Course Summary

The union of sound and film dates to the beginnings of cinema in the 1890s, and has ancient roots in the history of music and dramatic performance. In this course, students will be introduced to the history and aesthetics of the music-cinema relationship from its origins to the present. Topics covered include the origins of the Western musical-dramatic style; the role of music in the inappropriately-called "silent cinema"; the breakthrough of synchronized sound-film systems from 1926 and 1927; the development of the Hollywood studio sound system and the age of the "classic Hollywood sound films" during the 1930s and 1940s; musicals; science fiction and horror films; avant-garde and experimental cinema; and the artistic and business relationships at play in music and film production. We will also consider the role of music in other national and regional cinematic traditions, especially those of East Asia and South Asia. A prior knowledge of music and/or film history is not required. Students will be taught skills enabling them to listen intelligently and write cogently on music and cinema.

Objectives

• A raised awareness & critical understanding of music in movies & thus an enriched cinematic experience
• Familiarity with the historical sequence of the music-cinema relationship
• Familiarity with the names of famous film composers and their film scores
• Familiarity with the meaning of relevant film-music terminology including: diegetic; non-diegetic; source music; underscoring; leitmotif; theme; the Foley stage; cue sheets; temp track
• The ability to identify diverse musical styles used in films
• The ability to analyze how these musical style function in a particular film

Required texts

Larry M. Timm. The Soul of Cinema: An Appreciation of Film Music. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Tony Thomas. Music for the Movies. 2^nd Edition. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 1997.

Recommended readings:

Abel, Richard, and Altman, Rick, eds. The Sounds of Early Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 2001.

Altman, Rick, ed. Sound Theory Sound Practice. NY: Routledge, 1992.

Brown, Royal S. Overtones and Undertones : Reading Film Music. University of California Press, 1994

Eyman, Scott. The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926-1930. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Gorbman, Claudia. Unheard melodies: Narrative film music. Indiana University Press, 1987.

Lack, Russell. Twenty-four Frames Under: A Buried History of Film Music. London: Quarter Books, 1997.

Marks, Martin M. Music and the silent film: Contexts and case studies, 1895-1924. Oxford, 1997.

Morgan, David. Knowing the Score: Film Composers Talk about the Art, Craft, Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Of Writing for Cinema. New York: Harper Collins, 2000.

Prendergast, Roy M. Film music: A neglected art. 2^nd edition. W. W. Norton, 1992.

Weis, Elisabeth and John Belton, eds. Film sound: Theory and practice. Columbia Univ. Press, 1985.

Please read the syllabus and course schedule carefully. We will try to follow the printed class schedule, but it is subject to change. If you have any questions about the course, problems, or ideas, please do not hesitate to come and see me during office hours, or send me a note via email.

Assignments must be submitted 1) in the body of an email (not by an attachment), sent to akaye@alb.edu

And also 2) in hard-copy, typed and double-spaced, by the due date. Film music logs need not be typed nor emailed (hard copy only is required). Late papers will be penalized 5 points per day late. Papers more than one week late will receive a total of zero (0) points. See below for explanation of scoring system and penalties.

Assignment 1: Complete a film music log, and write an 800 to 1,250 word (4 – 6 pp.) paper on how music functions in a pre-rock era film (most films prior to around 1964 will be okay). You will receive instructions for this project in the first few weeks of the semester. You must have your film approved by the professor no later than October 1; late penalties apply. Due Date for the finished paper and film logs: October 22.

Assignment 2: Complete a film music log, and write a 1,000 to 1,500 word (5 – 7 pp.) paper on how music functions in your favorite film, or some other film of your choice. Instructions to follow. Choose your film early--one student only can choose each film. You must have your film approved by the professor no later than November 5; late penalties apply. Due Date for the finished paper and film logs: November 26.

Grading:

Assignment 1 (choose by October 1; paper by October 22) 15 points

Assignment 2 (choose by November 5; paper by November 26) 20 points

Mid-term I (September 24) 15 points

Final Examination (Week of December 9) 30 points

All tests and assignments are graded on a 0 – 100 scale. Final grades will be determined by your overall numeric score: 89 or higher = A; 85 – 89 = A- ; 82 – 85 = B+; 78 – 82 = B; 75 – 78 = B-; 72 – 75 = C+; 68 – 72 = C; 65 – 68 = C-; 63 – 65 = D+; 60 – 63 = D; less than 60 = F. A = Excellent, superior work; B = Good work; C = Average work; D = Below average work; F = failing grade.

Penalties… for late papers: 5 points off your score (on a scale of 0 – 100) for each day beyond the due date; papers more than one week late receive a failing grade; … for papers not satisfying the length requirements: 5 points off your score for each 50 words short of the minimum required length (i.e., 11 words short, 5 points off; 51 words short, 10 points off); … for spelling errors: Grace for 3 spelling errors per assignment (logs excepted). For each additional spelling error, 2 point penalty. This applies for all words, proper names and titles included; for poor grammar or organization: paper graded down, excepting for the 1^st paper: students whose writing needs help will be asked to resubmit their paper in 1 week, with no penalty, so long as they can certify that they went to the Writing Center for help, and turn in a clearly-written revised version within one week of the due date. If there is a special reason for poor writing abilities that the student feels merits special consideration, the student should see the professor about this during the first two weeks of class.

Academic Dishonesty: please refer to the Albright College Student Handbook. Normally, papers that display plagiarism (copying), whether from books, articles, web sites, or any other source, will receive a failing grade. Instances of plagiarism may be reported to the Dean or Provost and could result in stiff penalties. To avoid plagiarizing, be sure to use quotation marks and cite sources for direct quotations, and cite sources (in footnotes and in a bibliography) for information that you are paraphrasing.

Attendance policy: Please respect your fellow students. If you have to be late, come in quietly and sit in the back. If you have to leave the class early, let the professor know beforehand. Generally, if you have to leave, don’t come back until the next session. It is distracting to have people walking in and out of the lecture hall. It is also distracting to your neighbors if you talk during the lectures or film. Please direct your comments or questions to the entire class, and/or write down your questions and give them to the professor (personally or via email). Otherwise, please be aware that the lectures are not going to be limited to repeating information that is in the book, and exams will be based on the lectures and the book.

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