Report:

My objective was to add sound effects to a scene from Terminator 2.

I wanted to highlight the machines arm movement. I also felt I needed to highlight the background noises/ unseen actions to make the effects believable and have a depth to them.

My main sources of inspiration were the Transformers movies (2007,2009, Bay) and Ben Burt’s work on the Star Wars films (1977 – 2005, Lucas). I was impressed by some of the original sound sources used and how those sources had been manipulated and taken out of context to produce an alien sound. Some examples of this is the hematite magnet toys used as the sound of a robot in transformers 2 or the sound of a hammer on an antenna wire for laser blasts in Star Wars.

One technique I used in this piece was automation of the panning and volume; I also used the time and pitch function to adjust the speed of sounds, which helped to disguise the true sources of my recording (reduced listening).

For this task I learnt that it is equally important to add sound effect to on-screen action (such as the arm movement) as it is to add sound effects to off-screen action (such as the reflection of the sparks). I studied how some industry professionals have created sound effects, my findings inspired me to experiment and have a go at making field recordings in car garages, buildings sites and a delivery van’s hydraulic tail lift. I would award myself a mark of around 70% for this task because I feel my piece shows experimentation and the sound effect track has depth, is timed well and complements the visuals.

Word Count: 258

References:

• Davis, R. (1999) The Complete Guide To Film Scoring, Boston: Berklee Press.
• Karlin, F. (2004) On The Track: A Guide To Contemporary Film Scoring. Great Britain: Routledge.
• Sonnenschein, D (2002) Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema. California: Michael Wiese Productions

Films:

• Transformers (2007) [DVD] dir. Bay,M. USA: DreamWorks Pictures.
• Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009) [DVD] dir. Bay,M. USA: DreamWorks Pictures.
• Star Wars Episode IV. (1977) [DVD], dir. Lucas,G.USA: Lucasfilm.
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) [DVD], dir. Cameron,J. USA: Momentum Pictures

Websites:

• kristapley. (2008).Behind the Sound of “Transformers”. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYQ6rqdjGFI. Last accessed 24th Mar 2011
• Coleman, M (2010). ”Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen” Sound for Film Profile. Available: http://vimeo.com/8450426. Last accessed 24th Mar 2011
• Carlsson, S (2011). Sound design of Star Wars. Available: http://filmsound.org/starwars/. Last accessed 24th Mar 2011

Updated 25th march.

Report:

My objective was to compose a soundtrack to accompany a scene from American Beauty using percussion.

I wanted to highlight the slow motion dance at the end of the film; I changed the feel of the music at this point and timed shakes and bells to occur when the camera switched between the two characters.

James Horner’s soundtrack for Avatar influenced my piece, particularly the piece called Jake’s First Flight (Horner, 2009) as I liked the polyrhythms in it and the overall style of the piece. A R Rahman was also a major influence on my piece, he was responsable for the Slumdog millionaire soundtrack. Indian music from musicians such as Malkit Singh, Panjabi MC and R.D.B also influenced my choice of instrumentation and rhythms.

I used the drum pads on my axiom keyboard and allowed the pressure of hits on the pads to decide the velocity of the sample/note, which achieved a more humanised feel. One music technique I learnt was using cross-rhythms; I tried to use conflicting patterns on the Latin and Indian drums in the slow motion dance section.

For this task I learnt about Indian, Latin and African percussion and cross-rhythms so I could understand the instruments and techniques better, I then experimented by mixing techniques, instruments and rhythms together. I would award myself a mark of around 68-70% for this task because I feel my piece provides evidence of experimentation of my research findings and explores musical techniques that are new to me.

Word count : 249

References:

• Davis, R. (1999) The Complete Guide To Film Scoring, Boston: Berklee Press.
• Karlin, F. (2004) On The Track: A Guide To Contemporary Film Scoring. Great Britain: Routledge.

Films

• American Beauty (1999) [DVD] dir. Mendes,S. USA: DreamWorks Pictures.
• Avatar (2009) [DVD] dir. Cameron, J. USA: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008) [DVD] dir. Boyle, D. UK:20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Websites

• PMC Records. (2011). Panjabi MC Official Website. Available: http://www.pmcrecords.com/index.php/home. Last accessed 11th Mar 2011
• RDB. (2011). RDB Music. Available: http://rdbmusic.com/. Last accessed 11th Mar 2011
• phoenixrising113. (2008).Ringa Ringa. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-osWvzCMQ7s&feature=related. Last accessed 12th Mar 2011
• passtschonJO. (2009). Avatar Soundtrack 07 – Jake’s First Flight. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXDKRayFTik. Last accessed 12th Mar 2011

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Influences:

Updated 25th March.

