Linear Film Composition

By -

Films are linear, even though the story line may not be. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an excellent example of a non-linear story. While we as the audience are not seeing the events in a chronological order, we are seeing the events in the order of the film. The film isn’t presented in an aleotoric manner, randomly presenting scenes. Directors spend a great deal of time sorting out just how the film fits together to end with the desired result.

Music is the same way. Music follows a linear path, even though there are pieces that are composed or designed to be performed aleoticially, the actual performance is linear. It is this linear path that should be the concern of the composer and the performer – particularly in terms of composing for film.

Typically film composers have the advantage of having the entire film or story before composing the music. But even with this, the composer needs to spend time thinking about what it is they are composing and how the composition will develop with the film. If there is a theme present in the first portion of the film, how does that theme develop, what changes to the theme are made as the film progresses? In the end, what is the final result of the theme and does it match with the final result of the film?

This doesn’t mean the music for the film needs to be composed in a linear fashion. It is very possible to come up with a variety of options for the overall film, and then play with these options creating a series of variations. Then work through the variations to see which fits where. It may be that the end of the film is clearly one of the variations and gets composed first. Other sections are then taken from this variation to create puzzle pieces that are all part of the end result, but not the complete picture. The audience then has elements of the film and music they put together as the film is presented.

However, once all the various pieces are done, the composer should go back through the composition and create a time line. This should show the progress of the variations, the orchestration and other aspects of the music so there is a flow from beginning to end. It is important to know the music not only fits the scene, but contributes to what came before it and leads to what is to follow.

Record producers spend a fair amount of time composing the order of an album, concerned at the place of the music order and the effect it has on the listener. Although we may choose to listen to the music out of order, the order as it appears on the CD is thought out to give each piece the best presentation in terms of what comes before and after. Film music should do the same thing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Acclaimed Fauré Quartett returns to Deutsche Grammophon with their first recording of Brahms

By -
Image
The Fauré Quartett continues to add authoritative recordings to the chamber music catalog with their new recording of two Brahms quartets, available from Deutsche Grammophon on January 12, 2010. These large, some say symphonic, works test the limits of technical and musical capabilities, and the Fauré Quartett once again proves why they are one of the most acclaimed ensembles performing today. Within a short period of time the Fauré Quartett has conquered the great concert halls of London , Paris , Berlin , Amsterdam , Brussels , Geneva , Hamburg , Frankfurt, Milan , Buenos Aires , Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere. “They attract superlatives wherever they go,” wrote The Strad following a concert at London ’s Wigmore Hall, while the Süddeutsche Zeitung praised them for a performance that “brought tremendous pleasure by highlighting interpretative details that had scarcely ever been heard before”. The Fauré Quartett strives to achieve a unique sound for Brahms (as indeed for every work)
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more