Jasmin Munoz
August 8, 2016
Music Appreciation 1306-41530
Professor: Joshua Green
John Towner Williams
“So much of what we do is ephemeral and quickly forgotten...so it's gratifying to have something you have done linger in people's memories (Forney)” - John Williams
“The Most Prominent Film Composer” is the name given to the best known composer of this Era, 20th Century, John Towner Williams. Born in Long Island, New York on February 8, 1932 to Johnny and Ester Williams. In this paper, I will talk about his early interest in music, education, career, major works, style of composing, and my personal reflections from his major works to give a better understanding of John Towner Williams composer life.
Coming from a musician father, John Williams
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We all know of the famous sci-fi space adventure of the movie, Star Wars, which premiered on May 25th, 1977. How could we not know of this movie without its amazing soundtrack. One of his major works for the movie was the entire beginning of the movie scene and the intro. The Star Wars theme, Deconstructed, is pretty much known worldwide because of the new genre and the way it was created to go perfect with the movie. John Williams always adds his own taste of symphonic style to every film which brought back the “symphonic style” to the movies as well as “unforgettable themes” in his other works that are “set in an accessible, neo- Romantic idiom (Forney)”. The theme to the Jurassic Park movies are another major work of John Williams. In this theme, the french horns sing the popular melody that almost puts you in the dinosaur age next to the massive beasts back over millions of years ago. Jaws is another top hollywood movie back in the 70’s that John Williams did in fact score, and is most notably known for the Jaws theme. Jaws did come out before Star Wars so it was early for William’s career, but he in fact put movie critics in amazement as nobody had ever scored any movie this well. The Jaws theme is composed mostly of the string section, the violins and the cellos, in “two minor notes” back and forth which give the texture an uncomfortable feeling that “warns the audience …show more content…
Growing up watching Star Wars just always stuck with me as a kid to now as an adult. All of his musical works in these movies just match with the drama, adventure and love stories conflicted within the movie.The theme song has all these elements that make up a scenario. From the beginning it gives you this feeling of excitement. The primary instrument used is the brass in the intro. Portraying the “storyline of the heroic, luke and adventurous, Han and regal, Leia battling against a military foe (“John Williams)”. Then still continuing with the same chorus of the brass into the A section Part 1 changing the mood to a heroic and adventurous feeling. In this section we hear melodic leaps prior to the brass instruments hitting those massive notes of victory while the melody descend down the scale for a few notes then reaching the higher notes which create a sense of heroism. Going to the B section the mood is more compassionate due to the strings that switch the feeling and pace of the theme. Now the heroic brass punctuations from the A section are replaced by sentimental and compassionate strings. Repetition occurs a lot in this section too. Creating more notes that last longer that provide a rhythmic variance from the quick paced chorus in A section. Now in the C section the brass and strings are used to create excitement just as at the beginning but yet
Not only is he the most nominated living individual in the history of the Academy Awards (with 49 nominations), but he is also the third most-nominated person in Hollywood History, second only to Metro Goldwyn Mayer (62) Walt Disney (59). In his credentials he holds five Academy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, 22 Grammy Awards, and 4 Golden Globe Awards. Considering that obtaining a single nomination for any of the aforementioned awards is remarkable in itself, this astounding number is truly
The purpose of this essay is to analyse music from the film ' Star Wars' and discuss in detail, the function of this music, the elements of music used and how this music embellishes the film. This includes the purpose of the music. It is to represent a character/ action / set a geographical location/ create atmosphere/ to psychologically unite the audience.
Steven Spielberg uses many different filming techniques to make Jurassic Park more engaging for the audience and to develop scenes more than they would without these techniques. One of the most powerful techniques is changing the soundtrack to add tension and suspense during certain parts of a scene. One example is when the dinosaur crashes through the wall as the people start to drive away in the jeep. The speed gets faster, the pitch gets higher, and the overall soundtrack gets louder . This makes the audience slightly scared for the people, especially since only seconds ago, it was completely silent, except for the footfalls of the dinosaur and some quiet dialogue. That leads us to another one of Steven Spielberg’s techniques, which is making
Music plays a critical role in the narrative films as it is important technique that filmmakers use to support the narrative and influence the way that the viewer interacts, responds and interprets the events as they unfold. The godfather, which is one of all time Hollywood movies, represents a good use of music that succeeded in supporting the dramatic events that take place in the movie. Moreover, both diegetic and non-diegetic music in the godfather movie are used to achieve the overall purpose by using the different principles and functions of film music that range from setting the mood of the viewer to providing continuity within the movie. In this essay, we will take part of the godfather movie in which we can observe and analyse the
Even though the film is essentially a visual experience, the use of sound has become extremely important in modern film. The modern viewer hears a complicated soundtrack that is as meaningful as the image on the screen. Three elements comprise the film's soundtrack: the dialogue, the sound effects, and the musical score. The proper balance and mix of these elements produced the essential emphasis required, which created the desired effects. As explained by Joseph Boggs and Dennis Petrie,
Their traditional instruments create the mood of the film, having some of the best musical scores that I’ve heard in a film. Zhangs use of instrumental music throughout his scenes create a sense of intensity and mood. At the beginning of the scene the music starts with a soft tune and slowly increase in volume as Broken Sword walked through the hall ways. The scene used more of a strings melody that created a calmer, more intimate scene. This is then followed by a dynamic transition into the following fighting scene. As the film progresses though the fighting scenes, the score evolves into a more epic and intense melody which uses the sounds of objects in movement, accompanied by a percussion that creates an intense mood, and the soft vocals of a female to create a more elegant melody. Dun Tan, the composer of the score used more traditional forms of instruments to create a feeling of immersion in the time period chosen. The music is one of the strongest elements in the film really creating the
The music helped in elaborating this great film. As I mentioned in class different instruments helped create different moods for different scenes in the movie. We heard the cello and the violin to create sadness and remorse. The flute created eeriness and the trumpet created awareness. I thought these were instruments and tools that help make this film extraordinary.
