Collective Conceptualization – A Methodology for
Contemporary Film Score Composers: A portfolio of
compositions (disposed as a film score) and exegesis
Martyn Love
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Elder Conservatorium of Music
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
The University of Adelaide
September 2013
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................iv
DECLARATION.................................................................................................................. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................vi
LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................vii
1
2
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... 1
1. 1
OUTPUTS ................................................................................................................2
1. 2
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...........................................................................................3
1. 3
PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .............................................................................3
1. 4
WHY MÉNILMONTANT? ..........................................................................................4
1. 5
COLLECTIVE CONCEPTUALIZATION .........................................................................4
1. 6
OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS ........................................................................................9
SILENT FILM RE-SCORING PRECEDENTS ........................................................... 13
2. 1
DEFINITION .......................................................................................................... 13
2. 2
BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 13
2. 3
CARL DAVIS .......................................................................................................... 14
2. 4
RICHARD EINHORN’S VOICES OF LIGHT – THE RESCORING OF CARL THEODOR
DREYER’S LA PASSION DE JEANNE D’ ARC (1928) ........................................................... 19
3
4
5
SIGNIFICANT SILENT FILM SCORES.....................................................................26
3. 1
DEFINITION ..........................................................................................................26
3. 2
BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................26
3. 3
L’ASSASSINAT DU DUC DE GUISE (1908)...............................................................28
3. 4
BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) .................................................................................. 30
3. 5
ENTR’ACTE (1924) ................................................................................................32
SIGNIFICANT FILMS SCORED WITH REAL-TIME MODELS ..............................36
4. 1
DEFINITION ..........................................................................................................36
4. 2
BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................36
4. 3
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...............................................................................38
4. 4
KING KONG (1933) ...............................................................................................39
4. 5
CITIZEN KANE (1941)...........................................................................................42
4. 6
THE PLANET OF THE APES (1968) .........................................................................48
SIGNIFICANT FILMS SCORED WITH HYBRID/VIRTUAL MODELS...................54
5. 1
ii
DEFINITION ..........................................................................................................54
6
5. 2
BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................54
5. 3
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...............................................................................56
5. 4
HANS ZIMMER – SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009).......................................................56
5. 5
THOMAS NEWMAN – SKYFALL (2012)...................................................................62
DISCUSSION OF THE SCORE FOR MÉNILMONTANT ......................................... 71
6. 1
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................... 71
6.1.1
The Real Instruments ...................................................................................73
6.1.2
The Musicians............................................................................................... 75
6.1.3
The Virtual Instruments ..............................................................................76
6.1.4
Sample Based Orchestral Simulation (SBOS) ............................................79
6.1.4.1
6. 2
INSTRUMENTAL SUMMARY ...................................................................................82
6.2.1
7
8
Technical Considerations ................................................................................................. 79
The Sequencer – Logic Pro ....................................................................... 83
6. 3
THE COLLECTIVE CONCEPTUALIZATION PROCESS USED ON MÉNILMONTANT........85
6. 4
THE AESTHETIC APPROACH IN THE SCORE FOR MÉNILMONTANT ..........................87
6.4.1
The Synopsis.................................................................................................87
6.4.2
Cues 1 and 18 – The Opening & Closing Waltzes .......................................92
6.4.3
Cue 8 – He’s a Man......................................................................................96
6.4.4
Cue 14 – Cold Desperation ......................................................................... 98
6. 5
SUMMARY OF THE AESTHETIC APPROACH .............................................................99
6. 6
TECHNICAL ISSUES .............................................................................................100
6. 7
PRECIS ................................................................................................................ 101
REFLECTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................103
7. 1
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....................................................................................... 103
7. 2
PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .......................................................................... 111
7. 3
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................113
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 114
8. 1
APPENDIX A – SCORE ..........................................................................................114
8. 2 APPENDIX B – MÉNILMONTANT – THE FILM (DVD) AND DIGITAL VERSION OF
THE EXEGESIS AND SCORE (CD) ......................................................................... 228
9
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 229
iii
ABSTRACT
This
study
documents
the
intellectual
process
called
Collective
Conceptualization. The process constitutes an organization of operations that
facilitate applied theory and is a holistic framework that interlinks the many
creative procedures involved in screen composition and production. It can be
thought of as the physical, theoretical and spiritual embodiment of the sum total
of knowledge of the art of film score composition. The research shows that the
Collective Conceptualization process is, in itself, a coherent compositional
methodology (for real-time/virtual or hybrid composers) because it provides a
simplified framework within which the composer can work.
This portfolio comprises an original film score for the 1926 French avant-garde
silent film Ménilmontant. The score features music for acoustic and virtual
instruments, deployed in settings ranging from small ensemble to orchestra.
The film score integrates methodologies and applications that demonstrate the
range of real-time or conceptual/hybrid approaches studied, and documents the
changing nature of the workspace used by contemporary film score composers.
The dissertation comprises a film score and an exegesis that provides the
rational grounding for the approach taken.
iv
DECLARATION
I certify that this work contains no material which has been accepted for the
award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other
tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no
material previously published or written by another person, except where due
reference has been made in the text. In addition, I certify that no part of this
work will, in the future, be used in a submission in my name, for any other
degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the
prior approval of the University of Adelaide and where applicable, any partner
institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree.
I give consent to this copy of my thesis when deposited in the University
Library, being made available for loan and photocopying, subject to the
provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
The author acknowledges that copyright of published works contained within
this thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of those works.
I also give permission for the digital version of my thesis to be made available on
the web, via the University’s digital research repository, the Library Search and
also through web search engines, unless permission has been granted by the
University to restrict access for a period of time.
Martyn Love
11 September 2013
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am extremely grateful to the friends, colleagues and family who have helped
me through the last few years of PhD study. My principal supervisor, Professor
Mark Carroll, has supported me throughout my candidature and given constant
motivation, support and advice, over and above what was required or expected.
Mark’s editorial assistance in the preparation of this thesis is acknowledged
gratefully.
Sincere thanks also go to my other supervisors, Professor Graeme Koehne and
Mr. Stephen Whittington, the Head of Postgraduate Programs, Associate
Professor Kimi Coaldrake, and my supervisor from the University of
Wollongong, Dr Houston Dunleavy for their help and guidance over the course
of the study.
I would also like to thank my dear friend and musician, Ian Jones, who sadly is
no longer with us, but who was, during our many times together, a vast source
of humour, inspiration and encouragement.
Thanks go to my good friends Eric Aranda and Timothy John, who were always
available for a laugh when I needed one. Having moved from Sydney to Adelaide
to complete this work, I found having a friend in each city kept me sane.
Jenny my wife, and my sons Harry and Hudson, you took care of me and put
your trust in me and made the journey seem easy and worthwhile. You are such
an inspiration and a blessing to me. Lastly I’d like to thank my mother Ruth, my
father Ray, my brothers Jon, Brandon and Tony, and their families, and my
other family in Queensland, Kay and Mary.
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1. TYPICAL FILM SCORE COMPOSITIONAL RESOURCES AND PROCESSES ........ 5
FIGURE 2. GRAPHIC INTERPRETATION OF COLLECTIVE CONCEPTUALIZATION ........... 7
FIGURE 3. SAMPLE LIST OF RE-SCORED SILENT FILMS .................................................... 13
FIGURE 4. LIST OF SILENT FILMS RE-SCORED BY CARL DAVIS........................................ 16
FIGURE 5. SCORE EXCERPT FROM VOICES OF LIGHT COMPOSED BY RICHARD
EINHORN ............................................................................................................................ 23
FIGURE 6. COVER AND CONTENTS PAGE OF THE SAM FOX MOVING PICTURE MUSIC
PHOTOPLAY EDITION ....................................................................................................... 27
FIGURE 7. PIANO REDUCTION OF BREIL’S ‘MOTIF OF BARBARISM’................................ 31
FIGURE 8. PIANO REDUCTION OF SATIE’S ‘CHIMNEYS, DEFLATING BALLOONS’......... 34
FIGURE 9. STEINER’S LEITMOTIF FOR KING KONG............................................................40
FIGURE 10. STEINER’S LEITMOTIF FOR ANN DARROW .....................................................40
FIGURE 11. EXCERPT FROM STEINER’S ‘MEETING WITH BLACK MEN’ CUE ..................40
FIGURE 12. BERNARD HERRMANN’S PRELUDE FOR CITIZEN KANE ............................... 44
FIGURE 13. BERNARD HERRMANN’S ROSEBUD MOTIF ..................................................... 45
FIGURE 14. EXCERPT FROM JERRY GOLDSMITH’S ‘THE HUNT’ PAGE 1.......................... 50
FIGURE 15. EXCERPT FROM JERRY GOLDSMITH’S ‘THE HUNT’ PAGE 2 ..........................51
FIGURE 16. PIANO REDUCTION OF HANS ZIMMER’S ‘DISCOMBOBULATE’ FROM THE
FILM SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)................................................................................... 59
FIGURE 17. INSTRUMENTATION FOR THE SKYFALL SOUNDTRACK ................................ 65
FIGURE 18. REDUCTION OF THOMAS NEWMAN’S ‘VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT’ FROM
THE FILM, SKYFALL PAGE 1 .............................................................................................68
FIGURE 19. REDUCTION OF THOMAS NEWMAN’S ‘VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT’ FROM
THE FILM, SKYFALL PAGE 2 ............................................................................................ 69
FIGURE 20. REAL INSTRUMENTS USED IN THE SCORE FOR
MÉNILMONTANT.............................................................................................................. 73
FIGURE 21. CATEGORIES OF INSTRUMENTS USED IN THE SCORE FOR
MÉNILMONTANT.............................................................................................................. 74
FIGURE 22. SCREEN GRAB OF THE MIXER PAGE FROM WITHIN THE SPECTRASONICS
STYLUS RMX REALTIME GROOVE MACHINE ............................................................... 77
FIGURE 23. SCREEN GRAB OF THE BROWSER PAGE FROM WITHIN NATIVE
INSTRUMENTS ABSYNTH 5 VIRTUAL SYNTHESIZER .................................................. 78
FIGURE 24. SCREEN GRAB OF THE EAST WEST QUANTAM LEAP SYMPHONIC
ORCHESTRA ‘PLAY’ PAGE ................................................................................................. 81
FIGURE 25. EXCERPT FROM THE OPENING TITLES FOR MÉNILMONTANT ................... 95
vii
1
INTRODUCTION
Film scoring and recording processes have, over the last thirty years,
undergone radical change. This is due predominantly to the impact of
sophisticated digital technologies on each stage of the film-scoring process.
Allied to this is a major shift in the way that the recording studio itself has
been used. The resultant changes reside both at the elementary, technical
level; that is, the use of the studio as a physical place to record and mix audio
and, at the more profound, conceptual level, the role of that space in
nurturing, facilitating and realising creativity. Added to this is a shifting
dynamic between the use of physical and virtual studios (the latter residing in
a computer hard drive), and the use of real and virtual instruments. The
current study explores the impact of these developments through the
composition and production of an original film score that makes use of real
and virtual instruments performing music that ranges from the fully scored
to the improvisational, and which is recorded in real and virtual studios. The
accompanying exegesis traces the methodological, expressive and technical
approaches intrinsic to those nuances.
Along with the accelerating plethora of technological advancements, we have
seen a reciprocal explosion in the volume of aesthetic options from which the
composer can choose. There are no hard and fast rules in film scoring, so it is
up to the composer to construct their own intellectual model for
conceptualizing, composing and producing the score. With the above options
in mind, the study documents and utilises a range of applications of the
recording studio in the conceptualization and creation of a film score. These
applications include the use of a physical studio in which live performers
variously realise a fully notated score and/or collaborate with the composer
in the realisation of a set of compositional sketches, whether in the form of
lead sheets or sonic impressions. At the other extreme is the use of a virtual
studio based upon digital technologies, in which the mediation of the physical
space and other musicians plays no part. In this virtual space the composer
remains the sole arbiter of the finished score.
1
Alongside the established orchestral/symphonic styles of film scoring,
various combinations of electronic and virtual instrumentation has been
accepted as orthodox not just in Hollywood, but also around the globe. In the
1990s composers such as James Newton Howard, Thomas Newman and
others, challenged the conventions of film scoring by introducing a
collaborative studio environment and, as Mervyn Cooke notes
‘likened
creating film music to conceiving an album based on rhythmic grooves.’1
Since then, many composers have followed in their footsteps and forged their
own sonic styles predicated on a unique aural impression, that combines the
use of experimental studio techniques with the latest virtual instrumentation
applications.
1. 1 Outputs
The current study is centred upon a portfolio of works disposed as an original
film score for the 1926 French avant-garde silent film Ménilmontant (1926).2
The score features music for acoustic and virtual instruments, deployed in
settings ranging from small ensemble to orchestra. As such it integrates
methodologies and applications that demonstrate the range of real-time or
conceptual/hybrid approaches available currently, and in so doing
documents the changing nature of the workflow used by contemporary film
score composers. With this in mind, the dissertation offered for examination
consists of:
1. a mastered DVD containing the recorded sound and video recordings
2. the printed film score
3. an exegesis of approximately 30,000 words
1
Mervyn Cooke. A History of Film Music (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2010), 499.
2
2
Ménilmontant, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff (France: Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1926).
1. 2 Research Questions
1.
How have film score compositional methodologies evolved to the
present day?
2.
How does the conceptual space – whether physical or virtual – shape
the composer’s creativity and methodology?
3.
What is the nature of the interaction between composer and
performer/s within that space?
4.
Can the approach to the composer’s conceptual space as demonstrated
in the creation of a score for Ménilmontant be analysed and developed into a
coherent compositional methodology?
5.
How and in what ways does the real/virtual compositional dynamics
sit with the aesthetics of silent films?
6.
How can this knowledge benefit future film score composers?
With these questions in mind, the aims of the project are as follows:
1. 3 Project Aims and Objectives
1.
By way of historical study and critical analysis, traditional and
emerging trends in film score composition will be identified and evaluated for
their impact and application to new methodological approaches to film score
composition.
2.
To identify, analyse and document the modus operandi of a range of
film score composers.
3.
To make a significant contribution to the practise of film score
composition by expanding on the theoretical, aesthetic and technical
approaches that are integral to the conceptual/virtual studio methodology.
4.
To produce a music score for the film Ménilmontant that
demonstrates the artistic outcomes of the above.
3
1. 4 Why Ménilmontant?
The film Ménilmontant was chosen primarily because it forms a blank canvas
on which to judge the score. That is, it is a synchronized visual medium used
purely as a vehicle to demonstrate the broad spectrum of currently available
film-scoring technologies. SBOS, or sample-based orchestral simulation, was
a particular focus because orchestral music remains the primary instrumental
force in contemporary film, and demonstrates the impact of technology on
the creative process using real and virtual compositional strategies.
Secondary
practical
considerations
with
regard
to
the
choice
of
Ménilmontant are as follows:
1.
Because the plot of Ménilmontant is communicated entirely with
imagery (it contains no inter-titles), it presents opportunities to
compose music to underscore emotion, define character and imply
tension or harmony, free from the interjections of sound effects
and/or foley.
2.
University of Adelaide requirements for the degree call for a
balance of 60% creative work and 40% thesis, with the former set
at approximately 40 minutes duration.
3.
The film Ménilmontant is 40 minutes in duration.
4.
The film Ménilmontant is free from copyright restrictions.
1. 5 Collective Conceptualization
Film scoring is a complex language, and like all languages it is constantly
evolving. Computers and technology have added a new conceptual dimension
to the creative process, and more recently film scoring has developed into a
highly technical and multidisciplinary art form. Long established traditions
tied to the recording process are being challenged at each creative step. No
longer, for example, do we need to record musicians in close proximity,
thereby enabling creative collaboration with colleagues in other cities and
countries. Even the basic linear process of film scoring is increasingly coming
under review.
4
Film score composers need to come to terms with the intellectual processes
required to negotiate the profusion of technology associated with film score
composition and production. Below is a sample order of resources and
processes carried out by film score composers who typically may have
adopted a basic process that is linear in form. They start at the point of
inspiration, develop an idea through theme and move through an
intermediate form before arriving at the final form. Figure 1 is a simplified
rendering based on John Sloboda’s Diagram of Typical Compositional
Resources and Processes but adapted here specifically for film scoring
purposes.3
Idea
Theme
General Tonal & Stylistic
Knowledge
Superordinate Constraints
on Form & Direction
TIME Intermediate Form
Repertoire of Compositional
Devices
Final Form
Figure 1. Typical Film Score Compositional Resources and Processes
3
John Sloboda. The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1985), 118.
5
While this diagram omits many of the finer complexities involved in the film
score compositional process, I believe it represents a graphic interpretation of
the intellectual order of operations used by many film composers.
Many contemporary film score composers think of their recording studio as
an instrument in itself, one requiring practice and solid technique in order to
complement the visual medium. Because modern film music should reflect
the visual attributes of modern film production (increasingly the product of
digital effects/compositing/animation), composers with their arsenals of
technology now need to conceptualize their scores in a different way. The film
composer now conceptualizes the work using an intellectual process that
integrates the physical workspace that they work within, (the studio) and the
virtual
technologies
that
are
available
from
within
computer
applications/simulations and virtual instruments.4 This intellectual process
could be called Collective Conceptualization.
As the name implies, this process constitutes an organization of operations
that facilitate applied theory and a holistic framework that interlinks the
many creative procedures involved in screen composition and production. It
can be thought of as the physical, theoretical and spiritual embodiment of the
sum total of knowledge of the art of film score composition. The research
shows that the Collective Conceptualization process is, in itself, a coherent
compositional methodology (for real-time/virtual or hybrid composers)
because it provides a simplified framework within which the composer can
work.
Collective Conceptualization is outlined in figure 2. Circle A represents the
kind of music and thoughts of the appropriate sonic sources, and precedes
the thematic ideas and awareness of instrumentation typical in B. Circle C
represents the development and application of harmony and thoughts on
4
