Author: Alice Rose Asbury

When researching the role of music supervisor I came across a useful interview of a women who works as a music supervisor. The article itself was part of a careers advice campaign and asked Gemma her roles and responsibilities and also what she liked and disliked about the job. Gemma Dempsey has worked in the industry for 20 years and has worked on some oscar-winning films such as Danny Boyle’s ‘Shallow grave’. Gemma gave an explanation here of the music supervisor job role:

“A music supervisor is the person who coordinates all aspects of finding and placing music to a specific production (movie or TV programme, for example). This includes making suggestions for songs or tracks, researching songs that are available, liaising with the people who own the songs to ensure they can be used (this process is called ‘clearance’) and to make sure the right people get paid for their music being used. Music supervisors will also make sure the music is purchased within the right budget and that enough music is acquired to cover all the creative and production needs.”

I have found this explanation alone useful, I already knew the main responsibilities of a music supervisor however having this short paragraph has worked as a check list to see if I am fulfilling the role correctly. For my production I have achieved all of the examples she made: I created the music cues for the film, suggested a style and any tracks through liaising with the clients. I have then followed up with PRS – discussing the use of a sourced piece of music and finding other options. My role differs slightly as we do not have a budget for sound, however I have found it good practice looking into what research needs to happen when it comes to music. At the end of the interview she also gave some great advice about how to get involved and pursue a career within this role –  which I am definitely interested in. She said the best way to get your name out there was through networking and contacting music supervisors who were involved in films you admired. She also said not to be shy and just ask if you can work for them to gain experience. This is something I will do after this project. It would also be great to see first hand how the job works and how it differs from what I have done within this term.

http://www.thebigmusicproject.co.uk/how-to-become-a-music-supervisor/

Researching Claudia Gorbman’s Unheard Melodies

Like the previous research I have done this book talks about the power of music within film and the ways music can work within film. She begins by taking a semiological approach into music’s abilities within film. What I find particularly interesting about Gorbman’s work comes later when discussing music composition. Here are what she describes as principles to music within film:

I. Invisibility: the technical apparatus of nondiegetic music must not be visible.

II. Inaudibility”: Music is not meant to be heard consciously. As such it should subordinate itself to dialogue, to visuals – i.e., to the primary vehicles of the narrative.

III. Signifier of emotion: Soundtrack music may set specific moods and emphasize particular emotions suggested in the narrative (cf. #IV), but first and foremost, it is a signifier of emotion itself. 

IV. Narrative cueing: – referential/narrative: music gives referential and narrative cues, e.g., indicating point of view, supplying formal demarcations, and establishing setting and characters.

– connotative music “interprets” and “illustrates” narrative events.

V.  Continuity: music provides formal and rhythmic continuity- between shots, in transitions between scenes, by filling “gaps”. 

VI. Unity: via repetition and variation of musical material and instrumentation, music aids the construction of formal and narrative unity. 

VII. A given film score may violate any of the principles above, providing the violation is at the service of the other principles. 

(Gorbman, 1987, 73)

This list of principles is a good way of knowing what music can do. All these aspects are important to take into account when creating music for film – as these are techniques are aspects which make film music great. However, I do find with Gorbman’s ideas don’t take into account that people perceive films differently at the end of the process; therefore I think it is better to look at the ‘principles’ as a focus when composing not when looking at the end product of a film. It is also a great example of what music can do – which is what interests me a lot, especially when taking the music supervisor role. I have noticed my music already uses a fair few of these techniques for example signifier of emotion, continuity, narrative cueing etc. However from reading this I want to try and include as many as possible. One particular one of interest to me is ‘invisibility’, this will be able to test how well my music goes with the visual, as some of it is not there to be noticed – just help move the story itself along. I also agree with principle number 7, that although all these principles are important that they aren’t all necessarily needed as long as it is justified.

I found Gorbman’s work very insightful in separating what makes film music great and the overall capabilities of what music can do in relation to film. I will definitely be using some of these techniques within George.

Gorbman, C. (1987) Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music. London: BFI Publishing.

Researching Anahid Kassabian – Hearing Film

For a large part of my research I have been looking into different ways music are discussed within film to help gain a greater understanding of what to do musically with George. For this part of my research I took a look into Anahid Kassabian’s ‘Hearing Film’. I have previously read her book ‘Ubiquitous Listening’ and therefore thought this book may contain useful information directed more towards film. Kassabian first looks into music and ideology surrounding it, discussing in detail theories of music itself and the language of it. She then goes on to discuss it in relation to film in more detail; talking in depth about music relationships with different components of film. She then furthers this through looking at a number of case studies; which lead to one of the main focus’ of her book – tracking identities. For my research purposes I will proceed to looking in-depth into her thoughts on what music can do to a film as this is most relevant to my research.

Kassabian explains music’s ability on it’s own. One aspect I found particularly interesting was her description of music here – “It crosses over boundaries between unconscious and conscious processes; it contradicts or shifts what seem like heavy-handed meanings in the visuals” (Kassabian, 2001, 89). This to me is a vital part of what film music is meant to be. It can carry a story along without you even noticing it. Coming in and out of a film effortlessly and unnoticed, thus smoothing over the images on screen. This is something which is of particular relevant to me when composing and placing the music within my short film. Not only should it be heard but it should also be discrete and help carry along the story, leaving less for the visual and dialogue to do on its own. I will go into these theories of what music can do in a later blog more focussed on creating the music for George.

Kassabian also takes the approach of looking into music in the following ways:

• “ How is the music’s relationship to the narrative world of the film perceived?
• How do we perceive the music’s method within the scene? 
• What does the music evoke in or communicate to us?” (Kassabian, 2001, 41-42)

These are of course important questions to the overall experience of a film. For me, making the music for a film, I think its important to keep focussing on what you want as an end product. Therefor these questions are important to ask when looking at the end product. People perceive films and music differently so what I am trying to do with the music may not always be the way it is perceived by a certain person. That is why it is important to follow certain guidelines to try and achieve music’s full potential; guidelines such as music as a narrative, the use of diegetic and non-diegetic music and also looking into pace, tempo and key. These questions are key when understanding what I want the film to do.

She also later goes onto discuss this idea of Leitmotiv which originates from Wagner music. This is a term used to describe a musical phrase which is connected to something like a place, character or idea. This is an idea I have taken up with George through attaching simple melodies/notes to the character through having them recur throughout the film. I will discuss this more on my blog about my methods used within the music.

I have found Kassabian’s insight extremely useful when thinking about the bigger impact music can have on a film and will continue reading this to further my knowledge. There is indeed a lot more Kassabian discusses in her book but these are a few of the aspects which I found particularly useful within this project.

Kassabian, A. (2001) Hearing Film: Tracking Identifications in Contemporary Hollywood Film Music. London: Routledge.