We started a documentary in class that looked at the evolution of music in film.
The first episode of the three-part documentary, titled "The Big Score", explores the origin and development of traditional film scoring.
The main periods that stood out for me were:
The Silent Era (1895 - 1927): During this time movies didn't have a preset score, it was accompanied by a live orchestra or musician. This meant that the score was more unpredictable, experimental and that you would get a different experience upon each viewing.
This is extremely interesting to me because of how much freedom the musician or musicians are given and how much time they have to refine their score. There is a lot of experimentation that takes place, but it provides an inconsistent experience. One audience could be treated to a wonderful score while another subjected to something terrible. I know auteur theory wasn't a thing with film back then, but I can't imagine leaving the quality of the audience experience in the hands of an unsupervised musician, especially knowing how important music is to a film.
The example used from this era, The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
One of the things that most resonated with me watching this documentary is the strides these people made. Introducing sound and a set score adds so much to the medium as a whole, placing much more creative control in the hands of the filmmakers. I can't help but worry that the medium has reached it's full potential and that there is no more innovation to be done. Even the CGI these days - the thing moving ahead most rapidly - seems like it isn't really improving that much and maybe it reached it's peak around 2009 with movies like Where the Wild Things Are, District 9 and Avatar. It's still improving but not prompting any change in the industry. Plus I personally feel that those advancements are in animation, not film.
The things that seem exciting is the advancement of drones (which could eventually replace cranes and dollies once they become silent enough) and new ways of experiencing film (like 360 degree cameras). Although the latter seems very limited and will probably be considered a new medium altogether as it would be closer to stage than cinema. The strides taken by the filmmakers from 1900 - 2000 just aren't being made anymore, and I can't see how they would be - the medium might have had it's time in the sun.
Other artforms like video games and interactive narrative experiences feel infinitely more expandable. Then again people said that we had invented everything there is to invent by the 18th century, so maybe I speak too early. My personal feeling at the moment is that movies have reached the same place that books had a while ago, it won't go away but it's not as innovative anymore.
The Jazz Singer (1927)
The Jazz Singer is famous for changing the course of the industry with it's introduction of spoken dialogue, a pre-scored film was a reality now, why not incorporate dialogue into the same strip?
Sound was added alongside the video frames on film, this was called a sound strip:
Interestingly enough the sound strip was part of what helped change the aspect ratio of film, to make room for the strip the frame ratio went from 1.33:1 to 1.37:1.
King Kong (1933):
The documentary credits Kong as the first film to have a modern Hollywood score produced for it. Where films before it had small pieces of music composed for them, like opening or closing credits, Kong had a feature length score composed by Max Steiner that ran under everything that happened throughout the film. What this means is that movie music evolved to become more like opera or music by the great composers. The main reason for this change is that Leit-Motif had now become a viable option for film.
A leit-motif is a tune or theme that correlates to a specific character, place or emotion. Originally established by Wagner for his operas, Steiner implemented it into King Kong, giving the titular ape his own theme.
In the documentary the theme and it's variations is demonstrated, the example the host uses is how Steiner changes the score to reflect Kong's emotions when taking off the main actresses dress. The music for Kong was so important because the audience had to connect with the monster on some level, something that would have been very hard to do visually at that time.
The scene where Kong removes the main actresses clothing could be interpreted as perverted, the score is what informs us that it's a softer emotion mixed with boyish excitement, a more tender scene.
Adventures of Robin Hood (1938):
Erich Wolfgang Korngold is one of the all time great Hollywood composers, the documentary discusses him and his work on the film The Adventures of Robin Hood. His importance in the history of film music is two-fold:
Unprecedented Creative Freedom
The first is the amount of freedom Korngold was given when working on films like Robin Hood. He was such an important figure in the musical community that Hollywood producers placed him first, if he was to produce scores for movies then he would be given what he needed to make the best music possible. This meant that he was rewarded extra time and to ensure that he produced finished pieces he could request certain scenes to be lengthened or shortened. The music was so important that it could directly influence not just the meaning of the film, but also other departments like editing and directing.
Historical Importance
The score is very good and can be fun to analyse, the video-essayist Sideways did a good video on it too:
As the narrator here points out Korngold's sound is also one of those that became the most popular, John Williams taking a lot of cues from his style.
