PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
PART I. The Sound Track and Film Narrative: Basic Terms and Concepts
Introduction to Part I
1. The Sound Track and Narrative
Introduction
Basics: Image Track, Sound Track, Narrative
Sound Track Components and Narrative
-- Speech
-- Sound Effects
-- Music
Example for Sound Track Components and Narrative (1): Sleepless in Seattle, Second Botched Meeting
Example for Sound Track Components and Narrative (2): Good Will Hunting, Boston Common Scene
Hearing the Sound Track as Music: Masking
Experimenting with Music and Image: The Commutation Test
Summary
2. The Musicality of the Sound Track: Concepts and Terminology
Introduction
Music and Sound
-- Tempo
-- Rhythm and Meter
-- Volume
Timbre
-- Filters and "Distortion"
-- Pitch
-- Orchestration
-- Timbre and Sound
Texture
-- Density and Liveliness
-- Monophony
-- Homophony
-- Melody and Accompaniment
-- Polyphony
-- A-Melodic (Accompaniment without Melody)
-- Texture and Foreground/Background Functions
Example for Sound Track Analysis Using Musical Terms: Atonement, Main Title Sequence and First Scene
Summary
3. Music, Sound, Space, and Time: Concepts and Terminology
Introduction
Space (1): Diegetic/Nondiegetic Music and Narrative
-- Example for Diegetic and Nondiegetic Music: Glory, Boston Party Scene
Space (2): Onscreen/Offscreen Sound and Music
-- Offscreen Sound 62
-- Onscreen/Offscreen Sound Interaction: The Apartment
-- Ambiguity of Offscreen Sound: Underdetermination of Sound
-- Point-of-View Sound
Space (3): Offscreen Sound and Music in Relation to the Diegesis
-- Voice-over
-- Audio Dissolve
-- Mickey-Mousing: Music as Effects "Sweetener"
-- The Acousmêtre (Acoustical Being)
Time (1): Transitions Between Scenes
-- Sound Advance
-- Sound Lag
-- Sound Link and Sound Match
Time (2): Synchronization ("Playing with the Film")
Time (3): Counterpoint ("Playing against the Film")
Writing Task #1: How to Write a Synopsis
A Note on Writing about the Sound Track
Summary
PART II. Music and the Sound Track: From the Beginning to 1975
Introduction to Part II
4. From 1895 to 1929: Music and Sound in Early Film
Introduction
The Early Years
The Nickelodeon
-- "Playing the Picture"
-- Special Scores
The Picture Palace
-- Stratification of Exhibition
-- The Show
-- Music and Sound Production in the Picture Palace
-- Fitting the Picture
-- Special Scores in the 1920s
-- Road Shows
-- Music on the Set
Characteristic Music Practices in the Later Silent Era
-- Theme, Motif, and Motive
-- The Leitmotif
-- Musical Topics
---- Location and Stereotype
Analysis: Silent Film with Historically Appropriate Music: Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)
Summary
A Note on the Music for Silent Film Releases to VHS and DVD
5. From 1926 to 1932: The Transition to Sound Film
Introduction
Issues of Technology and Economics
-- Sound Research in the 1920s
-- Sound Film and the Standardization of Exhibition
-- Sound and the Feature Film, 1927: The Jazz Singer
-- The Transition from Silent to Sound Film
-- Types of Early Sound Film
-- Musicals in Early Sound Film
Production
-- Production Phases
-- Music Department
-- Sound Department
Mastering the Sound Track and Elements of Style
-- Sound Track Components and the Principle of Clarity
-- Foreground and Background
-- Scoring Practices
-- Characteristic Music Placements
-- Establishing Sequence
-- End Credits
-- Performance Scene
-- Montage or Fantasy Scene
-- Dialogue Scene
-- Action Scene
-- Love Scene
Summary
6. The Broadway Melody, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Le Million: Runtime Segmentation and Scene Analysis
Introduction
Music in Film Form
-- Runtime Segmentation
Formal Screening Notes
-- Dialogue
-- Music
-- Effects
-- General Comments
-- Transitions
Scene Analysis
-- Sync Points and Audiovisual Phrasing
-- Dress Rehearsal Scene from The Broadway Melody
-- "My Forgotten Man," from Gold Diggers of 1933
Writing a Scene Analysis Paper
-- Scene Analysis Sample: Leaving the Opera House, Le Million
Summary
7. From 1932 to 1950: Music and the Sound Track in the Classical Studio Era
Introduction
Issues of Technology and Economics
-- Improvements in Recording Technology
-- Rerecording
-- Sound in the Theaters of the 1930s and 1940s
-- The Great Depression and the Consolidation of Genres
Production
-- Production Phases
-- Music Department
-- Sound Department
The Sound Track in the Studio Era and Elements of Style
-- The Classical System
-- Background(ed) Music and the Sound Track
-- Scoring Practices
---- Musical Topics in the Underscore: The Opening of Rebecca
--Critiques of Hollywood Underscoring Practices
The Sound Track in the Studio Era and Elements of Film Form
-- Establishing Sequence
---- Three Films from 1933 Starring Katharine Hepburn
---- Street Scene and a Theme as Series or Genre Marker
---- Meet Me in St. Louis, Titles and Opening Scene
-- End Credit Music
---- Three Films from 1933 Starring Katharine Hepburn
---- Films from 1939, End Credits
-- Performance Scene
---- To Have and Have Not, "Am I Blue?"
