Music in Film
Chapter 16
What you will learn
 Describe the origins and development of music in the art
of film
 Identify three ways in which music enhances the
dramatic action in a film
 Explain how music gives continuity to a film
 Describe the process that is used to match music and
sound to film
Vocabulary
 Scoring
 Music director
 Soundtrack
 Spot
 Character themes
 Click-track
 Empathy
 Mag track
 Foreshadow
 Dubbing
 Cue
The History of Film
 The beginnings
Thomas Alva Edison is credited with developing movie
Kinetoscope invented in 1899 is the forerunner to the present
day movie camera
The birth of filmmaking
Early movies had little plot
Focus was on the technology
Later films told stories
Voyage to the Moon (1902)
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Music in Silent Films
 Early movies were accompanied by live improvised music
and sound effects
 Performers had to watch the screen and make the music
match the action
 1924 - Enro Rapee, a composer of silent film scores,
published Motion Picture Moods for Pianists and Organists
 Birth of a Nation (1915) by D.W. Griffith was the first film to
use a live orchestra as accompaniment
 Soon the symphony replaced the piano
 By the 1920’s the orchestra grew to nearly 100 musicians
 Scoring:
 Composing music expressly for a film
Activity 1, p. 364 CD 10:11
 Hurry No. 2
What makes this music appropriate for a firefighting scene?
What evidence can be seen in the music that creates the sense of
urgency the composer intends?
What other film scenes could this music accompany?
The “Talkies”
 Edison and others worked to synchronize sound
with action
 The Jazz Singer (1927) – first talking film, featuring
Al Jolson
 The Vitaphone solved the problem of
synchronization but was difficult to run
 Soundtrack:
 Perforated strip along the film’s edge containing
coded representations of the sound
Music in Modern Film
 Musical film – musical is central to the story
 Saturday Night Fever (1977)
 The story of aspiring disco dancers
 Songs were original disco tunes and many went on to become hits
 Amadeus (1984)
 Tells of the rivalry between Salieri and Mozart
 Features classical works as part of the plot and action
 Music establishes clearly the feeling of what the story is about
 Activity 2, p. 366 CD 10:12-14
Ennio Morricone
Music Enhances Drama
John Williams
 How music enhances film drama
 Establishing character
Character themes:
 Melodies associated with a particular character that recur throughout the film
The Untouchables – has a sinister underworld theme of Al Capone by
composer Ennio Morricone
The music usually exhibits a style or melody form that overtly suggests traits
of the character in question
 Superman (1978) John Williams – Superman’s theme is majestic
 The Red Violin (1998) John Corigliano
 “Anna’s Theme” played by Joshua Bell
John Corigliano
Activity 3, p. 368 CD 10:15 & 16
 “Superman Theme” – John Williams
 “Anna’s Theme” – John Corigliano
 Listen to the theme from Superman. Write down qualities of the
melody, rhythm, and orchestration that convey the idea of the
superhero.
 Listen to “Anna’s Theme” and follow the instructions from above.
 Compare “Anna’s theme with Superman’s. What are the
differences that allow each theme to connect powerfully with the
character it helps portray?
 What similarities can you identify?
John Williams
 Most successful film composer
 Began writing film scores in the 1960’s
 Earned five Academy Awards
 Wrote music for:
 Star Wars series
 Harry Potter series
 Schindler’s List
 Indiana Jones Series
Providing psychological insight
 An effective score can give a glimpse inside a character’s mind
 Sometimes the score captures the audience’s emotional reaction
 Platoon (1986) Oliver Stone
Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber
 Beautiful music used during scenes of terrible violence
 Scored for string instruments
 Use of dissonance:
 Tones that conflict
Activity 4, p. 371 CD 10:17
 Adagio for Strings, Op. 11
 Describe the characteristics of this music that make it an
effective choice for the described scene.
 Is this melody conjunct or disjunct?
 How does the tempo add to the emotional effect?
