Chapter 16

Star Wars with and without music: With music: Without music: GZJhfBmIhttps:// GZJhfBmI What if the music was changed? Pirates of the Caribbean:

The Beginning Thomas Edison invented the Kinetoscope (1889) which is recognized as the first video camera. Films began with little plot, mostly just random action scenes. This changed by the turn of the 20 th century. Music in Silent Films Silent movies were accompanied by a live pianist or organist that would improvise music to fit the mood of the different scenes in the film. Cue sheets were introduced in 1909 to give the musicians different themes that could be performed for different moods. Listening #1: What scene would this music be used for?

The “Talkies” Audio was first synchronized with motion pictures in the 1927 film The Jazz Singer. Soundtrack: a perforated strip along the film’s edge containing coded representations of sound. At first, soundtracks only contained speech. Background music wasn’t included for another several years. Music in Modern Films Scoring: composing music specifically for a film. Music has become a central focus in many modern day films. Movies such as “Saturday Night Fever” use original songs that later become radio hits.

Music enhances movies in many ways. Establishing Characters Character themes: melodies associated with a particular character of a film. These are usually restated every time the character enters a scene. Guess these themes! Providing Psychological Insight Musical scores can provide a look into the mind of a character. Empathy: sharing of another person’s feelings or emotions. What is the character thinking during this scene from Platoon (1986).

John Williams Born in 1932 American Film Composer John is the most successful movie composer of all time. He has written the scores for numerous successful films such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, Jaws, an many more. He has won 5 Academy Awards for his music.

Music Director The professional responsible for selecting, commissioning, and/or writing the music for a film. Getting Started After the film is edited, the music director watches the film and decides the music that should accompany the motion picture The music director and the creative team work together to “spot” the music. Spot: to determine which scenes should have music.

Recording the Music Track After the film has been scored, the music is then recorded. This takes place in front of a large screen with the final cut. Click Track: a track with a series of clicks that allow the conductor to synchronize the orchestra’s playing to the film. Dubbing: putting all the elements- dialogue, sound effects, and music- into one soundtrack. After dubbing, the process is finished. Today, film scores are appreciated so much that people purchase them to listen to on their own