A virtual instrument in the context of this study, is any musical sound where the
originating source cannot be seen e.g. a software synthesizer or software-based
sample playback.
6
sonic modelling in preparation for the mock-up, while D represents the
intermediate form, where judgement and formative evaluation occur.
A. IDEA •  inspiration •  abstract foregathering of sonic sources B. THEME G. FINAL FORM F. PRODUCE •  record •  mix, master •  evaluate •  repertoire of compositional devices •  instrumentation, tonal and sonic thoughts, production modelling •  personal cognition •  determine appropriateness Film Score C. DEVELOPMENT •  harmony •  sonic images •  modiIication •  mockup E. DEVELOPMENT OR MODIFICATION •  constraints on form •  timings, sync •  integration •  production techniques D. INTERMEDIATE FORM •  evaluation •  establish production goals •  general tonal and stylistic knowledge, technical options Figure 2. Graphic interpretation of Collective Conceptualization
The two bottom circles are closely linked because E represents the technical
development of production techniques and integration as a result of
modifications performed after the formative evaluation process performed in
D. This is effectively the last stage in the process where goal alteration can
occur. Circle F is the result of the integration all of the elements into the
production master, and represents the crucial post-production process. The
graphic in figure 2 is a rendering of the likely processes, and the subprocesses may vary greatly depending on the individual project and
circumstances. It is, however, a valid characterisation of the holistic nature of
the conceptualization and compositional structure of the score for
Ménilmontant.
7
The genesis of Collective Conceptualization is the conceptual space: on one
hand, the inspirational perception of musical thoughts (figure 2, Circle A)
and on the other, cognition of sonic images. (Circle G) Crucially, both circles
interlink and I found myself focussing on this relationship during the
composition phase of the score for Ménilmontant. Where, on earlier projects,
my thoughts were centred on the next phase in the scoring operation, using
Collective Conceptualization allows a ‘view from above’ so to speak. This is a
major departure from the traditional linear model shown in figure 1.
Collective Conceptualization influences the artistic decisions made by film
score composers at the root level because foremost in the composer’s mind is
the overall sonic impression they want to create; that is, the realisation of the
completed film score. Film score composers working on high budget films
have an almost limitless choice with regard to real or virtual instrumentation,
so it is imperative that, early in the conceptualization phase, they form a solid
perception of the sonic palette they desire. Conversely, those film score
composers working on low budget films probably have a limited palette of
real and/or virtual instrumentation with which to work, and one could argue
that these composers develop their sense of Collective Conceptualization with
an emphasis on drawing out the maximum amount of tonal colours from
their sonic palette.
The process of Collective Conceptualization demands that the film score
composer has intimate knowledge of each practical and theoretical facet of
the array of real and virtual instrumentation available to them and that they
have established ways that allow them to integrate these instruments into a
sonic palette in preparation for composing a musical work. Many
contemporary film score composers can be identified as much for their sonic
palette as for their compositional style, and two of the composers that will be
studied, Thomas Newman and Hans Zimmer, remain ensconced as muchcopied film score composers well known for their integration of virtual and
real instrumentation.
8
In order to document the impact of technology on the creative process of film
scoring it is necessary to review the work of selected 20th and 21st century film
composers and their methods. As an integral part of the framework for this
project resides in the development of a cogent structure for the interpretation
of these trends, these methodologies will be divided into two main groups:
Real Time Models and Virtual/Hybrid Models. The current study discusses
significant film scores composed using these methods in later chapters, but
necessarily begins with an examination of music from the silent film era.
1. 6 Overview of Chapters
Each chapter begins with an explanation of specific terms and definitions
used, background information and if necessary, practical considerations
relative to the subject matter. There is also a justification of how and why the
information contained in each chapter impacts on the art of screen
composition and how these combined forces help to validate the notion of
Collective Conceptualization.
Chapter 1 – Introduction – begins with opening prologue including an
overview of the aims and outputs and critical framework for the project. It
provides an explanation of the reasons for choosing Ménilmontant and gives
an overview of some of the challenges to be faced as well as a preview of the
findings.
Chapter 2 – Silent Film Precedents – begins with the definition of silent film
and a study of the scores used in silent film, including the process of rescoring silent films (such as the process used on Ménilmontant). This chapter
focuses on the composers Carl Davis and Richard Einhorn and looks at each
composer’s aesthetic approach to re-scoring with regard to culture, style and
historical accuracy. It also determines the extent to which the composers
integrate real and/or virtual instrumentation into the production of their
scores and comments on the outcomes of the examples studied. Finally, it
considers the aesthetic choices the composers faced, and why they chose the
paths that they took.
9
Chapter 3 – Significant Silent Films – opens with an overview of early
projection systems used in silent films from the 1890s and looks at the
earliest ‘Moving Picture Music’ before examining the scores of landmark
silent films from the early twentieth century. It focuses particularly on each
score’s structural coherence, the relationship with concert music of the day,
and their use of musical devices that were in common use (such as the
leitmotif, sequence and repetition). In the summary, historical precedents in
the art of silent film scoring and their bearing in relation to Collective
Conceptualization are identified and discussed.
Chapter 4 – Significant Films Score with Real-Time Models – comments on
film score composition from the late 1920s through to the 1960s with an
emphasis on the transformation from silent to sound films and the scope of
sonic options available to Golden Era composers. It includes an outline of a
prototypical film studio music department setup and scoring stratagem as
operated at that time as well as analyses of three influential film scores. The
Collective Conceptualization process for them, stopped at the recording
studio because it was, in effect, merely a documentary space. It concludes
that these composers placed the emphasis on the traditional musical
elements, as they were primarily concerned with acoustic instrumentation.
Chapter 5 – Significant Films Scored with Hybrid/Virtual Models –
introduces the notion of Collective Conceptualization as applied to the
Hybrid/Virtual film scoring model and the methodology used by various 21st
century composers. It explores the concept of the multi-faceted conceptual
model that is used by composers to manage the many processes brought
about by technological advancements in film score production, such as SBOS
and virtual instrumentation. It also includes analyses of two recent scores by
Hans Zimmer and Thomas Newman and their Conceptual Conceptualization
with regard to instrumentation, collaboration and improvisation. It concludes
that Collective Conceptualization shifts the musical emphasis from a model
existing purely as one of composition, appropriateness and instrumentation,
to a model where the sonic palette is also an essential component to be
mastered.
10
Chapter 6 – Ménilmontant – begins by quantifying the real and virtual
instrumentation used within the score for Ménilmontant, and provides a
practical and in-depth explanation of the architecture of virtual instruments
and SBOS as they operate within the digital audio workstation (or DAW).
Following this, there is a synopsis of the film and an explanation of the
aesthetic approach taken in the score. The chapter includes analyses of cues
and comparisons with scores studied in earlier chapters. It finds that
Collective Conceptualization can help composers by nurturing, facilitating
and realising creativity. By taking the view that each stage of the film scoring
process is intimately interconnected, film score practitioners can foregather
and integrate resources from their conceptual space, within a framework that
inspires creativity and clarity of thought. It finds that that the score for
Ménilmontant was produced using a culmination of techniques used by the
composers within this study, but predictably with an emphasis on the
methods of Newman and Zimmer. It concludes that the arrival of digital
technology and virtual instruments has had the effect of simplifying the
compositional aspect of film scoring for some composers.
Chapter 7 – Summary – summarises the impact of technology on the creative
process using real and virtual compositional strategies employed on
Ménilmontant and the range of films studied. The chapter also revisits the
research questions and comments on the success of the aims and objectives
of the project.
Chapter 8 – Conclusion – considers the findings and interprets the results.
The project is discussed in terms of the implications of the findings for future
film scoring methodologies and indicates the overall importance of the
research. Finally, recommendations for future practice and research are
given.
The study finds that technology has had a marked effect on the way screen
composers approach their craft, and that they can benefit from the transition
away from a linear operation, to the holistic process employed by Collective
Conceptualization. The research undertaken clarifies the ways in which
11
screen composing methodologies have evolved and identifies ways to
assimilate and further develop these processes. Using the silent film,
Ménilmontant as a canvas on which to explore these possibilities, the score
was produced using methodologies based on the Collective Conceptualization
processes used by the composers studied.
The findings also indicate that hybrid scores can and do, in the hands of
skilful practitioners, fulfil the same functions as real-time scores and that
future film score composers need to come to terms with the intellectual
processes (Collective Conceptualization) required to transverse the profusion
of technology associated with film score composition and production.
12
2
SILENT FILM RE-SCORING PRECEDENTS
2. 1 Definition
For the purposes of this study the term silent film re-scoring refers to the
practice of composing new film score music for a silent film that is already in
existence, whether the film was originally released with an accompanying
music score or not. The term is not to be confused with the term silent film
restoring or restoration that refers to the ongoing process of film
preservation (that can also include the rescoring of music). Some silent film
re-scoring projects feature silent films that were originally released with
music commissioned by the filmmakers. In such cases, the rescoring
composer may need to blend new music with the existing score.
2. 2 Background
The re-scoring of silent films has become popular in recent years, thanks to
the efforts of film scholars, and the revivalism and interest in the history and
Film
Nosferatu
Nosferatu
Napoléon
La Passion de Jeanne d’
Arc
Metropolis
Intolerance
The Diamond Ship
The Golden Lake
The Ten Commandments
Hot Water
La Passion de Jeanne d’
Arc
Nosferatu
Metropolis
Earth
Battleship Potemkin
Nosferatu
La Passion de Jeanne d’
Arc
Year of
Release
1922
1922
1927
1928
Composer
Peter Schirmann
Wolfgang Thiel
Carmine Coppola
Ole Schmidt
Year of ReScore
1969
1977
1980
1982
1927
1916
1920
1919
1923
1924
1928
Giorgio Moroder
Antoine Duhamel & Pierre Jansen
Gaylord Carter
Gaylord Carter
Gaylord Carter
Adrian Johnstone
Richard Einhorn
1983
1986
1986
1987
1987
1994
1994
1922
1927
1930
1925
1922
1928
James Bernard
Berndt Huppertz
Jan Kopinski
Neil Tennant
Bernardo Uzeda
Jesper Kyd
1997
2002
2004
2004
2006
2007
Figure 3. Sample List of Re-scored Silent Films5
5
Cooke, 39, 40.
13
preservation of silent film on the part of film historians. Helping to fuel this is
the popularity of experimental live cinema (often electronic) and improvised
(often jazz-based) performances to accompany silent film screenings. Figure
3 shows some significant silent films that have been re-scored. The list is not
exhaustive; the La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc (1928) score by Victor Alix and
Leo Pouget has also been subject to reconstructions such as the one by Gillian
Anderson and Dennis James in 1979.6
In the late 1970s, coinciding with technical advancements in television and
video formats, production companies began commissioning new scores for
restored silent films. One such company, Thames Television began the task of
restoring over thirty films using the talents of composer, Carl Davis.
2. 3 Carl Davis
One of the more celebrated exponents of the re-scoring of silent film is
American composer Carl Davis. Born in 1936 in New York, Davis made a
major contribution to the genre by re-scoring a series of silent films for the
critically acclaimed documentary project named Hollywood: A Celebration
of the American Silent Film (1980).7 Given his stature in the field, there is a
strong rationale for the evaluation of his work and strengths and weaknesses
in terms of both historical precedent – the work of other film score
composers from the silent era – and current practice.
Being mindful of the lessons that can be learned from the composers studied
in following chapters (including Saint-Saëns, Satie, Waxman and Herrmann)
the intention is to show how Davis has approached the re-scoring of silent
films from an aesthetic standpoint. That is, how factors such as culture,
historical background and technical restrictions affected his musical
6
Cooke, 38.
7
Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film, dir. Kevin Brownlow and
David Gill (USA: Thames Television, 1980).
14
decision-making. This is done with the view to highlighting how others have
faced the challenge of re-scoring a silent film.
With these challenges in mind, I intend to demonstrate what I have learned
from studying the composing methodology of Davis and others. I have been
able to identify the aesthetic criteria on which composers base their musical
choices, and these have in turn informed my own decision-making processes.
For example, in a filmed interview for Philharmonia Orchestra8 concerning
the 1996 re-scoring of The Phantom of the Opera (1925),9 Davis explains the
aesthetic rationale behind his score:
The setting is an Opera House, in this case the Paris Opera and in this
film, they seem to have only one opera in their repertoire, which is
Gounod’s Faust. So that in itself is quite interesting because you say well,
is the Phantom then to be equated to Méphistophélès? You know, should
he sing with his music? Then I decided that he really wasn’t the devil and
that it couldn’t be all Gounod from start to finish, that there had to be
other music, which in the end was my music, which would chime in with
the Faust, (music) would feel that it would at least belong to the same
world, but that in himself he was not all evil. And so there had to be
some redeeming features which the music would show.
Establishing from the very beginning, there was a minor key, dramatic
doom-laden motif which was going to be his revenge on mankind for his
terrible disfigurement. Then there was going to be the other side, his
need for love, his pleading for love so there is this lyric thing that we
associate through the film with the Phantom, and those are the principle
two (motifs) that the whole score is built out of.
Here, Davis reveals that he is concerned with creating a score sympathetic to
the original Gounod opera, rather than aiming for contrast, though he
8
Carl
Davis,
The
Phantom
of
the
Opera,
Philharmonia
Orchestra.
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/backstage/podcasts/phantom_
opera/ (accessed 10 May 2012).
9
The Phantom of the Opera, dir. Rupert Julian, with Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin
(USA: Universal Pictures, 1996).
15
mentions that ‘there had to be other music.’ In other words, when faced with
the issue of historical accuracy versus his interpretation of the story and
aesthetic choices, Davis makes the decision to faithfully try to recreate the
musical style of the period. It is also significant that he builds the majority of
the score on the two contrasting leitmotifs – using a methodology that can be
traced back to Wagner and, more recently, John Williams and others. As the
excitement builds, Davis skilfully merges passages of his own music with the
original Gounod score to create a complementary opus.
When asked how his approach for scoring silent films differed from that of
contemporary films, Davis observes:
Film
Year of Release
IMDB Rating
1916
Year of Rescore
1989
Intolerance
Broken Blossoms
1919
1983
7.6
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
1921
1993
7.8
8.0
Safety Last!
1923
1990
8.3
Our Hospitality
1923
1984
8.0
The Thief of Bagdad
1924
1984
7.7
Greed
1924
1986
8.1
The Phantom of the Opera
1925
1996
7.7
The Big Parade
1925
1988
8.3
The Eagle
1925
1985
7.4
Ben Hur – A Tale of the Christ
1925
1987
8.0
Flesh and the Devil
1926
1988
7.9
The Strong Man
1926
1985
6.9
The General
1926
1987
8.4
The Kid Brother
1927
1990
7.9
Napoléon
1927
1980
7.8
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
1927
1986
7.7
The Crowd
1928
1981
8.1
Speedy
1928
1992
7.7
Show People
1928
1982
8.1
The Wind
1928
1983
8.2
A Woman of Affairs
1928
1983
7.6
The Iron Mask
1929
1999
7.4
Figure 4. List of Silent Films Rescored by Carl Davis10
10
Internet Movie Database, ‘Carl Davis’ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002301/
(accessed 8 May 2012).
16
I think that the music for a silent film has to be far more graphic because
you must remember that, in a contemporary film, a soundtrack is shared
three ways. You may have music under dialogue or sound effects,
competing with these so you always have to be careful it will balance out.
When dealing with the silent film, you are the complete sound picture.
There’s nothing else. You have to make the dialogue. Make everyone
think they are hearing the people speak, that they’re hearing the sound
effects.11
Davis’ comment, made in 1996, is even more relevant now given the
increased use of sound design and ambient soundscapes in contemporary
film. The contemporary film-goer has been ‘sound conditioned’ and as
Mervyn Cooke notes, ‘Sound effects still dominate the final mix and drown
out music cues.’12
Commentators generally have positive views with regard to Davis’ re-scored
films. Peter Kobel, author of Silent Movies: The Birth of Film and the
Triumph of Movie Culture speaking of Davis’ re-score for Napoléon13 (1980)
describes it as a ‘massive, impressive score’14 and for his work on The
Crowd,15 (1981) ‘taken great care in matching (the) music to period styles.’16
Commenting on Davis’ rescoring of Napoléon, Cooke says Davis: ‘received a
standing ovation at the London première,’ and ‘continued his popular success
in the field.’17 Davis’ contribution to contemporary film and television scoring
is also extensive, with over 160 works including the Oscar-nominated The
11
Luc Van de Ven and David Hirsch, ‘An Interview with Carl Davis.’ Soundtrack
Magazine 15. 58 (1996), 2.
12
Cooke, 496.
13
Napoléon, dir. Abel Gance (France: Ciné France Films, 1927).
14
Peter Kobel, Silent Movies: The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture
(New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007), 277.
15
The Crowd, dir. King Vidor (USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1928).
16
Kobel, 262.
17
Cooke, 39.
17
French Lieutenant’s Woman.18 (1981) Also not to be overlooked is his skill as
an arranger, orchestrator and conductor with the live cinema performances
recognized in his 2003 BAFTA Special Lifetime Achievement Award for his
contribution to the world of film and television music.
Notwithstanding the success of his work, the underlying issue here with
relevance to this study is that Davis, a traditionalist composer, employs the
Real-Time model of film scoring. Nowhere in my research have I discovered
the use of hybrid or virtual instrumentation in his scores, even though he has
been prolific from the 1980s until the present. From the point of view of
aesthetics, he stands among the composers featured in the chapter on RealTime composers – many of them were active during the 1930s through to the
1960s – and presumably has taken the view that texturally, he is content
dealing with the conventions and sonic outputs of the orthodox acoustic
orchestra.
However, at least with regard to his work on re-scoring silent films, Davis has
taken the conformist approach and has put in place stylistic boundaries
consistent with those of his predecessors – the composers of the original
scores – even though he has access to the virtual methodologies outlined in
the introduction. In many cases, such as in situations where the new score
must blend in with the original underscore and historical accuracy is a major
contributing factor, he has no choice but to observe those conventions, but in
other films where consolidation of the score is not an issue, he also conforms
to the same aesthetic approach.
18
The French Lieutenant’s Woman, dir. Karel Reisz (USA: Juniper Films, 1981).
18
2. 4 Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light – the Rescoring of Carl
Theodor Dreyer’s La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc (1928)19
The Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer was born in Copenhagen in 1889
and made only fourteen films between 1919 (The President)20 and 1964
(Gertrud).21 Considered a true artisan among filmmakers, he started his
working life as a journalist before moving into scriptwriting and directing.
Dreyer wrote or co-wrote nearly all of the films he directed, and built his
reputation by making psychologically engaging films that fused narrative
space with experimental camera work and stylized set design.22
Dreyer shot La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc in Paris between 1927 and 1928, and
as such it ranks as one of the last great films of the silent era. Dreyer was a
perfectionist by nature, as Tom Milne notes,
As usual, Dreyer approached the project by making extensive
preparations, so that the film took a year and a half to complete from
conception to final cut: the costumes were exhaustively researched,
details of everyday life in the Middle Ages were copied from the
illuminations in a medieval manuscript, as were the vast, incredibly solid
sets.23
Dreyer shot the film in strict sequence – a severe burden on the actors and
crew, who spent months traversing various locations. Actors were forbidden
to wear makeup. As Richard Abel notes:
For the bloodletting sequence that follows Jeanne’s fainting in the
torture chamber, Dreyer even had a doctor actually draw blood.
19
La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc, dir. Carl Dreyer (France: Société Générale des Films,
1928).
20
The President, dir. Carl Dreyer (Sweden: Nordisk Film, 1919).
21
Gertrud, dir. Carl Dreyer (Denmark: Palladium Film, 1964).
22
David Bordwell, The Films of Carl-Theodor Dreyer (Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1981), 37.
23
Tom Milne, The Cinema of Carl Dreyer (New York: A.S. Barnes and Co, 1971), 94.
19
Falconetti, especially, gave herself up to Jeanne’s dilemma, undergoing
unusual physical and psychological hardship. In the climactic sequence
of head shaving, her agony was shared by the entire cast and crew.24
The following is an excerpt (taken from the intertitles in the introduction)
from the 1985 restoration in the Criterion Collection 1999 release of the film
by Cinémathèque Française, featuring the music of Richard Einhorn (b.
