“ David Bell’s book lays out the steps for a director to follow to gain the musical score that most draws and enhances the emotions of his or her film.”
— Arthur Hiller, President, Directors Guild of America

“ David writes as well as he composes, clear and sharp and always to the point. His book is dandy reading by anyone who wants to call himself a filmmaker. A real ABC guide to the whats and whys and wherefores of music in film and television.”
— Peter S. Fischer, Co-creator and Executive Producer, Murder, She Wrote

“ An indispensable guide for filmmakers.”
— Thomas Newman, composer, Fried Green Tomatoes

One of the great challenges faced by filmmakers is dealing with the music score. Getting the Best Score for Your Film is the first book to directly address filmmakers concerning film scoring basics such as the functions of underscore, choosing and communicating with a composer, the spotting session, the composing process, time and budget requirements, the personnel involved, and much more.

This invaluable, well-written and comprehensive handbook will save filmmakers many a grey hair as they prepare for and enter into the music scoring process.

David Bell is a prolific composer of film and television scores. Among his credits are feature films (the Lounge People, There Goes the Neighborhood), television shows (Murder, She Wrote, In the Heat of the Night), miniseries (North and South III), and television movies (Cops and Roberts, Stormy Weathers).