High School presentation on film scores. suggestions?

[pixie_twinkle 44]

Hi y'all,

Next Wednesday I will be giving a 40 minute presentation on the evolution of film music at a high school in Orange county, Ohio. So far I'm going to present an early Chaplin Essenay film clip with improvised piano. Then the scene in King Kong where the orchestra precedes the entrance of Kong by doing "footsteps".

I'm then showing the scene from Psycho where the woman drives her car towards the Bates Motel through the rain. Excellent demonstration of how music can MAKE a scene!

Then a detailed analysis of the closing 4 minutes of Star Wars Death Star battle, the perfect scene to show leitmotivic development.

Any suggestions as to anything else I should include? Bare in mind these are HS kids, I can't show anything R rated. I probably should include something recent. I don't want another Williams score as I hope to include all different composers, but if it HAS to be Williams then so be it.

[SeekUYoda 0]

What about the scene from The Shining where they're driving around the countryside on their way to the hotel, with the Dies Irae in the background? That's a good demonstration of how the sound of something ominous (especially something so obvious as the Dies Irae theme!), even if the sun is shining and there's wildflowers on the hills, can make you think "Instant death is coming!" There's nothing R rated in that clip, at least. (Or is that the same as what you're trying to accomplish with King Kong - I've never seen it)

You could show something recent with a pop soundtrack, and talk about how ground-breaking American Graffitti was when it had an all-rock'n'roll soundtrack and how it grew from there.

Maybe you could use something from Star Trek too - I was thrilled when I heard the Klingon theme in First Contact (it's about a third of the way through, when we first see Worf on the Defiant and he's saying "Perhaps today is a good day to die!"), and it's an interesting example of a theme that's lasted a couple decades and is still instantly recognizable. The Star Trek canon is so classic - and I think it deserves to be represented.

I love the part in ET where they're out trick-or-treating and they run into a kid dressed as Yoda and Williams quoted Yoda's theme in the score. It was a cute little quote intended for trained ears - kind of like the Klingon theme, but the Klingon quote is a little more blatant and not by Williams.

I won't speak a word about Howard Shore for fear of banishment and death by the resident experts.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out! I'd love to hear your presentation!

[MrScratch 292]

One word: Legend

Show them a scene with Tangerine Dreams score and then the same scene with Goldsmiths score.

Another self contained lesson in film scoring is Quints speech in Jaws.

[pixie_twinkle 44]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I went to several shops today looking for Kong on DVD for my presentation. It isn't available!!!!!! All I can think is that they're waiting to tie it in with the Jackson remake. I hate this marketing crap! Why must we be denied a true classic on DVD just to promote some pointless remake? (And no matter how good the remake is, it IS pointless!!!) Looks like I'll have to find Kong at Blockbuster instead. It's SUCH an important movie in film-score history I really feel I need to include it in the presentation.

SeekUYoda, thanks for your comments. I think I already have The Shining thing covered by the Psycho scene I'm showing. The scene where she's driving her car through the rain has NOTHING ominous in it if you watch with the sound down. Then try with the sound on and it becomes one of the most heart-pumping scenes ever shot! Oh and btw, I COMPLETELY agree with you about Howard Shore. We should get together sometime and rant and rave, where the delicate ears of Shore's legions won't hear us!

MaestroJW, I must confess I'm a Tangerine Dream fan! It doesn't alter the fact that there's some awful music they composed for Legend though. What was Ridley THINKING???? BTW, your Mahler CDs are on the way. I mailed them last week. Enjoy!

[Director 1]

One of the best cues written in film score history are the last 4½ minutes of "Indy's Very First Adventure" from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Cue up the film to about 4:45 and the CD as well. Play the clip with no sound, starting when Indy jumps and lands after running out with the Cross of Coronado. As soon as he falls into the lion's boxcar, rewind to the same spot on the film. Then, with the film still muted, replay it in sync. with the score on the CD. Everything will be summed up quite nicely, trust me. An obvious example is E.T., but perhaps too lengthy.

That's great that you're doing this and I wish you luck. You can't go wrong with Last Crusade and it'll definitely keep them interested.

Hello to everyone. I hope you're all well and continue having fun and staying safe. Enjoy Johnny's latest scores!

All my best regards,

Director

[nja 0]

Some other possible resources . . .

Erich Korngold's Robin Hood was recently released on DVD and is one of the great historical scores of the period. An excellent scene to show in this one is Ambush in Sherwood in which the orchestration alternates between the fighting music and processional music brilliantly. Also the end of the scene has a great music / action moment when the strings do a quick descending and ascending scale to accompany Robin?s swinging across the path to greet the royal procession.

Gone With the Wind is generally considered Max Steiner?s greatest score and represents something of an era in film scoring. Of course this one is available on DVD. A wonderfully scored scene in this film is (long title ahead) Civil War, Fall Of The South, Scarlett Walks Among The Wounded. Regarding leitmotif and /or use of source material, you?ll have trouble counting all the references to Civil War melodies in this cue (although some tunes are less familiar these days), but the highlight of the track is the dirgelike rendition of Dixie Land representing the fall of the South, but ultimately, Scarlett?s triumph over the difficulties of the conflict.

Of course there are countless others, but these two may fill something of a gap between the films you mentioned. Hope the presentation goes well. Though the genre of classic film scores is a relatively new one, it continues to gain significance and will be wonderful for your class to be familiar with.

nja

[Lurker 5]

Hi Director!!!!!

Hey everyone, Director's here!!!!!

Neil

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Well isn't that a blast from the past . . . hi Dan! (I would post a wave smiley but it would seem a bit lackluster after Neil's post )

We should get together sometime and rant and rave, where the delicate ears of Shore's legions won't hear us!  

Please invite me.

Ray Barnsbury

[Justin 2]

The Bar Fight from Raiders.

Justin -

[Ollie 859]

Well I guess that rules out the opening to Basic Instinct.

[nja 0]

Hi y'all,

Next Wednesday I will be giving a 40 minute presentation on the evolution of film music at a high school in Orange county, Ohio.  . .

Hope you'll let us know how it goes- or went (I'm not sure which Wednesday you meant).

[pixie_twinkle 44]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I FINALLY tracked down a copy of King Kong at our local free library! Even better, I don't have to pay a dime for it! The presentation will be Wednesday July 2nd. Maybe I should play some music from the Azkaban CD. It could hardly be more topical, and I'm sure High School kids will be as excited as I am about the upcoming movie!

Thanks for the Indy suggestions Director. I'm a relative newby to posting on the forum here so I don't remember you. Nice to "meet" you though.

NJA, Of course I love the Korngold score, it's second only to his Sea Hawk, I just feel I need something more modern. Trouble is, most modern film scores suck IMO. It's getting tougher to sort the wheat from the chafe. I haven't been impressed with a single best score oscar since the Red Violin. I may end up starting with the Azkaban music then focussing more in depth on 4 other scores, culminating in an analysis of the Death Star battle. I wish I had 2 hours, not 40 minutes. I also wish I could show the shower scene from Psycho, but I think the parents of Orange county would string me up!