1952). The comments establish the authenticity of the modern French version
of the film. 25
La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc was the victim of several ordeals. Censored
before its release in 1928, the original negative was soon destroyed by
fire. A second negative reedited by Dreyer from alternate takes was also
thought lost to fire. For more than half a century, this great classic of
silent film was known only in mutilated copies, or in a sonorized version
which made numerous changes to the original. Then, in 1981, an original
Danish copy, complete and in very good condition, was miraculously
discovered in the closet of a Norwegian mental institution. Thanks to the
aid of Ib Monty, Director of the Danish Film Museum, and of Maurice
Drouzy, who re-established the French text, the Cinémathèque Française
has been able to reconstitute this French version, probably very close to
the original.
David Cook explains that Dreyer’s film, ‘was seriously flawed by the insertion
of dialogue titles at crucial positions within the narrative and would have
profited immensely from a recorded soundtrack.’26 Although Dreyer intended
for the film to be shot with sound, the operation was abandoned when
problems with the supply of the necessary audio equipment hampered the
production. There is no evidence to show that Dreyer ever selected a
definitive score for the film, although at the film’s premiere it was
accompanied with a selection of music performed live.
24
Richard Abel, French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929 (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1984), 488.
25
The Passion of Joan of Arc, dir. Carl Dreyer. DVD (USA: Criterion Collection PAS
050, 1999).
26
David Cook, A History of Narrative Film (New York: Norton, 2004), 266.
20
Richard Einhorn wrote the oratorio Voices of Light in 1993 with the libretto
taken primarily from the Bible and the texts of female medieval writers,
including Joan of Arc herself. Einhorn was drawn to compose the score for
the film because he had become
very interested in developing a large piece about a religious subject. I
was not looking for a way to make a polemical statement about my own
religious beliefs. Rather, I wished to create an aesthetic “space” where an
audience could perhaps re-examine its own feelings and beliefs, perhaps
change them, perhaps not.27
Many of the texts used in the libretto were originally written in Latin and
Medieval French and Einhorn ensured that those that were in English were
translated to preserve the liturgical context. From the earliest days of the
Roman church Gregorian chant has been the supreme model for the
expression of unity and worship within the clergy – to place the liturgy in the
context of the transcendent and eternal. Einhorn composed sacred chants
that closely follow Gregorian form and preserve its aesthetic approach –
including travelling to Joan’s hometown church in Domremy and sampling
the church bell – to be used in later live performances of the work.
Einhorn’s approach to the score for La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc was to take
into account the historical sound world of the period in which the film was set
and to recreate as accurately as possible his perceptions of the musical
landscape as it would have existed in the fifteenth century. Evidence to
support this theory lies in the painstaking research of the collage of historical
texts – the title itself inspired from the voices Joan heard in her head – and
Einhorn’s musical choices of instrumentation; the use of medieval chant, the
27
Richard Einhorn, ‘A Conversation with Richard Einhorn’, Richard Einhorn
Productions (New York, 2011).
http://www.richardeinhorn.com/vol/VOLRichardInterview.HTML
(accessed 7 November 2012).
21
inclusion of the church bell sample and the use of a small orchestra to
complement the chorus and soloists. The performers consist of:
•
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes
•
Strings (minimum 30 strings, more preferred)
•
Digital Sampler (for the Domremy church bell samples)
•
Chorus (SATB, minimum 30, more preferred)
•
4 vocal soloists (SATB) 28
There is further evidence to support Einhorn’s approach in the following
transcription from Voices of Light. The composer uses the Phrygian mode
commonly used by Medieval and Renaissance composers, such as Josquin
des Prez, Orlando di Lasso, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Cipriano de
Rore. Einhorn also makes use of the viola de gamba in cue 7 (20:37:00),
where the judges try to trick Jeanne into signing a confession that the voices
she heard were that of the devil and not from God.
In cue 14 (46:19:00) the church bell from Domremy is played as Jeanne
begins to comprehend her fate and she refuses to take Communion. The
composer also arranged Jeanne’s texts to be sung by both sopranos and altos,
because he did not want to make assumptions about Jeanne’s voice range.
Einhorn’s musical, historical and technical choices and overall attention to
detail creates a score that although harmonically simple, reflects the gravity
and implications of Jeanne’s decisions and the horrific fate decided for her by
a corrupt and misogynist court. From the beginning, it was the composer’s
intention to produce a score that reflected something of his own religious
beliefs. As a result, an abstract synchronicity exists between the narrative and
the music, that is, the score operates under its own organic flow and is
unburdened by the technicality of hit points and/or timed cue points.
28
Einhorn, 2011.
22
Figure 5. Score excerpt (02:25:00) from Voices of Light composed by Richard
Einhorn in the 1999 Criterion Collection release of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 film,
La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc.29
29
Except where noted, transcriptions are the work of the author.
23
While Einhorn shares some aesthetic ideals with Carl Davis – for example
both men are adept at faithfully recreating the musical style for the period
films they are scoring – it is Einhorn’s willingness and confidence to integrate
technology into his workflow that sets him apart from Davis. Einhorn placed
a great deal of importance on the church bell in Voices of Light. So much so
that he travelled to Domremy, to the same church that Joan attended as a
child, in order to digitally record the bell for use in the recording session and
also for the future live performances. He placed as much importance on this
process as he did researching and translating the medieval texts for the
libretto. Einhorn later remarked, ‘Since the sound of bells had triggered
Jeanne’s voices, I thought that it was only fitting to have them in my piece.’30
That being the case, many technically savvy composers would simply use a
commercially available church bell sample and others still might use some
type of bell or chime in its place.
Einhorn took an intellectual approach with regard to the musical artefacts
(for example, the mystic texts, the use of Phrygian mode seen in figure 5, the
inclusion of the church bell) in the score for La Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc.
That approach reflects the shifting dynamic between the physical and virtual
studio referred to in the introduction and is a clear example of the composer
utilizing the Collective Conceptualization process.
Because of the inclusion of digital samples, the score for La Passion de
Jeanne d’ Arc cannot be placed into the category of a real-time score. It is
clear that Einhorn integrated the physical workspace (the studio) and
computer technology to include the church bell. Einhorn does mention that:
Back in my project studio, I programmed my synthesizers for the
orchestral palette I was going to use: chorus and solo voices, strings,
flutes, and oboes. I also had the bell available on my sampler. I write on
a computer with a group of programs that does for music composing
what a word processor does for text. It's difficult to set up (I have 13
30
Einhorn, 2011.
24
synths connected to my Mac!) but once it's all working, it's like having an
infinitely patient orchestra in your house.31
There is no evidence to suggest that Einhorn included portions of the SBOS
on the final recording, (apart from the Domremy church bell), preferring
instead to make use of the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and Choir. The
producers of the 2004 version of the film share this insightful comment on
Einhorn’s contribution in the film’s prelude:
We feel that Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light adds an extra dimension
to Dreyer’s film, and that both works benefit from being presented
together. Not actually a score, but rather music inspired by the film,
Einhorn’s work interweaves medieval texts and original music to
comment on both the legend of Joan and Dreyer’s depiction of her.32
Einhorn’s Voices of Light has been performed live in synchronization with La
Passion de Jeanne d’ Arc over two hundred times around the world to great
critical acclaim, and is attracting modern audiences who I believe, appreciate
the combination of authenticity and modern recontextualization evident in
the score.
This chapter has looked at precedents for the rescoring of silent film, and
considered the aesthetic choices the composers have faced, and why they
chose the paths that they took. The intention is to map the methods that the
composers have used against the Collective Conceptualization methods I have
chosen to compose the score for Ménilmontant. To contextualize this process,
chapter 3 will look at significant silent film scores from the early 20th century,
and the film scoring methodologies and trends in place at that time.
31
Einhorn, 2011.
32
The Passion of Joan of Arc, dir. Carl Dreyer, 1999.
25
3
SIGNIFICANT SILENT FILM SCORES
3. 1 Definition
For the purposes of this study a silent film score is defined as the
accompanying musical score for a film that was produced before the
emergence of the sound to image synchronisation process in the late 1920s.
(The term ‘silent’ is somewhat misleading in this context. Isabelle Raynauld
argues that ‘even if films were projected without integrated synchronous
sound, the presumed silent stories told were actually happening in a sound
world and not in a “deaf world.” In other words, silent stories took place,
intra- and extra-diegetically, in a hearing world.’)33 Therefore, the term ‘silent
film’ connotes a film where there is no synchronized soundtrack.
3. 2 Background
Many so-called silent films had some form of accompanying soundscape
originating from a wide selection of sources broadly categorised as being
either live performances or mechanical reproductions. As early as the 1890s,
projection systems such as the Kinetoscope, Vitascope, the Biograph and the
Cinématographe went hand in hand with mechanical music systems such as
Edison’s Kinetophone Gramophone and Phonograph,34 as well as player
pianos (pianolas) like Wurlitzer’s PianOrchestra.35 In many theatres live
piano music was the accompaniment of choice, mainly because pianists of all
styles were readily available. Classical pianists were a logical choice because
of their familiarity with repertoire that suited melodramatic films. There were
Isabelle Raynauld, ‘Dialogues in Early Silent Sound Screenplays: What Actors
33
Really Said’, in Richard Abel and Rick Altman (eds.), The Sounds of Early Cinema
(Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2001), 69.
34
Rick Altman, Silent Film Sound (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 78-
81.
35
Altman, 128.
26
however, many pianists who played ragtime, popular songs, folk music and
capable of masterful improvisation or ‘playing to pictures’ for comedies and
other period films.36
Although musical scores composed for specific films did exist, the
introduction of cue sheets in 1907 (commercially available musical
‘suggestions’) such as the ‘Sam Fox Moving Picture Music’ (see figure 6)
marked the beginning of the era when producers expressed a collective desire
for the score to interact and connect with the film’s storyline, character,
emotion and the narrative content.
Figure 6. Cover and Contents page of The Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Photoplay
Edition37
36
Martin Miller Marks, Music and the Silent Film: Contexts and Case Studies, 1895-
1924 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 9.
37
J.S. Zamecnik, Moving Picture Music Volume 2 (New York: Sam Fox Publishing
Company, 1913), 1-2.
27
While scores for many films from this period were assembled using the music
of a wide variety of romantic composers and pre-prepared folios such as seen
above, this chapter focuses on films of the era that used scores that were
specifically commissioned by the filmmakers.
3. 3 L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise (1908) 38
In 1908, the then seventy-seven year old Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
composed the score for the French film L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise.39
Saint-Saëns’s involvement is significant because it marks the first time that a
recognised composer wrote a specially commissioned score, and stands as the
beginning of the period where the process of pre-composing music
specifically to accompany film began to gather momentum.40 The eighteenminute drama tells of the 1588 assassination of the Henry, the Duke of Guise,
by France’s King Henry III.
In contrast to the other scores discussed in this chapter, Saint-Saëns
composed music in a series of tableaux (with corresponding inter-titles)
numbered from I – VI (I being the introduction) that closely follow the
structure of the film. Saint-Saëns was meticulous with regard to precise
timings and specific hit points yet these are juxtaposed with thematic
transformations that support the narrative. Although each tableaux is distinct
in meter and key, the themes within the tableaux are constructed so that they
can be re-stated within other tableaux, often without transitions.
Commenting on the innovation of the composer’s methodology, Royal S.
Brown suggests:
L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise, dir. André Calmettes and Charles Le Bargy
38
(France: Pathé Frères, 1908).
38
Marks, 50.
40
Michael Temple and Michael Witt, The French Cinema Book (London: BFI
Publishing, 2004), 13.
28
Indeed, in listening to much of the score, one often has the impression of
an accompaniment for an unsung opera, while the climactic moments
that back up the assassination remarkably foreshadow film-music tropes
still in use.41
The Saint-Saëns score for L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise was a milestone on a
number of levels:
1. It was the first film score for a silent film that navigated through the
intricacies of the plot, while providing an extra structural strand (the
tableaux concept) to enhance continuity;
2. The score featured precise cues synchronized to the on-screen action
as well as examples of ‘playing through’ the drama using meter, tempo
and modulations to phrase the scene; 42
3. The score was critically acclaimed as a stand-alone symphonic work.
Saint-Saëns was a veteran concert, opera, theatre and ballet composer and
his score for Javott, composed in 1896 was also written using the same
functional tableaux system he later used in L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise.
Remarkably, Saint-Saëns was able to utilize the tableaux system in a (what is
now) conventional underscoring role that was totally determined by the onscreen drama, at the same time constructing a large-scale and autonomous
concert work.
The score is also notable in that (possibly for the first time on film) the
composer tracked even minor emotional shifts on screen and responded with
changes in musical colour and timbre rather than ‘mickey-mousing,’43
41
Royal S. Brown, Overtones and Undertones: Reading Film Music (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1994), 53.
42
Fred Karlin and Rayburn Wright, On The Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film
Scoring, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2004), 154.
43
‘Mickey-Mousing’ is the name give to a technique where the underscore is
perfectly synchronized with on-screen action and movement.
29
although the score does contain segments that are carefully cued with onscreen movements.
Film critic Aldolphe Brisson in his review for Le Temps newspaper
commented: ‘Saint-Saëns has written for L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise a
masterpiece of symphonic music.’44 James Wierzbicki concurs, stating that
Saint-Saëns’ score ‘is a substantive composition that removed from its filmic
context still generously rewards any listener’s attention.’45
For Mervyn Cook the innovative nature of Saint-Saëns’ methodology:
showed how structural coherence could articulate the drama across
relatively broad time-spans, and it proved to be prophetic of the later
mainstream film composer’s art. Prophetic too was Saint-Saëns’ decision
to recycle his film music for concert use.46
The European success of L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise and the practise of
contracting composers to write specialized scores for film influenced the film
industry globally. As such the concept was gradually implemented into the
mainstream film production process during the next ten years.
3. 4 Birth of a Nation (1915)47
The landmark three-hour epic film Birth of a Nation contained compiled
music cues from other composers including Beethoven, Wagner and Weber,
and it is significant in the context of this study because the original music for
the film, composed by Joseph Breil, (1870-1926) was commissioned by
producer/director D.W. Griffith. It was a provocative and controversial film
(originally titled The Clansmen) due to images portraying African Americans
44
Adolphe Brisson, ‘Chronique Theatrale’, Le Temps (23 November 1908), 1.
45
James Wierzbicki, Film Music: A History (New York: Routledge, 2008), 42.
46
Cooke, 14.
47
Birth of a Nation, dir. D.W. Griffith (USA: David W. Griffith Corp., 1915).
30
as primitives and publicising the Klu Klux Klan. The score, over half of which
was original music composed by Breil, contains over two hundred music
cues.48 Griffith himself is credited with Breil for producing the score. It is
clear however that Breil was the composer and that Griffith, as director, was
passionately involved in the score’s production, and collaborated with Breil in
placing the pre-existing music.
His score for Birth of a Nation has been analysed extensively, particularly his
use of the ‘Motif of Barbarism’49 (see figure 7) that reoccurs throughout the
film. The origin of the motif has been credited to Griffith himself, who
vaguely recalled the melody from his childhood that was spent on a
plantation and listening to black folk music.50
Figure 7. Piano reduction of Breil’s ‘Motif of Barbarism’51
48
Cooke, 24.
49
Jane Gaines and Neil Lerner, ‘The Orchestration of Affect: The Motif of Barbarism
in Breil’s The Birth of a Nation Score’, in Richard Abel and Rick Altman (eds.), The
Sounds of Early Cinema (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2001),
255.
50
Gaines and Lerner, 254.
51 Marks,
113.
31
Many of the motifs in Breil’s score ultimately function as leitmotifs and this
consequently drew comparisons to the work of Wagner and Saint-Saëns.
(Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries is itself used in the final scene as the Klu
Klux Klan come to the aid of the ‘whites.’) The recurring ‘Motif of Barbarism’
associated with the threat of violence or oppression is one of the strengths of
the score, excessively melodramatic though it may be. There are sections in
the film where music cues are restated and seem incongruous with the onscreen action. That is, there are lengthy scenes where the score remains
relatively static against the (silent) narrative. The intermittent lack of
coherence was noted by Marks, who described Breil’s contribution as a
‘sprawling, kaleidoscopic pastiche . . . its pieces do not always fit together in a
manner pleasing to the musician’s or music-lover’s ear.’52 Manvell et al go so
far as to say that the score, musically speaking, ‘merits little attention
today.’53
There is no doubt that the concept of a purpose-written score added to
the film’s sense of realism and spectacle and contributed to its
phenomenal success. Breil’s leitmotifs were a unifying factor, often
functioning as transitional sequences among the balance of incidental,
pre-existing music. By establishing a distinct theme for each of the main
characters (such as the Motif of Barbarism for the Africans) Breil became
one of the first film composers to present audiences with a musical
cipher, which led to the work being hailed as a great achievement by his
contemporaries.
3. 5 Entr’acte (1924)54
The short comic fantasy, Entr’acte, directed by René Clair, is significant
because it was the first film score composed by an avant-garde composer.
Stylistically, the film was a departure from the slapstick comedies and
52
Marks, 142-143.
53
Roger Manvell, John Huntley, Richard Arnell and Peter Day, The Technique of
Film Music (New York: Hastings House, 1975), 22.
54
Entr’acte, dir. René Clair (France: Les Ballets Suedois, 1924).
32
melodramas of the period. Twenty-six year old Clair used the camera to
explore and experiment with the visual medium of film while exercising a
healthy disrespect for the filmic conventions of the period, originating from
vaudeville and the theatre. Erik Satie (1866-1925) composed the twentyminute score for small orchestra to a montage that critic Noel Carroll
described as a ‘coherent, purposively directed assault on the social practices
and beliefs, the rationality, of the French bourgeois culture.’55
Satie used a modular structure also employed by composers such as Walter
Simon and, later, Bernard Herrmann. Satie composed musical cells of four
and eight bars in length that were placed in various groupings according to
the on-screen action. In a letter written to Jean Cocteau (ca.1918) Satie
referred to his functional underscore as furniture that supported the
narrative:
What we want is to establish a music made to satisfy ‘useful’ needs. Art does
not enter into this. ‘Furniture music’ creates a vibration: it has no other goal;
it fills the same role as light and heat; as comfort in all its forms.56
Satie’s underscore rarely mimics the on-screen action, but rather, the
modular approach creates a narrative flow between consistently divergent
sequences. An example to illustrate this is at 00:02:20:00, (see figure 8)
‘Chimneys and Deflating Balloons’, and at 00:10:44:00 (funeral procession in
slow motion), where scenes have nothing in common visually, yet Satie’s
response was to use the same music cell for both scenes.
55
Richard Abel, French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929 (Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 1984), 382.
56
Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant-garde in France,
1885 – World War 1 (Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1972), 169.
33
Figure 8. Piano Reduction of Satie’s ‘Chimneys, Deflating Balloons’.57
Using this approach, Satie exaggerates the light-hearted, abstract nature of
the film; effectively unifying contrastive sequences that would otherwise have
little to connect them. Even so, Satie manages to acknowledge the emotional
shifts, and from the end of the funeral procession (00:13:20:00) through
until the casket falls into the field, (00:18:35:00) the score takes on a more
austere tone and each cell steadily builds in intensity and tempo before
slowing again for the final scene.
Marks is of the view that ‘though [the score] does not interpret the narrative
in a conventional manner, it does support the film, help to elucidate its
structure, and extend its range of meanings. Deservedly, the music claims the
foreground of our attention.’58 Satie used this compositional structure
because of the dream-like, abstract nature of the film, in the knowledge that
each musical cell would accompany several film sequences.
57
Marks, 173.
58 Marks,
34
170.
The modular cell structure used above in Satie’s Entr’acte is also present in
Breil’s Birth of a Nation, and, as shall be discussed, I have used brief
examples of this method in the score for Ménilmontant. Due to the absence
of diegetic sound, and the influence of film’s artistic predecessors such as