Report:

My objective was to compose a soundtrack to accompany a scene from a film scene using woodwind.

I wanted to highlight the car chase section at the beginning but more importantly I wanted to highlight the German tanks and troops coming to attack.

After listening to the piece Unspoken Fear (Bernstein, 1989) from my left foot, I was inspired to use the idea of colour alternation. I mixed this with the techniques Howard Shore used in the piece The Black Rider (Lord of the rings, 2001) where he used long Arco string themes with contrasting staccato melodies on brass and woodwind.

I used automation on the tempo to slow the piece from 125 bpm to 115 bpm. One music technique I learnt was call and response; I tried to use slow flowing strings with the contrast of short staccato woodwind sections.

To carry out this task I listened to soundtracks as a result I learnt techniques such as colour alternation and call and response, these techniques are evident in my piece. I also took knowledge from past tasks such as using Hermann chord stabs to highlight important parts of the scene. I would award myself a mark of around 68-70% for this task because I feel my piece explores musical and sequencer techniques that are new to me and uses them effective to reflect the visuals and the emotions of the characters in them. My piece answers the task criteria and fulfills my objectives I set out to achieve.

Word count : 248

References:

• Davis, R. (1999) The Complete Guide To Film Scoring, Boston: Berklee Press.
• Karlin, F. (2004) On The Track: A Guide To Contemporary Film Scoring. Great Britain: Routledge.
• My Left Foot (1989) [Film] dir. Sheridan, J. UK: ITV Studios.
• The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001) [DVD] dir. Jackson, P. USA: WingNut Films.
• Enemy at the Gates (2001) [DVD] dir. Annaud, J. UK: Pathe

Websites:

• Garritan, G. (2006). Lesson 13 – HARMONY – Woodwind Harmony.Available: http://www.northernsounds.com/forum/showthread.php/47498-Lesson-13-HARMONY-Wood-wind-Harmony. Last accessed 6th Mar 2011.
• Wikipedia. (2011). Call and Response. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_and_response_(music). Last accessed 6th Mar 2011

Updated 25th March.

Report:

My objective was to compose a soundtrack to accompany a scene from the film North By Northwest.

I wanted to highlight where the character running away from the plane and the section leading up to (and including) the sand being dropped from the plane as I feel these are important parts of the scene and have the most amount of action.

The Theme from Jaws (Spielberg, 1975) by John Williams was a major influence to my piece as I liked the way he uses crescendo to build anticipation and fear to action such as in the ending scene of Jaws on the lead up to Jaws being blown up. I also admire the simplicity particularly the most famous section, which is just an alternating pattern of two notes of the composition but effectiveness it has.

I selected different groups of sample is the EXS plugin to make the orchestral instruments sound more realistic. I also used a plugin called PSP Vintage Warmer of the main mix to attempt to create a sense of warmth and richness of analog recording.

To carry out this task I listened to many themes that contain brass at the forefront such as Star Wars (Lucas, 1977) and Superman (Donner, 1978). The findings of the techniques and sounds the instruments were making are evident in my piece, I doubled these with my findings of my last composition to build fear and tension. I would award myself a mark of around 65-70% for this task because I feel my piece is evidence of my research, it synchronizes and highlights action in the scene effectively.

Word count : 259

References

• North By Northwest (1959) [Film] dir. Hitchcock, A. USA: MGM.
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) [DVD] dir. Lucas,G. USA: LucasFilm.
• Jaws (1975) [Film] dir. Spielberg,S. USA: Universal Studios
• Superman (1978) [Film] dir. Donner,R. USA: Warner Home
• Karlin, F. (2004) On The Track: A Guide To Contemporary Film Scoring. London: Routledge.
• Davis, R. (1999) The Complete Guide To Film Scoring, Boston: Berklee Press.

Web

• Youtube (2009). Jaws – Ending Scene. Available at:<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gw-qjuR8Kg >. [accessed 25/2/2011].
• Youtube (2009). Jaws Theme. Available at:<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73SYMPjG4uc >. [accessed 25/2/2011].

