1. Music & Society
Music & Film
www.musicstudentinfo.com
Chris Baker
2. Film & Music Scores & Soundtracks
• Film score music in a film separate from songs used
within a film.
• Film soundtrack may also include the songs used in the
film while the score does not.
• Film score sometimes written specifically to accompany a
film, but may also be compiled from previously written
musical compositions.
3. Music & Film Cues
• Cues individual pieces of music, within a film's score, are
called cues typically a composition for instruments eg.
orchestra and/or non-individually featured voices
• Since 1950’s scores are electronic or a hybrid of
orchestral and electronic instruments
• Digital technology and sampling means many low
budget films rely on digital samples to imitate the sound
of real instruments
4. Making Film Music 1
Music & Film Spotting & Temp Tracks
• Spotting after the film has been shot the composer is
shown an unpolished "rough cut" of the film and talks to the
director about what sort of music should be used.
• Rarely, the director will talk to the composer before starting
shooting, so as to give more time to the composer.
• Temp Track sometimes the director will have edited the
film using "temp music": already published pieces that are
similar to what the director wants.
• Most composers dislike temp music, as directors often
become accustomed to it.
• 2 of
5. Music & Film Temp Scoreusi2
• Temp Score occasionally, directors become attached to
the temp score & use it rejecting the custom-made score!
e.g. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Troy, King Kong, The Bourne
Identity
• Some composers work on traditional paper scores, many
write with computers.
• This allows the composer to create MIDI-based demos
called MIDI mockups.
• Editing the scene to fit the music - had prepared the score
used before and Leone edited the scenes to match it.
• Finale of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. G
6. Music & Film Orchestral Scoring
• When the music has been composed and orchestrated, the
orchestra or ensemble then perform it, often with the
composer conducting.
• Musicians are often un-credited in the film or on the album.
• The orchestra performs in front of a large screen depicting
the movie, assisting the conductor to synchronize the
music with the films.
• Films often have different themes for important characters,
events, ideas or objects.
• A famous example - score for the Star Wars saga, and the
numerous themes associated with characters like Darth
Vader, Luke Skywalker etc
7. Music & Film Dogme & Film Preservation
• Most films have between 40 and 120 minutes of music.
• Source Music - Dogme 95 genre that has music only from
sources within a film, such as from a radio or television.
• Some films have very little or no music.
• The Society for the Preservation of Film Music, was
formed to preserve the "byproducts" of creating a film
score: music manuscripts, documents and studio
recordings which, in some instances, have been
discarded.
it.
8. Music & Film History
• Before the age of recorded sound studios employed in-
house pianist or organist, and entire orchestras, typically
given cue sheets as a guide.
• Accompaniments at this time, comprised pieces by
famous composers.
• These formed catalogues of film music, which had
different subsections broken down by 'mood’ or genre:
dark, sad, suspense, action, chase, etc.
9. Music & Film
• This made things much easier for the in-house pianists
and orchestras to pick pieces that fitted the particular
feel of a movie and its scenes.
• The first film score by a popular artist came in 1973 with
the film Pat Garret and Billy the Kid, by Bob Dylan.
• This had not been done before in popular film history:
any featured band had films written around the music
(notably The Beatles with Yellow Submarine)
10. Types of Soundtracks of Soundtrack
In the soundtrack genre there are three types of recordings
Musical film soundtracks which concentrate primarily on
the songs. E.g. “Grease” & “Singin‘ in the Rain”
Film scores which showcase the background music from
non-musicals Examples: “Star Wars”
Albums of pop songs heard in whole or part in the
background of non-musicals E.g. “Sleepless in Seattle”,
“When Harry Met Sally”
11. Music & Film Cast Recordings
• Original cast recordings are studio made recordings of the
songs from a stage musical.
• The performers sing the score live every night.
• They do not lip-synch to pre-recorded tracks.
12. Music & Film Videogames
Soundtrack may also refer to music used in video games.
• Sound effects were nearly universally used for action
happening in the game, music to accompany the game play
was a later development.
• Polyphonic and orchestral soundtracks replaced
monophonic melodies.
• 1980’s soundtracks to games such as the Dragon Quest
and Final Fantasy series began to be released separately.
• CD technology allowed developers to incorporate licensed
songs into their soundtrack e.g. Grand Theft Auto
• When Microsoft released the Xbox in 2001, it featured an
option allowing users to customize the soundtrack for
certain games by ripping a CD to the hard-drive.
