadow Henderson and the rest of band

as they continued to play after we left.

So it went from source to score.

When Denzel and I came outside in the rain--

Forget about it.

-that's score.

Man, are you going to be all right?

But the rain would make it much more dramatic.

Oh, this is a crane shot.

I'm sorry.

There is a crane and a dolly that we go up.

And I say, I can't sell it.

I won't sell it.

I won't sell it.

Here we go.

Oh.

You'll play again.

You'll play again.

I won't sell it.

I won't sell it, Bleek.

I won't sell it.

Yeah, that's a good scene.

Sad scene.

Again, I want to--

I want to really stress this, because it's very important.

Denzel's character, Bleek Gilliam,

and Wesley Snipes's character, Shadow Henderson had been--

had been at odds the whole movie,

at each other's throats--

jealousy, all types of stuff.

Clark-- both of them, you know--

that type of stuff.

That's why it feels very important that at the end,