3) Discuss the growth of the various types of popular music in films from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. Please mention specific films, styles, and composers when you can. (20 points)
A composer depends entirely upon the nature of the film for all the clues needed to write a suitable score for a film. Brought into the production after a certain amount of film has been shot, the films concept will dictate how the composer will write the music. Whether based on the story line, or providing information by setting an atmospheric state, film music will always have different purposes between different films. Penguin Ballet by Nigel Westlake was composed to focuses upon the graceful, almost ballet like movements of the penguins underwater. Whereas, Writings on the wall by Sam Smith conveys ideas and messages which will be expressed throughout the film, especially through the use of lyrics. Although positioned within the film to provide contrasting messages, both these songs use similar musical elements to support the piece, and its position with the film. The discussion of this essay is that there are similarities between the musical elements that support the lyrics in a song and the action in a documentary. Through this, we will discuss the musical element’s of pitch, and timbre and texture.
“The most exciting moment is the moment when I add the sound… At this moment, I tremble.” (Akira Kurosawa) Sound is arguably the most important concept in cinema studies, being there ever since the beginnings. It can radically change the way a motion picture is looked at and it can render what the director may sometimes find hard to depict using only his camera. Looking upon silent cinema one discovers an era which wasn’t at all silent, but rich in sound of different forms, from the simple narration of the images shown on screen, accompanied by a piano, to the complex score later composed specifically for that film. An example of that complex score is shown in Sunrise, a film by F.W. Murnau, which lies at the border between silent cinema and sound cinema. Considered to be one of the first films with an actual score, Sunrise is a great example of the multitude of dimensions and effects sound can have.
This clearly explains the significance of music and the role that has in motion pictures. Music has to match the emotions that the actors are showing and the environment they are in. If fail to do so, the movie could be a dreadful thing to watch.
In 2001 space odyssey, as formentioned, he uses light classical music juxtaposed with the dark mysteries that surround the mission and the spaceship Discovery One. The music provides a sense of serenity as well as discombobulated feel like one might feel in space. As with all of his films there was great attention to detail and it was visually stunning as well as aesthetically pleasing. One specific shot of beauty is in the beginning of the movie titled “dawn of man” after the apes jump around the monolith, the sun is setting behind a flat topped hill and the moon is juxtaposed right above it with golden clouds all around. Also in this movie, the reoccurring theme of an unsavory character that we are manipulated into sympathizing with is HAL during the
Music can be extraordinarily influential in films, as it has the ability to evoke emotion not displayed by on-screen action. Music used in films can play many roles; it can depict time and place, mood, atmosphere, character, and can be used to underscore the onscreen drama and titles. Alan Silvestri and John Williams successfully manipulate the use of music in film to establish characters (along with their personality, actions and changing emotions), as well as underscore the mood for the entirety of their given films. The contrasts of Silvestri’s “The Feather Theme” with Williams’ “Batman Theme” exemplify the power of music in film.
GET ATTENTION: {Listen to Jaws Theme} Many people as soon as they hear that ominous and menacing piece of music, immediately think of the iconic 1975 thriller classic known as Jaws. And by chance if you did not recognize the Jaws theme, there are plenty of other iconic film scores that you would recognize.
One would have to say that one of the most notable features of the film would have to be its soundtrack, which incorporates no music but only diegetic sound, from the preliminary noise of the river flowing under the bridge through the even louder sounds of the forthcoming American tanks to the quaking clamors of the ending battle scenes. A prodigious example of sound transpires within the middle of the film. It is when the boys are woken from their cots and called into combat; the sequence features electronically distorted sounds that together equally insinuate the boys’ disorientation as well as the disorientation of the viewers.