Before the invention of the "talking picture", all
movies were completely silent. The infusion of music into the film venue is
thought to have happened for many reasons. Music was already a commonplace
element in the theatres and it was brought over to films not only because of
tradition, but to add a depth to the two-dimensional image that appeared upon
the screen. An added benefit was that it covered up the cacophony of noise that
spewed from the projector.
In 1877 Thomas A. Edison a pioneer/inventor had created a
machine called the phonograph witch can record and playback sound on a wax
cylinder.
In 1894 Edison experimented with a device called the
kinetoscope, this takes pictures and presents the illusions of motion
This began to change the way people watch movies forever by
being able to sync audio with moving pictures.
Lee de forest came up with a way to amplify the sounds at the
theaters with the Audion tube.
Using sound on disk for talking pictures made it a little bit
difficult because it was easy to lose sync, had no amplification and only had a
limited time of recording with 5 minuets.
sound-on-film, three german inventors created a device that made prerecorded sound into light to shine on the film strip and the be converted back into sound when played back through the projector
this gave limitless possibilities for directors when it came to creating a soundtrack
The first talking movie didn’t come until October 1927 “the
jazz singer” it was a major hit and was made with a vitaphone which was the
leading brand of sound-on-film which became standard for talking pictures.
In 1929 75% of all films had sound. 335 films were all
dialogue, 95 had both dialogue and title cards, 75 musical accompaniment and
sound effects and 175 were still silent. If warner bros and fox didn’t keeping
pushing sound of films would have been estimated to be pushed back about 10
years
Every company tried pushing into movies with sound and
roughly invested 300 million in sound conversion which is 4x the valuation of
the entire industry
Everyone loved going out to the theatre and this became one of the most popular things to do until 1946 to
1955 the theatre dropped 50% because of television becoming more popular. This
is because instead of going out to see a movie they could sit at home and catch
the latest shows.
who is my favourite music composer?
John Williams
Why?
Because he is an American composer, conductor and pianist. He
has composed some of my favourite movie soundtracks such as (six)star wars
movies, and Schindler's list, E.T, Jurassic park; the composition john Williams
can create are just perfect for every scene.
John Williams creates his music with a range of orchestral
instruments such as pianos, violins. Using orchestral instruments other than
hard rock instruments this gives the calm feeling when listening to his music.
Most of john Williams’s music had gone on to winning 5 Grammy awards his first was n 1976 for album of original score for Jaws.
Which techniques make a successful score?
A range of techniques can be that the composer can play the
instruments, be able to read the music, had a wide idea of what he wants, an
example of a man that can do almost anything when it comes to being a musician
is “Brian Tyler” he was the composer for some of the most well known movies
& video games including Fast and Furious 7, Iron man 3 and xXx: return of Xander cage. Brian Tyler is also a songwriter, conductor,
arranger and producer.
useful technique?
ostinato
the word “ostinato” is derived from the Italian word for “stubborn,” which essentially describes the musical function of an ostinato: a relentlessly repeating motif that can be anything from a basic rhythm to a full melodic phrase. A melody can be cleverly supported by using ostinati to create rhythmic contrast or add thickness to the texture. Let’s listen to some examples of from contemporary film scores.
"The Bioluminescence of the Night " from the movie "Avatar" by James Horner makes great use of "ostinati" halfway into the track, we hear Gamelan-esque instruments giving a percussive layer to the score. These instruments lie somewhere between definite and indefinite pitch. This repeating layer juxtaposes the slow and yearning string melody beautifully.
Danny Elfman is one my most preferred musicians when it comes to the use of ostinato with hits such as spider man - main title and Alice in the wonderland.
