COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright THE USE OF VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS BY AUSTRALIAN SCREEN COMPOSERS Craig Ashley Morgan A thesis submitted in fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sydney Conservatorium of Music University of Sydney 2016 Declaration I, Craig Ashley Morgan, declare that the research presented here is my own original work and has not been submitted to any other institution for the award of a degree. Signed: ______________________________________________ Date: ________________________________________________ ii Abstract Recent technological advancements, strong competition and targeted marketing strategies by virtual instrument merchants have established virtual instruments and digital instrument samples as essential components of a professional screen composer's toolset. The democratisation of these powerful tools has led to broad accessibility to virtual instruments and the digital sequencing software required to run them. Virtual instruments are portable, powerful, and affordable––they are no longer the exclusive domain of expensive recording studios. This thesis aims to quantify and qualify the parameters surrounding screen music composition in this digital age and introduce to the literature new empirical data together with the experiences of working screen music professionals. This is achieved by following a mixed methods sequential exploratory methodology starting with a survey of Australian screen composers (n=102) where they are asked to answer questions with a recent cue in mind. Informed by the results of the survey, semi- structured interviews were conducted and recorded with working Australian screen composers (n=22). When combined the meta-inferences confirm that virtual instruments are vital for Australian screen composers to do their job, especially now that their tools are democratised. Screen composers are able to swiftly create cues that are finished products and not demos for their director and film-team. These changes have also shaped a new paradigm of film and television directors to expect final and completed versions of cues from Australian screen composers and not working drafts. iii Acknowledgments I wish to sincerely thank Dr James Wierzbicki my amazing supervisor who was a constant fountain of inspiration during this journey. No question was too big or small and every interaction boosted me along. This thesis would not exist without your professionalism and boundless encouragement. Thank you James! I sincerely thank the talented Dr Oliver Bown who provided his unique energy and profound originality throughout this thesis. Thank you Ollie. To Professor Anna Reid, thank you for your words of absolute golden wisdom. You assisted in countless ways including introducing me to Associate Professor Peter Petocz of Macquarie University. Thank you both for your guidance and support. I also want to thank my mentor Professor Richard de Dear PhD and the exceptional librarianship of the thoroughly professional and delightful Marie Chellos. I also wish to thank all those who were part of this investigation––all the screen composers who took the time to complete the survey and those who freely gave their time to be interviewed. I am sincerely thankful. I also thank the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) for their assistance, especially Jo Smith. To Jack. My love. My rock. Thank you for everything––for you are everything to me. To my family and friends who supported and encouraged throughout, a warm and heartfelt thanks. I also want to acknowledge that I meet and worked on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I wish to pay respect to their Elders––past, present and future––and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and its community. iv Ethics Approval v Table of Contents Declaration........................................................................................................................ ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... iv Ethics Approval ................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vi Figures ............................................................................................................................ xii Tables ........................................................................................................................... xvii 1 Chapter One: Introduction. ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction. ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Definitions. ................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Why this research is timely. ......................................................................... 4 1.4 The motivation for this study. ...................................................................... 5 1.5 The background of this study. ...................................................................... 6 1.6 Research questions and methodology. ......................................................... 7 1.7 Purpose statement. ........................................................................................ 8 1.8 Thesis organisation. ...................................................................................... 8 2 Chapter Two: Literature review. .......................................................................... 9 2.1 Film music. ................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Electronic music. ........................................................................................ 13 2.3 Electronic music in film. ............................................................................ 14 2.4 Virtual instruments. .................................................................................... 16 3 Chapter Three: Virtual instruments. ................................................................... 22 3.1 Digital democratisation............................................................................... 25 vi 3.2 Changes in supply 2011–2016. ................................................................... 29 3.3 Software design and digital compliance. .................................................... 33 4 Chapter Four: Research methodology and design. ............................................. 36 4.1 Introduction and pilot study. ....................................................................... 36 4.2 Mixed-methods sequential theory. ............................................................. 41 4.3 Philosophical assumptions. ......................................................................... 43 4.3.1 Ontology and human nature. .................................................................. 43 4.3.2 Epistemology. ......................................................................................... 45 4.3.3 Axiology. ................................................................................................ 46 4.3.4 Methodology. .......................................................................................... 47 4.3.5 Rhetoric. ................................................................................................. 47 4.4 The philosophical choices made in this thesis ............................................ 48 4.4.1 Mixed-methods research as a methodology. .......................................... 48 4.4.2 Mixed-methods research in this study. ................................................... 49 4.5 Design (Epistemology). .............................................................................. 50 4.6 Online survey participants. ......................................................................... 53 4.7 Online survey questions. ............................................................................ 54 4.8 Qualitative measurement.