Avi Benjamin
Avi: Do we really need music in films? There are many good films without any music. But music is the soul of the film, and as such, the director needs to know how to work with the musician.
He needs to involve him early enough to let him arrange the music and to be inspired by the story and the images.
They need to sit down and talk, get to know each other's world and get their ideas together as to how the music should sound like.
Music also helps a lot to grease and to move the visuals, but you don't use music when you don't have anything else to show. That's not a good choice.
The director must know exactly what he wants and what role the music will play, because it can replace words. Sometimes the mood is more important than the story itself. The extent of the freedom the musician allows himself is based upon trust between him and the director.