MUSIC 2F03 Midterm 1

What are the four functions of music?

1. Establish time and place
2. Create psychological refinements
3. Supporting plot
4. Create build up to drama

What is the "Suspension of Disbelief"?

The agreement between the filmmakers and the audience that everything the audience sees is not real as long as you do not push the boundaries

What functions are used in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams?

1 (set time and place), 3 (provide a sense of continuity) and 4 (theatrical buildup)

What two things happen during the musical transition in Indiana Jones between the Himalayas to Egypt during the flight?

1. Solo trumpet indicates heroism w/ Indiana Jones theme song
2. Love theme is introduced: use of violins

What functions are used in Alien Resurrection by John Frizzell?

2 (create psychological refinements), 3 (continuity) and 4 (pacing)

Who is considered the father of American film music?

Max Steiner: King Kong

Who is Wagner?

19th C German opera composer and considered one of the giants of Western classical music

What did Wagner do?

Tried to create total art, giving the audience the full theatrical experience (orchestra pit, rearranged seating, audience etiquette)

What are three films with music by Wagner?

Dracula, Excalibur and Romeo & Juliet

What are the five elements that are associated with drama?

1. Plot
2. Character
3. Setting
4. Theme
5. Mood

What are the four principle sections of casual drama?

1. Exposition
2. Complications
3. Climax
4. Resolution

What are the two different kinds of plot?

1. Casual
2. Episodic

What is diegesis?

The world of the narrative, all characters, events suggested or described

What is diegetic music?

Source/Direct music: heard by both the characters and the audience, establishes time/place, creates a sense of realism

What is non-diegetic music?

Score/Background music: only heard by the film audience, originally composed for the specific film, may include pre-existing music

What is an adapted score?

Music already existed but someone came in and rearranged it for the specific film

What are the two conceptual approaches in music?

1. Playing the drama: music attempts to reinforce primarily emotional elements within the narrative
2. Hitting the action: accents visual events, common approach to cartoon scoring

What is Mickey Mousing?

Musical accents have gone too far and no longer effective

What is considered the most recognizable music element for Western ears?

The melody

What is a leitmotif?

When certain melodies are associated with a character, thought or feeling and repeated throughout a film

How can a melody be memorable?

The easier the melody is to hum, the more sympathetic you are to be that character

What are the three steps in film production?

1. Preproduction
2. Production
3. Postproduction

What happens in the preproduction stage?

Script writing, financial backing, hiring of director, location scouting, production design, storyboarding

What happens during the production stage?

Finalization of script and production design, principle photography, shooting film/filming movie

What happens during the postproduction stage?

Assembling and editing the "takes", completion/addition of visual + audio effects, composition/addition of music

During what stage of production is the score created and added to the film?

Postproduction

What is the problem with script writing during the production phase?

The more script rewriting that goes on, the worse it's going to be

What are two examples of dynamic duos?

Spielberg/Williams + Nolan/Zimmer

Why can't the score be composed on the basis of the script?

Scripts can change significantly, there are only words and no clear timing/pace for the composer to work with

What is a rush?

The film was shot that day

What is an assembly cut?

When the screening is significantly longer than the finished film

What is the rough cut?

Closer to finished film but still undergoing significant editing

What is a fine or locked cut?

Most of the editing is complete

Why do composers begin serious work at the fine cut phase?

They are concerned that the more they view the film, the less of a genuine reaction they'll have, first time response like the audience

What is a temp track?

When temporary music is added to the film while still in production or early editing

Why are composers divided on their view of temp tracks?

Although it offers insight into director's thinking process, it can influence the composer's initial response

Who are orchestrators?

Individuals who are skilled in composition, music theory and knowledge of the orchestra (have an excellent working knowledge of all the instruments in the orchestra)

What do music librarians do?

Organize parts for recording sessions, makes sure everyone has the right piece of music on their music stand at the right time

What is a streamer?

Yard stick that goes diagonally across the film roll and at the end of the white line you would punch a hole that allowed light to come through that would indicate the tempo

How long do composers normally have until the delivery of the finished score?

5-8 weeks

What is involved in the mixing stage?

When the director and producer go through the film and balance all of the various audio components, including the music

What do copyists do?

Double check the production of the final parts for the orchestrator

What are the four instrumental groups?

1. Strings
2. Brass
3. Woodwinds
4. Percussion

What is an entr'acte?

Precedes the resumption of the film, functions like an overture to the second part and has greater musical weight than that for intermission

What is the difference between an arrangement and an adaptation?

Arrangement: borrows a melody from another source and the film composer provides it with an original setting suited to the film
Adaptation: borrows a complete passage from another source including both melody and accompaniment

What is a compilation score?

Scores that are a pastiche of borrowed music, suggests wall-to-wall music (silent era)

What is an adapted score?

Film music that is substantially borrowed (sound era)

When was the Kinetophone created?

1895

When did the Vitascope debut?

1896

Who is Edweard Muybridge?

Photographer in the American West who would take pictures of horses racing and then show them rapidly in succession

Who are the Lumiere brothers?