making music for film can be tricky when trying to meet the criteria for the film because you have to set the emotion with whats happening on the image. this is important because mismatching both film and music wont give the same effect. an example would be that fast and furious is filled with high adrenaline, flashy cars, loads of beautiful girls, and strong men, its a action packed film. now you wouldn't be putting classical music over the scenes where the mood is high because that will ruin the feeling the movie is trying to portray. Using more upbeat tracks like something more urban/heavy rock will give you the perfect feeling for each scene. using surround sound mixing helps to show which direction the movie is taking, if you pan certain moments/sounds left and right it feels like the sound is moving with the picture not just staying plain throughout the whole film. this helps us endure the moment with it feeling like the sounds are coming from around us. surround sound is use often at places like cinemas or at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9V0cN4NWs this link will show you a scene from the movie " pirates of the Caribbean" it will show you how importance of music is and how it can change the vibes given within the film. (not created by me)
being a composer in the film and television can be a real struggle due to the lack of knowledge some people have towards scoring music. some directors may not know much about what goes into the process of making a piece of music and will often confuse the musician with the style of music they want, the director could ask for something soft and spiritual but also fast and heavy rockish but as the composer your job is to fit the criteria as such as you can while also meeting the deadline to prevent the director going to someone else. to meet the deadline is a skill that every high end composer must. the composer will have to budget himself in order to pay for the recordings for the orchestra band, finding a place for them to record but with with money that can go up to around £300 million being invested into a film this will make the timing critical for both the director and the composer.
Being a music producer and being a composer can be 2 very different things, although both create a piece of music, music producers mostly create beats for singers/rappers etc. composers will create the score/soundtrack for film and television. i don't think just anyone has the skills to be a composer, pretty much anyone could be able to create a beat for an artist by putting loops but the skills to be a composer are endless. from playing instruments, making beats, conducting a full orchestra, creating a original score for film and even knowing a bit about directing a movie and theirs no one i would rather use as a better example of one of my favorite composers Brian Tyler he does it all. he is a highly respected musician throughout the industry all over the world.
useful technique?
ostinato
the word “ostinato” is derived from the Italian word for “stubborn,” which essentially describes the musical function of an ostinato: a relentlessly repeating motif that can be anything from a basic rhythm to a full melodic phrase. A melody can be cleverly supported by using ostinati to create rhythmic contrast or add thickness to the texture. Let’s listen to some examples of from contemporary film scores.
"The Bioluminescence of the Night " from the movie "Avatar" by James Horner makes great use of "ostinati" halfway into the track, we hear Gamelan-esque instruments giving a percussive layer to the score. These instruments lie somewhere between definite and indefinite pitch. This repeating layer juxtaposes the slow and yearning string melody beautifully.
Danny Elfman is one my most preferred musicians when it comes to the use of ostinato with hits such as spider man - main title and Alice in the wonderland.
making music for film can be tricky when trying to meet the criteria for the film because you have to set the emotion with whats happening on the image. this is important because mismatching both film and music wont give the same effect. an example would be that fast and furious is filled with high adrenaline, flashy cars, loads of beautiful girls, and strong men, its a action packed film. now you wouldn't be putting classical music over the scenes where the mood is high because that will ruin the feeling the movie is trying to portray. Using more upbeat tracks like something more urban/heavy rock will give you the perfect feeling for each scene. using surround sound mixing helps to show which direction the movie is taking, if you pan certain moments/sounds left and right it feels like the sound is moving with the picture not just staying plain throughout the whole film. this helps us endure the moment with it feeling like the sounds are coming from around us. surround sound is use often at places like cinemas or at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9V0cN4NWs this link will show you a scene from the movie " pirates of the Caribbean" it will show you how importance of music is and how it can change the vibes given within the film. (not created by me)
being a composer in the film and television can be a real struggle due to the lack of knowledge some people have towards scoring music. some directors may not know much about what goes into the process of making a piece of music and will often confuse the musician with the style of music they want, the director could ask for something soft and spiritual but also fast and heavy rockish but as the composer your job is to fit the criteria as such as you can while also meeting the deadline to prevent the director going to someone else. to meet the deadline is a skill that every high end composer must. the composer will have to budget himself in order to pay for the recordings for the orchestra band, finding a place for them to record but with with money that can go up to around £300 million being invested into a film this will make the timing critical for both the director and the composer.
Being a music producer and being a composer can be 2 very different things, although both create a piece of music, music producers mostly create beats for singers/rappers etc. composers will create the score/soundtrack for film and television. i don't think just anyone has the skills to be a composer, pretty much anyone could be able to create a beat for an artist by putting loops but the skills to be a composer are endless. from playing instruments, making beats, conducting a full orchestra, creating a original score for film and even knowing a bit about directing a movie and theirs no one i would rather use as a better example of one of my favorite composers Brian Tyler he does it all. he is a highly respected musician throughout the industry all over the world.
