Lecture 3 - Technical Details, How It’s Done

MUSIC246 - Film Scores Lecture 3 - Part A

Technical Details, How It’s Done”

Basic Timetable of Film Production

Prepoduction

• Preparation: script / financing / casting / costume and set design / location scouting

Production

• finalization of script and production design
• subtle changes
• principle photography

Postproduction

• adding thnigs that you weren’t able to add
• cgi, computer graphics
• sound effects, only sound recorded are the dialogue of the characters
• composition and addition of music - release date: cannot be changed
• one of the final elements to be created and added to the film.
• 5 to 8 weeks on average
• can only really wait till the film is finished to compose the music, score.

Employment for composers

1940-1950 employed by the studio. Studio system

1960: freelance

Screenings

• several different opportuniities to see the film
• rushes: opportunity to fix small things
• assmebly cut: post production, puts in everything they will need (multiple versions of one scene)
  • titanic 8 hours
• rough cut: finished film (basically the same arc, same scenes and order, still not final decision, scenes might be longer, etc.)
  • composer stays away from rough cuts
• fine or locked cut: most if not all editing completed
  • composers will look at the fine or locked cut
  • directors can still change things
  • test screenings?
• most composers begin serious work at the fine cut phase - why?
  • want the same resonse as the audience, otherwise they will loose their sense of subjectivity.
  • want to capture their inital response hopefully the same response as the audience.

Spotting Session and Cue Sheets

• director and composer sit down with the scenes and timing locked in. Sitting behind are the music editor and the music supervisor.
• Music editor will take notes, plan out what the score will be
• discussion on placement of “cues”
• once discussed the placements where to start and end, then music editor will write out the spotting notes or cue sheet.
  • can take through several days

1M1: first reel, first music cue

Temp Music

• temporary music stuck on the film (already in existence, taken from other films) added to film while still in production or early editing.
• director want to see how it will look like
  • music editors know a vast range of film musics/classical it will help give sense of how the film will look like. for executive producers who signs the cheques to drop by and see where the money is going.
  • stick music on to show to them
• Composers hate temp track while directors might grow on it
• Other composers like temp tracks because it helps director communicate what they want

Composing

• 5 to 8 weeks until “delivery” of finished score
• sometimes the scene has rythm and helps composer to compose
  • feel it and write down
• short timeline due to fixed releas date
• frequently exacerbated by production phase running overtime

Orchestrators - skilled in composition, music theory and knowlege of the orchestra. Work closely with the composer. Looks at the first sketch (if worked with the composer before) knows the notations. Take the piece and will turn it into a sheet music for musicians to play.

• synth demonstrations
  • do moch ups of the orchestra and band. sounds closer.
• copyist produce final parts for musicians: for each musician, violin, woodwind, trumpets, etc.
• music librarians organize parts for recording sessions
  • keep track of every piece of music, usually 80 people with lots of songs, music to play.
  • make sure everyone get the right piece of paper, right sheet to play
  • musicians are paid by the hour
• conductors and studio musicians (good sight readers)
  • sit back to listen and make small changes if they don’t conduct
  • some don’t conduct because they
• recording sessions
• mixing

Western Classical Music History

The Silent Era: (1895-1927)

The Shift To Narrative:

George melies:

• early experimenter with camera effects
• A Trip to the Moon (1902)
  • filmaker getting more aware of how all the elements play a big role
  • later on, how music can play a big role into supporting the narrative

1905-1910

• with time it becomes more complex
• does the music fit the narrative
• does the music synchronize to the action and what is played in the picture.

1910

• things really take off
• filmaker gets more sophisticated in writing narrative
• film industry matures.
• rise of Hollywood
• films become longer, more sophisticated
• First of the “Movie Palaces” built 1912
• Tomas Edision: knocking out patents. allow him to say that any projectors no matter who made it, owns him money if they use the film camera. He owns all the patent on how the film cameras are made. No one can make a movie without paying him money, except California.

Accompaniment

Tomas Edision first to send out “musical suggestions”: invention of cue sheets Max Winkler would specify specific scenes to play specific music. with timings

• very specifc direction, when character do this, play this.
• attempt at standardizing music accompanyments Fails
  • music sheets would get lost!
  • NO musical standardization

Trade papers

Motion Picture World, Moving Picture World

• Continuous
  • Wall to wall scoring: never let the movie sit in silence
• source music
• use of themes
• ”good music” (classical music) to the masses
• add themes to characters (coming back to Wagner)

By 1920s

• vast range of performing forces..