The Study of Film Music

Peter Kaye, a composer and Phd candidate at Kingston University sent me the above chart.

He has also put together an excellent bibliography of books regarding our secret black art.

Munich

Went and saw Steven Spielberg's Munich last night. What an amazing film. John Williams score is dark, edgy and extremely effective. The masters are at work and deserves to be seen and discussed.

The film tells the story based on the real events of the terrorists kidnapping and killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Avner, the lead character played by Eric Bana is given a mission he cannot refuse even though he seems most unlikely to be successful at it. He's a sentimental family man with a baby on the way. His theme is stated in a solo acoustic guitar.

Throughout the film, Williams' score is poignant, stirring and even features an original arrangement of the Israeli national anthem. He uses some electronic drum loops as well which add dramatically to the tension in a key moment.
There are vocals by Lisbeth Scott which are very haunting, mournful and wailing as if keening.

The entire cast is great. It feels real and Geoffrey Rush is just great (as always) in his role at Bana's superior officer. Spielberg talks about this film as starting a dialog on the war on terror and not necessarily taking sides. There's an electrifying moment in the film where Avner, an Israeli and undercover, is speaking with a Palestinian in a stairwell. It's a private moment that really humanizes both sides of the conflict in the Middle East and perhaps all the conflicts in the world. There's no place like home.

Importance of Music in Film (more)

"I believe that music does more for your experience of the movie than we have any inkling [of]. It creates the atmosphere. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that in a novel, the atmosphere is created by narrative, by the narrative voice, and in film, the music is doing that. The voice of the director or the voice of the filmmakers comes out through the music. The music is telling you whether to find this happy, sad, neutral. The music is telling you what to feel. And if it’s out of sync, if it’s telling you, “Oh, this is a big, emotional moment,” and you’re looking at it and saying, “Yeah, I don’t buy this,” then it’s infuriating, and the audience is removed from the experience of the movie.

It’s such a fine-tuning of playing a dramatic moment. So, yeah, the process is just a lot, a lot of back-and-forth. And that’s an ongoing process—”How much do I leave her alone to come up with her own thing?” Because if I’m right in there in every little phase, then it kind of hampers her creativity. That’s the biggest decision for the director in relation to any other creative person: how much freedom do you give them so that they can really make it theirs? And then how much do you trample all over them?"
Patricia Rozema, Nov 8, 1999.

Sorry for the break

I've had some severe difficulties with my current internet provider (Time Warner Cable) so haven't been able to post lately.
It seems the more we become dependent on broadband for internet, telephone and entertainment, the worse the service.

Argh!

Importance of Music in Film

"Oh, it’s [music is] vital. If it’s right, it can do so many things for a film. And, and if it’s wrong, it can absolutely destroy a film. I’m sure we’ve all seen films where the music just kept you out of the movie, and—or made you feel that you were being manipulated so obviously that you refused to respond. And, and if that happens, you’re dead. Music...it’s a very...there really are no rules, in fact. But—and you can make up your use of music as you go along, or film by film. Even scene by scene, you know. Is the music there to accentuate something that’s already in the scene, or is it there to work in counterpoint against that? Or is it there to suggest something that’s going to happen that you wouldn’t know just from what’s on the screen? I mean, there are many, many things that you can do with music." - David Cronenberg

From a lecture at the Museum of the Moving Image in 1992.

Music Themes: Leitmotifs or One to Rule Them All?

In composing a film score, the composer needs to decide a conceptual and strategic approach. Should there be a musical theme for each main character or one theme for the entire piece?

Opera is the grand art that defined approaches of synchronization of music to image (and text and special effects and so much more). Richard Wagner's massive operatic works are most closely associated with this approach. His friend Hans von Wolzogen coined the phrase "Leitmotiv" (German: leading motive) to describe Wagner's approach.

Leitmotivs can be melodic, harmonic or rhythmic and are an emotional shorthand to the audience to signify or connect various scenes or characters in the picture.

Howard Shore's score to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy follows in this Wagnerian tradition and Shore composed 40-50 themes to be called upon again and again over the course of the 3 films.

Here's three examples of how the Shire theme is used in different ways. Notice how it always evokes the homeyness and longing for the place they call home:
The Shire
Bilbo
Frodo and Gandalf
Eric Rawlins has put together a comprehensive site on the Lord of the Ring's Score.

John William's has also effectively used this Wagnerian approach with the entire Star Wars franchise.

Contrast this approach with Tan Dun's hauntingly beautiful score to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Virtually every cue features the same main theme presented in different clothes depending on the scene. It's incredibly effective and the listener/viewer never seems to tire of it. This can be quite effective in shorts or one hour documentaries and the like where there is just not enough time to support a larger structure of themes.

Last chance to Party on the Cape

Just a reminder that our film "Mrs. Worthington's Party" is in it's final weekend of sneak previews on Cape Cod. It's getting amazing reviews and turnouts. In fact it's grossing higher than any other film in the country right now (if you count it on a per screen basis.) It's definitely family-friendly and a Christmas movie - so very appropriate for the season.

Here's a link to an article.
And to purchase tickets.

The James Bond Theme: Pure Bollywood?

This came from the New Kerala newspaper (yes India!)

James Bond music was originally composed for a Bollywood film
Composer Monty Norman revealed that he had composed the tune for a musical version of VS Naipauls novel ‘A House for Mr. Biswas, but the project fell through and he was hired to compose the music for 1961 bond film Dr. No.

"When I was approached to write the music to DR NO, I split up the notes and the tune took on a more sinister sound. The rest of the melody followed almost naturally,”

Like all artists, Composers borrow from everywhere - influences, temp tracks, rivals and even themselves.

And BTW, Kerala is a lovely place! Mmmm masala dosa...