Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 3 Sound and Image 95

creative and professional opportunity for many of the fi nest and most original

musical fi gures of the past century. Some of the most profound and inspiring

developments in cinematic storytelling traditions, styles, and themes have

benefi ted from creative synergy between image and original music. Studies

of musical scores and the ways that music can aff ect a fi lm are extremely

useful for a full understanding of motion pictures.

Music powerfully shapes many aspects of motion pictures. It is obvious

to most viewers that music contributes to setting a tone for many movies and

also helps to instill a style. In some cases, music establishes the feel of the

movie virtually on its own! Choices of approach when creating an original

score include the instrumentation, genre of music, and use of repetition or

range of melodic and thematic material.

Lessons from the work of the most successful and renowned fi lm

composers consistently demonstrate original and distinctive choices in relation

to the movie, whether they work as a complement or in contrast to the visual

material of the fi lm. Th ese can be heard in the works of such composers as

Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith, and Elmer Bernstein in the United States, John

Barry and Roy Budd of England, Georges Delerue and Michel Legrand of

France, Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota of Italy, Toru Takemitsu of Japan,

and many others. Th ere have also been numerous repeated collaborations

between composers and directors, such as with Bernard Herrmann and

Figure 3-14 Composer Henry Mancini conducting a studio

orchestra to record a score in sync with picture. The movie

screen can be seen behind the musicians. (Courtesy of Th e Henry

Mancini Estate)

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