1. The reading in "The Soul Cinema" book is very informative. I have learned different things about the music aspect of film that before reading I knew nothing about. I had no clue a Composer, when working on a score, are so busy. It’s hard to believe anyone could work for 4 weeks straight and only get fifteen hours of sleep, like Max Steiner when he worked on the score for "Gone with the Wind!". I also did not realize that composers made so much money, but after reading about how much work they have to do, the amount is a little more understandable. For example, a composer can make up to $1.5 Million!!!!! In the first chapter, I learned about the 10 functions of music in film. The most interesting, and perhaps the simplest to understand, is in the use of the first function. In the first function an ostinato, which is a repeated pattern, is used. Ostinato is used in scenes such as when the shark in "Jaws" is being represented. The drama that the music brings to the film really helps the scene.
2. I enjoyed watching the first films we watched in class on Monday. It is very fascinating to see film that was created in the 1880s. The idea that something that is so old and is still entertaining people is really great. Despite what everyone else thought, I kind of think that the music that accompanied the two babies in their fighting scene fit the picture... Most people think that the up beat music is not balanced, in that the music only reflects the happy baby and not the sad baby; I think that the happy music fits because sometimes bad people can over power the good people in the world, even though we are only dealing with babies who have not even developed their moral compass.
3. In class we talked about the movies that we have watched so far "The Battleship Ptemkin", "Siegfried", and "The Jazz Singer". My favorite out of the three was "The Jazz Singer". In class, Dr. Berry said that he got caught up in the Mother's dilemma with her son and her husband. I was also caught up in the Mother's emotions. Even though there was not any talking besides the scenes where there was singing and the short talking lines, I thought the story line was heartfelt. I know a lot of people probably thought it was really cheesy and at times it was because it is so dated. I also enjoyed listening to the upbeat melodies in the film that were played in major keys. I can see why at the time everyone loved the film.
Your blog is fine. I didn't do a word count. Make sure you have enough. Please be careful of titles and their spelling. "The Soul OF Cinema" and "Potempkin." Also, quotation marks go outside punctuation marks. You seem to like dramatic gestures like multiple exclamation points and capitalization. However, I would like you to be a bit more formal. Upbeat and overpower are single words. I'm glad you are defending the babies and their music. We hear the music in the same way, but our evaluations of it can be very different.
ReplyDelete