Introduction to Film Scoring

This weekly in-person short course is designed to introduce you to the theory and practice of writing music for film. Working with a professional composer, you will gain hands-on experience of the entire scoring process, using industry-standard tools to create your own music.

Each weekly class is divided into two parts: a discussion of concepts, illustrated with film excerpts, followed by a practical session at an individual computer workstation. Guided by the course leader, you will have a chance to put your ideas into practice and hear the music unfold as you create it.

By the end of the course, students will have learned how to:

• understand the purposes of music for film and TV, the challenges for the composer and the intentions behind its use by directors and editors
• set up a composing session in a DAW, including video, timecode, spotting markers and sketching resources
• make appropriate musical decisions to support existing visual cues, dialogue and sound design
• make use of arrangement, orchestration and production techniques to flesh out a sketch into a fully realised cue

This course is open for applications from anyone aged 16+ who has some prior musical experience. Experience of using a digital audio workstation (DAW) is also beneficial.

Credit-rated short courses are designed in accordance with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).

By studying a credit-rated short course, students can benchmark their learning against national standards, and credits may be used towards further education programmes at many institutions throughout the world.

The course is 25 hours of study and is worth 10 SCQF credits and 5 ECTS credits. This course is set at SCQF level 7.*

*Please note this is subject to validation by the Board of Examiners.*

There is an additional fee of £100 to take part in the credit-rated portion of the course. Please ensure you have already signed up to the course via the Book Now button on the webpage. Once you have completed that, please sign up for the credit-rated option, by completing this booking form:

Credit-rated Booking Form

By studying a credit-rated course, you will need to be matriculated to RCS*, we require some additional information from credit-rated students for this reason. Please read through the section below thoroughly before you submit. If you have any questions about what is required, please email credit-rated@rcs.ac.uk and we can help you.

* Please note although Credit-Rated Short Courses students require matriculation to get their accreditation, you will not be a full time matriculated student of RCS. Credit-Rated Short Courses do not qualify for student visas due to the short term nature of the course. You will also not qualify for a student email address or student card.

Please read the following eligible evidence dependant on your nationality and immigration status:

Scottish/Welsh/English/Northern Irish (Please provide 1 of the following)
– Passport
– UK Driving Licence
– Other Photo ID

Irish (Please provide all of the following)
– Passport

Europeans with Settled or Pre-Settled Status (Please provide all of the following)
– Passport
– Online Immigration Status (via Sharecode)

Europeans (post-Brexit) (Please provide all of the following)
– Passport
– Proof of Entry to the UK
– Online Immigration Status (via Sharecode)

Non-Europeans who can use the e-gates (Nationals of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and Japan) (Please provide all of the following)
– Passport
– Proof of Entry to the UK
– Vignette
– Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

Online Credit Rated courses:
– if studying an online credit-rated course from your own country (outside of UK) you are only required to submit your passport.
– if studying an online credit-rated course within the UK, but do not hold a UK passport, please follow the guidance from above.

The Credit Rated or Admissions team may require further information or proof from individuals, and may be in contact with you to provide further evidence.

Providing a ShareCode
If you are providing a ShareCode as part of your evidence please visit https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status and follow the instructions to access your code, and provide it in the Experience section of the Booking Form.

Students are encouraged to bring water with them. We request that no valuable belongings are brought to the classes and mobile phones are switched off except during breaks.

David Simpson

David R Simpson is a composer, creative technician and educator from Glasgow, Scotland.
With a background spanning a wide range of genre and experience, his work combines
innovative subtlety with the immediacy of pop sensibility.

With over 25 years of experience as a composer, David’s work has featured on Netflix,
Amazon Prime, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky as well as CBS, NBC and ABC in the US and
numerous other international networks. Most recently his music was featured on Tom Basden’s
award-winning sitcom, ‘Here We Go’, for BBC One. Other commissions include music for the
BAFTA-nominated ‘Dennis The Menace & Gnasher’ (CBBC), Justin Long’s ‘The Real Stephen Blatt’
(Amazon), Pulcinella-nominated animation series, ‘Wendy’ (ZDF) and BAFTA winner, ‘The Walking
Wounded’ (BBC Two).

In addition to his composition work, David has had considerable involvement in the spheres of
live and recorded music, having worked with CHVRCHES, Lauren Mayberry, First Aid Kit, Zara
Larsson, Hayley Williams (Paramore), Matt Berninger (The National), Marshmello and Karine
Polwart as a performing musician, musical director, sound engineer and technician. As an
educator, he particularly enjoys bringing a hands-on approach to participants’ projects, fostering
an atmosphere of welcoming discussion and openness. Previously, David has taught at the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of the West of Scotland, the University of Strathclyde,
the Edinburgh College of Art and for leading software developer, Ableton.

This class takes place on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm – 9pm in the RCS Renfrew Street building. The course costs £325 and runs weekly from 22 January – 26 March 2025.