Rethinking Film Music a Research on the Immersive Presentation of Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Film Music
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Rethinking Film Music A research on the immersive presentation of diegetic and non-diegetic film music Master Thesis, Film Studies 2015/2016 Sanne van Rijswijk Student number: 10204628 Supervisor: Dr. B. Joret Second reader: Dr. T.K. Laine Department of Media Studies University of Amsterdam 24 June 2016 Table of Contents ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTER 1: THE HISTORY OF FILM MUSIC 9 1.1 From ‘Silent’ Film To Early Sound Film (1894 – 1933) 10 1.2 Hollywood’s Golden Age and ‘Classical-Style’ Film Music (1933 – 1960) 13 1.3 Post-Classical Period and Contemporary Film Music (1958 – present) 15 1.4 Non-Diegetic Music as Dialogue in Spring Breakers and Into The Wild 18 CHAPTER 2: FILM MUSIC EXPOSED 25 2.1 Bigger, Better, Louder: the Multiplex 26 2.2 The Case of the Cine-Concert 27 2.2.1 Silent Cinema Origins and Immersion 28 2.2.2 Nostalgia 30 CHAPTER 3: SILENT FILM REVISITED IN THE ARTIST 33 3.1 Past and Present Meet in the Transition to Talkies 34 3.2 Misleading the Spectator 36 3.3 Non-Diegetic Film Music 38 3.4 Diegetic Sound 40 CONCLUSION 44 BIBLIOGRAPHY 47 FILMOGRAPHY 49 2 Abstract This thesis examines and interrogates the historical evolution and aesthetics of music in film as a text and in exhibition, and the ways in which these forms of presentation can immerse the spectator. In this research, I use Rick Altman’s theorization of silent film, Claudia Gorbman’s conceptualization of narrative film music, and Michel Chion’s theorization of cinema as an audiovisual relationship. I want to answer the following research question: how do the contemporary live orchestral accompaniment of classical Hollywood films and a recent film like The Artist revive bygone practices from the silent era, and how do they alter the interrelation between music and image in our experience of film? Throughout this research, I incorporate the term nostalgia as a theoretical concept to motivate and interrogate the historical and aesthetic dimensions of music and sound in film. In the analysis of the presentation of film music and sound, this research explores the concepts of diegetic music, as inside the narrative space, and non-diegetic music, operating on a level outside the story world, examining the ways in which these concepts move across the assumed set narrative boundaries in a film, thereby interrogating film music theory. Keywords Film music, silent film, exhibition, immersion, diegetic, non-diegetic. 3 Introduction On the 28th of October 2015, Francis Ford Coppola’s timeless masterpiece The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) was projected in HD on a wide screen at the Heineken Music Hall, a concert hall in Amsterdam. During this event, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders performed Nino Rota’s iconic score live on stage, supporting the integrally projected, subtitled and re-mastered film, bringing moving images and film music together in a unique way. A similar event took place at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on the 3rd and 4th of March 2016 when the concert hall organised the event De Avond van de Filmmuziek, an evening that honoured the orchestral film score in all its iconic diversity. Under the direction of Grammy Award winning conductor Vince Mendoza, the Metropole Orchestra performed sixteen different scores. The scores ranged from Ennio Morricone’s The Hateful Eight (Quentin Tarantino, 2015) to the theme of Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003), and from The Godfather to James Bond’s Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015). Moreover, the night paid tribute to one of the greatest film composers of the past decade, John Williams. The orchestra brought his recognizable work on Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) and multiple films from Steven Spielberg, such as Catch Me If You Can (2002), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Jurassic Park (1993), to life. These events are part of a new wave of interest, spread throughout the world, for the art of orchestral film scoring. The awards database on the website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shows that the first edition of the Academy Awards was organised on May 16, 1929. This illustrates that since the dawn of cinema, films are awarded and remembered for their achievements in cinematography, screenplay, directing, creation of iconic characters and memorable performances. Nevertheless, the events described above show that these cinematic images are also accompanied by an aural component and films are also remembered for their original score, musical performances and use of pre-recorded (popular) music. Furthermore, the release of an album soundtrack of a film has transformed the soundtrack into a cultural product that can stand on its own. In this thesis, I ask the following research question: How do the contemporary