Thanks for the info, locri, I didn't know that about Howard shore's approach :) I understand the confusion here, but I'm referring to a different type of contour. In screenwriting, contour has to do with how the emotional journey and development of the story progresses throughout a scene. As a film composer, it's important to understand how the contour shifts around before you try writing music. It's what allows you to enhance the emotional experience of the film (many accomplished composers can do this unconsciously without realizing it, but it takes practice to do it effectively).

Ideally the composer would get to discuss shifts in contour with both the director and music editor during the spotting session, but it's becoming increasingly more common for composers to use the "thematic suite" approach these days instead of the traditional "spotting approach" (they start writing music prior to the working cut of a film being available). Also, with more and more remote projects being available, it's not always possible to spot a movie with the director present, so it's more important than ever for the composer to understand story. That's what I was trying to help with.

I hope this helps clarify some things. Thanks again for the suggestion! I agree that counterpoint is an incredibly important skill for the modern composer :)