In July, Variety.com covered the annual ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop with an “embedded” reporter who covered each lecture and field trip and interviewed participants while doing his best not to get in the way. The Set List has his take on the final session; for complete coverage, visit variety.com/ascap.

BY D.R. STEWART

Just before the 20th annual ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop wrapped at the DGA with a screening of the composers’ scores, the showcase began with words of wisdom from veteran composer and workshop director Richard Bellis: “It’s not a musically sophisticated audience; it’s a movie-going audience.” And with that, the workshop composers’ versions of Jim Carrey making a monkey appear from a thug’s behind in "Bruce Almighty" began to unfurl.

A month’s worth of work culminated July 31 as the dozen workshop participants watched their own scores illustrate scenes from “Hildalgo,” “Bruce Almighty,” "Dreamer” and “The Incredibles” for an audience that included Charles Bernstein, composer of the iconic “Nightmare on Elm Street” theme, and Sean Mulligan, senior director for U.S. film, television and media at music publisher ole.

Late composer Fred Karlin (“Up the Down Staircase,” “Westworld,” “Greased Lightning”) created the workshop in 1988 as an opportunity for young composers to get an authentic taste of the Hollywood landscape.

In addition to hearing from fellow composers, musicians and music execs, this year’s participants had the opportunity to conduct a 60-piece orchestra from the podium of the Newman scoring stage at 20th Century Fox. They also visited the studios of composer John Debney, where he held court with “Bruce Almighty” director Tom Shaydac, and of composer Han Zimmer, owner of Remote Control in Santa Monica. There, Zimmer and James Netwton Howard gave testament to their score for “The Dark Knight.”

The workshop composers have global origins, with participants coming from Ireland, Korea, Austria, Canada, Germany and England as well as the U.S. Some had masters degrees; others had scored video games and independent films. All of them hope to work in TV and film but, after a month of experiencing the rare air of Hollywood, composers faced resuming their lives Monday.

Said Ireland’s Anna Rice, her hopes laid in “applying that level of expectation of seeing all these top-top guys [and] taking it seriously. For whatever frustrating situation I’m in next, [I want] to retain this level of professionalism.”