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Music 8: Music In Film

Page history last edited by Adele Dinerstein 10 years ago

Music In Film introduces and traces the history and development of film music through film viewing, discussion, listening, composing, and reading. The class learns about the film scoring process and how music and its relationship to film has changed over the last century. This class includes learning and using terms for filming and directing, film scoring, critical viewing and listening.

Within this class students will:

Be able to identify major composers of film music from the 20th century to the present
Be able to identify characteristics and tendencies of film music
Be able to identify the role that music plays in key scenes in selected representative films

Week 1: Introduction to class, sound/no sound, Garageband as a composing technology

2/3-2/7: Jaws (1978)

Week 2: Film and music vocabulary, silent movies, early films, cartoons

2/10-2/13: Tarzan (1918), Alice In Wonderland (1903)

Due 2/18: Share a movie music scene - Choose a short scene from a movie that has music in it that you will share with the class.

Length: 2-5 minutes. In a paragraph that you'll hand in write the name of the film, year, director, composer, and who wrote the screenplay. If it is a song from the soundtrack include the composer(s) and performer names.

Week 3: The leitmotif. Letting prerecorded music do the talking. Temp track.

2/18-2/21: Movies from the 30s (and some from the 20s): King Kong (1933), Modern Times (1936), Gone With the Wind (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), Singing In The Rain ( ), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

In class: Sharing movie scenes - please arrive on time with handout. Make sure handout has pertinent info (see 2/18)

2/18: Ethan H, Nina, Kendall 2/20: Isabel, Alex, Leah, Max 2/21: Daniel, Madison, Ethan 2/24: Stephen, Patrick

Due 2/20: Read the King Kong handout to get a sense of story and composer. Bring in questions about terms that aren't clear to you.

2/21, 2/24, 2/25: King Kong

Week 4: The leitmotif. Movies of the 30s

2/24, 2/25: King Kong

2/25: Visit from Principal Josh Wolf-looking at Film Scoring Questions.

2/27: No class -Comments Review Day

Due 2/28: Finish seeing King Kong.

Bring in story board for King Kong - 4 illustrations and write ups with film and scoring terms for key parts of the movie or shots that were interesting to you.

2/25-2/28: Finish King Kong.

Week 5: Your leitmotif. Adding music to a scene. Film Noir and early Hitchcock

3/3-3/7: Finish King Kong. Start other movies from the 30s-movie choreography, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, first horror and dance films.

The 40s: Double Indemnity. Early Hitchcock: The 39 Steps, Sabotage, The Man Who Knew Too Much

Project 1: Temp track

Due 3/3 - Neatly compile a list of 15-20 movies with music that you believe everyone in your class has seen. including your teacher.

Did you see the Oscars? Winner of best score was Steven Price for Gravity . Winner of best song was Let It Go from Frozen. Happy from Despicable Me 2 was a strong contender. Which of those 2 songs do you like better and why? Be prepared to discuss in class.

Due 3/6-1) list and question from 3/3

2) In your Music in Film notebook write 3 facts EACH about American events of 1933, 1935, and 1939. We'll be sharing these with the class-it will be helpful to have a historic perspective on the years of movies that we are viewing.

3) Watch the following 4 clips from the Wizard of Oz and the other 30s movies and comment in your notebook about how sound and music was used in the scene. When sound came in, what action or words were brought out?etc. What did the music do to the scene? Write a paragraph for each movie.

The Wizard of Oz (1930)-music by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - tapdancing in Roberta (1935): music by George and Ira Gershwin

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935): music by Frank Waxman

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): music by Frank Churchill

and lastly: The Trailer

Week 6: continuing from week 5. Temp tracks - class project to add your own leitmotifs, music, and sound effects to video. Scoring to picture.

Due 3/10: Be able to access music you want to use for your temp track (access on youtube, bring in iPod or recordings). Temp tracks work best with using a variety of selections. Work towards editing the selections and using samples.

3/10-3/13: Working on temptracks. Your temptrack will need to have a minimum of 2 separate original leitmotifs, 4 separate music cues, and at least one sound effect.

In class 3/14: Sharing in-progress temptracks. Don't forget about putting information on cue sheet and self-assessment page.

March 15-24: Spring Break! Spring Break! Spring Break! Spring Break! Spring Break! Spring Break! Spring Break! Spring Break!

Consider for temptracks:

or Dracula's Wives Awaken - edit the ending:

Film Scoring Sheet from Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets:

Week 7: Director Alfred Hitchcock and composer Bernard Hermann

Projects, Musicals, and Music movies

3/25-3/28: Vertigo or North by Northwest or Psycho

In class 3/25: Last improvements to temptracks and sharing completed temptracks. Hand in cue sheet and self-assessment page.

Due Thursday 3/27: Bring in 4 facts about director Alfred Hitchcock and 2 facts about film composer Bernard Herrmann.

In class 3/27-4/1: Hitchcock movie.

Due Friday 3/28: Self-Assessment for the temp track assignment you finished. In your notebook answer in full sentences (a few sentences per question):

1) Describe what you tried to do for this assignment-what choices you made for film scoring. Include the name of the film, year, and director.

2) What did you learn in the process?

3) Did you encounter any difficulties?

4) Were you pleased with the final result? Why or why not?

In class:Leave your Music in Film notebook with Adele. Will be looking it over for notes and homework.

In class: Start watching a horror movie, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"

Week 8: Watching "Psycho" and final project

In class Monday 3/31, Tuesday 4/1 and part of Thursday 4/3: finish watching "Psycho"

Due Monday 3/31: Listen to this Youtube clip. Contains excerpts of Bernard Herrmann's music:

In class Monday 3/31, Tuesday 4/1 and part of Thursday 4/3: finish watching "Psycho"

Final Project (start at home but complete in class):

What: A detailed Cue sheet, typed and printed. give a short name to every sound and music cue.

How: Within the class choices of movies with film scoring write down all music AND sound cues with times and descriptions. Begin with a paragraph including name of film, director, studio, year, and composer.

Include a few sentences about the scene that you are writing up for cue sheet.

Choices of movies:

Psycho - The Shower Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

West Side Story - opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2ClSABkDp8

Lord of the Rings - last battle of middle earth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os8SQOuBqss

Star Wars VI-Luke vs. Darth Vader: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RFYoZ7H67A

Frozen - Elsa's Palace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuFLaSqNvQk

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Harry Potter is Dead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6JeAIh-8oM

In class Monday 4/17 and Tuesday 4/8:
Collect Cue Sheet Final Projects. Review at least one example. Sharing classic music/film clips-bring in a film clip that has music from a classic film (one from your 15-20 film sheet).

These will be shared.

From Huffington Post's "Why Music Is Important" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-woodcock/music-movies-themes_b_1877492.html

When asked about music in film Tony Woodcock (President, New England Conservatory of Music) explains; ‘ Music can do all this. It is visceral. It hits us like no other human language can. And its sound and impact on our lives is something to which we keep returning. We need what it provides. We need its beauty, is harmonies, its consonance and its dissonance, to bring resolution and meaning to our actions.’

Week 8: Superheroes and Sagas

3/31-4/4: Star Wars, Batman, Superman, The Incredibles, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather

If time allows - music clips - film clips from Singin' in the Rain, West Side Story, American Graffiti, The Last Waltz, This Is Spinal Tap, Stop Making Sense, Nightmare Before Christmas, Waiting for Sugarman (2013)