Editing Danny Elfman (section)

===Film music===
For his [[film score]]s, Elfman draws musical inspiration almost exclusively from viewing a [[Film editing|cut]] of the film,<ref name="ryzik2015" /> and occasionally from visits to the [[Set construction|set]] while the film is in production (he wrote and orchestrated his theme for ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'' on an airplane to Los Angeles after visiting the set in London).<ref name="AV Club" /> While he prefers not to work from script, story or concept, exceptions include ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', for which ten songs needed to be written in advance of filmmaking, and ''[[Dumbo (2019 film)|Dumbo]]'', for which he composed the main theme before filming began.<ref name="burlingame2019" />

Once a [[rough cut]] of the film is ready, Elfman and the director have a [[Film score|spotting session]] to decide where to place music in the film, the emotional undercurrents of each scene, and overall tone.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1990/02/23/danny-elfman-rise/|title=Danny Elfman: On the rise|last=Givens|first=Ron|date=February 23, 1990|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=October 30, 2019}}</ref> Elfman then spends a few weeks of free composition and experimentation to begin working out thematic material and to develop sounds and the harmonic palette.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collider.com/danny-elfman-exclusive-interview-alice-in-wonderland-talks-wolfman-composing-picking-projects-directors-and-so-much-more/|title=Danny Elfman Exclusive Interview ''Alice in Wonderland'' – Talks ''Wolfman'', Composing, More|last=Weintraub|first=Steve|date=March 4, 2010|website=Collider|access-date=October 30, 2019}}</ref>

When he has received approval on initial material from the filmmakers, Elfman begins to compose anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes of music cue-by-cue. He says two of the most important things to capture at this point are the tone of each scene and editorial rhythm. Next to thematic development, action [[set piece]]s tend to take Elfman the most time given the complexity of timing music to action.

Early in his career, he wrote out his scores using pencil, but has composed largely digitally since the mid-1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emusician.com/artists/dannys-big-adventure|title=Danny's Big Adventure|last=Pedersen|first=Greg|date=May 22, 2006|website=EMusician|access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref>

Before recording the score, he demos each cue by mocking orchestral and choral parts on synthesizer to get approval from the director.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Vienna Symphonic Library |date=April 4, 2014 |title=VSL Studio Chat with Danny Elfman |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=712ntdvBBTg | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/712ntdvBBTg| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|access-date=November 6, 2019 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Once approved, he provides a detailed, multi-line sketch of his composition to his lead orchestrator [[Steve Bartek]], who ensures the sketches are appropriately broken down for sections of the orchestra (i.e. [[String section|string]], [[Brass section|brass]] [[Woodwind section|woodwind]], some [[Percussion section|percussion]]), choir ([[SATB]]) and individual players.

Elfman also typically samples or records his own percussion and guitar playing to overlay with live orchestra. More than half of some scores feature Elfman's performance,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jan-04-tt-7986-story.html|title=Keeping Score|last=Colker|first=David|date=January 2001|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=October 14, 2019|quote=I record my own samples, doing my own percussion. Percussion was my first love, and I have a whole warehouse of percussion instruments. When you hear percussion in the movies I do, it's probably me playing.}}</ref> including ''[[Dead Presidents]]'', ''[[Mission: Impossible (film)|Mission: Impossible]]'', ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'', ''[[The Kingdom (2007 film)|The Kingdom]]'', ''[[The Girl on the Train (2016 film)|The Girl on the Train]]'' and ''[[The Circle (2017 film)|The Circle]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fangoria.com/original/exclusive-interview-danny-elfman|title=Exclusive Interview: Danny Elfman|last=Gilchrist|first=Todd|date=October 30, 2019|website=[[Fangoria]]|access-date=November 1, 2019|archive-date=November 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102000617/https://www.fangoria.com/original/exclusive-interview-danny-elfman|url-status=dead}}</ref>

To produce the score, Elfman rents a recording studio and hires a conductor and orchestra/choir. He oversees the recording from the [[control booth]] so that he can troubleshoot with the film's director and [[Audio engineer|recording engineers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.emu.com/artist/d_elfman/elfman_intrview.html|title=Danny Elfman's big adventure continues in Sleepy Hollow|last1=Lanser|first1=Bryan|year=1999|work=E-mu|access-date=October 30, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001213004800/http://www.emu.com/artist/d_elfman/elfman_intrview.html|archive-date=December 13, 2000|last2=Monahan|first2=Kevin|quote=I never conduct because the conductor's job for me is answering many questions all at once as quickly as possible, and then to keep things moving...I'm listening in the booth, which is where I prefer to listen anyway because I am hearing closer to the way it's going to sound.}}</ref> The final recording is given to the film's sound department to mix with dialogue and sound effects for the film's complete soundtrack. Elfman will usually do a separate mix of select cues for an album presentation of the score, and has produced nearly 100 to date.<ref name="monger">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/danny-elfman-mn0000569119/discography|title=Danny Elfman {{!}} Album Discography|last=Monger|first=Christopher|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref>