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Here (below) is a clip from the ending of Jaws from around 0’12″ the brass plays a rising melody responding to the visual of the character climbing. At 0’35″ the end of the rather mellow string section ends with a forceful stab from the brass section followed by ostinati that is played of both the strings and brass while the character is attacking Jaws. My favourite bit is the section between 1’10″ and 1’32″ where the whole piece is building in loudness and pitch to increase suspense before the explosive end of Jaws.

The next selection of videos form some of the themes I listened to before creating my piece, I have found, and all of these themes support my findings, that composers use brass alot for heroic pieces and for themes associated to characters that are powerful or brave. In many cases Jack Smalleys theory of the square - big intervals that create a heroic feeling (any leap more than a second) is present for example the Stars Wars theme starts on G then jumps to D.

Report:

My objective was to compose a soundtrack to accompany a scene in the film Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960).

I wanted to highlight the shock of the character seeing a state trooper at her car window using stabbing chords I also wanted to emphasise the emotions the character must have been going through and provide a scene of uncertainty and suspense for the viewer, will the character be found out or not? I have done this by ebb and flow in the velocity and length of the notes played.

I was inspired by a few works by John Frizell, they are Ghost Ship (2002) and Thir13en ghosts (2001). Frizell uses a lot of dissonant tones and utilises alternative methods of creating sound of string instruments such as bowing behind the bridge for example in the piece The Freezer. I modified this using Hermann’s composition for Psycho to ensure my piece blends with the original soundtrack.

I used automation on the volume and velocity to create a scene of ebb and flow. I also studied Hermann’s original composition for psycho and tried to adopt some of the things I noticed such as his use of tritones and minor major 7th chords (which has been nicknamed “The Hitchcock Chord” as a result).

I researched by watching a number of horror films to hear how composers represent fear and build suspense and studied the techniques Bernard Herrmann used in the Psycho soundtrack; Some of these techniques are evident in my piece. I would award myself a mark of around 65-70% for this task because I feel my piece work well with the scene, builds fear and provides evidence to support my research.

word count: 277

References:

Books:

• Davis, R (2000) Complete Guide to Film Scoring. Boston: Berklee Press
• Karlin, F and Wright, R (2004). On the Track A guide to contemporary film scoring (revised second edition).London: Routledge
• Murphy, S (2009) ‘An Audio-Visual Foreshadowing in Psycho’ in Hayward, P. ed. (2009) Terror Tracks: Music, Sound and Horror Cinema, London: Equinox
• Donnelly, K (2008)  The Spectre of Sound: Music in Film and Television. London: British Film Institute

Film:

• Psycho (1960) [Film] dir. A, Hitchcock. USA: Shamley Productions
• Thirteen Ghosts (2001) [DVD] dir. S, Beck. USA: Warner Home Video
• Ghost Ship (2002) [DVD] dir. S, Beck. USA: Warner Home Video

Web:

• Northern Sounds. (1998). Principles of Orchestration. Available: http://www.northernsounds.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/77-Principles-of-Orchestration-On-line . Last accessed 18th Feb 2011.
• Wrobel, B. (2008). The Nature of Bernard Herrmann’s Music. Available: http://www.bernardherrmann.org/articles/misc/nature001/ . Last accessed 18th Feb 2011.

Influences

ghost ship:

In this piece you can hear the strings moving up a scale and tremolo, both things I try to adopt in my piece as methods of creating tension and suspense.

In piece he uses a lot of alternative playing methods such as scratching and playing behind the bridge, it make a a really nice sound that is used in alot of  horror movies. It creates a sense of fear and adds a bit of unpredictability and uncertainty which I wanted in my composition.

thir13en ghosts

Unfortunately I could find just the audio of this film to post but this clip has a section of the film in it. The soundtrack, like Psycho uses stabbing chords and low repetitive notes similar to a beating drum or heart beat.

updated 13th Feb

Report:

My objective was to compose a soundtrack to accompany the chase scene in the film The Dark Knight.

I wanted to highlight where batman nearly hits a pedestrian in the mall 0’10″, the explosion and motorbike entering the street at 0’26″ and the lorry flipping over at 0’53″ as these are areas of the most exciting on screen action in this scene or form important parts to the film plot.

