Functions of Film Music Source Music

Functions of Film Music

• Source Music

• Score upon which an entire film is based

• Main title and character music

• To provide a touch of realism

• Underscore

• “Mickey-mousing”

• Commentary

• To involve the viewer on a deeper level

• Commercial functions

Source Music--diegetic

• Music whose source is logically located within the story space. Source music is generally inserted into a scene, making the characters and the scene aware of it.

• Example from Sense and Sensibility; score by Patrick Doyle

Score As the Basis for a Film

• Most complex and rare use of film music in which the narrative is completed through the use of music

• Example:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind—John Williams
• The five-note motif is an essential narrative feature without which the film cannot stand.

Main Title & Character Music

• Music during the opening credits that represents the essence of a film and its characters.

• Example:

• Vertigo—Bernard Herrmann.

To Provide a Touch of Realism

• Music can be used to identify ethnicity, location, and period

• Examples

• Braveheart—James Horner
• The Age of Innocence—Elmer Bernstein

Non-diegetic Underscore

• Parallels the action of the film as a frame-by-frame musical match with the visuals;

• Gives the viewer only what is already known by the visuals;

• Some film scores are entirely underscore, like The Rock.

“Mickey-mouse” style

• The meticulous, cue-by-cue scoring of a film, ala cartoons

• Some feature film scores are approached in this manner as well, such as Jerry Goldsmith’s score to Planet of the Apes.

• These scores require quick and fluctuating music gestures.

Leitmotif

• The association of a character with a specific melody or motif.

• Variations of the melody can be used to show different facets of the character’s development

• Example:

• Star Wars—John Williams

The score as commentary

• Overture

• Acts as both an introduction to and summary of the film
• Example: Much Ado About Nothing—Patrick Doyle

• To describe a location

• Enables a place/location to become subjectivized
• Example: Legends of the Fall—James Horner

• To show character development

• Luke Skywalker’s development

To Add Emotional Depth

• Music can intensify and relax the pace of a film;

• Music can add emotional depth to characters, places, and ideas;

• The cultural codes that musics carry can add layers of subtextual meaning

Extra-musical Functions

• Commercial functions

• Concert suites
• Soundtracks
• Songs that enhance a film’s visibility
• “The impact of the success of [Dimitri] Tiomkin’s song to High Noon on a financially strapped film industry was immediate. Producers saw in the success of Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling, a means of making additional money from their films.” (Roy Prendergast)

Summary—Film music functions

• To intensify or relax pace

• To reflect emotion

• To create “unspoken” thoughts

• To parallel or underscore the action

• To create atmosphere of time and place

• To create comedy

• To provide unity or coherence

• Source music

• To play against the action

• To speed up or slow down scenes

• To provide a neutral background

Operational aspects of the Film Music Industry

• Producer

• Director

• Film editor

• Assembly cut
• Rough cut
• Outs and trims
• Fine or locked cut
• Answer print

The music

• Temp track

• Spotting the film

• People

• Composer
• Orchestrator
• Copyist
• Librarian
• Contractor
• Studio Musicians
• Music supervisor
• Agents
• Publicists

Developing the Concept for the score

• Consider the film’s historical period

• Location and ethnic background of the movie

• Major characters of the film

• Overall dramatic theme

Synchronization methods

• Punch and streamer

• Newman system

• Stopwatch method

• Click track method

• SMPTE

• Wild recording

• Tracking