Tag: film score blog

Film, Film Music and Sound

Analysis of Sound and Music in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) – Part 1

Sound and Music in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and its Different Readings. Introduction. “If Psycho had been intended as a serious picture, it would have been shown as a clinical case with no mystery or suspense.  The material would have been used as the documentation of the case history.  We’ve already mentioned that total plausibility and authenticity merely add up to a documentary.” – Alfred Hitchcock … Continue reading Analysis of Sound and Music in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) – Part 1

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Film, Film Music and Sound

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.

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Film, Film Music and Sound

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)

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Film, Film Music and Sound

The Persistance of Modernity in Japanese Film Scores – Part 2 (Ozu’s Floating Weeds)

Click for Part 1. Asian Values and Floating Weeds (Music by Saito)[i] Ozu’s later films are perhaps more grounded in the traditions of the Japanese family unit.  Their drama comes from an apparent change in value systems (often a systematic change to more western values) or the opposite of this where characters are bound rigidly by Asian tradition and are desperate to escape.  The music … Continue reading The Persistance of Modernity in Japanese Film Scores – Part 2 (Ozu’s Floating Weeds)

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Film, Film Music and Sound

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)

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Film, Film Music and Sound

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).

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Film, Film Music and Sound

Solitary Music In Melancholia and The Turin Horse (von Trier and Tarr).

This article contains spoilers. Considering the large amount of time and effort that goes into creating and putting together the soundtrack to a film, one of the most interesting creative choices for filmmakers (often outside of the mainstream) is to use a piece of music continuously throughout rather than use different music for different scenes and segments.  This choice often highlights a desire for the … Continue reading Solitary Music In Melancholia and The Turin Horse (von Trier and Tarr).

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Film, Film Music and Sound

Avant Godard! Musical Subversion In The Films Of Jean-Luc Godard. (Part 1)

Avant Godard! Musical Subversion And Fictional Interaction With Non-Diegetic Music In The Films Of Jean-Luc Godard. Introduction – French New Wave As Avant Garde. When discussing Avant Garde cinema, the most obvious choices of cinematic subject would no doubt be linked to the likes of Dali, Buñuel and Cocteau.  However, the gradual movement from Avant Garde to Art House cinema presents a more interesting case for Avant Garde … Continue reading Avant Godard! Musical Subversion In The Films Of Jean-Luc Godard. (Part 1)

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Film, Film Music and Sound

The Horror Film Score Rebellion Part 1 – Classic Horror

INTRODUCTION 1968 was the year that horror cinema sought to change the way in which it scored its films and began to develop alternatives to the increasingly cliched sounds that had become a staple of the genre since the silent era. David Raskin, who had scored the first two Basil Rathbone-starring Sherlock Holmes films in the early thirties, as well as a number of film … Continue reading The Horror Film Score Rebellion Part 1 – Classic Horror

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