- Creating a more convincing atmosphere of space and time,
- Underlining psychological refinements -- the unspoken thoughts of a character, or the unseen implications of a situation,
- Serving as a kind of neutral background filler,
- Building a sense of continuity, and
- Underpinning the theatrical build-up of a scene, and rounding it off with a sense of finality
- During this process, the composer establishes the foundational element of any good score, the score concept. The score concept is "the primary idea that functions as a foundation upon which the score is built." (Karlin and Wright 81). The score concept often revolves around characters or ideas central to the film, and involves representing characters, places or ideas with music. Some scores make use of methods stemming from the19th century musical concept of "idee fixe" in which an idea is represented by a recurring motive or melody throughout a composition. Berlioz made use of this technique in Symphonie Fantastique. Similarly, scores make use of the compositional building block of a "leitmotif" where a recurring theme indicates a certain person, attribute or idea. Richard Wagner is famous for incorporating themes in such fashion to ascribe super-human attributes to characters in many of his works including Die Valkyrie and others. Other methods may be developed and will incorporate repeated usage of various combinations of melody, harmony, rhythm and instrumentation. Regardless of the material and the method used, a good working conceptual model makes a connection between characters and music and will lead the composer to formulate a musical style appropriate for the film they are scoring.
In many cases, before the composer formulates the score concept, the director already has an idea of the style of music for the film. In such cases the director may have filmed certain scenes with a particular music in mind. When communicating with the composer about the appropriate style of music for these scenes, the director will refer to existing music and that music is known as a role model. A role model could be one or several types of music including:
- a specific film score or cue,
- a specific style of film score,
- a specific classical piece, or
- a specific song (Karlin and Wright 33-34).
In some cases, the director, editor, or other influential party has gone so far as to pair the role model with a scene in order to experience the effectiveness of the music with the scene. When the pairing of film and role model has occurred, the music is then considered a temp track. According to Karlin and Wright:
There are basically four reasons why filmmakers use temp tracks:
- to help them finish editing the film;
- to help them screen their film or the producer(s), studio, and/or network executives and preview audiences during various stages of postproduction;
- to establish a concept for the score; and
- to demonstrate that concept to the composer (39).
- Because of the fundamental importance that the score concept plays in the successfulness of a score, a thorough analysis of a film score should adequately account for the conceptual model from which the composer most likely worked. This can be difficult because without the benefit of a composer's own words and thoughts, it is impossible to state with great certainty what conceptual model he was working from. However, careful observation of the music's role in a film and an understanding of a film's overall conceptual and dramatic goals can be juxtaposed to create an observable interaction between certain musical and plot features from which we may infer certain concepts the composer may have been working from. On occasion music from a film will bear similarity to existing pieces, suggesting the use of a role model or a temp track in the scoring process. Per Karlin, this project records observations and insights about the nature of the score concept and any usage of role models and/or temp tracks in the section of the analysis titled "Style and Concept."
Planet of the Apes (1968)Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Orchestrated by Arthur Morton
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly
Introductory Comments
Planet of the Apes spawned a number of sequel films, television episodes and specials, and a very definite following among science fiction fans. The release of Planet of the Apes coincided with the later half of the turbulent decade of the 1960's, which may account for much of the film's anti-war rhetoric.
It should be noted that the Goldsmith's approach to this score is very much an avant-garde method. While the music for the picture is extremely appropriate, specific detailed analysis simply by listening is extremely difficult and in some cases impossible, simply because of the newness, inventiveness and originality of Goldsmith's technique. Specific musical analysis for this picture represents the best estimations of the author, but this analysis is performed without the benefit of a score.
Synopsis
Charlton Heston and two other astronauts come out of deep hibernation to find that their ship has crashed. Escaping with little more than clothes they find that they have landed on a planet where men are pre-lingual and uncivilized while apes have learned speech and technology. Heston is captured and taken to the city of the apes after damaging his throat so that he is silent and cannot communicate with the apes (Vogel, Planet of the Apes 1).
Style & Concept
Planet of the Apes makes use of the concept of an altered reality made possible by travel through space for an extended period of time. Jerry Goldsmith's score combines with askew camera angles and with special visual effects to set the mood for this altered reality. The primary driving concept of the score is to make unconventional use of conventional instruments. One of the first sounds in cue #1. Main Title is the repetition of a single pitch on what is typically referred to as "prepared" piano. In this context, "prepared" simply means that the typical piano instrument has been altered to sound differently. Perhaps a muffler of some sort has been placed inside the piano to keep the strings from vibrating fully or properly in the normal sense, or perhaps the string itself is being plucked with a tool instead of being struck by a hammer in the conventional way. Almost every other instrument (with a few exceptions) heard in this cue is used in an unconventional way.
Another key concept in the score that contributes to the altered reality of the film is the single sounding note is repeated by convention and especially unconventional means by adding the audio effect of echo. Jerry Goldsmith also employed this technique of applying echo to trumpet passages in the film Patton during sequences when General Patton talks about how he was present at all of the ancient battles of history. In both contexts it suggests a reality that is altered or strangely recalls the past.
The score also makes use of a sparse atonal style that also acts as a vehicle to establish the altered reality of Planet of the Apes. Very quick iterations of tone rows can be heard throughout the film. When necessary, the score makes use of fast tempos for the purpose of underscoring the action on screen, but does not depart from an atonal stylistic approach.
A final element of the film that helps to create the relationship of the score to the picture occurs in the final minute of the film. The revelation of that minute is the most dramatic moment of the picture, and while there is no music, the strangeness of the score throughout the picture is justified because of what Taylor discovers. Essentially, what the score has been trying to tell Taylor and the audience all along is finally revealed
You can study other films like Star Wars and Matrix.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Fundamentals of Film Scoring
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