Tim Greiving

When a film starts, "you have anywhere from two to 10 seconds to get the audience's attention," score writer Bear McCreary says. He gained this and other advice from his mentor, whom he met by chance.

For six seasons, the elegant, orchestral tone of the beloved TV series has been set by Scottish composer John Lunn, who has won two Primetime Emmys for the show's music.

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu's last film, Birdman, sparked Oscar controversy with its spare music. The Revenant features a swirl of sounds, anchored by the work of Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Filmmaker Ryan Coogler and composer Ludwig Goransson were planning to create an ambient, urban score, but found they couldn't get away from Bill Conti's iconic Rockytheme.

Writing music for The Good Dinosaur was a seven-month journey for brothers Mychael and Jeff Danna, not all of it glamorous.

It's been decades since Steven Spielberg directed a film without Williams' help. With the composer unable to do his latest, Bridge of Spies, Spielberg kept it in the "extended family," tapping Newman.

The show's distinctive score is the work of Jeff Beal, who ushers viewers into its clandestine, manipulative and sometimes violent world by breaking a few musical rules.

Two composers became instrument builders to score the film, set in the pioneer days of the American West. "We both knew what the movie sounded like. We just had to find it," Tommy Lee Jones says.