A comprehensive introduction to film music, this book provides a concise and illuminating summary of the process of film scoring, as well as a succinct overview of the rich history of contemporary film music.

Written in a non-technical style, this book begins by presenting a brief history of film music from the last 30 years, covering topics ranging from blockbuster franchises to indie film scores. It explores film music from around the world, including Bollywood and European Avant-garde cinema, and film music in animation, like Disney-Pixar and Japanese anime. It then offers a guide to the language of film music analysis, the creative process behind composing film music, and the use of current technology. The book champions diversity in the industry, with case studies and interviews from a range of active film composers, including: Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel, 2019), Kris Bowers (Bridgerton, 2020), Natalie Holt (Loki, 2021), and Rachel Portman (Emma, 1996),

Complete with a glossary of key terms and further reading, this book is an invaluable resource for all those beginning to study film music, as well as lifelong film music buffs seeking to update their understanding of film music.

About Kenneth Lampl

Kenneth Lampl received his D.M.A. in music composition from the Juilliard School of Music and was a student of John Williams. His first international recognition came with the winning of the Prix Ravel in composition at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. Many awards soon followed including the Joseph H. Bearns Prize from Columbia University, nine ASCAP Concert Music Awards, three New Jersey State Council for the Arts Fellowships, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Awards to Young Composers, three ASCAP Awards to Young Composers, the ASCAP Raymond Hubble Fellowship, the Gretchanov Memorial Prize in Composition from the Juilliard School and fellowships from the foundations of Henry Mancini, George Gershwin, and Richard Rogers.

As a composer of film music Kenneth Lampl has scored over 100 films including: Pokemon: The First Movie: Mew vs Mew Two, Pokemon Mewtwo Returns, Frontera (starring Ed Harris and Eva Longoria), 35 & Ticking (starring Kevin Hart and Nicole Ari-Parker), Ninja’s Creed (starring Pat Morita and Eric Roberts), Kandisha (starring David Carradine and Hiam Abbas) and Winter of Frozen Dreams (starring Thora Birch and Keith Carradine). His recent Australian scores include: the Furies, Shudders top streamed film in 2019, 2067 the top streamed film on Netflix and Amazon Prime in 2020 and Sissy which premiered at SXSW and was nominated for three AACTA Awards. Lampl’s score to Sissy was listed as “One of the 10 Best Scores of 2022” by the Film Music Institute in LA and “The Best Horror Score of 2022” by Movie Music International.

The 2067 soundtrack was released by Sony/Milan Records and was also listed as “One of the Best Scores of 2021” by the Film Music Institute in LA.

Lampl is also known as an orchestral composer, arranger and conductor. He has written orchestral arrangement for the American rock band Foreigner’s latest record Foreigner and the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Chorus which hit #1 on Billboard Magazine Classical Charts for seven weeks and he conducted the Australian tour. He also composed orchestral music for the band Evanescence for their Synthesis tour performing with the Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland Symphonies.