Intensifies the overall impact of the film
 Midnight Express (1978)
 Music by Howard Shore who won an Oscar for Best
Original Score in 2004
A relentless ostinato figure creates and supports the
feeling of terror
Assignment
 Think about a movie you have seen recently. Describe
how the music enhanced the drama in each of the
following ways: establishing character, providing
psychological insight, and intensifying the over impact of
the film. (15 points)
Music Give Film Continuity
 Music’s expressivity gives a film coherence and continuity
 Foreshadow:
 Suggest actions or events before they happen
 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee, music by Tan
Dun
 Based on a Chinese martial arts novel
 Activity 6, p. 374 CD 10:18-20 & 11:1-4
 Cue:
The specific music for a particular scene in a film or television
production
Yo-Yo Ma
 Plays cello
 Child prodigy – debuted at age 5
 Born to Chinese parents living in Paris
 Began to study when he was 4
 Eclectic musical interests – records many styles of music
 Performed music for Couching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Process of Scoring a Film
 Music director:
 The professional responsible for selecting, commissioning, and/or writing
the music track for a film
 Getting started
 The final track is the result of along technical process and the work of
many
 Begins after the movie is completed
 The music director a producer meet to spot:
To determine which scene should have music
The process continued
 Recording the music track
 After the film has been scored, the music is recorded
 The composer conducts the recording sessions
 The sessions are usually done in front of a large screen depicting the movie
 Click-track:
A series of clicks that allow the conductor to synchronize the orchestra’s
playing to the film
 Before the digital age, the music was recorded on a magnetic track or
mag track:
Film similar to audiotape coated with an oxide surface
 The final step is dubbing:
Putting all the elements of sound – dialogue, sound effects, and music – onto
one soundtrack
Review - Terms
 To determine which scenes should have music
 Spotting
 The specific music for a particular scene in a film or television
productions
 Cue
 A perforated strip along the film’s edge containing coded
representations of the sound
 Soundtrack
 The professional responsible for selecting, commissioning, and/or
writing the music track for a film
 Music director
 To suggest actions or events before they happen
 Foreshadow
 A series of clicks that allow the conductor to synchronize the orchestra’
playing to the film
 Click-track
 Melodies associated with a particular character that recur throughout
the film
 Character themes
 Sharing of another person’s feelings or emotions
 Empathy
 Putting all the elements of sound – dialogue, sound effects, and music
– onto one soundtrack
 Dubbing
 A film similar to audio tape coated with an oxide surface
 Mag track
Description
Film Title
 Music composed by Tan Dun
 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
 “Anna’s theme” played by Joshua Bell
 The Red Violin
 First talking film, featuring Al Jolson
 The Jazz Singer
 Score drew on Adagio for Strings by Samuel
Barber
 Platoon
 Has a sinister underworld theme by
composer Ennio Morricone
 The Untouchables
 Music composed by John Corigliano
 The Red Violin
 First film to use a live orchestra
accompaniment
 Birth of a Nation
 Won Oscars for Best Musical Score and Best
Song in 2004
 The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
 A relentless ostinato figure creates and
supports the feeling of terror
 Midnight Express
 Features classical music as the plot relates to
the bitter rivalry between composers Salieri
and Mozart
 Amadeus
Yo Yo Ma
a Chinese American cello
known for his eclectic musical
interests
Movie music of John
Williams
Star Wars
Sschindler’s List
Harry Potter
How is the role of music in today’s films
different from the use of music in “silent” films?
 Today music is used to
 Establish character
 Provide insight into a character or event
 Give a feeling of what the story is about
 Convey mood
 Evoke time and culture
 Provide continuity
 Intensify the overall impact of the film
 The music is integrated in the film as opposed to being external
 In “silent” movies music is performed by live musicians
 Helped establish the mood
 Covered the clattering sound of the projector and audience noise
Describe the process of making film music
 Begins after the movies is complete
 View the edited film
 Decide on genre/style
 Spot – determine scenes to have music
 Score music
 Record the music
 Dub the soundtrack