---- Casablanca, Music during the First Act
---- Laura, Performances and Underscore
-- Montage or Fantasy Scene
---- Gone with the Wind, Montage Sequence in the Prologue to Part 2
-- Dialogue Scene
---- Rebecca, Terrace Scene
-- Action Scene
-- Love Scene
Summary
8. Mildred Pierce: Writing About Film Sound and Music
Introduction
Screening Report: Overview and Procedure
Other Approaches to Mildred Pierce
Concluding Comments
9. From 1950 to 1975: The Stereo Sound Track and the Post-Classical Era
Introduction
Issues of High Fidelity and Stereo Sound
-- Legal and Economic Challenges to the Industry
-- Widescreen and Stereo Formats
-- Magnetic Tape in Production and Postproduction
-- Issues of Stereo
---- Analysis: The Robe
-- Stereo and Space
-- Silence
Production
-- Production Phases
-- Music Department
-- Sound Department
Stereo Sound, Magnetic Tape, and Elements of Style
-- Issues of Aesthetics
-- Scoring Practices
---- Main Theme from High Noon
-- Popular Song and the Underscore
---- Soundtrack Albums
-- Importance of Recordings
---- Relation to the Musical
---- Scoring with Recordings
Summary
10. Music and Film Form in the Post-Classical Era
Introduction
Hollywood Studio Films 1: The Sound of Music
-- Overture and Title Sequence
-- "The Laendler" (1): as Dance
-- "The Laendler" (2): as Love Scene
-- The Sound of Music and Grease, Two Larger Performance Numbers
-- The Sound of Music, End Credits
Hollywood Studio Films 2: The Graduate
Battle Scenes from Four War Films
-- War Films in the Transition and Studio Era
-- D-Day the Sixth of June
-- The Longest Day
-Patton
-- A Bridge Too Far
-- Conclusions
Nonconventional Hollywood Film: Psycho
Japanese Film, Hollywood Style: Rashômon
Reciprocal Influence: Yojimbo and Per un Pugno di Dollari (A Fistful of Dollars)
Writing a Compare-Contrast Paper
PART III. Music and the Sound Track: 1975 to the Present
Introduction to Part III
11. From 1975 to 2000: The New Hollywood, Dolby Stereo and the Emergence of Sound Design
Introduction
Issues of Technology and Economics
-- The New Hollywood and Saturation Booking
-- Sound in the Multiplex
-- Dolby Stereo in the Theaters
-- Home Video and the Limitations of Television
-- Cross-Marketing and Promotion
Production
-- Production Phases
-- Music Department
-- Sound Department
Sound Design and Elements of Style
-- Issues of Aesthetics: Sound Design
-- Aesthetics and the Stereo Field
-- Scoring Practices
-- The Minimalist Underscore
-- Music Video Style
-- The Rise of Rap
Summary
12. Music and Film Form in The New Hollywood
Introduction
Mainstream Dramatic Film: Out of Africa
-- Prologue and Title Sequence
-- "On Safari": The Second Dinner
-- Final Scene and End Credits
Mainstream Romantic Comedy: When Harry Met Sally
Battle Scenes from Five War Films: Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Gallipoli, Glory, and Saving Private Ryan
-- Apocalypse Now
-- Platoon
-- Gallipoli
-- Two Combat Scenes from Glory
-- Two Combat Scenes from Saving Private Ryan
-- Conclusions
Action Films and Opening Prologues: Bond Films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and The Matrix
-- Bond Films
-- Raiders of the Lost Ark
-- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
-- The Matrix
-- Conclusions
A French Film, La Cage aux Folles, Remade in America as The Birdcage
Using Scene Comparison to Construct a Historical Argument
13. Music and Film Sound Since 2000
Introduction: The Digital Era
Issues of Technology and Economics
-- Digital Sound
-- Digital Sound Formats
-- The Multiplex Palace
-- Video, DVD, and Television Technologies
-- Franchises, Branding, and Convergent Media
Production
-- Production Phases
-- Music Department
---- Music Production
---- Music Postproduction
-- Sound Department
---- Sound Production
---- Sound Postproduction
---- Dialogue
---- Foley Effects
---- Sound Effects
Digital Sound and Elements of Style
-- Issues of Aesthetics
-- Scoring Practices
---- Instrumentation
---- New Trends in Action Films
---- Compilation Scores and Popular Music
Summary
14. Music and Film Form Since 2000
Introduction
Mainstream Dramatic Film: The Hours
Action Films Today
-- Wo Hu Cang Long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Theft of the Sword
-- Batman, Shootout at the Axis Chemical Plant, and Batman Begins, Initiation to the League of Shadows
-- Casino Royale, Prologue
-- The Bourne Ultimatum, Waterloo Station
-- Joheunnom Nabbeunnom Isanghannom (The Good, the Bad, the Weird), Three Action Sequences
-- Gravity
-- Conclusions
Two Versions of a Jane Austen Novel: Bridget Jones's Diary and Pride & Prejudice
15. Writing about Film Music: Interpretation
Introduction
Review of Previous Steps Using Catch Me If You Can
-- 1. Synopsis
-- 1a. Runtime Segmentation
-- 2. General Description and Evaluation of the Sound Track Elements and Their Balance
-- 3. Conclusion
Note on the Compare/Contrast Paper
Developing a Reading (1): Finding a Thesis
-- Thesis Options for Catch Me If You Can
-- Examples from the Published Literature
Developing a Reading (2): Reading against the Grain
-- Example: Casablanca against the Grain
Conclusion
GLOSSARY
CREDITS
NOTES
INDEX