theatre and ballet with their dependence on musical traditions, many silent
film scores were produced as full-length accompaniments. In cases where the
film was long, and audiences had a half-time intermission (such was the case
during Birth of a Nation), music cues were often restated after the
intermission for cohesion, or to prompt the audience to recall an emotional
connection with a place or character.
Although the aforementioned films vary stylistically, each film contains
examples of underscore that is re-used for film sequences with contrasting
emotional and narrative content. While this process is often used in
contemporary film, it is noticeably more effective in scores for silent films
because the absence of dialog and sound effects enables the viewer to rely
solely on his or her auditory senses to grasp the narrative.
As part of the Collective Conceptualization process, historical precedents in
the art of silent film scoring have been identified and discussed. With regard
to composing the score for Ménilmontant, the intention is to find a balance
between the filmic devices used by the silent film composers, and the
methods used by the Real-Time composers in the next chapter. Having
identified these devices, I can then apply them as I see fit, in order to find an
aesthetic equilibrium between the historical and cultural preferences. Being
mindful of the historical nature of Ménilmontant, I need to decide to what
extent this will govern the aesthetic choices for the score.
35
4
SIGNIFICANT FILMS SCORED WITH REAL-TIME MODELS
This chapter considers the methodologies and outcomes of real-time screen
composers and how these approaches contrast with those of the
virtual/hybrid methods of the composers featured in chapter 5.
4. 1 Definition
For the purposes of this study the Real-Time Model is defined as a film score
consisting of a method of music production whereby the composer, with the
help of others, used the recording studio purely as a site where compositions
and orchestrations created elsewhere were recorded in real time, without the
ability to overdub. This real-time approach generally involved minimal
creative input, either from the musicians engaged to perform the score or the
physical surrounds of the studio. The latter was effectively an inert space
dedicated to documentation (that is, recording) rather than a site of creative
exchange.
4. 2 Background
The transformation of the silent film format by way of the synchronization of
the recorded soundtrack prompted huge investments in the sound recording
revolution by the film studios in the late 1920s and early 1930s.59 It was now
possible for film composers to record their film soundtracks and have them
permanently synchronized and fixed to the film. Even though this process
was gradually refined, filmmakers had to be content with recording the music
and sound simultaneously and it would not be until the mid 1930s that the
59
Cooke, 67.
36
scoring and recording process evolved and established itself as a
sophisticated art form.60
All final audio masters for films produced during the period from the late
1920s through to the early 1960s were recorded in a single pass (multi-track
recorders were not in use until the early 1960s). As such they followed the
principles of the Real-Time model, even those scores that featured electronic
instruments such as the Theremin, Ondes Martenot, and the Novachord.
These, together with early incarnations of the synthesizer, were handled as
analogue instruments and were recorded in real time.61
The Real-Time approach and its practices embodied the so-called ‘Golden
Era’ of film. With film studios eager to capitalize on the popularity of the
symphonic film score, the seemingly primitive recording processes that were
part of the film production operations of the 1930s gave way to gradual
technological innovations in sound recording and production. Each studio
now had a music department consisting of an orchestra-in-residence,
arrangers, orchestrators, copyists, music editors, recording engineers, mixing
engineers and contracted composers, all of whom were responsible to the
music director.62
The film studios favoured this system because it gave producers power over
the composers. If for any reason the composer needed to be replaced, the
producer was secure in the knowledge that the replacement score was still
‘manufactured’ by their own music department, amid familiar territory where
they still had ultimate artistic control. Despite the asymmetrical makeup of
the music department, this departmental structure gave composers the
opportunity to access a wealth of musical resources and many of the
60
Mark Evans, Soundtrack: The Music of the Movies (New York: Da Capo Press,
1979), 22.
61
Cooke, 200.
62
Cooke, 70-71.
37
outstanding symphonic scores in cinematic history were produced during this
period.
As the Real-Time symphonic, classical/neo-classical model came to be
accepted as the standard format,63 art music composers such as Erich
Korngold, Miklós Rózsa and Franz Waxman were lured to America from
Europe.64 The prodigious compositional skills and rich harmonic idiom of the
composers of this era is evident in the sheer scope and range of sound
produced by the studio orchestras.
Despite the technical limitations of the recording process at the time, scores
such as Franz Waxman’s The Bride of Frankenstein (1935),65 Erich
Korngold’s Between Two Worlds (1944),66 Leonard Bernstein’s On the
Waterfront (1954),67 Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho (1960),68 and Jerry
Goldsmith’s Planet of the Apes (1968)69 all demonstrate the gamut of
aesthetic approaches in use by film composers of the time.
4. 3 Practical Considerations
The typical scoring process started with a spotting session using a rough cut
of the film with either the director, producer or both where the general
musical direction of the film would be discussed in terms of style and
placement of music within each cue. From there, the composer would begin
to sketch out ideas for the score, usually working from typed cue sheets that
included precise timings and descriptions of the on-screen action. A notable
exception to this was Erich Korngold, who shunned the use of cue sheets and
Kathryn Kalinak, Settling the Score: Music and the Classical Hollywood Film
63
(University of Wisconsin Press, Madison: Wisconsin, 1992), 78-79, 101.
64
Evans, 22.
65
The Bride of Frankenstein, dir. James Whale (USA: Universal Pictures, 1935).
66
Between Two Worlds, dir. Edward A. Blatt (USA: Warner Bros. Pictures, 1944).
67
On The Waterfront, dir. Elia Kazan (USA: Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1954).
68
Psycho, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (USA: Shamley Productions, 1960).
69
Planet of the Apes, dir. Franklin J. Schaffner (USA: APJAC Productions, 1968).
38
stopwatches, preferring instead to improvise musical sequences while
viewing the rushes in the projection room.70
Upon completion of the score it was performed in the recording studio, where
the orchestra’s performance was captured by recording engineers using either
four or eight microphones, and then cut onto a wax or glass disc. Even though
film composers possessed individual compositional approaches, this film
score production template was used by the vast majority of studios from the
earliest days of the film soundtrack.
From a practical standpoint, the Real-Time composer’s task was
straightforward: to compose a narrative and aesthetically congruous score in
consultation with the film’s director and producer. Despite the range of
choices afforded by using the symphonic orchestra, the sonic options during
this period are finite and directly linked to the pitch, timbre, rhythm and
intensity produced by the individual instruments, as well as the technical
performance strengths or limitations of the musicians within the orchestra.
As it is outside the scope of this study to list every significant film scored
using the Real-Time model, I will concentrate on films I have examined that
display the defining characteristics of this approach – particularly those
mentioned in other research that have influenced the working methodologies
of other film composers.
4. 4 King Kong (1933)71
The composer Max Steiner (1888-1971) was heavily influenced by the work of
Richard Wagner, and Steiner’s landmark score for King Kong was
characterized by his use of the leitmotif. A child prodigy, having studied
piano with Brahms, orchestration with Strauss and conducting with Mahler,
70
Evans, 27.
71King
Kong. dir. Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack (USA: RKO Radio Pictures,
1933).
39
he attended the opening of his first opera in Vienna aged fourteen. His
reputation as one of Hollywood’s finest film composers convinced director
Merian Cooper to pay for a 46-piece orchestra with a budget of $50,000 (a
figure unheard of at that time) and Steiner created a score that ranged from
terrifying to sympathetic in tone. His earlier theatre work in Europe and
subsequent experience orchestrating and composing Broadway musicals gave
Steiner the perfect credentials to score the music for the film King Kong. The
examples below show some of his leitmotifs for the main characters and
events. The chromatic three-note motif for Kong facilitated contrapuntal use
in other contexts throughout the film such as the finale, where it converges
with the leitmotiv for Ann Darrow.
Figure 9. Steiner’s leitmotif for King Kong
Figure 10. Steiner’s leitmotif for Ann Darrow
Figure 11. Excerpt from Steiner’s ‘Meeting with Black Men’ cue.
In the ‘Meeting with Black Men’ cue, as the natives descend the steps toward
the film crew, Steiner synchronizes their footsteps perfectly, and although the
40
underscore does not sound out of place, the ‘mickey-mousing’ of the drama
seems stereotypical and conspicuous by today’s standards.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Steiner was something of a Luddite. As Richard
Davis notes:
Although Steiner and others of the previous generation were often
“genius” composers, they remained, for better or for worse, heavily
rooted in 19th century music and somewhat uninterested or even
opposed to newer musical styles. When asked to comment about
contemporary music, Max Steiner said: ‘I have no criticism. I can’t
criticise what I don’t understand.’72
The dramatic and adventurous score for King Kong was significant because,
as Cooke notes, ‘it established a style and technique of scoring that was not
only much imitated during the Golden Age, but continues to be reflected in
mainstream narrative practices to the present day.’73 For example, in its
chromatic simplicity Steiner’s leitmotif for Kong can be compared with
Williams’ motif for a more modern monster in Jaws, and his use of parallel
fourths to underscore scenes with ‘primitives’ influenced many scores of the
adventure genre. It was his sensitivity to emotional content that enabled
Steiner to phrase the drama while aesthetically framing the main characters
with perfectly idiosyncratic motifs.
Although the score for King Kong was at the time considered groundbreaking
in terms of its occasional dissonance and overall dynamism, there is no
evidence to suggest that Steiner held ambitions to explore anything more
than the established mainstream practices of the film-scoring process.
Steiner was one of the most successful and in-demand film composers
working in Hollywood during the 30s and 40s, and his statements confirm
72
Richard Davis, Complete Guide to Film Scoring: the Art and Business of Writing
Music for Movies and TV (Boston: Berklee Press, 2010), 36.
73
Cooke, 88.
41
that he was content to compose within the boundaries of the classical
Viennese idioms learned throughout his formative years.
4. 5 Citizen Kane (1941)74
Bernard Herrmann’s influential, neo-romantic score for Citizen Kane, his
first film score, directed by Orson Welles, has been the subject of many
studies. But it is Herrmann’s (1911-1975) fascination with sound and
instrumental timbre that set him apart from other composers. His earlier
experience composing and orchestrating music (which sometimes included
sound effects and electronic sound) for radio plays at CBS in the 1930s gave
him the opportunity to experiment with various timbral combinations while
refining his compositional technique.
It is Herrmann’s unorthodox choice of instrumentation and combination of
timbres as well as a highly developed narrative sense that characterise his
work. His use of low brass and woodwinds to create eeriness was in itself not
new, having been used in operas by Monteverdi, Rossini, Mozart and others,
yet his contrastive, stylized use of this technique can be seen in his film scores
right through to Taxi Driver in 1976. 75
Herrmann used specific clusters of instruments in order to produce the dark,
non-melodic leitmotif associated with Charles Foster Kane’s destiny, his
abuse of power and privilege. As Herrmann pointed out:
The short phrase is easier to follow for audiences, who listen with only
half an ear … The reason I don’t like this tune business is that a tune has
to have eight or sixteen bars, which limits a composer. Once you start,
you’ve got to finish – eight or sixteen bars. Otherwise the audience
doesn’t know what the hell it’s all about.76
74
Citizen Kane. dir. Orson Welles (USA: Mercury Productions, 1941).
75
Taxi Driver, dir. Martin Scorsese (USA: Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1976).
76
Smith, 78.
42
Accordingly, Herrmann’s Citizen Kane score included the musical devices he
had used in his radio-scoring career – he composed short phrases and made
use of silence in many transitions. Of major significance to this study are
Herrmann’s aesthetic choices in terms of his unique orchestral combinations,
which he justified as follows:
Since a film score is only written for one performance, I could never see
the logic in making a rule of the standard symphony orchestra. A film
score can be made up of different fantastic groupings of instruments, as
I’ve done throughout my entire career.77
Herrmann, due to his radio show and recording studio experience, was one of
first film score composers to consider the impact of technology on the
creative process. An example of this lies in his awareness of the limitations of
early microphone technology, which saw woodwinds more faithfully
reproduced than stringed instruments.78
This awareness of technical recording limitations may partly account for his
exploration of the low woodwind sonorities in Citizen Kane, while in much
later work, when technologies had improved, he favoured the string
orchestra. Figure 12 shows an excerpt from the Prelude, the film’s celebrated
opening sequence that the then twenty-nine year-old Herrmann described as
‘subterranean, strange heaviness of death and futility … a sort of variant on
the ancient hymn Dies irae.’ 79
77
78
Smith, 78.
William H. Rosar, Union Catalog of Motion Picture Music (Claremont:
International Film Music Society, 1991), 136.
79
Steven C. Smith, A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard
Herrmann (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), 78.
43
Figure 12. Bernard Herrmann’s Prelude for Citizen Kane
Commenting on the art of film-scoring in general, he said:
The real reason for music is that a piece of film, by its nature, lacks a
certain ability to convey emotional overtones. Many times in many films,
dialogue may not give a clue to the feelings of a character. It’s the music
or the lighting or camera movement. When a film is well made, the
music’s function is to fuse a piece of film so that it has an inevitable
beginning and end. When you cut a piece of film you can do it perhaps a
dozen ways, but once you put music to it, that becomes the absolutely
final way … Music essentially provides an unconscious series of anchors
for the viewer. It isn’t always apparent and you don’t have to know, but it
serves its function.80
The ‘Rosebud’ leitmotif, described by Charles Higham as ‘a solo on the
vibraphone which appears first when Kane drops the glass ball and is heard
80
Smith, 76.
44
whenever childhood images recur to evoke with pathos the sense of a lost and
beautiful past,’ is the other motif used in the score.81
Figure 13. Bernard Herrmann’s Rosebud motif
Although the vibraphone is commonly associated with the motif, in reality
the bass flutes play the preceding melody. There were many music cues that
Herrmann wrote for Citizen Kane that were either overlooked and/or edited
out of the final released version. These can still be found on CD recordings as
bonus tracks such as the 1991 version of the soundtrack, conducted by Joel
McNeely.82 This version was the basis for my ‘Rosebud’ transcription (in
figure 13) and instrumentation list, although my timecode markings are taken
from the 2001 DVD movie release.83
81
Charles Higham, The Films of Orson Welles (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1970), 14.
82
Bernard Herrmann, The Citizen Kane Soundtrack, cond. Joel McNeely, Royal
Scottish National Orchestra, Glasgow. CD (Varese Sarabande B00002MYY1, 1999).
83
Citizen Kane. dir. Orson Welles. DVD (Turner Home Entertainment
B00003CX9E, 2001).
45
The transcription of Herrmann’s Prelude in figure 12 is a reduction of an
original excerpt of the composer’s score found in page 25 of Higham’s The
Films of Orson Welles.84 I retained the order of instruments on Hermann’s
score for my transcription of the Rosebud motif (they are separated by 56
seconds) in figure 13 and the instrumentation is also corroborated in the CD
liner notes of the Joel McNeely recording. The complete instrumentation
order for the Prelude is as follows:
a. 3 x bass (alto) flutes in G (with Hermann’s note: ‘bass flutes
written as C instrument. Copyist transpose’)
b. 2 x clarinets in Bb
c. 3 x bass clarinets in Bb
d. 3 x bassoons
e. 1 x contrabassoon
f. 4 x horns in F
g. 3 x trumpets in Bb
h. 3 x trombones
i. tuba (unused)
j. timpani
k. tam tam
l. bass drum
m. 2 x vibraphones
n. piano (unused)
o. contrabasses (number not written but probably 2)
In an effort to analyse and clarify Hermann’s scoring and instrumentation
methodology, I have condensed the transcriptions down to a three-stave
reduction, making it easier to see the harmonic approach and the dense
voicings in use. By comparing Herrmann’s approach with those of the
contemporary composers in later chapters, I will be able to make judgements
on whether using virtual instrumentation influences the composers’
harmonic concepts.
84
Higham, 25.
46
It is clear that Hermann’s conceptual approach stands at odds with other
composers working in films during the 1940s. Max Steiner and others were
content to draw upon 19th century traditions, but Hermann, at age twentynine and already a veteran in terms of recording studio experience, had a
distinctly contrasting musical aesthetic. His years composing for CBS live
radio had a profound effect on his compositional strategies, and as a result of
last minute rescoring in order to accommodate script changes, he developed
skills to modularize whole passages of music. Added to this, his command of
orchestration was such that he was able to sonically sculpt cues to bridge
contrasting scenes. Steven C. Smith quoted Herrmann’s own description of
the process:
I used a great deal of what might be termed ‘radio scoring’. The movies
frequently overlook opportunities for musical cues which last only a few
seconds – that is, from five to fifteen seconds at the most – the reason
being that the eye usually covers the transition. On the other hand, in
radio drama, every scene must be bridged by some sort of sound device,
so that even five seconds of music becomes a vital instrument in telling
the ear that the scene is shifting. I felt that in this film, where the
photographic contrasts were often so sharp and sudden, a brief cue –
even two or three chords – might heighten the effect immeasurably.85
It is evident from Hermann’s statement that aural perception played a huge
role when conceptualizing the bridging musical devices that he used. But
equally important was his formidable grasp of the twentieth century concert
repertoire. Although Herrmann also made use of the leitmotif, his fresh
approach and experiments with unusual orchestration contrast starkly with
the music of Steiner and others. Although he is chronologically placed in this
study as a Real-Time composer, in the years to follow Herrmann developed
an inclination for employing unusual orchestral sonorities and he
experimented with electronic instruments and these featured prominently in
his work.
85
Smith, 77-78.
47
4. 6 The Planet of the Apes (1968)86
Like Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith’s foray into the world of film
scoring was predated by his work composing music for live radio shows. Also
like Herrmann, Goldsmith (1929-2004) always conducted his own works,
which varied stylistically from conventional symphonic scoring to modernist
sonic experimentation that included unusual instrumental groupings.
Goldsmith was a prolific composer, composing over 250 film and television
episodes during his fifty-year career.
Goldsmith’s avant-garde score for The Planet of the Apes uses a standard
orchestra, and employs dissonant harmony. Goldsmith discussed his modus
operandum in 1972 during as interview with the magazine Cinefantastique:87
CFQ: When you viewed the rough cut of Planet of the Apes, did you get
instantaneous thoughts as to how the score would go?
Goldsmith: No
CFQ: Did you discuss it with the director?
Goldsmith: Franklin Schaffner is a very articulate director, and it’s very
easy to work with him. He’s probably the only director who really
understands music.
CFQ: What did Schaffner suggest for the score?
Goldsmith: He didn’t suggest anything. I did the suggesting. He did the
understanding, knew what I was talking about. I said it should not be an
electronic score, not gimmicky, and wanted to do it with a normal
orchestra. I did not want to do the obvious on this.
CFQ: Are there any composers who particularly influence you?
Goldsmith: Yes, there’s Stravinsky, Bartok, Alvin Berg and Schoenberg.
It is interesting to note that Goldsmith was reticent to include electronics in
the score, and chose instead to achieve dissonance and a myriad of unsettling
instrumental timbres using conventional means. He was later to become well
86
Planet of the Apes, dir. Franklin J. Schaffner (USA: APJAC Productions, 1968).
87
Winogura, 37.
48
known for incorporating electronic instrumentation and effects with the
studio orchestra. His instrumentation reflects his earlier predilections:
percussion, piano and ethnic instruments feature prominently in the hunting
scenes; there are a number of unusual instruments such as a ram’s horn, the
Tibetan horn, boo-bam, (or ‘bamboo’ reversed syllabically, are tuned bongos
with a shell of natural bamboo) stopped harmonics on the violins; and notes
on the score call for ‘gongs to be scraped with coin.’88
Using chromaticism (occasionally employing tone rows) and a system of
destabilising tonal centres instead of traditional harmony, the underscore
creates tension, representing feelings of emotional instability among the
apes. Figure 14 is a transcription of the beginning of the scene entitled ‘The
Hunt’. The cue features aggressive, repetitive ostinato figures especially
prominent on the piano and percussion. The question remains to be
answered whether Goldsmith would have used virtual instrumentation in this
cue, had the score been produced now. The architecture and sonic choices
afforded by virtual percussion would work well with the repetitive percussion
rhythms that Goldsmith composed for this cue. Again, in chapter 5 a
comparison with similar cues produced with the hybrid approach will be
made, to demonstrate whether the virtual/hybrid approach influences the
compositional methodology of contemporary screen composers.
The opening melodic fragment has a C tonal centre and is played by the
woodwinds over the accented string dyads, broken only by the chromatic
piano figure in octaves at bars 4 and 8. Hinting at serialism, the piano figure
at bar 8 is then augmented through to bar 9 to include all 12 tones to
destabilize the tonality. The meter in bar 10 changes to 5/4 with a brass
crescendo from beat 2 – the string figure includes semiquavers and quavers
triplets before the start of the crescendo in bar 11. Here, as the tonal centre
moves to G, the piano begins a semiquaver ostinato (played between the two
hands) and repeats through to the end of the excerpt with woodwinds, strings
