“music gets along with films” · music is information in films • 5. technical resources for...

Music for films

“Music gets along with films”

UNIT CONTENTS• 1. Introduction and preliminaries• 2. Short History• 3. Different genres, different music• 4. Music is information in films• 5. Technical resources for composing• 6. Steps in composing for films• 7. Composers and films. Your own

research...

1. Introduction• A phrase to discuss about the power of

music for films: “Any music influences the image, but only

the right music will influence it in the desired direction". Pepe Nieto, Spanish composer of scores for films

In which way do you think a music can modify or even change the meaning of a film image? Imagine an example

1. Introduction• Another one:“When music fits well with images, music

becomes cinema, and joins so perfectly with the images that many times you are not aware that it is sounding . That doesn´t mean that the music is boring but is so well integrated that we don´t hear it consciously” . Alberto Iglesias, composer to Almodóvar, Julio Medem, etc. films.

Pepe Nieto and Alberto Iglesias

PRELIMINARY CONCEPTS

• Soundtrack: Originally used to mean all that sounds in a film...

1. 2.3.

• Nowadays, the soundtrack is referred only to the music. Also known as “Original soundtrack” “the score” (Avatar video)


• Vocabulary as complete as you can you think we will need to talk about films and music...

PRELIMINARY CONCEPTS• Very seldom some directors (Dogma, Buñuel,

etc.), didn´t use music in their films. Why?

The normal thing is to add music so -The final product is nicer, richer, brighter...- Music provides extra information and emotion-Thanks to the music we many times recall

films.


• Image is the boss: Music obeys .That means that music for films doesn´t have a standard or independent or free form. Each piece of music has the form that the image orders. And it concerns tempo, length, rhythm...as we´ll see later.


• Diegetic music / Non-diegetic

when you are watching a scene where a piano is being played, the characters can hear it, and you can hear it. Examples....

when there is music in the sequence that the characters can’t hear, and you can’t see it being played. Examples....


• Music specific for films/ borrowed

Composed for a filmMusic already composed. Classic standards or modern pop, rock...songs (very often nowadays...)

Ex. Space odyssey 2001 by Kubrick

Ex. of songs for films...

• Consequence of using previous famous music

• Better identification and recalling of the film• Commercial promotion of the film and the album of

the soundtrack


KINETOSCOPE 1890. What´s that?

2. History • ANTECEDENTES DEL CINE

Tribal rites (magic)

Greek tragedy

Middle Age liturgical dramas

OPERATotal work of art

(From XVII century)Theatre

Operetta, Music hall...(XIX cent.)

CINEMA

The function of all that drama and play is...

Why do human beings need all these kind of histories?

2. History • Invention of cinema: At the end of XIX century,

in Europe: Lumiere brothers in France and others

In the beginning they were silent films (but soon a piano player or a little orquestra …used to play at the same time that the film was shown: There were two reasons: (try to guess those reasons)● 1.● 2.

2. History

• First Spanish filmSalida de misa de 12 del Pilar de

Zaragoza (1897)

2. History• A very talented spanish filmmaker,

Segundo de Chomón

El hotel eléctrico(1905)

2. History• Some stars of silent movies

Charlie Chaplin “Charlot”• He lived the transit from silent

to sound films. But he neverwanted to talk in his films. Onlymusic was allowed (First 30 years of XX cent.)

• There are many others: find out at least two or three more examples : actors and names of films...

2. History • The birth of talkie films

The jazz singer (1927) (USA)

What are they doing?

Summarizing the Evolution from silence to sound

• Segundo de Chomón, El Hotel Eléctrico (1908). Silent film

• Buster Keaton, El maquinista de la General (1926). Only piano

• Charlie Chaplin, Tiempos modernos (1936). Orchestra and some “off” voices. Mixed system

2. History• 3. Evolution of kind of music used in film scoring.

The importance of soundtrack grew over time

New Symphonic type, more modern, created by John Williams…

Jazz, Pop…Symphonic type

1970…1950-19701930-1950

“Gone with the wind” 1939

3. Different genres...

• Make a list of the different films genres.

(We´ll have to find out the different type of music for each genre...)

4. What sort of information can music provide to a film?

• Try to guess...in groups and write conclusions...and use some example

4. What sort of information does the music provide to a film?

• Music provides information beyond words or explanations:

1. Historic TIME: In which time takes place the action

2. PLACE : some kind of instruments or certain scales are able of setting where the action is taking place.

Ex.: El último emperador (1988) Rapa-Nui (1994)

4. What information provides the music to a movie?

3. FEELINGS of characters 4. GENRE of film and scenes : The music

is a support for set the genre. . War

. Thriller

. ....

Activity: complete the list of film genres and show examples of different scenes


5. ADVANCE for action: the music helps to correctly interpret sequences and may even reveal what will happen in a sequence ACTIVITY : Some example like the one about the indonesian baby

Ex. The untouchables

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HejdJIYjA&feature=related


• ACTIVITY : Look for a film´s sequence and two possible different musics to accompany at home. Two different musics that modify the meaning of the image or sequence. And show to your mates

5.Technical resources • 1. Different sounds provide different

meanings: 1. 1. Instrument family chosen

. Brass _____________

. String ______________

. Wood_______________ . Drums______________

Many possibilities and chances to create new meanings (remember Kubrick...)

5. Technical resources

1.2. To play these scenes we´ll use... 1 Open spaces,

choral sequences...

2 Indoors, few people talking

3 Lonely peopleReflexion...

●

5. Technical resources• 2. Pitch :

Ex. “Los otros” by Alejandro Amenábar Bass Old Treble Young

Bass Heaviness, slowliness Treble Movement, restlessness, etc. Bass __________ Treble ___________

ACTIVITY: Seek a sequence that demonstrate what we are talking about.

5. Technical resources• 3. INTENSITY : Imagine different effects of

piano and forte• 4. SPEED Allegro, adagio, etc.

. 5. TEXTURE :5.1. MELODIC: music easy to identify a

character, a situation...music very presentEj. “Theme” of Titánic by James

Horner5.2. ARMONIC: hidden music, you are not so

aware that the music is there...

6. Steps in composing for films

• 1. Interaction with the director (document.)

Absolute Freedom

Different levels of guidance: when, what....


• 2.The reading of the scriptGet information

Time, place... Genre Which sequences...


• 3. THE SHOT : the composer sometimes goes to the set

• To get some idea, to get some inspiration

• Composition of first themes...


•4. EDITING–Design of the soundtrack :How to share the music with the other sounds: dialogue and sound effects

–Applying music to preset sequences

6.Steps in composing for films

• 5. Composition on the definite edition

• 6. Recording

• 7. Music edition

YOUR TURN

• You can start your own search about soundtracks.

Make a presentation, a video, a podcast... about a composer, a genre, a list of your 10 favourites soundtracks...

Design a personal project...

Curiosities

• Film Music Similarities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tQpAPMT_Rc

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