Created the Cinematographe: capable of taking moving pictures, printing film and projecting images onto a screen

Who is Georges Melies?

First filmmaker that used special effects and camera effects

Who is Edwin Porter?

Director of The Great Train Robbery which is considered to be the first major American narrative film (1903)

What are nickelodeons?

Small shops that showed films exclusively for the admission price of a nickel

What kind of music was preferred in movies?

Popular music

How long did "The Silent Era" go for?

1895-1927

What is the Zoopraxiscope and when was it created?

A machine that projected several images to present the illusion of movement (photography was also developing at this time) 1879

What is the difference between the Kinetoscope and the Kinetophone?

Kinetoscope: peephole viewer with a continuous loop of film (1891)
Kinetophone: a kinetoscope with a phonograph installed in the box (1895)

What was the first projected film and who was it facilitated by?

"The Arrival of the Train" The Lumiere Brothers on December 28th 1895 in Paris

What are the three reasons for musical accompaniment?

1. Pragmatic: new technology that is noisy
2. Psychoanalytic: audience disturbed by ghost like images (also lacking colour)
3. Continuity of tradition: long history of musical accompaniment for visual presentation

When were Nickelodeons introduced?

1905

What is the name of George Melies best known production?

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

What was significant about The Great Train Robbery?

First narrative film to use discontinuous action - cross cutting

When did the film industry start to mature?

Between 1910-1920

When was the first Movie Palace built?

1912

How did Thomas Edison contribute to the rise of Hollywood?

Owned all the patents on film cameras and film projectors in North America so people would have to pay him to use the equipment. Southern California refused to sell those patents and therefore attracted directors and producers to Hollywood

When was the first attempt of "standardizing" musical accompaniment?

1909: Edison Film Company releases musical suggestions with each film (also known as the first cue sheets)

When did complex theatre organs begin to appear in theatres?

1915

What are the five rules of Trade Papers? (Articles and columns on musical accompaniment)

1. Continuous: music should start as long as the movie plays
2. Source music: you should try to reproduce it as closely as you can
3. Song title references: bad taste
4. Use of themes
5. Good music (classical music) to the masses

How did your geographical location influence the skills on stage?

The closer you were to a big city, the higher quality of performance there was

When was Birth of a Nation released?

1915

Who was D.W. Griffith?

First major American director

Who is Charlie Chaplin?

One of the greatest comedy stars of the big screen

When did the first cue sheet appear?

1909 by the Edison Film Company

Who created the film score for Birth of a Nation?

Joseph Carl Breil

What is a cue sheet?

For the director, composer, music supervisor to indicate timings and approaches

What is a spotting note?

When the music editor prepares a cue sheet that indicates the start, stop, duration and description of what is happening in the scene

What was unique about Melies "A Trip to the Moon"?

All the frames were hand painted, it was in colour!

What was the standard accompaniment of songs to films?

Compilation of classical or popular music/improvisation

What was Wagner's perspective on the arts?

Wrote his own librettos and directed staging/acting, composed music and dictated the visual elements of the scenery, costumes & lighting

What was the name of Wagner's theatre?

Festival Theater at Bayreuth

What is the purpose of music as an opening frame?

1. Alerting the audience the film is about to start
2. Introducing the dominant musical theme
3. Presenting several musical themes that will be heard in the film
4. Establishing a mood of the film
5. Foreshadowing significant aspects of the story

What is the purpose for music at the end? (closing credits)

Reflect the mood at the end of the film, create a cheerful ambiance, include a new song

What does an overture do?

Precede the beginning of the film

What does the entr'acte do?

Precedes the resumption of the film (an overture for the second part)

Which placement of music is more significant?

The music during the opening credits

What were some of the characteristics of the music played in Nickelodeons?

1. Films were shown in silence
2. Films had added sound effects, narration or a lecture
3. Music might be played continuously in the background
4. A single pianist filled a variety of musical needs for a film presentation
5. A small number of musicians could perform with the pianist (most important a drummer)

What was a strong collaboration of music during the early years?

Live music + film

Who was Wurlitzer?

America's largest organ maker

What are the three categories for compilation scores?

1. Adaptations of works from the classical repertoire
2. Arrangements of well-known patriotic/religious/pop tunes
3. Newly composed material

What were some of the benefits to borrowing classical works?

1. Availability of parts already in print
2. Freedom from having to compose new music for each film
3. Saving of rehearsal time
4. Audience potential familiarity
5. Lack of copyright

What was the name of the film that had the first completely original film score for orchestra?

Film d'Art in Paris

What was Camille Sain-Saens best known for?

Symphonies, concertos, and operas

What is a vaudeville theatre?

Live variety show, sometimes would run movies

What does Gesamtkunstwerk refer to?

Wagner's term for "total artwork"

According to Wagner, what is the highest level of perfection and greatest unifying artform?

The art of drama

What are the principle types of temporal art?

Literature, music and dance

What are the principle types of visual arts?

Painting, photography, sculpture and architecture

What is the term auteur used to describe?

The central role of the director and the creative force that forges all the artistic elements into one principal goal

Where and when was the nickelodeon first established?

Pittsburgh in 1905