and xylophone playing the melody.
88
Karlin, 213.
49
Figure 14. Excerpt from Jerry Goldsmith’s ‘The Hunt’ (page 1).
Goldsmith used instrumentation very effectively in this excerpt, with the
timpani playing in unison with the piano on beat 1 in the beginning section.
This reinforces the feeling of forward motion and conveys a sense of urgency.
50
Figure 15. Excerpt from Jerry Goldsmith’s ‘The Hunt’ (page 2).
Goldsmith uses the piano ostinato in bar 11 as a driving force, and at bar 16
the conga plays a cross-rhythm in 6/8 meter that adds a carnal imagery to the
scene. The cue runs for five minutes and Goldsmith reuses most of the parts
51
from the notated excerpt, particularly the piano ostinati and the melodic
fragments played by the xylophone and woodwinds. The climax of the cue
features a ram’s horn playing ascending and descending fifths and here the
composer introduces polyrhythm with each section of the orchestra. The
overall effect is terrifying. Jerry Goldsmith received an Academy Award
Nomination for this score, but it was not until 1977 that he won the Oscar for
Best Original score, for The Omen.89
Looking at Goldsmith as compared to Bernard Herrmann, both composers
received formal music education and were influenced by their respective
composition tutors but ultimately other composers were cited as having the
most sway. Hermann credits the composer Charles Ives as a major source of
inspiration90 while Goldsmith cites Ernst Krenek, the ‘European Neoclassicist Schoenberg-atonal disciple.’91
While
both
composers
embraced
conventional
and
unconventional
compositional practices, Goldsmith, as seen in the above examples, was the
one more likely to venture into the realms of the avant-garde, possibly
because of the influence of Krenek. Unlike Herrmann, Goldsmith became
well known for scoring a wide range of film and television productions
ranging in genre from science fiction and action through to comedy and
drama. Both men were known for using eclectic combinations of
instrumentation however, and were intrigued by electronic instruments and
synthesizers. Despite composing through the period when multi-track
recording, digital technology and virtual instruments began to impact on film
score production, Jerry Goldsmith can not be considered among the
proponents of hybrid/virtual film score instrumentation.
89
The Omen, dir. Richard Donner (USA: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,
1976).
90
Smith, 23.
91
Carrie Goldsmith, “Preview of the Aborted Jerry Goldsmith Biography,” Jerry
Goldsmith Online, accessed January 12, 2012,
http://www.jerrygoldsmithonline.com/spotlight_biography_preview.htm
52
Chapter 4 has focussed on three well-known film scores that were composed
and produced using the real time methodology. I found that I was influenced
by the contrasting interpretations of the three composers. The dissonance
and polyrhythm used by Goldsmith, the dense layers and harmonic tension
typical of Herrmann, and the leitmotifs and romanticism of Steiner: each
composer unique in their approach, yet they all share the mastery of
storytelling. In relation to Collective Conceptualization, though the
composers were active in the real time era, the research has shown that they
were single-minded as far as sculpting the sonic palette that they desired.
With regard to their methodology in relation to this project, the composers in
chapter 4 made artistic decisions according to the narrative criteria that they
faced at the time. In simple terms, the composers were more likely to write
fast or slow, or in major or minor keys and were influenced primarily by the
on-screen image. The Collective Conceptualization process for them, stopped
at the recording studio that was, in effect, merely a documentary space – a
place where the orchestra and recording engineers and others, were hired to
transform countless pages of score to tape, and where no further creative
input was required or necessary.
Again, in simple terms, within the creative space from which they operated,
the emphasis was placed on the musical elements and resources assembled in
a linear approach, and they were primarily concerned with acoustic
instrumentation. We have learned that they worked within the aesthetic and
practical constraints of the era and were not required to deal with the
integration of the sonic elements that came about in the late 20th and 21st
century. As we will see in chapter 5, the inception of Collective
Conceptualization was necessarily brought about by the technological
revolution and the birth of virtual instrumentation. Composers now needed a
methodology that would allow them to establish ways to integrate the
available instruments into a sonic palette – to assemble in advance clusters of
real and virtual instrumentation in preparation for the actual compositional
process.
53
5
SIGNIFICANT FILMS SCORED WITH HYBRID/VIRTUAL
MODELS
5. 1 Definition
For the purpose of this study the Hybrid/Virtual Model is defined as a film
score consisting of methods of music production whereby multiple real and
virtual sources are combined for use in the final outcome of the film score.
SBOS is a methodology that uses virtual instruments (samples) but in the
interests of clarity in the context of this study, a distinction is made between
the use of SBOS and virtual instruments.
With the advent of the digital recording revolution in the 1980s, and with
hard-disk technology in use by the year 2000, sound sources for film score
composers are now literally limited only by the composer’s imagination. The
majority of music scores used in feature films now incorporate some form of
virtual instrument source, and are often but not always, used in tandem with
the conventional studio orchestra. For this reason the term hybrid/virtual
model refers to a score where it is assumed that the composer is dealing with
the physical surrounds of the real-time recording studio in tandem with
virtual instrumentation, in the process referred to in Chapter 1 as Collective
Conceptualization.
In other words, we can say that the composer of today must construct a
multi-faceted film score – multi faceted because the composer’s task involves
not only the principles of film score composition, but also the
conceptualization of the sonic palette and the integration of real and virtual
instrumentation.
5. 2 Background
From the 1980s, along with the emergence of digital multi-track recording,
composers began to take advantage of the processes being developed that
54
used the personal computer, MIDI enabled sound modules and samplers,
and the sequencing software programs that were now readily available. With
the ability to synchronize these elements to digital tape, composers were free
to incorporate additional sounds into existing recordings; for example,
drums, samples, added orchestrations and synthesized sounds). They were
able to add any of the myriad of MIDI operations available, such as the
quantization of sequences, adding FX, automation, and so forth.
The technical advancements of the new millennium saw the introduction of
hard disk (tapeless) recording and further development of computer-based
digital audio. The quality and architecture of orchestral sample libraries
improved dramatically and virtual instruments became a focus for many
audio software developers.
Although the process of sequencing using orchestral samples in a DAW is not
new, it is only within the last ten years that, with the ever-increasing
processing power of computers and the release of 24-bit orchestral software
libraries, a higher level of sonic realism has been reached. Film composers
now use sophisticated computer music software to sequence SBOS and for
many it is standard practise that these simulations, once used for mock-up
purposes only, are used on the final recording, mixed either with or without
real instruments.92
The SBOS process itself is extremely complex and time consuming and makes
extraordinary demands on both the computer central processing unit and on
hard drive data acquisition. It is essential that the composer has a
comprehensive knowledge of ‘both sides’ of the task – understanding the
intricacies of conventional arrangement and orchestration while possessing
advanced computer-based sequencing skills. Even so, SBOS is only one of a
plethora of sources that composers have at their disposal.
92
Cooke, 499.
55
5. 3 Practical Considerations
According to Jeff Rona:
With virtually no exception, a composer for film, TV, video games, or any
multimedia is going to need an electronic studio capable of flawless
rendering of music in whatever style is required for any project. In many
cases, the final result of your work comes directly from your studio. Even
on fully orchestral or other acoustic scores, the need to mock up
musically convincing demos is essential.93
From a practical standpoint, apart from the technical challenges involved
with setting up and maintaining a music production/composition studio, in
order to put into practise the Collective Conceptualization process, it is
essential that the composer gain a thorough working knowledge of all facets
of the sound production and editing operations within the studio, including
the SBOS libraries and the virtual instrument libraries. What follows is a case
study of films produced that I have examined, that display the defining
characteristics of this approach, particularly those mentioned in other
research that have influenced the working methodologies of other film
composers.
5. 4 Hans Zimmer – Sherlock Holmes (2009)94
Hans Zimmer (b. 1957) has long been known as a talented and prolific
experimental film score composer.95 His score for Sherlock Holmes was
nominated for an Oscar for Best Score in 2009. Having built a reputation
early in his career for composing scores for Rain Man (1988)96 (1988) and
93
Jeff Rona, The Reel World: Scoring for Pictures (New York: Hal Leonard, 2009),
109.
94
Sherlock Holmes, dir. Guy Ritchie (USA: Warner Bros Pictures, 2009)
95
Cooke, 498-499.
96
Rain Man, dir. Barry Levinson (USA: United Artists, 1988)
56
Driving Miss Daisy, (1989)97 Zimmer was one of the originators of the
methodology whereby virtual instrumentation was used to augment the
orchestra and vice-versa – depending on the style of the music required. The
score for Sherlock Holmes is unique up to this point in time with regard to
the instrumentation used. In addition to the studio orchestra and extensive
virtual instrumentation, the featured instrument list is:
Prepared Piano
Hungarian Cimbalon
Accordian
Electric guitar and Banjo
Fiddle x 3
Cello
Experibass (modified contrabass) played with various bows
Assorted percussion
After speaking with the director Guy Ritchie, Hans comments,
Guy and I didn’t want that homogeneous sound that you get from an
orchestra. We felt that it wasn’t the way to go in this movie. Everything
had a point of view. Everything was a bit bolder. Everything was a bit
more lively and dangerous.98
Zimmer, commenting on conceptualizing the score notes that:
The main thing I did was try not to listen to any of the other Sherlock
Holmes movies. I didn’t want to be influenced by them. The rest of my
research was just finding the players. I was really clear about who the
musicians were that I wanted to use on this. I grew up in Germany and
with the opera. I wanted it to have – I know it’s slightly the wrong area
97
98
Driving Miss Daisy, dir. Bruce Beresford (USA: The Zanuck Company, 1989)
Scorekeeper Interrogates Hans Zimmer on Sherlock Holmes (accessed 13
November 2012), http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43520
57
and geographically wrong as well – but I wanted it to have this republic
sound. A little rough around the edges.99
It is interesting to note that Zimmer’s aesthetic is partially influenced by
geography, and that this took preference over the historical aspect. Zimmer’s
combination of featured instruments feels organically realistic against the
timeline of the narrative – the 1880s. Zimmer made the fiddle the signature
instrument because Holmes was supposedly an amateur violinist, and there
are several scenes in the film featuring Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) holding
and plucking the violin. The several sequences featuring the three fiddles
likewise help bind the underscore to the narrative, such as ‘The Irene I Knew’
that Zimmer scored in the style of a Gypsy jig featuring fiddle, accordion and
tuba.
Bearing in mind Zimmer’s comment about focusing on the featured
instruments in the score rather than the homogeneous orchestral sound, it is
true that much of the underscore includes the featured instruments, but they
are often underpinned by the orchestra, with the low strings and percussion
particularly active. Zimmer often uses ambient textures, sometimes in
isolation, to join sequences. Many of the music cues for the film are
extensions
or
rearrangements
of
the
introductory
‘Holmes’
theme
(‘Discombobulate’) that is only heard in its entirety in the closing credits.
Like most film score composers working on major feature films, he uses the
expertise of talented composers/programmers to help sequence the array of
virtual instruments at his disposal, leaving him free to take the lead
creatively. Zimmer shares the music production credit with the Scottish
composer, Lorne Balfe, with whom he relied upon for extra sound
programming and arrangements. Zimmer’s Collective Conceptualization for
Sherlock Holmes puts the signature instruments squarely in the foreground
for much of the film, but his standard working methodology is still applied.
99
Scorekeeper Interrogates Hans Zimmer on Sherlock Holmes (accessed 13
November 2012), http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43520
58
This methodology includes reinforcing any areas of weakness either through
arrangement (doubling, harmonization, unison lines and so forth) or by
adding virtual instruments or effects.
Figure 16. Piano reduction of Hans Zimmer’s ‘Discombobulate’ from the film
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Reinforcement technique is a characteristic that defines many of Zimmer’s
scores, and it contributes to a score with a huge dynamic range. Depending
on the style of film in question, Zimmer has in the past used contemporary
rock instrumentation, including electric and bass guitars, drums and various
synthesizers to achieve this result, but has developed the methodology to a
point whereby he also uses orchestral instruments (real or virtual.)
While at one level this exemplifies his high-level orchestration skills, it also
attests to his sophisticated audio-sensory faculty. This is no doubt due to his
59
interest in sonic design, a professional pursuit that has seen him accumulate
a massive ‘sonic arsenal’ of sounds, synth patches and samples. I can
personally attest to at least a part of this history, having seen Zimmer’s rack
of 12 Akai S900 samplers and thousands of floppy disk samples at Sydney’s
Rhinoceros Studios during a trip he made to Australia in 1988. Additionally, I
was given access to many of Zimmer’s personal samples by the late audio
engineer, Simon Leadley, with whom Zimmer had worked.
Figure 16 is a piano reduction of an excerpt of ‘Discombobulate,’ the main
thematic figure of the film. It highlights the direction of Zimmer’s aesthetic
decisions regarding historical and cultural accuracy, and validates his
comments re: geographic consistency and the ‘republic’ sound mentioned in
his interview on page 58. The prepared piano, (sounding like an old, out of
tune bar piano) the fiddle and the accordion, are traditional Gypsy
instruments and were commonly heard in London streets during the 1880s.
The first rendition appears as a prepared piano part at the start of the
opening scene. (Catching a Killer – at 00:00:10:00) Contrabasses play a
sixteenth-note ostinato at 00:00:30:00 before the theme is re-introduced at
00:01:00:00 with the addition of the percussion section consisting of
timpani, taiko drums, orchestral toms and snare drum. This is the musical
accompaniment for Holmes and Watson as they each make a desperate dash
through the streets of London in to stop a sacrificial killing.
The methodology Zimmer uses in the first scene is developed and repeated
many times throughout the film. The ‘Discombobulate’ theme is arranged
variously and augmented with the featured instruments and orchestra. The
theme itself is simple and lends itself to those processes – the melody in the
‘A’ section features chromaticism over a ‘D’ pedal point (over Dm and Dm6)
to sustain tension, while the ‘B’ section introduces the minor sixth harmony
(Gm/D) before moving to the secondary dominant (E7) and returns to Dm
via Eb Maj.
60
Although the focus of the Sherlock Holmes score is on the signature
instruments, a tremendous amount of time and effort has gone into the
orchestral component – it is, especially for the more dynamic music cues, the
backbone of the score. The Hans Zimmer Sherlock Holmes score is a
culmination of real and virtual instrumentation that has been collectively
conceptualized, composed, arranged and programmed with the final
outcomes clearly visualized early in the production process.
It differs from the earlier examples in that its complexity lies within its sonic
makeup rather than the harmonic concept. This view could be thought of as a
sweeping generalization, however, taking the example of figures 14, 15
(Goldsmith, The Hunt) and 16, (Zimmer, Discombobulate) and the
accompanying analyses, we see that Goldsmith uses devices such as unusual
instrumentation, rhythmic development, chromaticism and dissonance
within the cue. On the other hand Zimmer’s example is rhythmically and
harmonically fundamental, and uses historically and geographically
appropriate instrumentation. (real and virtual)
It is difficult to make an objective assessment of the successfulness of each
example, with the former example accompanying a traditional chase, hunting
scene and the latter, also a pursuit scene although lighter and less perilous in
tone.
Goldsmith’s cue, the subject of the interview in the magazine
Cinefantastique, is a favourite among film historians and Zimmer’s theme
was retained and reused as the theme for the Sherlock Holmes sequel two
years later.
It is the precision and skill with which the instrumental oppositions in the
score have been integrated that is one of the primary foci of this study, and it
is intended that the knowledge acquired from the study of these processes is
implemented into the Collective Conceptualization and production of the
score for Ménilmontant.
61
5. 5 Thomas Newman – Skyfall (2012)100
Despite having garnered the dubious honour as the most talented film score
composer never to have won an Oscar, Thomas Newman (b. 1955) has a wellknown musical pedigree. His father Alfred, brother David, uncles Lionel and
Emil, and cousin Randy are all (or were) successful film score composers in
their own right. Thomas also has the reputation for having the music from his
previous scores used on more film trailers and at events such as the Olympic
Games than any other composer.101
Much has been written about Newman and his work is such that it has
influenced many film score composers.102 The current instalment of the
James Bond franchise Skyfall (nominated for Best Film Score at the 2013
Academy Awards) falls into the action film category, and this is not the type
of film score with which Newman has traditionally been associated. It was
interesting to note how many film score devotees in online forums were both
intrigued and delighted by Newman’s decision to score a Bond film
considering his career has been forged from composing minimalist,
experimental scores charged with emotion. As technology plays an integral
role in Newman’s film scoring process, virtual instruments were used for
many of the action cues in Skyfall.
Thomas Newman is relative to this study because his film scoring
methodology is the embodiment of Collective Conceptualization. This has
come about through years of refining his screen composition and music
production practices. Throughout the studio footage of interviews with
Newman, his dedication and attention to sonic detail is obvious.
Experimentation with motifs and sonic thoughts, especially during the early
stages of the director/composer relationship, is regarded as a priority.
100
101
Skyfall, dir. Sam Mendez (USA: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 2012).
IMDb.com, ‘Thomas Newman Biography’,IMDb.com (accessed 11 November
2012) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002353/bio
102
62
Cooke, 481.
Apart from the orchestral musicians, Newman uses a core group of featured
instruments in an approach much like Hans Zimmer’s methodology on
Sherlock Holmes. The Skyfall soundtrack lists each of the featured musicians,
along with Newman, as follows:
Thomas Bowes –
orchestra leader
George Doering –
guitar and hammered dulcimer
John Beasley –
synthesizers and drum programming
Paul Clarvis –
percussion
Frank Ricotti –
percussion
Sonia Slany –
electric violin
Phil Todd –
flute and ethnic woodwind
John Parricelli –
guitar 103
Newman uses the same group of featured musicians on nearly all of his film
scores. Music editor Bill Bernstein explains:
What Tom likes to do is go in with a small group of musicians, maybe 4
or 5 different guys that we’ve worked with for many years – amazingly
talented musicians – and we’ll play very nascent ideas and start adding
stuff over it. This is a great time to be really creative.104
The explorative ideas presented by the musicians are a part of the interaction
of personalities, and this creative, experimental impetus is also a hallmark of
Newman’s film scoring philosophy. Thomas Newman adds:
A lot of my music tends to be patterned and repeating, so often times I’ll
get together with a percussionist or a guitarist who can take these
patterns and add to them and therefore make them more sonically
103
Thomas Newman, Skyfall Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with Thomas
Newman et al., recorded September, 2012, Sony Classics, B009FBX5M0, 2012, mp3
digital download.
104
Thomas Newman, Notes on a Score Interview, YouTube video, 06:42, posted by
FancyTorque, August 31, 2011 (accessed 15 November 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg7dzJgljqY&feature=share&list=PL1E8A91743
47026B4
63
interesting. If you have repeating phrases often times it allows the ear to
hear colours in a way that widens your perception of sound and music
and how it comes at you … I guess what I like about that part of the
process is that you can only improve what’s there. Then you look at it
next to the image and you know it works, you say ‘That’s too complex a
sound, it takes my attention away from dialogue or from this bit of action
but I do like it there so let’s now start there at measure 33 as opposed to
31.’ And you make progress.105
Newman’s description of the fundamental Collective Conceptualization
process provides an insight into his aesthetic approach. With regard to the
subtle twists and turns in the plot and its relationship to the underscore, his
comments on ‘hearing colours’ the perception of sound and ‘how it comes at
you’ indicate a highly intellectual sonic and emotional awareness that has
been developed over the course of his film-scoring career. Because the score
for Skyfall is a recent work I have not found any specific references to the
virtual instrumentation used apart from a reference to his use of ‘tons’ of the
virtual synth, Spectrasonics Omnisphere.106 I have this instrument in my own
sound library and I can confirm that it is indeed used heavily in the score.
A large proportion of the ambient and textured sound comes as a result of the
featured instrumentation and not the virtual instruments. This is due to
Newman’s Collective Conceptualization and his philosophy on recording with
the core instrumentalists. In the recording studio Newman acts as a
105
Thomas Newman, Notes on a Score Interview, YouTube video, 07:00, posted by
FancyTorque, August 31, 2011 (accessed 15 November 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg7dzJgljqY&feature=share&list=PL1E8A91743
47026B4
106
Melanie Power, “Thomas Newman uses ‘tons’ of Omnisphere in James Bond
Skyfall
movie,”
Time
&
Space
blog
(accessed
5
December
2012)
http://blog.timespace.com/2012/11/thomas-newman-uses-tons-of-omnisphere-injames-bond-skyfall-movie/
64
Instrumentation
Flute or
Cue Name
Drum
Electric
Ethnic
Synth or
Program
Violin
W/w
Sampler
ming