live orchestral accompaniment of classical Hollywood films, such as the performances at the Heineken Music Hall and Royal Albert Hall, etc., and a recent film like The Artist revive bygone practices from the silent film era, and how do they alter the interrelation between music and image in our experience of film? In order to answer this question, I have divided my research into three chapters. In the first chapter, I will excavate the use of sound and music in film from an historical perspective, starting in the silent film era (1895-1930) with a focus on Rick Altman’s theorization of this period in cinema history. In last paragraph of the first chapter, I will analyze the aesthetic use of pre-recorded and composed non- diegetic songs as a way to deepen the narrative and, moreover, the spectator’s interpretation of this narrative in two case studies, Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) and Into The Wild (Sean Penn, 2007). The well known pre-recorded and composed songs used in these films function as a dialogue between the film’s narrative and the spectator, because the songs open up the diegetic story- 4 world of the films. The second chapter explores the aesthetic experience of the presentation of film music. I focus on the development of exhibition practices up until the contemporary Hollywood film industry and analyse the cine-concert as an event that challenges definitions of film experience and immersion in relation to music and image. I will analyse particular criteria used in practices of exhibition, among others, does the screening take place in a contemporary “black box” cinema, does it have orchestral accompaniment, does the screening take place in the dark or with the lights on, and does this increase or decrease the immersion for the spectator? The most important sub-question that is answered in this chapter regards the experience of a live performance of a film’s score and the ability of film music to take the spectator to a completely new cinematic experience through music. Filmmakers can use music deliberately to influence the way a spectator experiences a film, for example, a piece of music can create particular associative feelings or indicate a certain era. In the third chapter, I will look at a particular feeling, namely nostalgia, in the silent contemporary film The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011). The story focuses on the relationship between an older silent film star, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and a rising young actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). It takes place in Hollywood, between 1927 and 1933, the period when the golden age of silent cinema is replaced by films with synchronized sound, the “talkies.” The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, received highly positive reviews and won many awards. I have chosen The Artist as my primary case study, because it provides a representation of the late silent film era and early sound era in Hollywood, in which I can trace the historical evolution of music and sound in film. Furthermore, it complicates this by using old styles of filmmaking alongside contemporary styles and film techniques. This chapter is a close analysis of the cinematic use of diegetic and non-diegetic music and sound in The Artist, exposing the challenging relationship between what we see and what we hear. I look at the ways in which the film creates a sense of nostalgia for the silent film era and is anachronistic in other ways. I argue that the film uses the historical context of the late silent era and early talkies in an aesthetic way, combining the old and new, and therefore facilitates the cinematic experience of the spectator to cross borders with the diegesis of the film. Can The Artist be labelled a “contemporary” silent film? Although film music is an important field for study that has seen an increase in academic attention, it still deserves more research. In this research project, it is my aim to open up and add to the field of film music studies as a space in which the use of music in film can be critiqued and discussed. In order to do this, I critically evaluate the distinction between music and sound on a diegetic and non-diegetic level and challenge the boundaries of these concepts within film theory and sound theory. Moreover, I add to existing scholarship, because I excavate film music’s historical evolution from the late silent era to the present and combine this historical perspective with the aesthetic experience of music and sound in film and film exhibition. This research challenges the immersive presentation of film music through a close analysis of the contemporary silent film The Artist and the exhibition practice of the cine-concert. Throughout this thesis, I focus on films that 5 expose the true transformative value of music in film through the artistic use of particular cinematic techniques that shift sound and music between diegetic and non-diegetic and the effect this has on the way a spectator experiences a film’s narrative.