Budding Filmmakers and Professional Training in Germany

“Go to sleep, go to sleep, peacefully go to sleep”, sings Zarah Leander, but the viewer does not fall asleep – transfixed, they watch as Jürgen Vogel turns over in his car several times in slow motion while the idyllic lullaby sounds in the background.

The gulf between soundtrack and visuals opens up a long way during this key scene in the prize-winning feature film Emma’s Bliss (Emmas Glück). “That is precisely what director Sven Taddicken was trying to achieve,” explains Milena Fessmann, “he knew exactly which song he wanted for this scene.”

As a music consultant working on film productions, she is confronted with the challenge of combining a passion for music with sober facts and figures. This means balancing the demands of two quite different worlds – something that has been professional routine for Fessmann and her partner Michael Beckmann for almost 10 years at their company CINESONG. Music is becoming ever more significant in films. For years, filmmakers have been making ever greater use of music – from orchestral compositions to pop songs. This has led to the establishment of a new profession in Germany: the music consultant.

“It is important for our work that we are introduced into the process as early as possible. Best of all with everyone concerned around one table,” says Fessmann. In practice, this can amount to quite a large number of people: the producer, the director, the composer, the sound designer, the dubbing mixer... in short – all the people who develop the vision of a film’s aural world and work together to translate it into reality.

“What we do varies a great deal in terms of the functions we perform and the sort of content we are looking at, depending on the film,” Beckmann adds. “There are directors who come to us with a clear idea of what they want, others commission a bit of research first: ‘There is supposed to be 1960s music coming out of the juke box in this scene – what are our options?’”

Bread-and-butter work

The work of a music consultant can essentially be divided between two fields. On the content side, they have to look for dramatically appropriate composers and pieces of music; on the legal side, they make sure that all the rights issues are settled.

These very complex problems always have to be addressed when music is used in a film. Regardless whether it is someone whistling a song in the background, muzak burbling from loudspeakers above the freezer units in a supermarket, a symphony orchestra giving a performance or a film telling a musician’s life story: Every musical work is protected under intellectual property law. Rights of various kinds need to be considered. The copyright over artistic works (composition, lyrics) is purchased by music publishing companies, the licensing rights to particular performances (original recordings) by record companies.

This can be a tough job, which is unfortunately not always crowned with success: “We often have to deal with quarrelling heirs, or a band who just do not want their music to be used in a film,” says Fessmann. Diplomacy and negotiating skills are then required. And on occasion you simply need a big budget as well.

What, however, if there is not enough funding for expensive requests? Even then, a creative solution can usually be found: “In fact, for their part, many of our contacts at the music publishers have schemes to promote new talent, which is why they are particularly understanding about enquiries from young filmmakers,” Beckmann explains. “They then make titles by the up-and-coming musicians they are promoting available to us on more favourable terms.” In addition to this, there are also music libraries of “royalty-free” music that can be downloaded without complicated legal negotiations.

Ups and downs

It was fairly simple to resolve the issues around the lullaby sung by Zarah Leander for Emma’s Bliss. CINESONG did some background research: the song had been composed in 1939 by Theo Mackeben for the film The Queen’s Heart (Das Herz der Königin) with lyrics written by Harald Braun. Subsequently, the copyright had been bought by the music publisher Ufaton-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH/BMG Music Publishing Germany, while the licensing rights were held by Sondock Media.

“Sadly, though, we have known it go completely the other way,” remembers Milena Fessmann. “You get a whole film constructed around a particular song and filmed with that song without anyone giving the slightest thought to buying the rights. At the end, it turns out the price being asked is utterly exorbitant or the song is not even available. Then they have to film the whole thing again, which causes a real explosion of costs.” Beckmann adds, “What’s more, you often encounter the belief that no one will notice. Some people even think there is no need to sort out the rights to the music used in documentary films.” This is a dangerous attitude to take because the music publishers employ music scouts at film festivals to actively monitor for infringements of their rights. Apart from large fines, filmmakers can also face having injunctions imposed on them to prevent future showings.

By contrast, cooperating with music publishers at an early stage sometimes helps considerably to raise a film’s profile through adroit cross-marketing. CINESONG were delighted recently by the platinum disk for Summer Wine, a song featured prominently in the film Eight Miles High (Das wilde Leben). In this case, the company had collaborated with the film’s producers and Warner Music well in advance to develop a concept centred around a cover version of a well known title.

Diverse career paths

Knowledge of film, music and licensing rights – how do you become a music consultant? “Well, I studied politics,” says Fessmann, “At the same time, I was getting to know the music business by working my way up the ladder from the bottom. It was learning by doing.” Beckmann adds that, “A professional network in the music and film industries is indispensable, and you should constantly be keeping yourself up to date on the legal situation. For instance, we are both members of the World Soundtrack Academy, which offers opportunities for international dialogue.” Information about music licensing law can also be gathered at music fairs, such as MIDEM in Cannes and popkomm in Berlin. Specialist congresses like SoundTrack_Cologne and media law centres like the Erich Pommer Institute in Babelsberg have important roles to play as well.

Lost in the legal jungle? “In order to keep things fair, it is necessary to act professionally and make enquiries in good time. After all, intellectual property law protects filmmakers too. Who wants a clip from one of their films turning up in a ridiculous context without permission or getting used in a porn movie, for example?” Beckmann laughs. “As a composer and professional musician, I have always had a foot in both camps from a personal point of view.”