Guitar
Perc.
1. Grand Bazaar



2. Voluntary
Retirement
3. New Digs






4. Severine
Dulcimer



5. Brave New
World
6. Shanghai
Drive
7. Jellyfish

8. Silhouette


9. Modigliani


10. Day Wasted


11. Quarter
master
12. Someone
Usually Dies
13. Komodo
Dragon
14. The Bloody
Shot
15. Enjoying
Death
16. The Chimera






















17. Close Shave








21. Enquiry




22. Breadcrumbs






23. Skyfall






































18. Health &
Safety
19. Granborough
Road
20. Tennyson




Orchestra



Inst.



Virtual





























24. Kill Them
First
25. Welcome To
Scotland
26. She’s Mine










27. The Moors









28. Deep Water
















27
27
29. Mother








30. Adrenaline






TOTAL
22
27
22
17
17
18

16
Figure 17. Instrumentation for the Skyfall Soundtrack
65
mediatory presence and is able to extract a range of sonic impressions from
the signature instrumentalists by way of a collaborative approach to
recording, thereby giving the musicians the freedom to input individual
expressive nuances and ideas.
The recordings from these sessions are often used as the rhythm section
stems that form the click track that is played in the earphones of the
conductor (in this case, Newman himself) at the subsequent orchestral
recording sessions. The success or failure of this process depends upon
Newman’s ability at the outset, to envisage the final artistic outcome of the
successive integration of individual musical parts.
Figure 17 shows the breakdown of the instruments Newman used in the score
for Skyfall. It reveals the depth of instrumental homogenization within the
composer’s Collective Conceptualization process. Newman has included
virtual instruments/synthesizers/samples on most of the cues on the
soundtrack. For example, the cue entitled ‘Quartermaster’ uses woodwinds,
(real) and rich ambient textured samples (Omnisphere) that are blended with
delayed electric guitar and bass motifs (real and with Omnisphere) behind
crescendo percussion patterns (real and with Omnisphere) as a build-up to
the entry of the orchestra. Instrumentation and arrangements similar to this
are used on several cues.
Although the table reveals the combinations of instrumentation used in the
cues, upon viewing the video footage one can see that the instruments are not
merely overdubbed one over the other, but that the sonic amalgamation that
occurs is carefully planned from the earliest stages. A section of the video
shows Newman and director, Sam Mendez, in the early stages of the score’s
production, during a spotting session discussing sound bytes that Newman
had prepared. The conversation centres on the types of sound that Mendez
wants in the score, and Newman intuitively builds his sonic palette
accordingly. This is an example of Collective Conceptualization in the
developmental stages of the process. (See figure 2)
66
There are many comparisons to be made between the work of Hans Zimmer
on Sherlock Holmes and Newman’s work on Skyfall. Even though the two
films share little historically and geographically, musically speaking the
composers have scored both films with a similar aesthetic approach. A
substantial element of their Collective Conceptualization revolves around a
core group of specialist or featured musicians and instruments (of which the
composers themselves can be a part) that form the fundamental sonic
elements that are then usually expanded upon or reinforced by, the studio
orchestra. In the case of Zimmer it appears that the specialist instruments
change according to the stylistic needs of the score, whereas Newman tends
to make use of a stable of core of musicians and featured instruments.
While writing the table of instrumentation for figure 17, which involved
identifying instrumentation for each of the cues, I was able to fully focus on
the range of sound Newman is able to extract from the featured musicians.
The process was involved because many of the instruments were played
unconventionally, so that rather than listening for an electric violin for
example, I needed to concentrate on the full range of capabilities that that
instrument has to offer. Effects are commonly used on the electric violin and
because of this it is capable of achieving a range of orchestral string sounds –
it can easily be mistaken for the string section because it occasionally doubles
the string lines. In order to complete the task I needed to refer to background
research and footage of the recording sessions etc.
Unsurprisingly, figure 17 reveals the extent to which Newman relies on the
orchestra as it was used in all but three cues, as were the virtual instruments
and the live percussion. Featured percussion was present in some form on
every orchestral cue except for two – this shows the emphasis Newman
placed on the rhythmic elements of the score – where many of his scores have
relied on percussive elements, particularly tuned percussion, the Skyfall
score is much more reliant on the use of membranophones. The table also
reveals the prevalent use of the electric violin and guitars, used in all but
eight cues. Electric guitars (as opposed to acoustic) were used almost
exclusively and effects were often used to achieve the desired sounds. Figures
67
Figure 18. Reduction of Thomas Newman’s ‘Voluntary Retirement’ from the film,
Skyfall (page 1).
68
Figure 19. Reduction of Thomas Newman’s ‘Voluntary Retirement’ from the film,
Skyfall (page 2).
18 and 19 show an excerpt of the score showing the electric violin (hemiola)
line from the cue entitled ‘Voluntary Retirement’.107
Whereas the featured musicians on both Sherlock Holmes and Skyfall were
given prepared scores or musical sketches at the recording sessions, Newman
107
Thomas Newman, Skyfall Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with Thomas
Newman et al., recorded September, 2012, Sony Classics, B009FBX5M0, 2012.
69
uses an established strategy that encourages spontaneous creativity and,
occasionally,
improvisation.
Both
composers
are
eager
to
employ
experimental technology and methodologies with regard to sound recording
and production – for example in the use of unorthodox combinations of
instruments, piano hammers and mallets on contrabass, the use of prepared
piano, and so forth.
Perhaps the most unanticipated element of the Collective Conceptualization
of both composers is the degree of collaboration with the featured musicians.
In terms of creative input, during the recording phase both composers rely
heavily on the musicians to develop the charts/sketches and enhance the
score. As such this validates the use of the hybrid model.
It is clear that the work of Newman and Zimmer in chapter 5 contrast heavily
with scores composed by Steiner, Herrmann and Goldsmith covered in
chapter 4. I believe that the contrast is due to the Collective
Conceptualization techniques practised by the composers as evidenced by the
examples shown in this chapter. My findings are that the use of Collective
Conceptualization in film score composition, shifts the musical emphasis
from a model existing purely as one of composition, appropriateness and
instrumentation, to a model where the sonic palette is also an essential
component to be mastered.
In chapter 6 I will show how I have incorporated this approach into the
composition
and
production
processes
in
the
musical
score
for
Ménilmontant, and how these methodological, expressive and technical
approaches have impacted on my compositional process.
70
6
DISCUSSION OF THE SCORE FOR MÉNILMONTANT
This chapter will discuss the Collective Conceptualization, composition and
production of my score for Ménilmontant, and elaborate and contextualize
the work in light of the findings from previous chapters. It will also explain
the rationale behind the aesthetic decisions taken with regard to the physical
recording space and the shifting dynamic between the use of real and virtual
instrumentation. It will describe the range of strategies used in which:
1.
Live performers were used to variously realise a fully notated
score and/or collaborate in the recording of a set of
compositional sketches, and
2.
The virtual studio was used – reliant on SBOS and digital
technologies in which the mediation of the physical space and
other musicians plays no part, where the composer remains
the sole arbiter of the score
3.
Combinations of the above are used simultaneously.
6. 1 Practical Considerations
From the beginning of the study, I focussed on the Collective
Conceptualization technique, knowing that I was in a position to take full
advantage of the process. As mentioned in the introduction, I hypothesized
that the process would be advantageous to composers working with limited
resources. With its integrative approach, Collective Conceptualization
restricts sonic/instrumental discrimination, effectively encouraging the
composer to re-imagine sonic outcomes and to draw out the maximum
amount of tonal colour from the available sources.
I knew that having a restricted budget would have a major effect on my
scoring methodology for Ménilmontant. Having had previous professional
experience with low to medium budget films meant that I had prior
knowledge as far as making artistic decisions based on economic constraints.
71
This is a standard part of the process for scoring projects of any budget, so
when I began Ménilmontant, I abandoned any thoughts of hiring a 10-piece
violin section to play over my SBOS programming to add realism (as I had
done on previous film score sessions).
Using SBOS is commonplace among film score composers who are working
on low-budget productions. Hollywood film producers require every score to
be mocked-up by programmers using this method before signing off on the
music in order to hear a close representation of the final score. As noted in
Chapter 5, because of the steady refinement of the quality of orchestral
samples and in the software architecture used to sequence and record them,
there has been an equivalent advancement in the overall sonic quality
attained and greater levels of realism in work produced using them. This is so
much so that some film score composers now prefer to incorporate certain
SBOS elements into the final mix of the score. Because of the low recording
budget, I decided that the majority of the orchestral instrumentation would
be programmed as SBOS and that I would record individual orchestral
instruments as needed. I had an SBOS setup, so my primary concern was to
have as many of the featured instruments recorded in real-time as possible in
order to capture natural dynamics and to include an acoustic ambience. I
thought that using this format would be the best way to achieve the audio
quality I desired within the framework with which I was working.
My composition studio is equivalent in size to the film composers studied in
this project and is designed to reflect the working methodologies reviewed. A
comprehensive equipment and software list is included in the appendix. It is
essential that the studio be large enough to house the following:
1. Computer and associated equipment (hard drives, printer, etc)
2. Controller keyboard for MIDI input
3. Studio monitors that are not placed directly against walls
4. Outboard gear (mixer, microphone pre-amps, compressors, etc)
5. A vocal booth or room to record featured instruments
6. Associated recording gear (microphones, stands, music stands, etc)
72
6.1.1
The Real Instruments
As a pianist I find that is also preferable to have a piano or a weighted
keyboard as a writing instrument, separate from the controller keyboard. The
piano used in Ménilmontant is my Kawai 6’ Grand, and it is used on several
cues in the score and is processed with a range of digital audio tools. There
are a variety of instruments in the studio and many were used in the
production of the score. The session musicians I recorded in the score
brought their own instruments to the studio. The table of real instruments
used on each cue is shown below.
Opening Waltz 1. Murder 2. Girls Dance 3. Cemeterey 4. The Streets of Paris 5. Meet the Cad 6. Sunday Sleeping 7. He's A Man 8. Sister Waits 9. Sad Seine 10. Suspicion 11. Proof 12. Seine Daydream 13. Cold Desperation 14. Sleaze 15. Reconciliation 16. Senseless Murder 17. Closing Waltz. 18. 0% Accordion Bass Drums Glockenspiel Mandolin Pan Flute Piano Percussion Ukelele Voice 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Figure 20. Real instruments used in the score for Ménilmontant
73
From the above table it is evident that percussion, drums and piano feature
prominently throughout the score, while the mandolin and voice are used
once each. There are no real instruments on cue 16, ‘Reconciliation’. All of the
real instruments were recorded using conventional microphone placement
techniques – the microphones used were 2 x Rode Classic IIs, 2 x Rode NT2s
and occasionally a Shure SM 58. The microphones were processed through a
Focusrite ISA-428 Microphone Preamplifier. The piano, accordion and
percussion were recorded in stereo. The percussion used ranged from
tambourine, cabasa, shakers, triangle, handclaps and bongos through to the
less conventional sticks of any type, woodblocks, rubbing stones, drumsticks
on the side of the piano and brushes on virtually any surface.
Opening Waltz 1. Murder 2. Girls Dance 3. Cemeterey 4. The Streets of Paris 5. Meet the Cad 6. Sunday Sleeping 7. He's A Man 8. SBOS Sister Waits 9. Virtual Sad Seine 10. Real Suspicion 11. Proof 12. Seine Daydream 13. Cold Desperation 14. Sleaze 15. Reconciliation 16. Senseless Murder 17. Closing Waltz. 18. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Figure 21. Categories of instruments used in the score for Ménilmontant
74
6.1.2 The Musicians
One of the main points for discussion in this chapter concerns the
relationship and process of collaboration between the session musicians and
myself. The wording used in the introduction is ‘variously realise a fully
notated score and/or collaborate in the recording of a set of compositional
sketches.’ This outlines the behaviour, habits and practices that I encouraged
during the recording sessions for Ménilmontant.
My philosophy when recording collaboratively is to set a relaxed and positive
tone with the intention to motivate the musicians and to inspire each of them
to contribute artistically to the project. There are several aspects involved:
a. Be patient, relaxed and enjoy the recording process
b. Be prepared with clear, accurate charts or instructions
c. Make sure the musicians are comfortable before beginning the session
d. Be able to practically demonstrate exactly what is required
e. Praise genuinely and freely
f. Give guidance but only when necessary
g. Ask if the musicians feel something should change musically
h. Ask if the musicians would like to add or contribute something that is
not on the chart i.e. encourage improvisation (when appropriate)
i. If the improvisation isn’t appropriate or warranted, don’t trash it – it
may be suitable for another cue, so communicate this to the musicians
j. Ensure that there is nothing more the musicians wish to add before
the session finishes
k. Thank the musicians for their musical and artistic input
I had prepared notation for all of the recording sessions for Ménilmontant
except for the vocal session on cue number 8, ‘He’s A Man’. I sang and played
the melody line-by-line rather than writing a chart. I felt that the
contributions made by the musicians was exceptional, and that adding the
75
acoustic/real component boosted the dynamic range and added a
fundamental acoustic quality that was needed for the overall sonic balance of
the score.
6.1.3 The Virtual Instruments
The majority of the virtual instruments used in the score for Ménilmontant
(not including SBOS which will be discussed below) are those produced by
the audio companies Spectrasonics and Native Instruments. As indicated in
figure 21, they were used on 12 of the 18 cues in the score.
These instruments generally operate as a plugin accessed from within the
sequencing application, in this case from within Logic Pro. Figure 22 below
shows a screen grab of Spectrasonics Stylus RMX Realtime Groove Module.
This shot of the mixer page from within the application architecture shows
eight discreet channels featuring individual drum patterns that can be
processed together or separately.
Each rhythm pattern can be played back in any time signature and individual
drum samples can be routed to any of the outputs on the left. Multiple
instances of Stylus can be used. Because of what is effectively in-built time
stretching, the patterns listed below at various tempi (the bpm tempo is listed
at the beginning of the pattern name) can all automatically play back at the
tempo at which the sequencer is set.
76
Figure 22. Screen grab of the mixer page from within the Spectrasonics Stylus RMX
Realtime Groove Module
The flexibility, ease of use, and the numerous editing features make this a
very powerful virtual instrument – the other Spectrasonics instruments,
including Omnisphere and Trillian, are similar in their architecture and use,
but feature synthesizer and bass instruments respectively.
Figure 23 below shows a screen grab of Native Instruments Absynth 5 Virtual
Synthesizer. This virtual synth features hybrid architecture that enables it to
harness the characteristics of the classic sound generating systems of
subtractive synthesis, FM, wave-table, granular sampling, and sampling with
wave-morphing, filters, modulators and effects. It is extremely versatile in
that it can also be used as an fx processor plugin for other tracks, but is
known principally for its powerful emulation of classic sounds, as well as for
ambient, evolving textures.
77
Figure 23. Screen grab of the browser page from within Native Instruments Absynth
5 virtual synthesizer
The other virtual instrument used in the score from Native Instruments,
Reaktor, is also a very powerful synth with a modular architecture, and is a
particularly effective complex sound generator. I used both Absynth 5 and
Reaktor to build the atmospheric ambient sounds in the score, such as at
00:00:42:00 near the beginning of cue 2, ‘Murder’. The texture builds behind
the stabbing strings as the parents are trying to escape through the kitchen
door. It is also used at 00:16:22:00 in cue 9, ‘Sister Waits’. This is the most
powerful example in the score of these virtual instruments – I wanted the
sound to intrude as the sister dreams of nude images of her younger sister
and the young man in bed.
78
6.1.4 Sample Based Orchestral Simulation (SBOS)
Due to continual advances in technology and computer capabilities, the
quality of orchestral simulations is developing at a parallel rate. High quality
simulations are commonplace and film producers and directors have been
quick to recognise the benefits of SBOS in terms of streamlining the film
production process. There are also many composers that take advantage of
SBOS knowing that full orchestral simulations can be realised without the
need for live orchestral musicians.
6.1.4.1 Technical Considerations
The SBOS operation is complex and the technical and artistic processes must
be thoroughly understood for a convincing simulation to be produced. There
are many individual technical scenarios involved with setting up an SBOS
system to run successfully. Due to the huge amounts of sample data being
streamed, it is essential to use solid-state hard drives (SSD) and these are
very expensive.
Ensuring that computer and audio hardware and software are compatible
within the system is in itself an operation requiring constant attention due to
the regular upgrading of these components – if any of the components fails to
recognize or is incompatible with other upgrades, then the system as a whole
will fail. This is further complicated by the fact that some manufacturers are
slow to release critical upgrades, and this may clog the upgrade path to a
number of vital components.
Running a powerful computer with as many processors as possible is also
mandatory. The fastest laptops struggle to run even a small SBOS setup
effectively, and many professional programmers chain 4 x Mac Pro Hexacore
machines together for a total of 48 individual computer processors in order
to tackle Hollywood mock-ups. The speed of data transferral within the
computer system bus and data retrieval times from the drives holding the
79
samples is also of paramount importance. In general, the fastest computers
have data access specifications that will cope provided good quality solid state
drives are used.
There is an array of MIDI controllers available for programming, and these
have a direct bearing on the behaviour of the SBOS systems. Many orchestral
programmers use a MIDI musical keyboard as their main source of data
entry. Fully weighted keyboards (such as the Roland RD series) have an
advantage in that they feel piano-like and therefore the programmer is likely
to input MIDI data with a higher range of velocity sensitivity than with a nonweighted keyboard. Many programmers also use drum-pad type MIDI
controllers for inputting drum and percussion data. MIDI controllers have
varying velocity sensitivities and allowances may need to be made for specific
controllers within the SBOS and the sequencer. MIDI guitar controllers, for
example, behave differently to MIDI wind controllers.
The SBOS system used on the score for Ménilmontant is the East West
Quantum Leap Symphony Orchestra 24 bit Platinum or EWQLSO. The
system uses a multi architecture named Play that is designed to run either as
a standalone instrument or as a plug-in accessed from within a sequencer,
the latter being used in this instance.
The main Play browser page for the EWQLSO (figure 24 below) features a
user-definable sensitivity curve that instantly adjusts the reception of
sensitivity of the MIDI data from the controller. Also in the same area are
options for limiting the minimum and maximum velocity received, switches
for enabling portamento, repetition and legato. Below this are the envelope
parameters, (essential for adjusting the attack and release of instruments)
while in the centre sits the list of articulated samples for a particular
instrument.
The instrument shown in figure 24 is a master trumpet patch, meaning that
within the single patch, there are a number of articulated samples (such as
80
Figure 24. Screen grab of the East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra ‘Play’
page
staccato, sustained, legato, trill etc.). Each of the articulated samples have
abbreviated names such as D0-Sus-Leg that when construed, means that the
sample can be accessed on the keyboard at MIDI note D0, and that the
trumpets have been recorded playing sustained, legato notes. Each
articulation has its own MIDI note number. Note that each articulation can
be adjusted by way of the volume trim pots under the ‘level’ heading and that
each sample can be deactivated and unloaded to save RAM. The keyboard at
the bottom is a representation of an 88-note controller/MIDI keyboard and
shows three distinct sections: the beige notes are unused, the white notes
indicate the range of the instrument, and the blue notes are known as ‘Key
Switches’. The key switch keys are linked to the corresponding articulation in
the articulation list and do not sound when pressed but trigger a MIDI
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program change. Figure 24 shows a darker blue D0 key meaning that the
articulation is use is D0-Sus-Leg – if the key switch key D#0 is pressed then
the corresponding articulation D#0-Port-Leg (portamento legato) is then
active. When programming on an 88 note MIDI controller, the user only
needs to press the corresponding key switch key in order to call up the
required articulation in real time, and this program change is automatically
recorded into the sequencer. This system enables the programmer to input
fluid movement through various articulations in much the same way as a live
performer does.
On the right hand side of figure 24 are the effects and master controls of Play.
There are also controls for the adjustment of microphone placement and
panning. In the output section Play supports up to 9 x stereo outputs or full
surround mode. Because of its 64-bit operation, Play is able to stream the
samples called up in memory directly from the SDD and take full advantage
of the computer’s RAM configuration. The computer system used for the
Ménilmontant score (8 core Mac Pro Nehalem) has a 26 GB RAM upgrade
and generally enabled four full instances of Play to function in real time,
along with numerous virtual instruments and plug-ins. For most of the cues
in the score there were about 100 channel strips in the sequencer, including
auxiliary tracks. (Logic Pro 9.1.8) An important function in Play is the ability
to purge any articulation samples that are initially loaded into RAM as part of
instrument patches, but subsequently are not used. Deleting these orphan
samples helps greatly in freeing up RAM for other operations.
6. 2 Instrumental Summary
We have looked at the architecture for each of the instruments available to be
used in the score for Ménilmontant within the main categories and they are:
1. Real Instruments
2. The Musicians
3. The Virtual Instruments and
4. SBOS
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Within these four categories of instruments lies an extreme range of sonic
choices and possibilities from acoustically and virtually generated sounds.
Using the format shown in figure 2, I was able to use a holistic approach to
compose and group sounds to construct a sonic palette rather than proceed
along the traditional linear compositional pathways shown in figure 1. This
enabled me to focus more clearly on the final sound outcomes regardless of
the types of instrumentation I was using.
The choice of sequencing software also has a major bearing on the technical
process. Currently many SBOS programmers use either Digital Performer,
Cubase (Nuendo) or Logic Pro (in no particular order), and each program has
its strengths and weaknesses. Many composers and programmers remain
loyal to a particular software brand because of the learning curve associated
with sequencers, and because they may also have customized sets of user
preferences for using MIDI controllers, making it a time-consuming
operation to switch.
As the sequencer acts as a hub within the Collective Conceptualization
process, it serves as an integral focus point where many of the abstract
aspects are formally gathered together in preparation for practical
operations. While a full explanation is not needed it is important to
understand its basic operation.
6.2.1 The Sequencer – Logic Pro
Sequencer software can be thought of as a sophisticated recording and
mixing package, capable of manipulating various types of audio, both real
and virtual. Most sequencers have similar main pages and functions that can
be broken down thus:
1. The Arrange page – a visual guide to the instruments being used
2. The Mixer page – a representation a typical outboard mixing board
83
3. The Audio page – a list of the audio files that have been recorded or
imported and audio editing tools e.g. time stretching, pitch shifting
etc.
4. The Score page – where data is displayed as notation
5. The Piano Roll page – where data is displayed on a linear visual format
Editing can be done on these pages and there are usually many other pages
available for editing such as data pages where events are listed digitally.
Importantly, the arrange page shows a range of tracks sourced from either
recorded audio, MIDI tracks, virtual instrument tracks or SBOS instruments
and there can also be auxiliary tracks, busses etc listed. The arrange and
mixer pages can be thought of as the hubs where the instruments are
aesthetically combined to form the final audio product.
The mixer page is the visual representation of every sound component such
as a (recorded) live audio track, virtual or SBOS instrumentation or hosted
plug-ins and sound processors. It is the page where the final mix is readied
and many of the traditional mixing processes such as gain control, panning,
the manual adjustment of faders (for ‘on the fly’ audio level control) or the
insertion and application of effects can be programmed as automated
processes. As an example, it is possible to isolate a problematic bar of a
recorded instrument track, re-equalize the track just for the required number
of beats, and then return the instrument to its prior equalization setting, all
in an automated function. Automation can be applied to a myriad of audio
parameters.
Sound mixing for film is an area where experience is vital as it is the final step
in the sound process. Although Logic and all the popular sequencers can
render mixes in surround sound, the format for the sound mix for
Ménilmontant is stereo (not 5.1 or 7.1 surround as it is for modern cinema
releases) because there is no advantage in using a surround format purely for
stereo score files.
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6. 3 The Collective Conceptualization Process used on
Ménilmontant.
In order to set a theoretical framework on which to evaluate the score for
Ménilmontant, it is vital to consider the aesthetic choices made by Davis and
Einhorn and the precedents that they have set in Chapter 2. By doing so, the
author can compare those precedents to the aesthetic decisions taken in the
score for Ménilmontant. Broadly speaking, Davis’ aesthetic choices were
governed by his wish to remain ‘in the same world,’ and to ensure seamless
transitions between the music of Gounod (and others) and his own. The
overriding factor for Davis’ aesthetic approach was stylistic accuracy.
On the other hand, Einhorn by his own admission connected with the
historical, ethereal and spiritual aspect of the chronicle of La Passion de
Jeanne d’ Arc. He placed great importance on preserving the liturgical
context of the chants in the libretto, and felt compelled to undertake
extensive research on Gregorian chant and medieval and renaissance works
to maintain historical authenticity with regard to instrumentation. Finally,
these factors were complemented by his desire to maintain the integrity of
the sonic domain and whenever possible, his use of original musical artefacts.
The overriding factor for Einhorn’s aesthetic approach was historical
accuracy.
My aesthetic approach to the score for Ménilmontant was shaped foremost