I particularly liked David Arnold’s composition for the Quantum of Solace car chase at the start of the film (link), The underlining percussion builds suspense and the string and brass sections gradually increase in key to build anticipation and fear (this occurs from 3’00″ – 3’29″). With this as an influence I modified the ideas by drawing inspiration from both my last variations task and piano compositions of Ludovico Einaudi such as Dietro Casa.

I used a midi keyboard and the step input keyboard to input the notes because of this the notes had a more human pattern to the velocities. I researched dynamics and decided to try crescendos and vary the dynamics of parts I have done this through both gradual and sudden changes of velocity.

To carry out this task I researched music theory particularly focusing on dynamics, I also watched a number of chase scenes to hear what other composers have produced. I would award myself a mark of around 60% for this task because I feel my piece provides supporting evidence to my research and indicates an understanding of composing for chase scenes and it works well with the scene.

word count: 264

References:

Books:

• Davis, R (2000) Complete Guide to Film Scoring. Boston: Berklee Press
• Karlin, F and Wright, R (2004). On the Track A guide to contemporary film scoring (revised second edition). London: Routledge

Webpages:

• Wikipedia (2011). Dynamics (music). Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_(music)>. [accessed 10/2/2011].
• Wikipedia (2011). Quantum of Solace (soundtrack). Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_of_Solace_(soundtrack)>.[accessed 10/2/2011].
• Arnold.D (2007). DA  07.  Available at: <http://www.davidarnold.com/>.[accessed 11/2/2011].

Films:

• The Dark Knight. (2008) [DVD], dir. Nolan,C USA: Warner Bros
• Quantum of Solace (2008) [DVD], dir. Forster, M UK: 20th Century Fox
• This is England (2006) [DVD], dir. Meadows, S UK: Optimum Home Entertainment
• Youtube (2009). Classical Music 101: Fast, Frenetic, Chase Scene Music. Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S4NDnNTptY >. [accessed 9/2/2011].

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I thought I would add a few videos I found while carrying out my research.

and here is a strange one the soundtrack is the car, this chase scene is probably the most famous chase scene ever and if has no music during the actual chase only in the lead up to the chase. Bullitt (1968)

Theme

- Main notes of theme = G, F#,G,G#,G,B

Variation 1 – Tonal variation & rhythmic variation

Variation 2 – Melodic Variation

Variation 3 – Melodic Variation and Ornamentation (Trill patch) -

Variation 4 – Augmentation & Diminution

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Report:

My objective was to construct a theme and variations. My intention was to build suspense with a sense of fear, I admire the effectiveness Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho (Herrmann, 1960) ‘shower scene’ has at fulfilling both these things so that was a major influence. I also used Danny Elfman’s theme for Batman (Elfman, 1989) as inspiration as it is clever with its use of variations of the main theme, for example the motif played on the harp/celeste, and I wanted to learn more about the theory behind it.

To create my theme I used the score tool in Logic instead of the piano roll, I have never used this in the past. By doing this task I have learnt a lot about music theory, I had never intentionally used these variation techniques in a composition but now I understand it more I will use it in the future.

In order to create variations I had to research web pages, books on music theory and film soundtracks by the two composers. I also used Midi tracing exercises to find out what variations and themes Herrmann and Elfman used to inspire my variation techniques.

I would give myself a mark of around  60-65% for this task as I feel I have researched variation techniques and realised some of the stylistic and compositional patterns in Herrmann and Elfman’s work. Although, I feel I could have looked at other compositions by the two composers, more film soundtracks and more techniques of creating variation to get more interesting variations.

word count – 253

References

Books:

• K. Halfyard, J (2004). Danny Elfman’s Batman: A Film Score Guide. Oxford: Scarecrow press inc.
  
• Davis, R (2000) Complete Guide to Film Scoring. Boston: Berklee Press, pp. 278 – 284.

Webpages:

• Scull, E  (2011). An introduction to theme and variation form. [online] Available at: <http://www.erikscull.com/portfolio/assets/flash/variationswcopland.html> [Accessed 3/2/ 2011].
  
• Wikipedia (2011). Ornament (music). Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_(music)>. [accessed 4/2/2011].
• Schmidt-Jones,C (2010). Transposing: Changing Keys. Available at: <http://cnx.org/content/m10668/latest/>. [accessed 4/2/2011].

Music:

• Elfman, D. (1989). Batman: Original Soundtrack [CD] US. WEA.
• Herrmann, B. (2010). Pyscho (OST) [CD] US. Varese Sarabande.