On the occasion that there are compressed deadlines or in the event he is not available to rescore or adapt his music if there are major edits to the film after the score's completion, Elfman will hire additional composers to work on small cues or sections of cues, adapting his existing material or themes. Examples include [[Jonathan Sheffer]] on ''[[Darkman]]'', [[David Buckley]] on the ''[[Fifty Shades (film series)|Fifty Shades]]'' films, and [[Pinar Toprak]] on ''[[Justice League (film)|Justice League]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/backissues/viewissue.cfm?issueID=168|title=Danny Elfman Part 2: Sound Effects Suck|last=Kendall|first=Lukas|date=December 1, 1995|website=[[Film Score Monthly]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226094728/https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/backissues/viewissue.cfm?issueID=168|archive-date=December 26, 2019|access-date=November 1, 2019}} [http://www.boingo.org/articles/FSMarticle2.html Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/fifty_shades3.html|title=Editorial Review: Fifty Shades Freed (Danny Elfman)|date=March 4, 2019|website=[[Filmtracks]]|access-date=November 1, 2019|quote=These projects have always been collaborations between Elfman and David Buckley, some of the concept's more memorable music actually the work of the ghostwriter.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/captain-marvel-composer-pinar-toprak-first-female-composer-of-marvel-movie-2019-3|title=Inside the inspiring journey of 'Captain Marvel' composer Pinar Toprak, from moving to America at 17 to becoming the first female composer of a Marvel movie|last=Guerrasio|first=Jason|date=March 13, 2019|website=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref> Since the 1990s, Elfman has occasionally co-composed music or shared music writing credit (e.g.''[[When We Rise]]'', ''[[Spy Kids (film)|Spy Kids]]'', ''[[Avengers: Age of Ultron]]'', ''[[Men in Black: International|Men in Black International]]''), or written themes that are then used or adapted by other composers, including [[Jonathan Sheffer]] (''[[Pure Luck]]''), [[Steve Bartek]] (''[[Novocaine (2001 film)|Novacaine]]''), [[John Debney]] (''[[Heartbreakers (2001 film)|Heartbreakers]]''), [[Deborah Lurie]] (''[[9 (2009 animated film)|9]]''), and [[the Newton Brothers]] (''[[Before I Wake (2016 film)|Before I Wake]]'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundtrack.net/album/pure-luck/|title=Pure Luck Soundtrack (1991)|website=[[Soundtrack.Net]]|access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://onemoviefiveviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/music-of-9-interview-with-composer.html|title=The Music of 9 – An Interview With Composer Deborah Lurie|last=Corrado|first=E.|date=September 18, 2009|website=One Movie, Five Views|access-date=November 1, 2019|quote=it was decided that Danny [Elfman] would do the themes for the film, and then I would get to take them, elaborate and score the film around them.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://behindtheaudio.com/2015/09/the-newton-brothers/|title=Scoring as a team: The creative approach of The Newton Brothers|last=Ebbinghaus|first=Peter F.|date=September 23, 2019|website=Behind The Audio|access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref>

Elfman has only collaborated once with another artist: [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]], on the song "[[Face to Face (Siouxsie and the Banshees song)|Face to Face]]" for ''Batman Returns'' in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|first=Sam |last=Davies |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/danny-elfman-bigger-messier-interview-film-music-grim-reaper-1788548 |title=Danny Elfman: 'Somewhere ahead of me is the Grim Reaper' -Interview |work=inews.co.uk |date=August 11, 2022 |access-date=September 20, 2022}}</ref> It was a long-distance collaboration, as the studio needed the song very quickly; Siouxsie created the foundation of the song and sent it to Elfman, who added elements, and the two would send the track back and forth.<ref>{{cite web |first=Sam |last=Davies |url=https://post-punk.com/big-mess-an-interview-with-danny-elfman-and-berit-gilma-on-his-first-solo-album-in-37-years/ |title=Big Mess—An Interview with Danny Elfman and Berit Gilma on his First Solo Album in 37 Years |work=post-punk.com |date=July 29, 2021 |access-date=September 20, 2022}}</ref> Regarding collaboration, Elfman would later state, "I'm not used to collaborating at all with anybody. I did one track with Siouxsie and the Banshees but that's it. I've always been in my own bubble, and that bubble has been very fertile".<ref>{{cite web |first=Gary |last=Graff |url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2022/08/11/danny-elfmans-bigger-messier-5-things-to-know/ |title=Danny Elfman's 'Bigger, Messier,' 5 things to know |work=Theoaklandpress |date=August 11, 2022 |access-date=September 20, 2022}}</ref>