Fall ’24 Course Two
Official Description:
This introductory course explores the relationship of film and music by studying the growth and development of film scoring before and after 1927, when soundtracks were first introduced. Students will create their own soundtracks for film or animated shorts and will learn about the aesthetic, psychological, and technical aspects of scoring for film, including understanding the role of music in film and animation, different techniques used in film scoring, the use of popular music, underscoring, leitmotives, electronic music, and silence. The class will also look at key cinematic relationships between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Hermann, John Williams and George Lucas, Federico Fellini and Nino Rota.
Student Description:
This course explores the connection between film and music by looking at the history and development of film scoring from the early 1920s to what is considered a ‘modern film score’. Throughout the course, I created my own soundtracks for films while learning about the aesthetic, psychological, and technical aspects of scoring. We discussed how different techniques create certain emotional experiences for viewers, the power of popular music, and techniques such as leitmotifs, mickey-mousing, and the use of silence. We’ll also study iconic moments from cinema, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, John Williams in Jurassic Park and Star Wars, and Max Steiner in Casablanca.
