Jen on Jake Eberts

BUSA 692 – Reflection #2- Jake Eberts – 23 March 2010

Jake Eberts’ guest spot in the class this past week really encouraged me to consider again the relationship between film and music. Although he discussed a number of different areas that affect films and film-making, some of his comments about the music for particular films such as Chariots of Fire (1981) being responsible for the success of the film were interesting and validating. Similar to some of the clips that Karen Collins showed us about the movie Jaws (1975) and music, music has a profound effect on the viewer of the film. Even the film Gandhi (1982), where the main draw of the film was a single actor, the music fleshes out the film, creating mood, atmosphere, excitement, etc.
Films that encompass epic/heroic stories require a sufficient score to support the story, provide emotional padding, and, I would argue, even create a sense of 3D. Mr. Eberts stated that 3D was the way of the future, and that more and more films are including 3D elements in them. I would argue that 3D is not just a visual element and that the way of the future also includes ‘3D sound’. As commercial technology costs become more accessible to the public, significantly better sound quality will matter again to the larger public, especially when concerned with movies and television in the home.
Music and film, however, is also a great way for contemporary composers and musicians to continue to be supported by their trade. Scoring film music is different from more free-composition techniques. The film-composer must be able to be a part of the film-director’s vision for the film, should know the script and emotional scope of the story, and should have a firm grasp of the characters’ development. I have personally worked on creating film music for a very small no-dialogue, 12-minute film. We probably ended up using only about 30% of what I had composed, but the final product worked quite well. I didn’t enjoy it enough to consider a career-change into composition, but it piqued my interest again in the relationship between film and music.
Even if the film is not going to be a so-called block-buster, putting careful thought into the film soundtrack will also encourage soundtrack-sales, as well as DVD sales. Directors who do not consider the effects of music on their film, will not be making good films, and will not be making an entertaining contribution to their genre.
Some of the most memorable films for me, when it comes to music, have a wide emotional range of music, key themes for key characters/situations, but also include music to heighten suspense, juxtapose silence, and add excitement to action. Large, epic films such as The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) trilogy and the Star Wars films (various dates) are excellent examples of classical scores that live up to the epic movies they help create. As for more contemporary music based-films, Until the End of the World (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994), Forest Gump (1994), Pulp Fiction (1994), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) all have excellent soundtracks that incorporate a wide-variety of songs that sold well after release.
Film and music will forever be intertwined. As the technological quality of film and music grows and expands, the creative forces behind composition, compilation, and creation will grow too.