Even the 1993 parody Robin Hood movie (Men in Tights) does this. It seems like wasted potential not to stay spiritually true to this style of sword fight with Ridley Scott's 2010 version. Hopefully Robin Hood remake incorporates this type of action scene because it's hardly ever seen.
This second part of the documentary asks "It is possible to cut out the composer and still make a musically great film?", and it is a very interesting issue to explore.
After Korngold no one really surpassed him in terms of sheer talent, and no one really innovated to same degree as Steiner or The Jazz Artist did again. Music, like all things, simply changed over the years.
The next big advancement, or ethical discussion, became about using contemporary or pop music in movies, the second part of the documentary focusing almost entirely on the use of pop-songs on movies:
The documentary poses the question: "Can pop music replace traditional film scores?"
This video by Sideways discusses some very interesting points (both positive and negative):
I personally don't have the answer, and I don't know if I ever will, but I do know that for this specific assessment it would be better to break down a film with a traditional score. There is a lot more detail that the composer can add and subsequently a lot more to look at. Pop music soundtracks lack motifs which is one of the most important parts of a film's score.
The other issue with pop songs is that a lot of them are very similar, to demonstrate this I edited the end of Django with one of the worst songs of all time (Mambo #5) to show that it still works:
I think it is an interesting side of film music to explore though, because I think pop songs can reach the same level as a tailor made score, all it needs is some tweaking.
My suggestion to fix the pop song problem is to use the songs as motifs and through-lines. This can be done by either manipulating the songs, giving one character or theme a pop song and orchestrating it throughout the film (almost like a musical does with it's orchestral score), it can be done by using a certain sound repeatedly (like a certain era's music to represent a character or theme, almost like how the 80's tunes are used to represent the main character in Guardians of the Galaxy), or even more experimentally, find songs that fit together well and remix them.
You can see this already happening in musical circles, people mixing pop songs (because they are all so similar), usually to comedic effect.
These are some good examples, if the songs fit as well as these they can be used in tandem like musical themes usually are. Jumping between one and the other, or blending them into one. This could add the depth and meaning back into the soundtrack and I would love to see it happen.
Soundworks Collection is a very good source of behind the scenes on the audio production of films - recommended by Vaughn:
http://soundworkscollection.com/
I'll probably watch some of the short docos, but mainly listen to the podcasts. I don't have podcasts ti listen to usually, because either the subjects don't interest me or the hosts are annoying. This falls in line with exactly what I want so it'll be a new experience for me.
Findings from Library Visits:
Invercargill library: This was the least fruitful of my ventures, I was able to find enough material on film and music as two separate categories but none where they intersected. I considered getting books about each subject, but I feel that the point of Audio Tech and Musical Scoring for films is that it is directly tied into the film itself. The two cannot exist independently. Even though a film score is enjoyable to listen to alone, it doesn't serve the same purpose and doesn't have the same affect. The two are made for each other, so taking one away leaves the other with only half it's impact.
This made me wonder how deaf people experience films. If they can't experience the sound then how much of the subtext do they miss? Does a more effective score mean that people who can't hear will have a worse experience? It's weird that something some people don't even know exists can have such a large bearing over whether or not they'd enjoy a movie. Even silent films had musical accompaniment.
SIT Library and online database had more sources but I haven't had a chance to check them out yet, not properly anyway. At the moment nothing jumps out to me.
Below are some sources I found online that I could use:
- Score: A Film Music Documentary
http://www.screenread.de/doug-adams-the-music-of-the-lord-of-the-rings-films-interview-english/
- Giacchino Interview
http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/michael-giacchino/51899/michael-giacchino-interview-the-art-of-scoring-movies
The libraries were so disappointing in their selection of books in this area that I bought some good ones online of artists that I might look at:
Williams is the essential film composer, this book will give me some great insight into his career, and film scoring in general.
The one I am most likely going to do is Howard Shore and The Lord of the Rings, it's probably the one I know the most well and with this book I'll be able to get really in depth as it's written by one of his collaborators.
He breaks down specific themes, which is perfect for this assessment.
He breaks down specific themes, which is perfect for this assessment.
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