Music Of Film And Film

Occasionally there would be subtitles of dialogue, but they were often short to ensure that audience would not be distracted. Live music played a large role in silent films and conveying the emotions to the audience. One ruinous aspect of the transition from silent films to sound films is the actors lack to transition with them. Important silent film stars such as Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino faded away with silent films. However, stars like Charlie Chaplin and Lionel Barrymore were able to make a successful transition from silent to sound, and continued their strong acting

The transition from the era of silent films to the sound era in the mid 1920s was a big transformation for the American film industry and mass entertainment in general. This phase initially brought about much excitement for movie goers who were thrilled with the expectation of hearing the voices of their favorite actors for the first time. However, such expectations were met with much disappointment when the highly fancied actors had voices that did not much the preconceptions of the fans. The technical difficulties and various issues that the American film industry faced during this transition are actually captured in the 1952 movie, “Singing in the Rain”. In part, the film is actually about movie making during the silent-to-sound era as its

Silent films first appeared around the 1890s in America. 1 They are films that were without synchronised sound and especially no spoken dialogue. Music was recognised as an important part of film/moving images from the beginning, as it contributed to the atmosphere of the films and allowed the audience to understand and feel the emotions being portrayed. 2 When music was first being combined with moving image pianos, organs and phonographs were the first instruments used to provide the music, and as the popularity of film grew over the years, some of the larger theatres began using orchestras to accompany the film. 3

When silent movies were beginning to be replaced by movies with sound, or ‘Talkies’, controversy began to surround Hollywood and it stars. Between Fatty Arbuckle hitting an actress at a party

“The most exciting moment is the moment when I add the sound… At this moment, I tremble.” (Akira Kurosawa) Sound is arguably the most important concept in cinema studies, being there ever since the beginnings. It can radically change the way a motion picture is looked at and it can render what the director may sometimes find hard to depict using only his camera. Looking upon silent cinema one discovers an era which wasn’t at all silent, but rich in sound of different forms, from the simple narration of the images shown on screen, accompanied by a piano, to the complex score later composed specifically for that film. An example of that complex score is shown in Sunrise, a film by F.W. Murnau, which lies at the border between silent cinema and sound cinema. Considered to be one of the first films with an actual score, Sunrise is a great example of the multitude of dimensions and effects sound can have.

In 1928 ground-breaking technology made it possible for movies to have sound. This revolutionized horror films because sound gave an extra dimension to terror. Noise built suspense and signaled the presence of a threat. (Wilson) Instead of a monster suddenly making an appearance without warning, music would signal that they were near. Growls, Snarls, footsteps, and screams allowed the audience members to feel like the victims of the movie.

Another aspect of sound in this film was how it affected the story. By using sound dramatically in certain parts and not using it at all in other parts, sound gave this story an entity of its own. For example, during long stretches of film with mostly dialogue, there was no music played in the background, only a phone ringing in the distance, or the men's voices during their deliberation. These long silences also took place during editing shots of the town and images that surrounded this German city. This dramatic difference in sound was a revelation of how mood can be made by images and sound put together to make an incredible component.

The film's commentary on the transition to sound film and its impact on the industry.

In 1927 new technology emerged in sound, people started going back to the theatres to watch films,

The importance of music in movies is highly regarded for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and helping them immerse into the story. Music is one of the prime elements in cinema. Without it a movie would feel dull and unexciting. There are three elements in a movie: one is acting, the second is picture, and the third one is music. It is a holy trinity; if incomplete, there would be a lack of sensation and excitement. Both acting and picture can stand independently from one another, but music is the one that makes the movie memorable.

The first film that showed early signs of a rise in the quality of technology was the Western “The Great Train Robbery.” When this film first came out the audience were so amazed at the fact that they could watch something on a TV or at the cinema. Although this film was very good for the 1900s it still lacked some key features that make films much easier to understand such as dialogue, sound and camera shots. The one feature of a film that developed the quickest over the period of time was sound. Sound was introduced in October 1927 in the film “The Jazz singer”, which had three song numbers and a few lines of spoken dialogue. Apart from these few songs and words, the rest of the movie was silent, but the audience still thought that it was amazing that words had been spoken in the film, they used to call it “the movie that talked”.

LISTENER RELEVANCE: Since film scores are such an important part of movies, it makes sense to learn a little bit more about them.

The introduction of sound films in the late 1920’s was a divisive issue among those involved and interested in the emerging motion picture industry. Even though it wasn’t the sudden breakthrough it is often perceived to be, the addition of sound and voice to mainstream cinema revolutionized movie making and led to conflicting viewpoints as to whether or not this innovation was a positive progression for film as an art and as an industry.

Though these aforementioned motifs are used quite extensively in Hollywood film music, the use of music to augment the cinematic scene in Hollywood films is seen most noticeably during instances of grandeur and opulence. To accompany these scenes, the film scorers elect to use large ensembles, with each family of instrument partaking in the production. This correlation has become a staple in Hollywood films, as “orchestral size not only indicated musical choice or financial well-being but became a status symbol for the music director” (Morcom 70). Such an implementation of emotional mimicry is found in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers, when Howard Shore’s “Helm’s Deep” played during the Helms Deep Charge. In the middle of the Rohirrim charge at Helms Deep, Gandalf the White presents himself at the top of the hill on a great white stallion. Gandalf is magnificence personified, so the choice in musical accompaniment simply strengthens the delivery of this fact to the audience. Therefore, as seen from all three previously discussed styles, there exists a pattern in the field of music, where an inherent sense of strategy and intention is employed when selecting the notes in a piece. In American culture, the general view of film music is that “song sequences, seen as distractions, cast doubt on a film's narrative authenticity by limiting creativity, plot development, and characterization, resulting in a genre that appears to lack cinematic realism as compared to

Music is an identifying characteristic of film and television; everyone who has been exposed to popular culture knows the theme for Star Wars and The Simpsons, even if they have never seen the movie or show. Disney movies are no exception, and this is largely due to the genius creative mind of Alan Menken. Menken is best known for composing the scores for some of the most beloved Disney classics, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Hercules, Pocahontas, and Tangled. He also made his mark composing for highly acclaimed Broadway musicals, including Little Shop of Horrors and Newsies, as well as the stage adaptations of some of his Disney hits. The familiar songs composed by Menken are permanently ingrained in our minds and are largely responsible for the success of the films and theatrical works he was associated with.