Hearing the Movies Music and Sound in Film History

Hearing the Movies, Second Edition, combines a historical and chronological approach to the study of film music and sound with an emphasis on building listening skills. Through engaging, accessible analyses and exercises, the book covers all aspects of the subject, including how a soundtrack is assembled to accompany the visual content, how music enhances the form and style of key film genres, and how technology has influenced the changing landscape of film music.

James Buhler is Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Texas, Austin, and has written extensively on film sound.

David P. Neumeyer is the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Professor of Music and Professor of Music Theory at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies (2014), and co-editor, with James Buhler, of Music and Cinema (Wesleyan University Press).

PREFACE
INTRODUCTION

PART I: The Sound Track and Film Narrative: Basic Terms and Concepts

Introduction to Part I

Chapter 1: The Sound Track and Narrative
Introduction
Basics: Image Track, Sound Track, Narrative
Sound Track Components and Narrative
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

Chapter 2: The Musicality of the Sound Track: Concepts and Terminology
Introduction
Music and Sound
Timbre
Texture
Example for Sound Track Analysis Using Musical Terms: Atonement, Main Title Sequence and First Scene
Summary

Chapter 3: Music, Sound, Space, and Time: Concepts and Terminology
Introduction
Space (1): Diegetic/Nondiegetic Music and Narrative
Space (2): Onscreen/Offscreen Sound and Music
Space (3): Offscreen Sound and Music in Relation to the Diegesis
Time (1): Transitions Between Scenes
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 1970

Introduction to Part II

Chapter 4: From 1895 to 1929: Music and Sound in Early Film
Introduction
The Early Years
The Nickelodeon
The Picture Palace
Characteristic Music Practices in the Later Silent Era
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

Chapter 5: From 1926 to 1932: The Transition to Sound Film
Introduction
Issues of Technology and Economics
Production
Mastering the Sound Track and Elements of Style
Summary

Chapter 6: The Broadway Melody (1929) and 42nd Street (1933): Analyzing Sound and Image in a Film Scene
Introduction
Music in Film Form
Formal Screening Notes
Scene Analysis
Writing a Scene Analysis Paper
Summary

Chapter 7: From 1932 to 1950: Music and the Sound Track in the Classical Studio Era
Introduction
Issues of Technology and Economics
Production
The Sound Track in the Studio Era and Elements of Style
Critiques of Hollywood Underscoring Practices
The Sound Track in the Studio Era and Elements of Film Form
Summary

Chapter 8: Mildred Pierce (1945): Writing About Film Sound and Music
Introduction
Screening Report: Overview and Procedure
Other Approaches to Mildred Pierce
Concluding Comments

Chapter 9: From 1950 to 1975, Part 1: The Stereo Sound Track and the Post-Classical Era
Introduction
Issues of High Fidelity and Stereo Sound
Production
Stereo Sound, Magnetic Tape, and Elements of Style
Summary

Chapter 10: From 1950 to 1975, Part 2: The Sound Track and Film Form in the Post-Classical Era
Introduction
Hollywood Studio Films 1: The Sound of Music (1965)
Hollywood Studio Films 2: The Graduate (1967)
Battle Scenes from Four War Films
Nonconventional Hollywood Film: Psycho (1960)
Japanese Film, Hollywood Style: Rashômon
Reciprocal Influence: Yojimbo (1961) & Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars; 1964, US 1967)
Writing a Compare-Contrast Paper

PART III: Music and the Sound Track Since 1975
Introduction to Part III

Chapter 11: From 1975 to 2000, Part 1: The New Hollywood, Dolby Stereo and the Emergence of Sound Design
Introduction
Issues of Technology and Economics
Production
Sound Design and Elements of Style
Summary

Chapter 12: From 1975 to 2000, Part 2: The Sound Track and Film Form in The New Hollywood
Introduction
Mainstream Dramatic Film: Out of Africa (1985)
Mainstream Romantic Comedy: When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Battle Scenes from Five War Films: Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Gallipoli, Glory, and Saving Private Ryan
Action Films and Opening Prologues: Bond Films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and The Matrix
A French Film, La Cage aux Folles (1978), Remade in America as The Birdcage (1996)
Using Scene Comparison to Construct a Historical Argument

Chapter 13: Music and Film Sound Since 2000, Part 1: Digital Film, Digital Sound
Introduction: The Digital Era
Issues of Technology and Economics
Production
Digital Sound and Elements of Style
Summary

Chapter 14: Music and Film Sound Since 2000, Part 2: The Sound Track and Film Form
Introduction
Mainstream Dramatic Film: The Hours (2002)
Action Films Today
Two Versions of a Jane Austen Novel: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Chapter 15: Writing about Music and Film Sound: Interpretation
Introduction
Review of Previous Steps Using Catch Me If You Can
Note on the Compare/Contrast Paper
Developing a Reading (1): Finding a Thesis
Developing a Reading (2): Reading against the Grain
Conclusion

GLOSSARY
CREDITS
NOTES
INDEX
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