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General importance of music and sound in film
Ex: The Matrix (1999)• Silent• With sound
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxNiEEtYe4Q
• Start at :30
An approach to analysis
Ex: Phillip Tagg – “Intel Inside Analysis” (2008)
https://vimeo.com/150585474
Film and Film Music Resources• Internet Movie Database (IMDB)• YouTube• Google Video• Internet Archive (esp. for documentaries)• Television Tunes
• Online periodicals:• Film Music Magazine• Film Score Monthly• Soundtrack.net
• Lots of free (usually illegal) sources
How to “Audio‐View” Film and TVMichel Chion’s term “audio‐viewing”
Sound Design: Three Elements• Music • Sound Effects• Dialogue
Repeated hearings vs. Immediate effect• Which is more decisive in analysis?
What to listen for
• How much music, or how little• Silence• Cues: When the music starts and stops; or, a unit of music
• Number of cues• Length of cues
Source of the Music
• Diegetic: onscreen source; radio, band, etc.
Ex: Casablanca (1942)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM‐E2H1ChJM
• Non‐diegetic: score, doesn’t exist in the world of the film
Ex: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0APF3SO9tqE
Source of the Music
• Meta‐diegetic: music in the mind of a character
Ex: Amadeus (1984)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNaXQQbcgw0
Source of the Music
• Acousmatic Sound: unknown source, then shown
• Acousmêtre: unseen voice‐character; disembodied voice
Ex: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) HALhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDrDUmuUBTo
Gesamtkunstwerk
• All or many art forms combined
• Associated with Richard Wagner’s operas
• Application to film
Discussing Musical Style in Film
• General: Classical, pop, jazz, etc.• What type of classical, pop, or jazz?
• Variables: Time and place (1940s NYC, 1960s California)
• Character themes: Star Wars – Luke theme, Lea theme, Darth Vader theme
• Borrowings: Arrangements, adaptations or compilation of existing pieces
Specific Musical Elements
Types of melodies or themes:
• Motivic: repetition of a motif (short musical idea)Ex: Jaws (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX3bN5YeiQs
• Lyrical/Melodic:Ex: Jurassic Park (1993) start at :30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJlmYh27MHg
Specific Musical Elements
• Leitmotif: theme for a specific character, object or place
• Thematic transformationEx: Star Wars (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yys5iioLUNw
Relationship of music with drama
• Synchronization• Does the music support the drama?
1. “Hitting the Action” aka Mickey Mousing• Music goes right with actions and movements• Warner Bros. cartoonshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J7VDYYHA2s
Relationship of music with drama
2. “Phasing the drama”• Music fits with actions, but not super close with movements
• Most film music works in the this way
Relationship of music with drama
3. “Playing through the drama”• Music is counter to actions• Doesn’t “go” with action or narrative
Ex: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CamXKi002Q
Use of Harmony
• Consonant or dissonant • Stable or unstable
Ex: Planet of the Apes (1968)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj05OuIU3R0
Orchestration
• Instrument choice• Tone colour/timbre (see next slide)• Often not done by composer
Ex: Beetlejuice (1988)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCYL04Kd8g
Danny Elfman (composer)Steve Bartek (orchestrator)
Timbre• Pronounced tam‐ber• Tone colour
• Categories of Orchestral Instruments:
1. Strings (violin, cello, harp)2. Brass (trumpet, tuba)3. Woodwinds (flute, clarinet)4. Percussion (drums, cymbals, piano)
Orchestral Instruments1. Strings (violin, cello, harp)
Versatile: lyrical love themes, combat music, tension, strong emotions
Ex: Psycho (1960)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwq1XHtJEHw
Ex: Return of the Jedi (1983)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDwCsFzS8c
Orchestral Instruments2. Brass (trumpet, tuba)
Power, force, marches, Ancient Rome
Ex: Apocalypse Now (1979)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6gcz4hdLA82:30, 3:20
Ex: Ben‐Hur (1959)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt5C9EruZ94
Orchestral Instruments3. Woodwinds (flute, clarinet, oboe)
Usually mixed in with other instrumentsSoft sound, often used for female leads’ themes
Ex: Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)• Lea’s theme• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtkuZbcZORE
Orchestral Instruments4. Percussion (drums, cymbals, piano)
Most percussion mixed in with other instrumentsEx: Birdman (2014)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p75qQgNdc‐0
Piano: many uses – jazz, pop/rock, lyrical love themes
Ex: The Piano (1993)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPNxRdx‐fqo
Other Instruments• Popular Music, Jazz
Ex: Taxi Driver (1976)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbvWoruvf5c
• Saxophone
Popular music soundtracksEx: Dirty Dancing (1987)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiilV691CzY
Other Instruments
Electronic Instruments
Theremin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=‐zAE1HdzaSk
Ex: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzRb1OVpat0
Synthesizers:Ex: A Clockwork Orange (1971)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI‐mDTdeKR8
Other Instruments
“World” InstrumentsCan take us to another time or place
Scottish bagpipes in Braveheart (1995)Indonesian Gamelan in
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
“Orientalism” – term coined by Edward Said
Relationship of music with drama
Aural Gaze• Gender studies and film theory• Male Gaze
• Certain melodies for women or men?• Instrumentation
Musical Form
• Repetition• Variation• Unity – themes repeated in new forms throughout (Star Wars, Casablanca)
Overall critical evaluationQuestions to consider:
• Does the score work?• Does it serve the film/narrative?• Does it move us?• Convincing/honest/original?• Clichés, self‐plagarism• Bad film, good music
• Film Music Similarities:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=‐tQpAPMT_Rc
How music is added to films
• One of the last elements added to a film
• Many individuals involved:Composer, producer, director, music editor, orchestrator, etc.
• Director/composer teams (Spielberg/Williams)
• Composers can be type cast (exotic, “African”etc.)
How music is added to films
• Time frame for composing: • Usually 2‐6 weeks max. from first screening to completion!
• Even less time for TV
• Time pressures
Pre‐composing• Research for historical or geographical films• Instrumentation
How music is added to films
1. Initial screening with temp track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e‐QFj59PON4
Dan Carlin on role of music director:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnALh4k8QdU
2. Spotting Sessions • Determining where in the film to put music• When, length of cues, etc.• Fitting it all together
How music is added to films
3. Timing Sheets• Pre‐computer technology• Music editor would provide details of timing• Reel: Minutes: Seconds: Frames• https://www.google.ca/search?q=film+score+timing+sheets&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1280&bih=688&source=lnms&
tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjg_6L1yoDRAhWCz4MKHYlNBWEQ_AUICCgB
4. Demonstrating to Director• Generally a piano score with instrumentation notes• Composer could still be fired after all this work
How music is added to films
5. Orchestration• Tone colours added, often by orchestrator
• Composer/orchestrator teams:• Danny Elfman/Steve Bartek• John Williams/Herb Spencer
• Preparation of books for orchestra to play their parts
How music is added to films
6. Recording• No time for mistakes• Print of film plays during recording• Click track used for precision• Streamers and punches for conductor
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzy3Pw6cpnY
How music is added to films
7. Dubbing• Final mixing of 3 sound elements:
Foley (SFX) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONaPcZ4EAs
MusicDialogue
• Film editor and sound editor mix multiple tracks of sound
8. Final Screening
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