Thursday 25 February 2016

The History/Elements of Film Scores

The History of Music in Film

Before the 1930s all movies were silent. Music was commonly included in theatre productions and was brought to films to add some depth to the images shown on the screen for the audience as well as for tradition.
The majority of silent films were accompanies by full orchestras, organists, and pianists. Various books of music were published to provide ideas for scene music to have an affect on mood, element, or event. 

During the 1930s, music was established as a vital element within film. Sound within films was usually Western Classical Music (from the 19th century) would play over the film. However, original scores started to become a normal thing.Mas Steiner was the first to write a completely original score for King Kong (1933). Composers began to develop their own styles of supporting film.

In the 1940s, composers began to evolve in their work, and one of the most important and influential composers was Bernard Hermann (who I have mentioned on a previous post). He was able to create music to enhance the films that they were made for.
Jazz music had become common in the industry from the 1950s. It required less musicians, so orchestration was less expensive. James Myers and Max Freedman wrote the first rock song to appear in a film (1953), as the use of different genres was experimented with. The 1960s and 1970s included perfecting previously learned techniques and uses and also a few highly memorable scores.

The first widespread use of synthesized sound took place in the 1980s, which stemmed a film score revolution which made it a more popular choice. it became possible to score a whole film with only one performer for the very first time, using a synthesizer to product the sounds of various instruments. This caused popular songs to be produced and used as film scores.

Today, with the ongoing development of new technology and knowledge, film composers have the ability to create the perfect film score. This enhances the film and transforms it into an experience for the audience.

Elements of a Film Score

TEMP TRACKS
This is an existing piece of music score, which is used during editing to guide the mood or atmosphere. Composers are often asked to recreate or imitate a specific composer or style in the temp track. Sometimes directors like the temp score more than the original score and choose to reject it.

STRUCTURE
Films often include different themes for character, events, ideas or objects. these can be played in different styles or variations depending on what they represent. For example, John Williams' score for the Star Wars Saga includes different themes that are associated with different characters: Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia.

SOURCE MUSIC
Most films have around 40 to 120 minutes of music. Some have very little, and some have music that plays throughout. Source music is music that only comes from an on screen source that can actually be seen, for example music playing from a TV or a radio.

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