Good afternoon, Class. I hope that you found last weekends lesson enjoyable, if not insightful. For todays class, were going to explore the relationship between things visual and musical even more deeply. For this, you will (at times) need to suspend what you already know...and look upon these examples with a fresh mind. The term Movie Magic is often used in our society. Music, also, is often termed as possessing magical powers -- especially when it successfully evokes strong feelings or moods within us. But so often, we take totally for granted those special moments when music and cinema come together, often leaving us speechless and/or awed in wonderment. It is the often the contributions of both the aural and the visual which have the power to transcend us into a totally different realm of appreciation and understanding. Today, we are going to look at 4 short examples of this very point. To better understand just how effective the musics role is in the final product, you should first watch each example with NO sound. Imagine what is there. If you are well-familiar with the chosen excerpt, pretend for just a moment that you arent. Divorce yourself from what you know. Then, and only then, watch the excerpt again. Listen to the role that the music played in conveying the imagery, mood, and emotions of what the cinematographer is attempting to express. Again...watch each first WITHOUT sound. Then go back, watch again but with the sound added. You wont be disappointed. Please ENJOY!!! !) Platoon -- The choice of Samuel Barbers Adagio For Strings was a total shock to me when I first watched this. But for those who are familiar with Barbers work, you will know what I mean when I say that it is one of a very select few pieces of music which, in and of itself, possesses the power to rip ones guts out. Whenever I hear the piece in performance, I am rendered an emotional wreck...and it does take a while to recover. To use it in the context of this film was a decision far surpassing mere inspiration. It was genius. youtube/watch?v=mKpQB3bEPbI 2) E.T - The Extra Terrestrial and Superman -- Both movies contained soundtracks of music originally composed by John Williams, who many consider to be the master of movie music. Its odd that in both examples, the issue of flight is being explored. Maybe its a testament to Williams powers of conjuring a feeling of soaring triumphantly above that which ordinarily restricts us. But whatever...it is unimagineable to think of these cinematic excerpts being nearly as effective without the music of John Williams. In a side note: his piccolo player in both recorded examples must surely have been on steroids!!). youtube/watch?v=xqI3a4vBpxU youtube/watch?v=gTVoFCP1BLg 3) Gettysburg (1993) -- This film, produced by Ted Turner (thank goodness for his total ignorance of the businessmans bottom line when he chose to put this to film) and based upon Michael Shaaras book The Killer Angels, which was written in 1974 and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for writing in 1975, covers the three-day battle of Gettysburg. The soundtrack was written by Randy Edelman. The following excerpt from the film is of the climactic moments of the Battle for Little Round Top late in day two of the battle. Many have called the music schlocky...Ive always found it to be duly inspiring. You make the call. youtube/watch?v=bqT8PMBtIKI
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 22:34:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015