The Mighty Wurlitzer - Seminole Cinema: SEHS Film - Home



IB Film Year One: Week 12.1Music in Silent MoviesSilent movies were not silentThe films you have watched so far, like?The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?or?The Gold Rush?all had musical scores written to accompany them.Although often when we see these films now, the score is a modern interpretation.Imagine for a second you watched a film in complete silence - wouldn’t that make the theater you were in feel empty, and the pictures on the screen feel less alive?Watch This: Mighty WurlitzerVery early scores were often stitched together from pieces of classical music, and it is thought that improvisation was probably used extensively.In small towns, only a piano player might be present, but massive theater organs were designed for large city theaters by as early as 1910.The Mighty Wurlitzer,?a massive organ designed for the theater, had the ability to mimic orchestra sounds and also featured special effects such as thunder and racing hoof beats.In larger city theaters, orchestras were commonly used, and during the 1920's, movie theaters were the largest employers of American musicians.As silent films became more complex, the music that accompanied them also became more elaborate.For D. W. Griffith’s?The Birth of a Nation?in 1915, Joseph Carl Breil created an original score.From that time on, it became relatively common for big-budgeted films to be accompanied by an original written score, although these films were in the minority.What is Diegetic sound?Sound that comes from 'the world of the movie'Close answerDialogue, sound effects, and musical instruments or singing??It also includes sound that comes from off-screen sources.For instance, if a door slams, even if we cannot see it, the sound is still diegetic.Sound that comes from elsewhere, like the musical soundtrack of a dramatic movie, is called non-diegetic.While dialogue had to be provided by intertitles (or title cards) and sound effects were essentially non-existent, music was a standard feature of the silent film.The first public projection of movies by the Lumiere brothers featured a piano player, so, in fact, music was an element of mise-en-scene from practically the beginning of motion pictures.Queue music...What are Music Queue Sheets?Close answerMost films featured music compiled from photo-play music?These were musical cues published by companies like the Cameo Thematic Music Company.These sheets listed the title and author of a song, when to play it, and roughly how long to play it.The music was arranged by the pianist, organist, or the orchestra conductor (although for large orchestras, full scores were much easier for the musicians).The cue sheets were often sent with the film by the company edy films used sprightly music that might be enhanced with whistles and percussion that cued audiences to laugh in slapstick scenes.Later on, music scores that directly cued a reaction from the audience were deemed unsubtle.The practice was criticised and called?Mickey-Mousing?because of its association with animated cartoons where the music syncs with the action on the screen, mimicking its rhythm exactly.A New World of SoundAs film scores developed, they became much more elaborate.By 1933,?King Kong?composer Max Steiner brought the?Leitmotif?style from opera to the cinema.Leitmotifs?are musical themes that are associated with various characters and ideas.Famous scores besides?King Kong?that use this style include both?The Bride of Frankenstein?(1935), and all the?Star Wars?films.Across the world, there were other experiments with sound in the silent era.In Japan, there was a narrator who both helped tell the story and performed voices of the characters.This performer was called a Benshi, and because of the cultural acceptance for this form of storytelling, silent film in Japan lasted well into the 1930's.In Brazil, silent film included?Fitas Cantatas, filmed operettas with singers who performed behind the screen.But in 1927,?The Jazz Singer?became the first American film with synchronised dialogue and songs - and for the first time, sound and film became inseparable.Textual Analysis examYou have three weeks to complete your textual analysis semester exam.To make the most of this time, and stay on track, we recommend that you follow this schedule. Week Two:Watch your film a second time, choosing two film elements you wish to concentrate on.Choose your five-minute extract.Take notes on how each film element conveys meaning in your extract.Begin writing your essay. Look again at the model. Make sure to establish the cultural context of your film, and to demonstrate a connection between this context and the identified film elements in the extract to each other, and to the chosen film text as a whole.Write two paragraphs each (total of?four paragraphs) on each film element of your choice demonstrating how each element conveys meaning in your extract and supporting your analysis with detailed, accurate, and relevant examples from the extract and your research. Use relevant film terminology. ................
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