Superhero Class

Blockbluster

This term originally referred to an exhibition strategy of creating an extensive commercial build-up to a film that goes into wide release on one specific day

Quickly paced, nimble, and (sometimes) associated with humor, wit, or agility.

We’ve used the terms “scherzo” or “mercurial” to describe music that is…

Neptunian

We have used the term ______ to describe music that conveys a sense of the mystical and mysterious, combined with energy and active agency…

Martial

We have used the term _______ to describe music that conveys a sense of aggression, brutality, and force…

true

Superhero cinema is a hybrid genre, drawing upon several other genre's narrative, visual, and musical tropes, but especially action, science fiction, and fantasy.

false

All comic book adaptations feature superheroes.

false

All superhero films are based on comics.

ostinato is...

a repeated musical pattern that forms a structural "ground" for additional music.

Music that is understood to be audibly present in a realistic sense to the characters in the world of a film is…

Diegetic, or “source” music.

Music that is created specifically for a specific film is…

Original music.

Music that is “licensed” for use in a film, or that is otherwise from a pre-existing source is….

Compiled music.

Overseeing the creation of film materials in production and, frequently, the post-production stages of a filmmaking, this person makes crucial decisions about the tone of the film and how the acting, camera work, and other audiovisual material created under their supervision will express that tone.

director

Film music, understood specifically through the lens of how the music creates emotional states within its audience is a matter of...

affect

Film music, understood specifically through the lens of how the music creates a sensibility associated with the spaces in which the film is set and their range of dramatic possibilities, is a matter of...

world-building

Film music, understood specifically through the lens of how music informs and directs our understanding of story and plot, is a matter of...

narrative

The term "style topic" describes when music recurs in a film, associated with some person, thing, or idea in the film, developing associations through its use and transformation. The term "motive" (or "leitmotive") describes a "type" of music with shared characteristics that can possess referential associations outside the film that make its presence expressively meaningful.

False

Saying that a score possesses "thematic dramaturgy" is another way of saying that...

The larger use of motives and athematic material in combination gives the impression that the motives have highly distinct purposes and function akin to "characters on a stage"

Which of the following is not a way in which melodic chromaticism is used in Superman (1978)?

characterizing the wise ethical guidance of Jonathan Kent

Which of the following techniques is used in Superman (1978) to nostalgically acknowledge the film’s roots in comics? 

D) Both (B) and (C)

Superman (1978) incorporates a musical “love theme” for Superman and Lois Lane in all of the following ways except: 

a leitmotive whose transformations follow the developing relationship between the characters.

What is a Naturlaut?

A style topic suggesting nature as a source of primal grandeur and awe.

Why are three villains introduced in the prologue to Superman (1978) who never appear again in the film?

It was to set up Superman II, which was in production at the same time, and also encouraged viewers to understand the two films as part of a larger evolving franchise.

Images and sounds associated with a sense of idealized rural nature, ethical goodness and wholeness, and often an implied association with Americana can be identified as: 

pastoralism

Which of the following stylistic gestures is often associated with pastoralism in American classical and film music?

All of these answers are correct.

Which of the following is a leitmotive we’ve explored in Superman (1978)?

A short “falling fifth” motive that can form its association very quickly.

Why should we always be careful using superhero films to generalize about a composer’s style?

Because composers often adjust their style to suit the genre and individual qualities of a film.

Which of the following style characteristics is not associated with Danny Elfman’s score for Batman (1989)?

Lengthy lyrical melodies that play out in song-like phrases.

Before composing for films, Danny Elfman’s flair for funky, dense textures and off-beat sensibility was put to work in this New Wave pop band:

Oingo Boingo

Why is “Scandalous” a distinctive song on the soundtrack of Batman (1989)?

The song is closely affiliated in the film with Jack Nicholson’s performance as the Joker.

Prince’s Batman album contains all of the following except:

 

Collaborations with Danny Elfman, who plays lead guitar on the record.

The Gothic is an aesthetic that involves which of the following narrative and expressive tropes, present in Batman (1989)?

All of these choices.

By 1989, when Batman was released, what was true of the music video genre?

All of these choices.

Which of the following statements is true about the song “Partyman” in Batman (1989)?

It replaced a different Prince song on the temp track that had the same BPM (beats per minute, tempo).

Tim Burton’s version of Batman (1989) attempted to modernize the Batman character and story by uniformly and strongly emphasizing the contemporary present of the late 1980s in sets, costuming, and other elements of visual style.

 

False

In his score for Batman (1989), Danny Elfman uses all of the following musical resources except: 

A distinct theme for Vicki Vale that is used to suggest her determined nature as a reporter.

Batman Begins and Man of Steel were both criticized in film music fan communities for the decision not to use borrowed music from well-known earlier films.

True

The influence of minimalism on Zimmer’s music can be heard in its tendency towards extensive ostinatos and gradual, additive textures. 

True

All of the following are stylistic elements in Hans Zimmer’s score for Man of Steel except…

A march style topic to illustrate Superman’s association with strength and ethical goodness.

Man of Steel shares with Batman Begins the absence of compiled popular music used as film music.

False

In both Superman Returns and Man of Steel, expressive sound design is used to give a sense of Superman’s super-hearing as associated with his sense of responsibility and omniscient power.

False

This instrumental sound is often used in Man of Steel to convey Superman’s emotional struggles and vulnerability, as well as his connection to his family.

Solo piano

Hans Zimmer’s score for Man of Steel frequently draws upon what other genre in determining its overall sound?

Science Fiction

Overseeing the creation of film materials in production and, frequently, the post-production stages of a filmmaking, this person makes crucial decisions about the tone of the film and how the acting, camera work, and other audiovisual material created under their supervision will express that tone.

director

In both Superman Returns and Man of Steel, expressive sound design is used to give a sense of Superman’s super-hearing as associated with the painful experience of sensory overload, emphasizing his difference from human beings.

False

Superman Returns (2006) has…

An original score by John Ottman, quoting extensively from the music of John Williams.

An original “chorale” composed by John Ottman for Superman Returns (2006) features wordless vocalizations, and emphasizes Superman’s sense of moral responsibility to the human race, and his love for Lois Lane.

True

In the scores of Hans Zimmer, sound color (timbre) frequently plays an extremely important role in establishing motivic associations.

True

Which of the following counting patterns represents a rhythmic cell characteristic of what we’ve called “asymmetrical action pulses”? 

12/12/12/123/123

John Ottman’s score for Superman Returns attempts to build affective tension by incorporating familiar diegetic sounds, such as the ticking of a clock, into the musical design of the soundtrack.

False

Hans Zimmer’s approach to scoring blockbuster action relies upon an “old school” approach to musical composition, in which computers and digital sampling play a minimal role.

False

All of the following are standard creative/business practices for Remote Control Production except: 

Painstakingly giving main-title compositional credit to anyone who composed material for the score.

The influence of minimalism on Zimmer’s music can be heard in its tendency towards extensive ostinatos and gradual, additive textures. 

True

Saying that a score possesses "thematic dramaturgy" is another way of saying that...

The larger use of motives and athematic material in combination gives the impression that the motives have highly distinct purposes and function akin to "characters on a stage"