film music: the sounds of hollywood - · pdf file• film music similarities: ... •...

Film Music: The Sounds of Hollywood

Lecturer: Keith McCuaig

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


2. “Phasing the drama”• Music fits with actions, but not super close with movements

• Most film music works in the this way


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


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.)


• 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


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


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


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


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


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

Adding Music to Film/TV

Ex: Michael Giacchino on scoring LOSThttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1K4Fsk3rG8

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