Music at the MoviesKeys to a good film score

Music maketh the movieWithout music in movies, we would be confused.

Directors could hardly achieve suspense without screeching violins, or make us remember that climax without the familiar pop song that we all know. The music tells us when to laugh, when to cry, when to freak out, when to be ready for something, when to be calm, & even when to exit the theatre!

This unit is about giving you the chance to get into this lucrative business & expand your musicianship!

Check these scores outTitanic

Bourne Ultimatum

Unit Learning ObjectivesInvestigate & explain the history, technical

aspects, functions & censorship of music in movies (written)

Identify & describe elements & features of movie music aurally (Listening exercises)

Learn to play & perform a piece of movie music & evaluate your performance

Create, notate & perform/record a movie theme! (composition)

Before we go anywhereLook at your assessment schedules

Make sure you know what is being assessed & how it is being assessed.

Timeline . . . 1895 Auguste & Louis Lumeire (France) invented the first

movie camera (cinemataographe). Melies, a magician, uses camera for special effects (FX)

1896 First colour movies hand painted. 100 frames = 1 minute

1905-08

Over 10,000 movie theatres opened in USA. Called ‘nickelodeons’ because they had a nickel surcharge

1908 Hollywood developed big names, e.g. MGM, Universal, Warner

1915 Technicolour invented

1923 Synchronised sound invented.

1927 1st talking movie with sound & voices was The Jazz Singer

1932 Major improvements to technicolour

1933 1st ‘drive-in’ cinema opened in USA

1939 The Wizard of Oz & Gone With the Wind filmed in colour

1970 IMAX screen invented

1997+

Internet streaming technology developed

(p4

Which ONE development was the most important for you? Why? 3-5 bullet points

Discuss how internet movies, TV on Demand & video websites like YouTube might affect the future of movies. 3-5 sentences.

Early days: Silent movies Movies were silent so live sound effects had to be used

Captions, a lecturer, a pianist used to create sound as the movie was playing

Voice behind screen for screams

Coconut shells for horses hooves

Tin bath & roller skates for a train

Tray of gravel for footsteps

Using an axe on a raw cabbage for an arrow hitting home

Orchestras employed to play with the movie

ActivityHow might you create each of the following live

FX to accompany a silent movie?Breaking boneFirePunch to the stomachBirdsongFog hornBat wings flapping

Movie Genres(p5)

What does ‘genre’ mean?

Find movies that fit the following genres:Action, cartoon, crime, comedy, documentary,

disaster, epic, gangster, history, horror, murder, musical, mystery, romance, sci-fi, silent, spy, thriller, vampire, wild west, war.

Movie MakingComplete the cloze activity on p6

Composers at work John Williams’ composition for the classic thriller Jaws

As you listen, identify the theme & main characteristics of music. Relate this to the genre & the features of that genre. Tempo – speed up or slow down? Texture – thick or thin? Many layers? Timbre – what instruments can you hear? Dynamics – does it get louder or softer? Melody – stepwise or big range? Memorable? Articulation – jumpy (staccato) or smooth (legato)? What are the effects of these elements on the music?

5 stages of movie making(read p7 & class write following down)

Development – Producer takes story, gets script, director & actors, finds budget

Pre-production – Cast actors, crew, props, costumes, sets, hire studios

Production – Filming of movie out of sequence

Post production – Editing, music & SFX added

Distribution – receive censors’ classification, distribute

It takes up to 3 years to get all this done!

Banned! Censorship & Music

(Read p8, complete questions 6a. 6b. 6c.)

Censorship in NZ began in 1916

Graded classification began in 1920

Every film must be approved by the censor

Use following websites for help:http://www.censor.org.nz /http

://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_on_MTV

Answer Qs, follow up with a debate at the end for the last Q.

TV & Cinema use slightly different grading systems. Look at both & make a list of them with their meanings

Can you think of any musicians/styles that might have their DVD’s receiving a restricted rating? List them giving reasons. Use these websites if you need help

http://www.censor.org.nz /http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_on_MTV (traces the censorship of pop & classical music over the years

There should not be any censoring of movies & music DVDs. People should be able to make up their own minds about what they watch.

Your team must find 5 points to argue your case in a debate

Questions!

AnimationEmile Cohl

Celluloid animation

Walt Disney & Mickey Mouse

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs

The Lion King

Computer animation – Toy Story

Exploring Movie Music(read p11 & answer Q7)

write down some movies & find out if they have classical music accompaniment

Try these websites:www.naxos.com/musicinmovies.asp?letter=Awww.classicalarchives.com/movies/

ActivityListen to a short piece of programme music and

make up your own story to go with it. Add the music to your own powerpoint presentation & retell the story for the class using pictures and words, creating your own ‘silent movie’You may use Garageband and create your own film

score. In fact, you should!