Editing Max Steiner (section)

===Music as background to dialogue===
In the early days of sound, producers avoided underscoring music behind dialogue, feeling the audience would wonder where the music was coming from. As a result, Steiner noted, "They began to add a little music here and there to support love scenes or silent sequences."<ref>Slowik, Michael. {{Google books|OfrpBAAAQBAJ|After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926–1934|page=3|text=They began to add a little music here and there to support love scenes or silent sequences}}</ref> But in scenes where music might be expected, such as a [[nightclub]], [[ballroom]], or theater, the orchestra fit in more naturally and was used often.<ref name=Cooke/> In order to justify the addition of music in scenes where it wasn't expected, music was integrated into the scene through characters or added more conspicuously. For example, a shepherd boy might play a flute along with the orchestra heard in the background, or a random, wandering violinist might follow around a couple during a love scene;<ref name="reader" />{{rp|57}} however, because half of the music was recorded on the set, Steiner says it led to a great deal of inconvenience and cost when scenes were later edited, because the score would often be ruined. As recording technology improved during this period, he was able to record the music synced to the film and could change the score after the film was edited. Steiner explains his own typical method of scoring:

{{blockquote|When a picture is finished and finally edited, it is turned over to me. Then I time it: not by stop watch, however, as many do. I have the film put through a special measuring machine and then a cue sheet created which gives me the exact time, to a split second, in which an action takes place, or a word is spoken. While these cue sheets are being made, I begin to work on themes for the different characters and scenes, but without regard to the required timing. During this period I also digest what I have seen, and try to plan the music for this picture.

There may be a scene that is played a shade too slowly which I might be able to quicken with a little animated music; or, to a scene that is too fast, I may be able to give a little more feeling by using slower music. Or perhaps the music can clarify a character's emotion, such as intense suffering, which is not demanded or fully revealed by a silent close-up.<ref name=Cooke/>}}

Steiner often followed his instincts and his own reasoning in creating film scores. For example, when he chose to go against Selznick's instruction to use classical music for ''Gone with the Wind.'' Steiner stated:

{{blockquote|It is my conviction that familiar music, however popular, does not aid the underlying score of a dramatic picture. I believe that, while the American people are more musically minded than any other nation in the world, they are still not entirely familiar with all the old and new masters' works&nbsp;... Of course there are many in our industry who disagree with my viewpoint.<ref name=Cooke/>}}

Scores from the classics were sometimes harmful to a picture, especially when they drew unwanted attention to themselves by virtue of their familiarity. For example, films like ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', ''[[The Sting]]'', and ''[[Manhattan (1979 film)|Manhattan]]'', had scores with recognizable tunes instead of having a preferred "subliminal" effect. Steiner, was among the first to acknowledge the need for original scores for each film.

Steiner felt knowing when to start and stop was the hardest part of proper scoring, since incorrect placement of music can speed up a scene meant to be slow and vice versa: "Knowing the difference is what makes a film composer."<ref name=Thomas/> He also notes that many composers, contrary to his own technique, would fail to subordinate the music to the film:

{{blockquote|I've always tried to subordinate myself to the picture. A lot of composers make the mistake of thinking of film as a concert platform on which they can show off. This is not the place&nbsp;... If you get too decorative, you lose your appeal to the emotions. My theory is that the music should be felt rather than heard.<ref name=Thomas/>}}