by the conceptual shift brought about by the use of physical and virtual
instrumentation in the recording and/or composition studio. Specifically, this
shift has radically altered the way that composers conceptualize and produce
their scores, because of the need to abstractly foregather a cluster of real and
virtual instrumentation in preparation for the actual compositional process –
i.e. the Collective Conceptualization approach.
85
The Collective Conceptualization process for Ménilmontant began with the
overall sonic impression. Like Carl Davis, I felt that the score needed to be sit
stylistically with the music of Paris in the 1920s, and in order to do that, apart
from achieving the appropriate tonal characteristics, I wanted as much
homogeneity between the virtual and the real instrumentation as possible.
Like Richard Einhorn, I felt that it was crucial to maintain historical ties with
regard to instrumentation. Aside from the orchestra there is a range of
acoustic instruments including accordion, ukulele, mandolin, glockenspiel,
pan flute, bass, piano, jazz drum kit, assorted percussion and a soprano vocal.
These were used predominantly in the jazz-influenced passages of the score
and were some of the instruments in common use around Paris in the 1920s.
I also reflected on the historical nature of Ménilmontant and I was mindful
that the challenges I faced were the same challenges that were faced by film
score composers ranging from Davis and Einhorn to Satie, Saint-Saëns,
Bernard Herrmann and John Williams. These challenges include balancing
factors such as:
a. Historical accuracy and its importance and relevance in the film’s plot
b. Characterization – building a descriptive motif (or not)
c. Dramatic theme – the general mood, playing the drama
d. Geographical factors – diegetic and non-diegetic references
e. The inclusion of devices used by the above composers
The orchestral sequences in the score were produced in the virtual domain
using SBOS. However, the complexity of the process is such that it requires
large amounts of processing power and is time consuming. It can also be very
expensive: at the time of writing, sought after Hollywood MIDI
arrangers/programmers are earning in excess of $US50000 per feature
score.
Even with the improvement in SBOS techniques there are limitations that
have a direct affect on the aesthetic approach one takes. For example, even
though instrument samples are recorded at various dynamic levels and with
many articulations, recreating the overall dynamic levels of an acoustic
86
orchestra is problematic, particularly in sparse, softer passages. Likewise, it is
difficult to mimic the dynamics and power of a symphonic orchestra playing
fortissimo. As a result, the composer may opt to score around these
restrictions by incorporating other articulations, or by conceptualizing the
part differently. This can include prioritising the melody, simplifying the
instrumentation, and using tutti passages. There are indeed countless ways to
rebalance the instrumentation and dynamics.
6. 4 The Aesthetic Approach in the Score for Ménilmontant
6.4.1 The Synopsis
During my research I have read many different accounts of the synopsis of
Ménilmontant. Few authors seem to agree on the major points in the plot, so
I thought it relevant to give my own account, having viewed the film
countless times. Additionally, my interpretation of the narrative had a direct
impact on the Collective Conceptualization process and my musical decisions
regarding appropriateness.
The film centres on two adolescent sisters who flee the countryside to the
streets of Paris, specifically to the working-class 20th arrondissement,
Ménilmontant. Here they work together making dried flower bouquets after
the unexplained and brutal murder of their parents. The younger sister,
played by Kirsanoff’s wife, Nadia Sirbirskaïa, falls in love with an amoral
young man (Guy Belmore) and this results in pregnancy. Meanwhile, her
older sister, (Yolande Beaulieu) having entered the sordid world of
prostitution, is also seeing the same young man. After giving birth, the
younger sister is left homeless, cold and destitute and on the verge of suicide
following the realization that the young man and her sister had deceived her.
In an extraordinarily moving sequence, (cue 14 – ‘Cold Desperation’) mother
and illegitimate infant sit cold and hungry on a park bench. An old man
sitting next to them kindly places pieces of bread on the bench between them
87
that she eventually accepts while choking back tears of gratitude. Even
though there is a brief mutual acknowledgement, their eyes never meet and
they remain in a lonely and detached space. During the three and one-half
minute scene, the cold young mother conjures up images of a well-to-do
French villa with a bedroom and an open fire, a dog sleeping on a cushion
next to the bed and in another room, a long dining table, adorned with freshly
picked flowers and set for dinner.
She thinks of a plush bathroom with clean towels and hot running water
before she shakes her head, as if to scatter the thoughts of her dream before
coming back to the reality of her lonely plight, and the camera once again
focuses on the image of the desperate young woman and child. Kirsanoff’s
stark montage depicts the utter hopelessness of her situation – in the
desperation to care for her child she accepts food from a kind stranger.
Highlighting the struggles of the working class and unemployed, Kirsanoff
also used a similar mise en scène - lonely people on a park bench - in a
sequence from his earlier, lost film, L’Ironie du destin.108
Sometime later, we see the older sister pacing up and down on a street
outside a hotel wearing a coat and high heels. She waits for customers and by
the look of her demeanour and clothes, appears to have turned to
prostitution. The younger sister happens to be walking up the laneway with
her baby and the two sisters are subsequently reunited and all is forgiven.
The older sister appears overwhelmed at being an aunt and dotes on the
newborn baby. The sisters’ paths have now diverged and, as this is the last
sequence in which we see them, we are left to ponder their fate.
In an ironic final twist, an unknown woman pursues the unscrupulous young
man who has been watching the sisters’ reunion from a nearby corner. The
woman (with whom he appears to have an unknown history) is introduced as
a hungry, petty thief.
108
L’Ironie du Destin, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff, with Nadia Sirbirskaïa (France: Dimitri
Kirsanoff Production, 1923).
88
On a bar table in a hotel we see her pilfering pieces of bread and swilling half
finished drinks. In a penultimate scene strikingly similar to the opening
sequence, the woman starts to argue and push the unscrupulous young man,
who tries to escape through a door on the street before it closes. Suddenly
another unknown man joins the woman in pursuit. They attack the young
man and after beating him with their fists the woman abruptly picks up a
large stone and brings it down hard on the young man’s head, killing him.
They then drag his body around the side of the street, out of sight. The reason
behind the attack is never made clear. Like the opening murder scene,
Kirsanoff creates a whirlwind of fast close-up shots that characterize the
violence of murder. A brief shot of busy hands making dried flower bouquets
leads us to believe that all ends well for the sisters, before the diegetic focus
moves back to the young man,
Confirming Abel’s claim that portions of the film are open to interpretation,
Peter Kobel writes:
Russian émigré director, Dimitri Kirsanoff, working in Paris, made one
of the most powerful experimental films of the time. Ménilmontant,
(1926). Beautifully filmed, it also has a strong narrative: it begins with
two sisters murdering their parents with an axe, then heading for Paris.
There, a man seduces and impregnates the younger girl, then abandons
her for her sister. It ends with his murder.109
Kobel’s curt interpretation of the opening scene however, is incorrect and
clearly at odds with other explanations – a man can clearly be seen wielding
the axe while the sisters are nowhere to be seen.
Abel’s thoughts on structural parallels refer to the series of juxtapositions in
the plot. There are two sisters whose paths diverge throughout the film; there
are two sexual episodes (possibly deflorations); there are two scenes where
we see girls making dried bouquets; there are two grisly murders (firstly the
girls’ parents and at the end, the young man); twice we see the younger sister
109
Kobel, 90.
89
recoil in horror (once when she sees the bodies of her parents, and then when
see realises the young man has betrayed her and is sleeping with her sister);
there are two scenes where we see the younger girls playing and dancing
(firstly diegetically and then as a flashback); there are two Parisian street
montages (the first is upbeat while the mood set for the second is one of
trepidation), and two men occupy the park bench (firstly the young man who
then he is replaced by the kind old man).
Kirsanoff’s montage style camera work and rapid-shot editing have
contributed to many interpretations of the plot in Ménilmontant. Here is one
such interpretation from Alan Williams:
The story begins and ends with two unrelated, but similarly filmed and
edited murders. In each case, the grisly event does not grow organically
out of the plot, but seems to surge out of a world welling with violent
impulses. Ménilmontant uses practically all of the typical stylistic
devices of cinematic impressionism, but it is hard to consider it as in any
way representative of the movement. Its overwhelming, virtually
unrelieved violence and despair seem to infect its own storytelling
agency, upsetting what in other directors’ works would be clearly
delineated relations of parts to the whole. The film contains several
bursts of rapid editing, for example, but they are not rhythmic in any
simple, narratively justified way (in the manner of Abel Gance, for
example); their meter is complicated and unsettling, worthy of an Igor
Stravinsky. Ménilmontant is, quite deliberately, a film in which the
formal centre cannot hold, because it is about a world in which this is
also true. Although certainly not a Surrealist work, it shares with
Surrealism not only a fascination with violence and sexuality, but also a
display of forces that transcend, and question the boundaries of,
individual human consciousness.110
In keeping with other avant-garde silent films, Kirsanoff used a mélange of
shooting styles, and this is most evident in the opening murder scene. There
110
Alan Williams, Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992), 150.
90
is no warning for what we are about to witness, there is no establishing shot
before the camera focuses inside on the door window and the lace curtain
that is violently ripped aside as a man and woman desperately fight to escape
the clutches of a frenzied attack from an axe-wielding maniac. During a
series of over twenty shots of heads, arms and falling bodies the pair try in
vain to escape the savagery but are killed by the final, brutal blows.
Kirsanoff’s decision to dispense with intertitles ensures the murderer and his
reasons for killing the pair remains a mystery. After we see the murder
weapon thrown down onto the muddy street, Kirsanoff then cuts to a shot of
the aftermath of the attack; the broken door window is ajar and the table
inside is upturned, and the camera then moves inside to the gently
smouldering fire for the final dissolve. Rather than manifesting themselves as
detached sequences, Kirsanoff creates a metaphorical, flowing montage.
In a sharp contrast, the next scene cuts to the two young sisters wearing
white bows in their hair, happily playing in the woods and oblivious to the
nearby discovery of bodies (presumably the girls’ murdered parents) by the
local townspeople. The younger sister running toward the group suddenly
stops and, through a series of extreme close-ups, makes the horrific
realization that the bodies are those of her parents. She then rushes
hysterically back to the arms of her older sister, who appears to have already
grasped the tragedy of the situation.
After the dissolve we are immersed in a pastiche reminiscent of the end of
scene one, as Kirsanoff cuts to a panorama of smoke rising from a chimney
top before panning across the rooftops to the church cemetery, where the
camera focuses on the two sisters huddling together in a state of mourning.
Dressed in black and standing amongst elaborate gravestones, they are at
first almost indistinguishable from their surroundings. It is then, through a
long series of superimposed shots of their faces, that we feel the girls’ pain
and the realization that they are now alone together. The final montage in the
cemetery focuses on headstones overgrown with grass and images of their
parents’ crosses and wreaths. It then crosses to a series of overlapping long
shots of the girls walking arm-in-arm down a tree-lined country road. Here
91
they appear to be walking into the future, alone and with only their destiny
before them. Parisian street scenes, surreal dream-like sequences where the
younger sister dreams of a warm, comfortable home, superimposed
flashbacks to the girls’ happy childhood and the happy sequence of the two
girls excitedly bouncing on their bed with their cat on a Sunday morning after
receiving an invitation for an outing (presumably from the young man) are
Kirsanoff’s supporting framework that contrast the issues he felt strongly
about. Most importantly he explored the themes of violence, betrayal,
victimization and sexual deception, as they lay starkly poised among the
humdrum of everyday life. The final montage suggests that these issues are
often interwoven with our human world as we see passing landscapes,
lampposts and trees silhouetted against the cloudy sky, and finally the hands
at work making bouquets – life goes on.
Having looked at the synopsis, the next section focuses on selected cues
within the score. These specific cues have been chosen as they represent the
range of compositional styles and instrumentation used within the score,
including the opening and closing waltzes, (cues 1 and 18) the sole vocal
scene, (cue 8) and what is generally thought to be the most poignant scene in
the film (cue 14) that I have named, ‘Cold Desperation.’ The full score for
Ménilmontant is included at Appendix A.
6.4.2 Cues 1 and 18 – The Opening & Closing Waltzes
Kirsanoff was himself also a musician, having trained formally on the cello,
and was active in film orchestras. His later film work was usually scored, such
as the 1928 short film, Brumes D’Autumne with music by Paul Devred.111
Using a small orchestra and soprano voice ‘put together according to musical
formulae’ the score is stylistically comparable to Satie’s score for Entr’acte. 112
111
Brumes D’Autumne, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff (France: Mentor-Film, 1928).
112
Walter Michel, ‘In Memoriam of Dimitri Kirsanoff, A Neglected Master,’ Film
Culture
15
(1957)
(accessed
11
October
http://www.ubu.com/papers/michel_walter-kirsanov_memoriam.html
92
2012,
Kirsanoff’s Rapt,113 (1934) was scored by Arthur Honegger, ‘one of the finest
of all sound films.’114 Having heard excerpts of these scores I began to
formulate thematic ideas for the opening cue. The first frames of the film
show Kirsanoff’s name, slowly coming in to focus, with elegant black on white
typography, slowly fading to reveal the film title. Focussing on these first
frames of the film, I wanted the audience to instantly identify with
Ménilmontant both historically and geographically. The challenge in doing so
is in keeping with Anahid Kassabian’s advice:
People subconsciously acquire socio-historically specific musical
languages that function for them and for those who address them
musically.115
To put that another way, people, both filmmakers and audiences, learn the
roles that music serves in film and then call upon it during actual film events.
Knowing only too well the violent and brutal content of the following scenes,
the thematic concept for the opening scene firmed in my mind: a waltz played
by the orchestra and led by the accordion – something uplifting that was
instantly and undeniably French in origin. The live instruments for this cue
are accordion, ukulele, snare drum, cymbal, tambourine and cabasa. The
SBOS instruments are the full string section with pizzicato violas and basses,
and there are no virtual instruments. (See figure 25 below)
These were the first cues composed for the film. The challenge was to use
these cues as a sonic model for the integration of real and virtual
instrumentation, and then use this as an artistic framework throughout the
score. In order to achieve this, there needed to be as much homogeneity
between the various sonic sources as possible. Particular attention was paid
to linear programming (e.g. inputting 4-part harmonies as sequential
melodies) and note velocities to achieve as much realism as possible.
113
Rapt, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff (France: Mentor-Film, 1934).
114
Michel, ibid.
115
Anahid Kassabian, Hearing Film: Tracking Identifications in Contemporary
Hollywood Film Music (USA: New York: Routledge, 2001), 49.
93
In order to create a positive and memorable opening waltz, my intention was
to generate considerable harmonic movement using tension derived from
various cadential forms. The opening waltz is played maestoso: beginning at
VI and progressing down to V (bar 2) there is an interrupted cadence as III
moves back through V (3rd in the bass) to chromatically approach the tonic,
descending stepwise through B♭, before returning to VI. (Bar 5) Moving to
the subdominant (bar 6) and ascending through ♯iv° to V, a stepwise descent
through the F bass leads to III+ (bar 8) before heading through V, and this
deceptive cadence marks the end of the first eight bar section.
Structurally, the 2nd eight bar section is a repeat of the first, except that the
subdominant (Fm) is substituted for VI (A♭) in bars 9 and 13, bar 14
substitutes VI for the subdominant, (A♭ for Fm) and both are followed by
chromatically ascending diminished chords to arrive at the stepwise
turnaround that begins on the V and descends to the supertonic.
The inclusion of deceptive cadences (in bars 2-3 and 10-11) helps to maintain
tension and momentum. There are multi phrase patterns of parallel and
asymmetrical construction contained in bars 1-16. The melody in bars 1-8 is
rhythmically identical to the second eight bar section and forms a parallel
construction as the ideas of one phrase are repeated. The phrase in bar 5 is
harmonized by a diatonic 3rd in bar 13 and the first half of the motif in bar 6 is
inverted (by a tri-tone) in bar 14, before passing through chord and passing
tones and finally resolving to the fifth and tonic of the chords, respectively in
bars 7 and 15. Melodically, bars 1-8 comprise a series of motifs that are then
grouped into sub-phrases that form phrases. Starting with the anacrusis into
bar 1 and finishing with the C natural on the third quaver of bar 1, this motif
is developed by way of sequence and finishes on a B natural on the third
quaver of bar 2, thereby forming the first sub-phrase. The 4-note motif
starting on B natural on beat 3 of bar 2, is rhythmically repeated twice (minus
its last note – asymmetrical phrases) starting on the fourth quaver of bar 3
and ending on beat 1 of bar 4. These motifs form the second sub-phrase. Both
sub-phrases together form the 7-bar phrase group that ends in the authentic
94
Figure 25. Excerpt from the Opening Titles for Ménilmontant
cadence in bar 3 into bar 4. In the version of the waltz for the closing titles,
there is an added 9-bar bridge, beginning in the relative major key (C major).
With the cello section taking over the melody from the accordion,
(00:38:52:00) there is an authentic cadence (ii – V – I7) before passing
through Ebº to A7, (V of ii) and then the cadence is repeated before the bar of
Ab – G7, (VI – V) which is repeated twice with accents from the drums and
percussion section. The bridge section ends on the dominant G7 (V) in
preparation for the tonic key (Cm).
95
The last frame in the film is the composer’s credit and the theme ends on the
fade to black. The inclusion of the bridge in the closing waltz provides tonal
contrast and this version would have been included in the beginning of the
film had there been enough screen time over the opening credits.
6.4.3 Cue 8 – ‘He’s a Man’
The definitive study of the film is that written by Richard Abel in French
Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929.116 Abel’s admission that the story is
‘complicated and ambiguous’ is an introduction to a film where the entire
plot is delivered to the audience via imagery. While nearly all silent-film
directors used intertitles to clarify puzzling twists in the plot, Kirsanoff opted
for the flow of narrative and continuity rather than to include disruptive
titles.117 Abel explains that, ‘the film achieves its coherence through a strategy
of structural parallels and repetitions.’118
The ambiguity in the plot (along with the absence of intertitles there were no
directorial instructions) brought complex challenges as far as reading the
tone of certain scenes. With no dialog, there was often more than one way to
score a scene and get it tonally correct. A clear example is in the cue from
Scene 8 entitled ‘He’s a Man’ (00:13:41:00), where the young man is trying to
seduce the younger sister. I have chosen to analyse this cue firstly because
instrumentally
it
comprises
both
orchestral
and
traditional
jazz
instrumentation and it was challenging in terms of sonically blending the
various sounds. Secondly, it was unique in that it was the only vocal song in
the score.
Here, there were several possibilities that were suitable, and originally I
opted to use an atmospheric piano background to accompany the on-screen
116
Abel, 395-402.
117
Abel, 396.
118
Abel, 397.
96
drama. I was aware that, because of the nature of the subject matter, the
underscore for the film thus far (apart from sections of the scene entitled
‘Sunday Sleeping’) had been quite sombre tonally.
Ultimately, I chose to write a torch song principally to inject some humour
into the film. Rather than score the scene from the ‘outside’, I decided to
score it from the point of view of the younger sister. In order to do this I
made the decision to write a song with lyrics and I felt that the outcome
justified my reasoning. In a story where there is more tragedy than hope, the
bad guy receives some well-deserved criticism. Lyrically, I wrote as
ambivalently as possible in an attempt to capture what was going through the
younger sister’s mind at that time:
Lyrics from Cue 8 – ‘He’s a Man’
He may be brash and bold,
my dreams come true?
and not so very old, but
He’s a Man
I take his charms, and feel his
loving arms again
He says he chooses me over
all the girls he sees, and
I know he’s bad but at times I
He’s a Man
find him irresistible
Some men are better lookin’
And he’ll never change but I
and not so hard at pushin’ but
hope to find the will to abstain
He’s a Man
from him
I try to see the best in him
He may be brash and bold,
sometimes the task is grim, but
and not so very old, but
He’s a Man
He’s a Man
Will I give in, to his charms?
He says he chooses me over
because, I want to
all the girls he sees, and
Is it true love, that I feel, will
He’s a Man….
97
From a musical perspective, a priority was to retain homogeny with the rest
of the score and this accounts for the inclusion of the traditional live jazz
ensemble instrumentation, which included piano, drums, ukulele and
percussion. However, the remainder of the instrumentation for this cue
(apart from the vocal) is generated virtually via SBOS. The virtual
instruments that I considered to be aesthetically vital to include were two
trumpets, two trombones, tuba, (playing the bass part along with the piano)
three clarinets and a bass clarinet. The inclusion of the tuba and the
horn/woodwind section, as well as validating historical and stylistic factors
also helped to emphasise the satirical element found in the lyrics.
6.4.4
Cue 14 – ‘Cold Desperation’
I have included this scene in the analysis because it represents the emotional
apex of the film and the score needed to clearly reflect this. The cue consists
of around 90% virtual and SBOS instrumentation and runs for nearly four
minutes. Compositionally, I tried to approach this scene in the way that I
thought Bernard Herrmann might have done, yet I applied the techniques
used by Newman and Zimmer with regard to studio collaboration with live
and virtual instruments.
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, scene 14 is a pivotal scene in the film
and is often referred to in literature. Commenting on the dissolve from scene
13 to scene 14 (00:28:42:00), Abel notes:
What keeps her from committing suicide? As if in answer, the young
man who deserted her is shown sitting on a park bench. He gets up to
leave, and Sibirskaia and her baby dissolve in, sitting next to the spot he
has just left. Is this an imaginary image, suggesting her final recognition
of his abandonment, or an ironic condensation of time, creating a near
meeting and reconciliation that never occur? 119
119
Abel, 400.
98
This scene presented a unique challenge because I felt that a link needed to
exist between the younger sister’s deeply sad nostalgia and the earlier feelings
of despondency she feels during the end of scene 4 – the Cemetery
(00:03:47:00) – particularly the section that commences on the extreme
close-up. In cue 4 the theme represents the disabling grief felt by both sisters
after the brutal and senseless death of their parents. In cue 14, while retaining
the deep sadness of loss, it also symbolizes the culmination of emotions she
feels as a result of her abandonment by both the young man and her sister, in
addition to the loneliness, despair and sense of hopeless gratification she
feels toward the kind stranger sitting next to her on the bench, sharing his
scraps of food. In a sense this theme could be described as leitmotif, but
rather than thematically representing a character or place, it represents the
emotions described above, with the same pain being felt by the young girl,
even though the events causing her pain occur at different times and places.
Although the two scenes contain comparable emotional subject matter, they
occur some 25 minutes apart in the film, and I believe that sharing the same
thematic idea created a narrative link between them and added to the overall
homogeny of the score.
6. 5 Summary of the Aesthetic Approach
The approach I used was in effect, a culmination of techniques used by the
composers within this study, but predictably with an emphasis on the
methods of Newman and Zimmer, as they too, work with real and virtual
instrumentation. From the point of view of rescoring a silent film, I took into
account the historical precedents set by composers such as Satie, Saint-Saëns
and Breil, and balanced these with the methodologies of current
practitioners. Having studied the techniques the composers used in the real
versus virtual studio environment, gave me a clear vision as to the direction I
wanted to take artistically. Dealing with economic constraints that are not a
part of the Newman/Zimmer methodology, was at times, frustrating, but this
served to drive creative factors within me and think more deeply about
Collective Conceptualization.
99
6. 6 Technical Issues
A typical example of the technical issues faced was the process of recording
the accordion. The accordion can be a difficult instrument to record well. It
requires a microphone placed at each end of the instrument; one at the
bellows and also one where the sound grille is located. But because the
accordionist needs to move around in order to pump air through the bellows,
crucial decisions concerning microphone placement and compression levels
need to be made in order to capture the sound cleanly. This is further
compounded by to the need to exclude the mechanical sounds (from the
bellows, keys and buttons) from the recording.
There were similar challenges on each cue in the score due chiefly to the
inherent audio characteristics of digital technology or more accurately, the
combination of SBOS, virtual instruments and digital audio. These combined
sources often introduce unwanted audio characteristics that are sometimes
difficult to identify and remove. Because these instruments were routinely
mixed with acoustic instruments using the hybrid approach, it was crucial to
indentify and remove these transients before the mastering process. For these
reasons, the mixing process itself was problematic. Although the SBOS
sampled instruments are recorded and processed in state-of-the-art
recording facilities (string sections for example, use a total 30-40
instruments and higher), all of these instruments have been processed
through the same audio equipment, which can lead to harshness as a result of
certain frequencies being overrepresented. Matching the tone, warmth and
natural fidelity of acoustic instruments is one of the difficulties that need to
be overcome with processing when working with SBOS and virtual
instruments.
In summary, the plethora of technical problems faced emphasises the need
for the independent composer practising Collective Conceptualization to
possess advanced audio engineering knowledge and skills, in addition to the
essential skills already covered in this study. Overcoming technical challenges
100
can be time-consuming, especially if specific research needs to be applied.
Fortunately, there are many publications and professional online forums
dedicated to addressing application-specific problems. Although I already
had knowledge of the mastering process, and routinely mastered audio for
television and small projects, audio professionals mastered previous film
scores I had composed in the post-audio process – during the mixing and
sound effects phase. Again, because of economic restraints, I needed to
complete a two-week on online mastering course to learn about final audio
levels, compression levels for cinema etc.
6. 7 Precis
