Music 2F03 Exam

End of Studio System

1950 (governed Hollywood since 1920)

Colour doesn't become a thing until...

1950s/1960s

Systems to create a widescreen image (1950s/1960s)

Cinerama, Cinemascope & VistaVision

Epic Films (1950s/1960s)

Quo Vadis, The Robe, Julius Ceasar, Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra, the Ten Commandments

Ben Hur

1959

Hayes Code formalized into an office in...

March 1930, voluntary to follow until 1934

Films during what time period broke the Hayes Code?

1950s

Hayes Code abandoned when? (Production Code)

1968

Elmer Bernstein life span

1922 - 2004

Elmer Bernstein's starts writing film music

1950s

Bernstein's first film work

1952

HUAC - Elmer Bernstein is accused of being communist

1953

Cat Woman on the Moon, composed by Bernstein

1953

The Man with the Golden Arm, composed by Bernstein

1955

What is the ensemble in Man with the Golden Arm?

Jazz Big Band

Why was he the Man with the Golden Arm?

(1) Jazz Drummer, (2) card-dears in high stakes illegal poker games, (3) heroin addict

What is a Jazz Big Band usually accompanied by?

Example: 4 trumps / 4 trombones / saxophones in rhythm section

Jazz score in Man with Golden Arm described a...

"Swing"

Tough to use pop music in film composing because of

"Pulse" - once it starts going, it keeps going and doesn't tend to speed up or slow down

In what situations is pop music difficult to use?

Hitting the action and more generally "playing the scene", pop music shouldn't capture what goes on moment to moment in a scene

Who was the sister and brother who got Bernstein the job for 10 Commandments?

Agnes de Mille and Cecil de Mille

Dimitri Tiomkin life span

1894 - 1979

Dimitri Tiomkin was one of the

Emigre Composers

Tiomkin started working where in late 20s?

US 1925 - Vaudeville (King Kong made a reference to Vaudeville)

Tiomkin's important films

Lost Horizon (1937), It's a Wonderful Life (1946), High Noon (1952)

High Noon had more in common with 1950s or 1940s?

1940s

High Noon is best known for...

Pop song in opening credits called either: "Ballade of High Noon", "Do Not Forsake Me" or "Oh My Darling" (performed by Tex Ritter, Lyrics by Ned Washington)

High Noon was the first time...

They released and promoted a song in a film before the film was released. Established the use of "movie songs" and becomes the standard in the film industry.

Bernard Herrmann life span

1911 - 1975

Where did Herrmann study?

Studied at Julliard (considered the most reputable school for classical art school, composers, concern music, etc) same place Bernstein studied

Where did Herrmann get his first job?

Herrmann gets a job in radio in 1934 at CBS, which is the new popular medium for composing.

Herrmann meets up with who at CBS?

Orson Welles

Citizen Kane

1941

Welles and Herrmann travel to Hollywood together

1940s

Bernard Herrmann wrote what kind of music?

19th century Vienna music (like Korngold), we see his Juilliard training

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Composed by Herrmann

Importance of "The Day the Earth Stood Still"

Doesn't care about "Standardized Performance Ensemble", so long as we can get people together to perform for a day we're good.

Standardized Performance Ensemble

Is a band you can find anywhere, back in the day we'd want to make sure we are writing music for musicians that exist. It would be hard to find 10 harpist and get them together, for example.

Themes in "The Day the Earth Stood Still"

(A) it drives slowly but it drives, utterly relentless and (B) utterly dissonant, unpredictable

Herrmann begins his collaboration with Kubrick

1955

More films by Herrmann

North by Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960)

Importance of Psycho

Only strings, no other instrumentation

Norman's theme from Psycho

Dissonant and played with semi-tones

Herrmann's last movies

Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and Taxi Driver (1975)

What kind of music did Herrmann hate?

Herrmann hated pop music!

Studio system is dead by 1960s (& 1950s) and then enters...

Independent production

1960s is very turbulent for America for the following reasons:

(1) Civil rights movement, (2) generation gap, (3) baby boomers (1950s), (4) cynicism, (5) JFK assassinated in 1963, (6) losing faith in government

During 1960s, while orchestral music is still popular, we begin seeing more of what because of cost effectiveness?

New sounds are always coming in, they were coming in with dissonance with Film Noir and expanding even more with jazz and that expansion of possibility continues into the '60s, musical sound and the instruments we use

What directions is music moving in during 1960s?

Pop music is getting a greater influence, marginalized sound like Rock and Roll getting more popular especially with the Beatles

What is the advantage of popular music?

It is cheap to buy and use in your movie because it publicizes the song and therefore it is cheaper to use.

Second wave of European composers

French - Maurice Jarre, English - John Barry, Italian - Ennio Morricone

American composers becoming more prominent

Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith

Ennio Morricone

Born in 1928, Rome, Italy

What is Ennio Morricone best known for?

