South Korean Film Scores and Ease of Consumption – Part 3 (Seopyeonje’s P’ansori and Soo-Chul Kim).

Part 1. Part 2. The Music of Soo-Chul Kim and the P’ansori aesthetic. Soo-Chul Kim is the composer of the nondiegetic score for Seopyeonje, though it is unclear how much influence he had on the other musical aspects of the film.  Looking at the film’s score, it can at first seem quite sparse once the diegetic P’ansori music is ignored.  Soo-Chul Kim’s music recurs throughout … Continue reading South Korean Film Scores and Ease of Consumption – Part 3 (Seopyeonje’s P’ansori and Soo-Chul Kim).

Berberian Sound Studio – Part 3 (Sound as Narrative and Conclusions).

Part 1 Part 2 Sound As Narrative The narrative ambiguity of Berberian begins to kick in during the last quarter of the film.  The sound within the narrative gradually eases over the line and starts to become part of the narrative affecting a number of the characters and not simply Gilderoy.  The first hint that the sound is entering reality comes when the previously abused … Continue reading Berberian Sound Studio – Part 3 (Sound as Narrative and Conclusions).

The Problematic Reception of Sound And Vision in Derek Jarman’s Blue – Part 1 (Introduction).

When is a Film Not a Film? The Problematic Reception of Sound And Vision in Derek Jarman’s Blue. Introduction “I don’t think of myself as avant-garde. I think avant-garde died in the last revolution before the war.” – Derek Jarman (1994) For a director whose visual flair and heightened sense of style became a sickly, heady trademark of his work, Derek Jarman knew perfectly well … Continue reading The Problematic Reception of Sound And Vision in Derek Jarman’s Blue – Part 1 (Introduction).

The Use of Sound & Music in British Working Class Film – Part 2 (This Happy Breed – David Lean)

Part 1. Propaganda and David Lean’s This Happy Breed. “The war years saw a revival of English romanticism in response to the need for an idealized reaffirmation of British history and shared values (as perceived within the dominant ideology) and, on the other, for the release into fantasy and dream to relieve the stress, hardship, and agony of war.” (Wollen, 1993 p.41) David Lean’s 1944 … Continue reading The Use of Sound & Music in British Working Class Film – Part 2 (This Happy Breed – David Lean)

The Shining – Legacy of Balance In Horror Film Scores.

While writing about a perceived pivoting moment in horror film scores for a research essay last year, I briefly mentioned towards the end of what I termed “a legacy of balance” within horror film music and film scores.  With the word limitations on that essay meaning that the point was only vaguely surmised with a handful of explanations, I wanted to go further into what … Continue reading The Shining – Legacy of Balance In Horror Film Scores.

Berberian Sound Studio – Part 2 (The Sound of the Giallo and Narrative Sounds)

Part 1. The Sound of the Giallo There are certain facts about the Giallo sub-genre that critics enjoy repeating over and over again.  It seems unlikely that viewers approaching Berberian will not know at least something basic about the genre yet it is still something that takes up such a large chunk of the analysis surrounding the film, there could be an argument for them … Continue reading Berberian Sound Studio – Part 2 (The Sound of the Giallo and Narrative Sounds)

Berberian Sound Studio – Sound And Music As Narrative (Part 1)

Introduction Peter Strickland’s 2012 film Berberian Sound Studio is the first popular film quite possibly since Stanley Donan’s Singing In The Rain (1952)[i], to focus its narrative around sound as a concept in cinema.  As a visual medium, sound and music is often taken for granted; an assumed norm of film since the 1930s that has a texture of interweaved sound and music that can … Continue reading Berberian Sound Studio – Sound And Music As Narrative (Part 1)

Silence as Resistance – Le Silence De La Mer (Jean-Pierre Melville)

It is an oft stated belief that silence is the most powerful effect in the canon of film sound techniques and tricks; a seemingly obvious nod to the lack of music to the lead the viewer emotionally and also a gentle nudge at the general over abundance of non-diegetic score in film.  One of the most stark and allegorical uses of silence can be found … Continue reading Silence as Resistance – Le Silence De La Mer (Jean-Pierre Melville)

David Lynch’s Avant-Garde Uses Of Music – Part 3 (Influence).

Part 1. Part 2. Mulholland Drive In Context of Other Subversive Mainstream Films (Eyes Wide Shut). “For the duration of his career, and despite the size of his productions and the fact that they were all studio funded, Kubrick was very much an independent filmmaker.” – Horsley (2005, p.54) Lynch isn’t the only director to take Hollywood visuals and use them for his own artistic ends.  A … Continue reading David Lynch’s Avant-Garde Uses Of Music – Part 3 (Influence).

Musical Emphasis on Visual Words (François Truffaut and Pier Paolo Pasolini)

The relationship between sound and vision in film is one that is complex and almost indefinable in a broad sense due to each director and composer treating such relationship in different ways.  The two examples about to be discussed are almost reverse images of each other’s effects; the same method has been applied but for different reasons and different results.  Much examination has taken place … Continue reading Musical Emphasis on Visual Words (François Truffaut and Pier Paolo Pasolini)