Throughout the composition and production phase of the score for
Ménilmontant, one of the major challenges has been to assimilate the
knowledge gained from the research into contemporary film score music
production into my own conceptual space. This has been due in large part to
practical aspects such as economic constraints, limitations with studio space,
and
limitations
with
regard
to
session
musicians
and
access
to
instrumentation. There have been countless occasions when I needed to
record a particular acoustic/real instrument that I felt could not be
successfully substituted by something virtual. However, that is an artistic
condition that many composers are forced to accept, and a vital stimulant
and incentive for software designers worldwide.
Assimilating the theoretical and aesthetic knowledge is often an exercise in
viewing, listening and analysing because of the lack of up-to-date research
completed in this specific area. I have built up a library of recommended
films and scores for study and I spend considerable time examining them.
The process of assimilation is time consuming because of the subjective
nature of film scoring, and what may seem appropriate to one viewer may not
seem appropriate to another. Above all, close consideration needs to be given
to the appropriateness of the music to the narrative and moving image. For
101
confirmation of this, one need only view the long list of rejected major film
scores by well-known composers.120
Many of the recommended scores have been researched and commented on
so that the overarching opinion of film historians is known. This is the
barometer I have used where issues of appropriateness are in question. Once
I feel that I have assimilated knowledge I feel comfortable engaging with that
specific process or operation and I can then incorporate it into the Collective
Conceptualization process. A particular example of this in a technical sense is
the mastering issue on the previous page. When making judgements about
the aesthetic decisions composers have taken however, a deeper level of
analysis is required. For example, musically transcribing a scene in a film and
then analysing the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and timbral content. Once
this is completed, one needs to consider, especially with virtual
instrumentation, the tonal elements. Lastly, the issue of appropriateness
needs to be examined and there are many trains of thought: whose point of
view to portray, scoring the action or not scoring the action, (this is less
syncopated than mickey-mousing) playing the situation, how dramatically to
score the scene, whether to incorporate leitmotif(s), scoring diegetically,
underscoring dialog or, hardest of all, scoring the scene that needs music to
sound like nothing. (i.e. furniture music – see page 33, Satie’s letter to Jean
Cocteau)
I believe that I have been able to assimilate and incorporate much of the
knowledge that I have unearthed during this study, and it has enabled me to
create the Collective Conceptualization framework that in turn, has helped
me in my role as film score composer, and mediator of the physical and
virtual recording space.
120
Cooke, 493.
102
7
REFLECTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
At this final stage it is helpful to revisit and respond to the research questions
and aims outlined in the Introduction.
7. 1 Research Questions
1.
How have film score compositional methodologies evolved to the
present day?
Film music is subjective and as such, the perfect film score does not and will
never exist. When viewing a film, humans react in specific ways and are
subjected to a variety of emotions. As Manvell and Huntley point out, ‘the
chief reason for introducing music to the (film) studios was, of course, to help
the actors to create the correct mood and atmosphere in the particular scene
they were playing.’121
As film production standards progressively developed in degrees of
sophistication, so too did the musical scores that accompanied them. As
mentioned earlier, the revolution in digital technology has brought about
advances in all aspects of film production, and audio and film score
production has transformed accordingly. The film score, once thought of as
merely musical accompaniment, has now evolved in its own right. Many
composers engage in what could be termed oblique scoring, or composing
emotionally contrasting music for a scene, for example lighter music for a sad
scene. In Ménilmontant, Scene 8, ‘He’s A Man’ is an example of this type of
scoring. While it could be argued that Satie, for example, employed this
technique during parts of the funeral procession scene in Entr’acte in 1924,
the practice should be considered an exception rather than the rule.
121
Manvell and Huntley, 28.
103
The ‘Golden Era’ Hollywood composers mentioned in Chapter 4 established
the symphonic, classical model of film music. As Cooke points out,
Indeed, a ‘symphonic’ or and indestructibly-tonal romanticism was so
deeply ingrained in the consciousness of movie-goers and film
composers that any dash of colour such as jazz, extreme chromaticism or
atmospheric harmonies and suggestive instrumentation borrowed from
more modern French impressionist composers such as Debussy and
Ravel was instantly perceived as exotic and ‘other’ to the prevailing
heart-on-sleeve melody-based norm.122
From the mid 1960s, however, composers such as Jerry Goldsmith began to
break free of these traditions and challenged the association through
instrumentation concept by introducing representational musical elements
that were at odds with the visual images. An example of this was outlined in
Chapter 4 with regard to ‘The Hunt’ from Planet of the Apes (00:29:53:00),
where the scene depicts the natives being hunted by the apes. Here
Goldsmith uses sophisticated harmonic language and instrumentation that
hitherto was not normally associated with hunting scenes. On this point
Cooke notes,
One of the most fascinating aspects of modernist film music is that most
move-goers are perfectly content to listen in the cinema to the kind of
grittily dissonant, often athematic and seemingly randomly shaped
avant-garde propositions that they would be unlikely to tolerate when
divorced from the visual images by which they seem to be justified.123
The research undertaken in this project has helped to clarify ways in which
film score methodologies have evolved in terms of aesthetics as in the
examples above, but with the arrival of digital technology and virtual
instruments,
122
Cooke, 78.
123
Cooke, 199.
104
the
assimilation
and
development
of
the
Conceptual
Conceptualization process looms as a constant challenge for film score
composers.
I believe that the arrival of digital technology and virtual instruments has had
the effect of simplifying the compositional aspect of film scoring for many
composers. By that I mean that, putting the technical productions factors to
one side, because of the infinitely wider scope of sonic possibilities now
within
one’s
grasp,
increasingly
composers
are
simplifying
the
thematic/harmonic aspect, and placing prominence on the sonic realm.
2.
How does the conceptual space – whether physical or virtual – shape
the composer’s creativity and methodology?
The film composer’s conceptual space can take the form of the abstract
workspace where embryonic thoughts and neural processes are associated,
gathered and developed from inception to culmination. It can also be a
physical space where composition and/or recording, and the design of the
sonic palette, takes place. In both cases it is directly responsible for the
composer’s musical output. As such, it should be identified and recognized as
one of the fundamentals that are essential to comprehend in order to become
competent in the art of film score composition. Clearly, the conceptual space
is a tool that the composer needs to master in every way, and should be
approached in much the same way as a student studies music theory, music
history, arranging or instrumentation.
Chapter 5 of this study looked at the ways that composers Thomas Newman
and Hans Zimmer manipulated sonic factors within the conceptual space in
order to produce specific musical outcomes to great effect. Collective
Conceptualization shapes the composer’s creativity and methodology by
operating as the critical focal point of the knowledge that the composer has
acquired as a result of the theoretical and practical processes that he or she
has put into practice. It is the physical, theoretical and spiritual embodiment
of the sum total of knowledge of the art of film score composition.
105
3.
What is the nature of the interaction between composer and
performer/s within that space?
Each composer has his or her own preferences in terms of dealing with
performers in the recording studio. Capturing the best takes can be an art in
itself especially when improvisation and embellishment are required. In
Chapter 5 Bill Bernstein was quoted while discussing the core group of
musicians that collaborate with Thomas Newman, saying, ‘we’ll play very
nascent ideas and start adding stuff over it. This is a great time to be really
creative.’ Newman mentions how he uses the musicians to develop rhythmic
cells to ‘make them more sonically interesting.’ This is a collaborative musical
process that had been refined over many years – although it involves a
delicate balance of experimentation and improvisation, Newman’s skill and
experience enables him to extract the best performances from his players –
and he relies on these performances to the same degree as he would if the
musicians were sight-reading from a pre-written score.
During the recording sessions I conducted for the score for Ménilmontant, I
felt that the interactions between the musicians and myself were inventive
and innovatory and stimulated creativity. There was an reciprocal
atmosphere as far as encouraging experimentation; at times I would try out
playing various sonic textures or harmonies along with the film or overdub
percussive parts while the musicians were performing. Using operations such
as cycle recording, there would sometimes be thirty takes of a particular part
that would then be made available for editing. I found that recording this way
lessens the expectations and the pressure to perform that some musicians
feel.
Specifically, for cues 1 and 18, the opening and closing waltzes, I used the
cycle recording feature for the accordionist and the ukulele player. This was
mainly because I sensed a degree of nervousness, and this was probably due
to the fact that it was a new environment for the musicians, whom I had not
met before. The musicians were not familiar with the cycle recording
technique, but they seemed relieved after I explained that the repetitive
106
process was designed to capture and edit the best takes and fine nuances in
their performances. Once the musicians had settled into the session, I also
invited them to offer suggestions on how to develop and enhance the
performance approach, or any other ideas they may have. They were keen to
collaborate in this way and I appreciated their input. Most of the suggestions
were creative and constructive and enhanced the overall musical aesthetic
that I was trying for.
Although I had used similar techniques before, these methods of recording
also used by Newman and Zimmer, profoundly influenced the collaborative
approach to recording the score for Ménilmontant. As a result of using these
methods, there were many instances where newly developed instrumental
parts are featured on the final version of the score. One example is again, the
waltzes. Originally there were pizzicato double stops on the violas on beats 2
and 3, and on 5 and 6, in a repetitive rhythm figure. (See figure 25) Purely on
a whim, I happened to give the ukulele player the concert score I had
prepared for the session, and asked if he could play along with the
programmed SBOS sequence as I was setting up the microphones in
preparation for recording the accordion parts. I felt that the ‘organic’ sound
and feel of the ukulele part complimented the pizzicato violas – aesthetically,
it sounded more French to me and so I decided to include the new ukulele
part on the main theme. Listening to the final mix as compared to an earlier
one without the ukulele, I feel that the theme is much less formal, less
Straussian, and much more Parisian.
Similar outcomes were achieved on other cues. Much of the credit in these
situations goes to the individual musicians involved in the recording sessions.
When the musicians exhibit the characteristics of a generous artistic spirit,
and a desire to collaborate in the virtual and real studio environment –
provided a creative atmosphere exists – the chances of generating innovative
and original musical elements escalate. As Newman and Zimmer have shown
though, the musicians involved need to be on familiar ground in terms of
working and interacting with virtual instruments. For some musicians this is
not a problem, however, there are practical issues such as latency, that can
107
substantially upset the flow of the session. Latency, a delay caused by data
bottlenecks within the DAW, is a problem in some recording situations and
requires the musician(s) to play behind the beat.
4.
Can
the
approach
to
the
composer’s
conceptual
space
as
demonstrated in the creation of a score for Ménilmontant be analysed and
developed into a coherent compositional methodology?
The conceptual space can be thought of as where the process of Collective
Conceptualization takes place. As such, all of the processes and operations
integral to composing and producing the score for Ménilmontant have
occurred as a result of the application of Collective Conceptualization. This
study has shown how other composers (from various eras) have approached
the challenges of film scoring, whether from the point of view of the real time
or virtual/hybrid approaches. Regardless of which approach is used, all
composers use the conceptual space to conceive the embryonic thoughts that
are eventually developed into music. This study has put forward the theory
that the process of Collective Conceptualization has come about as an
exigency of the increased musical and sonic possibilities that are a result of
the advancement of technology.
The
Collective
Conceptualization
process
is,
in
itself,
a
coherent
compositional methodology (for real-time/virtual or hybrid composers)
because it provides a theoretical framework within which the composer
works. I believe that working within this framework has enabled me to
conceive musical and sonic thoughts more clearly because, from the myriad
of compositional and sonic choices I am faced with for each cue in the film,
there are organized thought processes in place to facilitate making those
choices. The individual examples cited in Chapter 6 from the cues in
Ménilmontant constitute evidence to support this theory.
108
5.
How and in what ways does the real/virtual compositional dynamics
sit with the aesthetics of silent films?
In Chapter 2, figure 3 lists silent films such as Battleship Potemkin (1925)124
and Earth (1930),125 which have been the subject of re-scoring by Neil
Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) and Jan Kopinski, respectively. I have chosen these
two examples because they have been subjected to contrasting musical
treatments. The former has been re-scored with a combination of real but
mainly virtual instrumentation by Tennant, who appears to have made very
little musical distinction between re-scoring silent film and producing a wellcrafted Pet Shop Boys CD. There are scenes where atmospheric synth pads
and lush orchestral string samples act as the foundation of the musical
elements, that in turn, form the relationship with the moving image, before
dance kick drum samples signal the entrance of a house-style drum loop.
On the other hand, Kopinski has produced a contemporary, at times
dissonant, jazz score for Earth. The score is produced using real-time
instrumentation but again, there appears to be little to distinguish the score
from a contemporary jazz CD. The score is experimental and does not use
conventional harmonic language to connect sound with the image. Factors
such as music placement and visual attachment have been overlooked – the
representational characteristics of the score appear at odds with the visual
image.
Taking the score for Ménilmontant as a third example of the ways in which
the real/virtual dynamics sit with silent film, we see yet again a contrasting
aesthetic approach. It is not within the scope of this study to summarize all of
the silent film re-scores listed in figure 3, however some of the scores feature
hybrid and virtual instrumentation. Therefore, taking into consideration the
124
Earth, dir. Aleksandr Dovzhenko with Stepan Shkurat, Semyon Svashenko
(Soviet Union: VUFKU, 1930)
125
Battleship Potemkin, dir. Sergei Eisenstein with Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir
Barsky (Soviet Union: Goskino, 1925)
109
variety of aesthetic approaches that have been used on these examples, I
argue that it is not the instrumentation or the distinction between real or
virtual instrumentation used that is relevant to the question, but rather, it is
the aesthetic decisions made by the composer when using those elements to
accompany the narrative in musical form. That is, how the composer reacts to
the image and how the composer chooses to convey the emotional
associations (using leitmotif for example) or not, whether to emphasise an
on-screen moment or whether to use silence. As Tony Thomas points out:
It is a peculiarity of film music that if it isn’t just right, it can be very
wrong. Appropriateness is the key concern and, in the happy
circumstance where appropriateness is matched with inspiration, the
film then gets a subtle added dimension. That, in a nutshell, is what film
music is all about – the supplying of another dimension, the adding of
something not conveyed by the script, the acting, the direction, or the
photography.126
The fact that the question relates to silent film means that the issue of
appropriateness is probably even more relevant because, in many cases, there
is no director with whom the composer can confer and take direction.
In answer to question 5, I believe that the hybrid scores can and do, in the
hands of skilful practitioners, fulfil the same functions as real-time scores,
whether the film is silent or not. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the
process is about Collective Conceptualization, it is holistic and needs to be
approached on a number of intellectual levels. If a question is posed e.g. ‘Can
Hans Zimmer (or John Williams for that matter) re-score a silent film?’ the
answer would not be predicated by, ‘only if real-time instruments are used.’
Zimmer is surely capable of re-scoring a silent film and would probably use
his standard arsenal of sonic devices that comprise hybrid methodologies.
But more importantly, as Thomas mentioned above, the skilful composer
uses appropriate music.
126
Thomas, 7.
110
6.
How can this knowledge benefit future film score composers?
As the process constitutes an organization of operations that facilitate applied
theory, it interlinks the many creative procedures involved in screen
composition and production. Because the Collective Conceptualization
process is, in itself, a coherent compositional methodology, it provides a
simplified framework within which the composer can work.
I believe that Collective Conceptualization can help composers by nurturing,
facilitating and realising creativity. By taking the view that each stage of the
film scoring process is intimately interconnected, film score practitioners
integrate resources from their conceptual space, within a framework that
inspires creativity and clarity of thought.
7. 2 Project Aims and Objectives
1.
By way of historical study and critical analysis, traditional and
emerging trends in film score composition will be identified and evaluated
for their impact and application to new methodological approaches to film
score composition.
I believe that these trends were successfully identified and evaluated, and this
is validated by the inclusion and application of many of the said processes
into the score for Ménilmontant, as mentioned in Chapter 6. As expected, the
methodologies of the contemporary composers Newman and Zimmer were
the most relevant in this regard, and each composer’s approaches to
improvisation
and
collaboration
were
incorporated
into
my
own
methodology. I envisage that I will continue to integrate and refine these
approaches on future film scoring projects.
2.
To identify, analyse and document the modus operandi of a range of
film score composers.
111
The research documented the composers and their methods by looking at
seminal works that reflected the composers’ particular musical persona and
their pioneering methodology or compositional skill. Certain composers
stand out as having more of an influence on my work than others. The work
of Satie in general, and in particular his score for Entr’acte and its use of the
modular structure, was adopted in cue 11, ‘Suspicion’. The cue consists
primarily of only two modular forms – quaver-based string ostinati and a
quarter-note theme played by English horn and harp – that are developed
over the course of the scene.
As mentioned previously, I found the methodologies of Newman and
Zimmer, as contemporary composers, to be a greater influence than the other
composers studied. This was possibly due to the fact that in the case of
Zimmer at least, Ménilmontant has some parallels with Sherlock Holmes.
The experimental nature of the approach Zimmer used was something I put
into action with Ménilmontant and had there been a budget, I would have
pursued even further. Even so, the collaborative and experimental approach
of both composers is an aspect I wish to explore further.
3.
To make a significant contribution to the practise of film score
composition by expanding on the theoretical, aesthetic and technical
approaches that are integral to the conceptual/virtual studio methodology.
Through my research of the topic, I have found that a gap in the research
does exist. There is no shortage of material on the study of the art of film
scoring, in that there are many works dedicated to the history and analysis of
the discipline. But there are very few studies of the holistic approach. I have
found no examples thus far that focus on the approaches of the modern film
composers such as those I have included in this exegesis.
With this in mind, I feel that this study has made valuable inroads into an
area where future study is needed. It remains to be seen whether the notion
of Collective Conceptualization is one that will be embraced by screen
composers – I believe it would be valued by the growing number of
112
independent composers doing lower budget film/television/documentary
projects.
4.
To produce a score for the film Ménilmontant that demonstrates the
artistic outcomes of the above.
In composing and producing the score for Ménilmontant, I created a work
that embodies and assimilates all of the theories and concepts that I have
discovered and absorbed during this project. To that end I believe that the
work does demonstrate not only the artistic outcomes of the research, but
also the theoretical and conceptual outcomes.
7. 3 Conclusion
The central subject for this discussion is the methodology and standards that
need to be in place to take artistic advantage of the exponentially multiplying
array of available musical/technical/sonic options. All this needs to be
considered in tandem with, and complementary to, the traditional skills and
roles of the film score composer. The process of Collective Conceptualization
has itself been present since the earliest forms of virtual instrumentation,
whether as an identified process or not.
Scoring film music is a process that requires years of dedication to the art –
the creative thought involved is a highly intellectual procedure and it is this
process that is the focal point of this study. Orchestrating the music can be as
demanding as the composition task and now that SBOS and virtual
instruments are commonplace, a comprehensive knowledge of composition,
orchestration, performance practice and technique, and technology is
required for the composer to integrate these elements into a successful film
score. As time and technology move forward, inextricably linked, and virtual
instrumentation evolves, composers will need to further develop the concept
of Collective Conceptualization to include these as yet, unknown
technologies.
113
8
APPENDICES
8. 1 Appendix A – Score
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143
144
145
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152
153
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8. 2 Appendix B
MÉNILMONTANT – THE FILM (DVD) AND DIGITAL VERSION OF
THE EXEGESIS AND SCORE (CD)
NOTE:
DVD containing ''MÉNILMONTANT - the film” is
included with the print copy of the thesis held in the
University of Adelaide Library.
The disk must be viewed in the Music Library.
228
9
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L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise, dir. André Calmettes and Charles Le Bargy.
France: Pathé Frères, 1908.
L’Ironie du Destin, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff, with Nadia Sirbirskaïa. France:
Dimitri Kirsanoff Production, 1923.
Ménilmontant, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff, with Nadia Sirbirskaïa, Yolande
Beaulieu. France: Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1926.
Napoléon, dir. Abel Gance, with Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko.
France: Ciné France Films, 1927.
The Omen, dir. Richard Donner, with Gregory Peck, Lee Remick. USA:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1976.
On The Waterfront, dir. Elia Kazan, with Marlon Brando, Karl Malden. USA:
Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1954.
The Passion of Joan of Arc, dir. Carl Dreyer, with Maria Falconetti, Eugene
Silvain. USA: Société Général des Films, 1928.
The Phantom of the Opera, dir. Rupert Julian, with Lon Chaney, Mary
Philbin. USA: Universal Pictures, 1925.
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The Planet of the Apes, dir. Franklin J. Schaffner, with Charlton Heston,
Roddy McDowall. USA: APJAC Productions, 1968.
The President, dir. Carl Dreyer, with Richard Christensen, Christian
Engelstoft. Sweden: Nordisk Film, 1919.
Psycho, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh. USA:
Shamley Productions, 1960.
Rain Man, dir. Barry Levinson, with Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise. USA:
United Artists, 1988.
Rapt, dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff. France: Mentor-Film, 1934.
Sherlock Holmes, dir. Guy Ritchie, with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law. USA:
Warner Bros Pictures, 2009.
Skyfall, dir. Sam Mendez, with Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem. USA: Metro
Goldwyn Mayer, 2012.
Taxi Driver, dir. Martin Scorsese, with Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster. USA:
Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1976.
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Online resources
Aintitcool.com. ‘Scorekeeper Interrogates Hans Zimmer on Sherlock
Holmes.’ Accessed 13, November, 2012.
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43520
Carl Davis, ‘The Phantom of the Opera.’ Philharmonia Orchestra. Accessed 10
May, 2012.
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/backstage/podcasts/pha
ntom_opera/
Einhorn, Richard. ‘A Conversation with Richard Einhorn.’ Richard Einhorn
Productions. Accessed 10 May, 2012.
http://www.richardeinhorn.com/vol/VOLRichardInterview.HTML
Goldsmith, Carrie. ‘Preview of the Aborted Jerry Goldsmith Biography,’ Jerry
Goldsmith Online. Accessed January 12, 2012.
http://www.jerrygoldsmithonline.com/spotlight_biography_preview.htm
IMDB.com. ‘Carl Davis.’ IMDb.com. Accessed 8 May, 2012.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002301/
IMDb.com.
‘Thomas
Newman
Biography.’
IMDb.com.
Accessed
11
November, 2012.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002353/bio
Michel, Walter. ‘In Memoriam of Dimitri Kirsanoff, A Neglected Master.’
Film Culture 15, 1957. Accessed 11 October, 2012.
http://www.ubu.com/papers/michel_walter-kirsanov_memoriam.html
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Newman, Thomas. ‘Notes on a Score Interview.’ YouTube.com. Accessed 15
November, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg7dzJgljqY&feature=share&list=PL1E8
A9174347026B4
‘The Passion of Joan of Arc.’ Wikipedia.org. Accessed 4 March, 2012.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passion_of_Joan_of_Arc
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Music hardware
Focusrite ISA 428 Pre-Pack, microphone pre-amplifier with 192kHz A-D
convertor, Focusrite Audio Engineering, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Mac Pro Nehalem 2.4 GHz 8-core 2010, 26GB RAM, 512GB Solid State HDD,
computer, version MacPro5.1, Apple, Cupertino, CA.
Mackie HR 824 mk2 High Resolution Active Monitors, studio monitors,
LOUD technologies, Woodinville, WA.
Rode Classic II, NT1000, NTK Microphones, Rode Microphones, NSW,
Australia.
Music software
EastWest Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra 2013, SBOS software, version
3.0.32, EastWest, Los Angeles, CA.
Final Cut Pro X 2013, video production software, version 10.0.8, Apple,
Cupertino, CA.
Komplete, 2013, virtual instrument software, version 9, Native Instruments
GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
Logic Pro 2012, sequencing and recording software, version 9.1.6, Apple,
Cupertino, CA.
Omnisphere 2013, virtual instrument software, version 1.5.6d, Spectrasonics,
Los Angeles, CA.
Ozone 5 Advanced Mastering System, audio processing software, version
5.03, Izotope Inc., Boston, MA.
243
Sibelius 2013, notation software, version 7.1.3, Avid, Burlington, MA.
Stylus RMX 2013, virtual instrument software, version 1.9.6e, Spectrasonics,
Los Angeles, CA.
Trilian 2013, virtual instrument software, version 1.8.6e, Spectrasonics, Los
Angeles, CA.
Waves Gold Audio Plugins, audio processing software, version 9, Waves
Audio Ltd., Tel Aviv, Israel
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