Spaghetti Westerns

Morricone composed for what prominent film?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

John Barry life span

1933 - 2011

John Barry got involved in pop music when?

late 1950s and early 1960s

John Barry composed which James Bond Film?

Dr. No (1962)

How many James Bond films did Barry compose for?

11

Barry won 5 academy awards

Born Free (1967), Out of Africa (1986), and Dances with Wolves (1991)

Barry's style is defined as?

Style defined by clear, tonal melodies (pop influence), used lots of strings and brass

John Barry composed for which popular films?

You Only Live Twice (1967) and Out of Africa (1986)

Modernism

Rejection of the past in favour of the new; moving from "realism" to "abstract"

Avante-Garde means what?

Avant-garde in the world art means they are pushing the rules, new ways of doing things, not very popular because it is moving past what the audience has accepted, may be largely rejected in its day but then when people look back recognize it is cutting edge

Best example of a film using Modernism?

2001: A Space Odyssey; compiled score; uses classical music over 125 years ago

2001: A Space Odyssey combines what two types of music with what composers?

Tonal music (19th century) - Johann Strauss II (representing the humans innocence)
Atonal music (20th century) - Gyorgy Ligeti (representing the alien's sophistication)

2001: A Space Odyssey are there sound effects?

Virtually no sound effects while music is playing

Jerry Goldsmith life span

1929 - 2004

Goldsmith studied film composing with who at USC

Rosza

Goldsmith was the first to come from what medium?

First composer to come from television during 1950s/1960s

United Artists Fanfare composed by?

Goldsmith

Patton (1970) composed by?

Goldsmith

Patton use of what on orchestral instruments?

Electronic Processing

Jerry Goldsmith Rule

If I cannot write something that makes this scene better, I should not write anything at all

Patton themes

(1) Patton as a great warrior, positive and uplifting, (2) religious and believes god is on his side, (3) destiny and reincarnation.

Goldsmith is known for his...

Versatility

Goldsmith movie in 1979

Alien

Goldsmith movie in 1968

Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes was considered...

The most modernist film score ever made! Utterly dissonant.

What instruments are used in Planet of the Apes

Blend of orchestral instruments with elements such as animal horns and mixing bowls, odd tambres and experimental sounds, thunder sheets, electronic processing, echoes used in this film sore

In Planet of the apes, what are the themes?

Takers - "chirping" woodwinds, log drums, more "primitive" sound
Astronauts - atonal, but strongly organized
Crossing - dissonant, no idea where they are going (four sets of three notes)

Modernist composers came up with what new rules and structure how to write music

"12 tone"

Who invented the "12 tone" and what was it referred to as?

Arnold Schoenberg (2nd Viennese School)

When was the "tone row" developed?

1923

What is a "tone row"?

A tone row is essentially deciding on an arrangement of the 12 notes, this arrangement of the 12 notes becomes the core of your piece, this approach is known as the "second Viennese school" because (1) they are in Vienna and (2) the first Vienna school is considered people like Mozart or Beethoven who changed music in their own time

How does a "tone row" work?

Once you get to a note, you can play it as many times as you want, but once you move on you cannot go back to that note until you've played all 12 notes.

What did Jerry Goldsmith write a lot of?

Star Trek Voyager, First Contact, Omen,

1970s events

Conglomeration continues (not the same as studio system), companies buy other companies but the company keeps its name (it's not all Walt Disney). Film moves into two directions (1) pop music becoming popular with Laura, High Noon, James Bond, etc. and (2) composers experiment with dissonance (Bernard Herrmann with Psycho and 1960s with 12 tone).

During 1970s what happens to costs?

Film cost increases: '72-'77, 178%: '77 - '79 200% (i.e., doubles twice)

Films made 1970s vs. 1937 (golden era)

1970s: 160 per year
1937: 538 per year

1970s pop scores that become famous

The Graduate (1967), Easy Rider (1969), The Last Picture Show (1971), American Graffiti (1973)

John Williams

Born 1932 to musical parents, never planned on going into music. Concert pianist at Juilliard. Studied at UCLA for film composing.

John Williams worked as an orchestrator for who?

Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon)

What television shows in the 1950s did John Williams work on?

Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, Gilligan's Island (incidental music part)

Who composed for "Not With my Wife you Don't" in the 1960s? (naughty urban comedies)

John Williams

1960s writes for a bunch of disaster films (Poseidon Adventure)

John Williams

Why is the Sugar Land Express (1974) composed by John Williams so important?

Directed by Steven Spielberg and starts their relationship/collaboration

Jaws (1975) composed by?

John Williams

Why was Jaws so important?

First film to do "wide release", release on every screen everywhere (400 screens) rather than just select theatres. Also helped reestablish orchestra in film music, it was seen as "old school" until John Williams.

How long did it take Jaws to make its profit back?

13 days!