Many of us watching a movie get totally absorbed in what is on the screen. It may be action, drama or a comedy, but how many of us would react the same if there was no music to support the sequence of events on the film?
An indispensable element in all film is music. Music brings out the heart and soul of the story. “For a couple of hours or so we may sporadically laugh; cry; gasp; jump; scream; hide our eyes; notice our heart pounding; fall in love (or more likely in lust); hate someone; cheer someone; want revenge; hope for reconciliation or fall asleep,” wrote T. A. McMahon in Showtime for the Sheep. “Movies can do all of this to us and more—it’s an amazing process. Motion pictures take us on a mental ride through the manipulation of our senses and emotions… all created by camera work and sounds that emulate real life situations,” wrote McMahon.
Well-crafted music can bring to life a scene in a movie, elicit a particular emotional and sometimes physical response or reaction. Film composers have become skilled in matching musical sounds that truly enhance the action on the screen. The same scene without music can often fall completely flat or fail to reach the audience at all. For example, when a screen writer writes a scary scene, a skilled film composer can make it even scarier by writing frightening music, causing the scene to have more impact. (Like the recurring, chilling music depicting the presence of the shark in the movie, Jaws.)
Silent Films
Experimental film making at the start of the 20th Century was rudimentary at best. Obviously, there was no sound track on the film. The music for these “Silent Films,” if present, was provided by live musicians, usually a pianist or organist in the front of the theater below the screen. On rare occasions, when the theater was large and money available, a full orchestra provided the background music for the film.
As the music element in movies grew with live musicians the technique of playing the music to fit the action on the screen became rather sophisticated. Musical scores, or cue sheets, were written to help the musicians play certain musical themes. This was a great help for the musicians, especially those whose imaginations were not as fertile as others. The live musicians were extremely talented and creative. They often had to ad lib, creating interest and tension, helping define what happened in the screen.
The advent of the “Theater Organ,” a massive instrument capable of many orchestral sounds and other sound effects like clopping horses, came into being. This instrument eclipsed the need for a full orchestra, as it could produce a plethora of different sounds and effects.
Talkies
The Jazz Singer of 1927 was thought to be the first “Talkie.” Before this new invention of sound in films came along, drama was depicted on screen by mime and written dialog was shown on a black screen after the action. Needless to say, the written dialog was much shorter than the action on screen. Talkies revolutionized the movie industry in many ways and also gave birth to great movie musicals. This new method of film making often put some screen actors out of work, as their voices were not appropriate for certain roles or did not match their screen image.
The modern film composer must be multi-talented and able to produce music depicting many human emotions and conditions. The composer comes into play in the post-production phase of film making. He meets with the director and producers who view the movie and decide what scenes need music and what kind, style and length of music is required. The composer tries to create a mood that enhances and supports the action and dialog in the scene.
The composer creates music for the various scenes and the director, producer and others involved in this phase of film making, decide what music will be used in the film. The best music that enhances a scene will hopefully create suspense, tension, romance and other human emotions. Other people involved with the production of film music are: the music editor, orchestrator, conductor, contractor, sound designer, and most importantly, the musicians.
One of the major forms of entertainment for most Americans is still the motion picture. Many aspects of film making include: drama; comedy; adventure; romance; westerns; musicals; science fiction; fantasy; animated films; period-pieces; historical; documentaries and animal films, to name a few. Without music all of these entertaining films would lack the excitement, emotional impact and enjoyment music provides.
Music makes, and will continue to make, one of the most important and necessary contributions to film making. Next time you are watching a movie think what it would be like without the addition of music to bring the story to life.
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