Milburn, Kevin. Futurism and Musical Meaning in Synthesized Landscapes. The Department of Communication Studies, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 2013.
Kevin Milburn, a senior lecturer in human geography at London South Bank University, examines how synth music and pop culture influenced each other in the wake of the punk movement. The retro-futuristic, space age, and sci-fi aesthetics present in work from David Bowie, George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, and Be Bop Deluxe took hold of the 70’s and 80’s by simultaneously influencing and taking influence from different subcultures. Non-european futurism was also prevelent and influencial to the synth scene. Yellow Magic Orchestra, a Japanese techno-pop group, used Western misinterpretations of Japanese culture as inspiration for songs, pushing the envelope on electronic music. Space Is the Place (1974), created by musician Sun Ra, displayed afrofuturism through its soundtrack and visuals.
Though musicians had been experimenting with electronic music in prior decades, synthesizers became accessible and cheap, which allowed widespread usage of sounds prior restricted to niche groups. Synthetic sounds became a pillar of modern music, as hip-hop adopted sampling and drum machines, while layered synth melodies took hold of 90’s pop music.
In conclusion, Milburn gets at the idea that electronic music and futurism have had heavy influence on the last 50 years of music, with contemporary artists like Janelle Monáe, Steve Lacy, and Frank Ocean modifying the sounds and aesthetics of futurism. This text is a concrete history lesson for anyone curious about the rise of electronic music and how it has influenced current pop culture. Learning the histroy of synth music is helpful for me to accurately trace back the sounds I take inspiration from, as well as find more artists to use as reference points. Though the movie I am scoring is not futurism, the “space age” sound is still the foundation of the project.
Wilson, Ray. Make: Analog Synthesizers: Make Electronic Sounds the Synth-DIY Way. Maker Media Inc., 2013.
Ray Wilson, who created the Music From Outerspace website, sharing templates, kits, and news for synth lovers, breaks down the essentials of modular synthesis for people looking to build or better understand their synthesizer. He starts by explaining how he found his way into making synthesizerss, then jumping into step by step to constructing. He explores D.I.Y. music, waveforms, and digital vs. analog, among numerous other concepts.
Wilson is credited by many as their introduction to modular synthesis. The community he built before his passing in 2016 has held strong through his website. His explanations are simple and straightforward, allowing the reader to quickly understand concepts that might otherwise be challenging. He specificies everything with great detail, so there is little to no confusion while reading.
Though I do not plan on building a synthesizer from scratch for my project, Wilson’s breakdown of a synthesizer allows me to better understand my pre-built synthesizer when I beginning working on sound design for the movie score. My understanding of waveforms, LFOs, envelopes, and other modules are limited, so this will serve me both during and after this project. This is a great resource for the technical part of this project.
Hexel, Vasco. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s The Dark Knight: A Film Score Guide. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.
Vasco Hexel, who leads the Screen Composition course for the Royal College of Music, London master program examines the work of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), as well as Mel Wesson, who accompanied the two during the process. After covering their origins in composing, Hexel talks about how Nolan transcribed the story of Batman into a movie that captured the hero’s complicated identity. After discussing character design, the focus shifts towards the music, starting with the Joker theme. Zimmer defines the Joker’s “musical identity”, adding quirks to his theme song that are more outlandish than that of Batman’s theme. The Joker’s theme was written and performed to invoke discomfort through buzzing sirens and cinematic thuds.
The text goes into deep analysis about how Zimmer and Howard put the soundtrack together in relation to Nolan’s vision. Quotes from the two, along with attached sheet music help the reader understand what they were thinking when making the songs.
It was helpful for me to hear them talk about correlating sounds to character traits. The in depth explanation of what the Joker’s song sounded like helped me understand what my thought process should be when I start to break down the movie I am scoring.
Caps, John. “SOUNDTRACKS 101: ESSENTIAL MOVIE MUSIC: A LISTENER’S GUIDE.” Film Comment, vol. 39, no. 6, Film Society of Lincoln Center, 2003, pp. 31–49.
John Caps, writing for the Film Society of Lincoln Center, writes about the importance of movie scores, covering a list of movies with important soundtracks that he deemss “essential”, including King Kong (1933), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Vertigo (1958), and Jaws (1975). Caps gives each movie a brief blurb on why he sees them as an essential movie when talking about soundtracks, even though the list is dated (the most recent movie on the list is from 2001).
This list is a quick and easy read, but it still provides a strong explanation for each movie on the list. For anyone interested in movie scores, this list is a great resource to find a range of movies with interesting soundtracks.
For my project, this list provides a surplus of reference material. I have only heard a few of the scores on the list, so there is lots of music to sift through. Throughout the project, the list will be a helpful resource while writing, designing sounds, and recording the music. Beyond the project, I will continue to look to some of the movies on the list as inspiration for future projects.
JESSICA GREEN. “Understanding the Score: Film Music Communicating to and Influencing the Audience.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 44, no. 4, University of Illinois Press, 2010, pp. 81–94.
Jessica Green, a graduate research fellowship award winner, writes about how music is an essential part of a movie, though it is not the first thing recognized by the audience. Not only does the soundtrack represent the characters, but it shapes the tone and narrative of the film. Motifs in a song can suggest that certain parts of a movie are connected. Music can build suspense, gage an emotional response from the audience, or change the tone of a scene. Music that contrasts the scene can also be used to set a certain mood or imply an idea.
Green’s writing is strictly analytical. She makes her point, credits multiple movies, backing her claims with concrete examples, and then analyizes from there. The way she writes makes it easy to navigate and understand, so it is not overwhelming to read like many other film essays.
For my project, it is important to consider how I want to audience to perceive the movie differently. Like Green writes, the score can completely change the mood of the movie, so as I begin writing, I will be referring back to Green’s breakdown of movie when deciding how to go about each section of the film.