Music Midterm

Front 1

Kinetoscope

Back 1

Edison's battery-operated peephole viewer, invented by W.K.L. Dickson

Front 2

Lumiere Brothers

Back 2

Two French brothers; Auguste and Louis. Gave the first known public performance of cinema accompanied by live music at the Indian Salon in the Grand Cafe.

Front 3

Chronophone

Back 3

The earliest-known gramophone synchronizer, first exhibited in London in 1904.

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Single Shot Films

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The camera focuses on only one scene for the entire film.

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Nickelodeon

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Theatres where shows cost a nickel for admission. Programs lasted anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour, and they changed everyday.

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Soundman

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Sits down in the orchestra pit with the orchestra or behind the screen where he could add any array of sound effects to the action on screen.

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Early Uses of Music with the Cinema

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1. Cover up noise of projector.
2. Convey mood and add emphasis to emotions on silent screen.

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Where Was Cinema First Shown?

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In public locations such as: cafes, university lecture halls, vaudeville theatres, fairgrounds, and in any vacant building available to the exhibitor.

Front 9

Why Was The Great Train Robbery Significant?

Back 9

A series of separate shots and edited them together into a chain of images. This film initiated the beginning of the "story" films.

Front 10

3 Collections of Mood Music

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1. Motion Picture Moods for Pianists and Organists, compiled by Erno Rapee.
2. Sam Fox Moving Picture Volumes compiled by J.S. Zamecnik
3. Kinobibliothek compiled by Giuseppe Becce.

(Done in France)

Front 11

Who Wrote the First Original Score?

Back 11

Done for the movie The Assassination of the Duke of Guise by the French composer Camille Saint-Saens.

Front 12

The Birth of a Nation

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Originally released as The Clansman; this film caused great race relationship problems throught the U.S., and led to rioting in Boston and other American cities. This film became the first blockbuster in film history, and remains as one of America's most controversial cinema landmarks.

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D.W. Griffith

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The man behind The Birth of a Nation. "Single most important figure in the history of American film and one of the most influential in the development of world cinema as an art."

Front 14

Joseph Carl Breil

Back 14

Composer hired for The Birth of a Nation; wrote some original themes and used arrangements of well-known music for this massive 3 hour epic. The score was written for a 40 piece orchestra to be performed live.

Front 15

Ben-Hur

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Most expensive movie of the silent era. Exciting chariot race.

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William Axt

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Co-Composer of Ben-Hur score; hired by MGM (wrote over 90 scores for MGM Studios). Became head of MGM's music department.

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David Mendoza

Back 17

Co-Composer of Ben-Hur scores; career as a film composer ended in 1939, his real interest was back in NY writing music for radio and the theater.

Front 18

Carl Davis

Back 18

Composed the new score for the restored version of Ben-Hur; has made a career by composing new scores for restored films from the silent era.

Front 19

Battleship Potemkin

Back 19

Greatest film of all time. The bold imagery and rapid rhythmic editing create a silent film that almost needs no musical score to accompany.

Front 20

Movie Theatres

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These movie palaces rivaled some of the greatest architectural creations of manking. By the end of the silent era, gigantic theaters capable of sitting over six thousand patrons had been constructed. (Largest theater: The Roxy).

Front 21

4 Types of Music Used During the Silent Era

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1. Piano Improvisation: a pianist would follow the action up on the screen with their eyes and would attempt to reflect the mood and speed of the movie's action with their piano playin, becoming an "instant composer."
2. Published Musical Extracts: became very important to musicians of the silent era. As films were sent out from Hollywood to all the theatres across the country, "cue sheets" were sent with the cans of film.
3. Prearranged Scores: derived from familiar musical sources.
4. Original Score: created for specific films; first appeared in France in 1908, but did no become popular until the mid 1920s.

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Two Early Sound Systems

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Phonofilm: sound-on-film; took the electronically sound and pushed the sound through speakers with much improved amplification for even the largest theaters. By adding sound-on-film system system it gave the crucial link necessary for the success of the sound-on-film process.

Vitaphone: sound-on-disc; electric signals are picked up by the microphone set where transformed to 17 inch wax discs by disc-cutting machinesthat were locked in sync with film cameras.

Front 23

Lee De Forest

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New Yorker that perfected a vacuum tube that greatly improved the sound-on-film process. (Phonofilm)

Front 24

Don Juan

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First feature length sound film without dialogue. Film was released with a clever sound-on-disc format that showcased a prerecorded musical soundtrack.

Front 25

The Jazz Singer

Back 25

First feature film to contain some spoken dialogue, generally considered the first Hollywood musical, and that launched the sound era.

Front 26

Microphone Boom

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The idea of fixing a microphone on a pole to make it more mobile.

Front 27

Camera "Blimp"

Back 27

A soundproof housing that surrounds a movie camera to prevent the motor noise from being recorded on the soundtrack.

Front 28

Studio System

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The method of production and the aesthetic styles brought forth by those major studios who controlled production, distribution, and exhibition of the majority of the films being made.

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Star System

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Developed in which certain leading actors and actresses were under strict contract as a "contract player."

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Contract Player

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Each performer was "owned" by a specific studio for a term of seven years. Studios had the option to drop them before the end of their term, or the studio could lend the performer to another studio for a profit.

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Warner Bros.

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Exhibited the first feature length sound film without dialogue.

Sam Warner excited about the possibility of introducing films with complete scores that would be synchronized with the picture. Interestingly, never had the vision of making "talking" pictures.

Warner Bros. made a landmark film (The Jazz Singer) that launched the age of the sound films.

Front 32

Lights of New York

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The first all-talking sound feature, released by Warner Bros.

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Blackmail

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England's first sound feature, directed by the "master of suspense," Alfred Hitchcock. Hailed as "First Full Length All Talkie Film Made in Great Britain."

Front 34

2 Primary Approaches of Music in Early Sound Films

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1. To have music throughout the entire production.
2. To use music only as source music.

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FRANKENSTEIN

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When released it was said that "women screamed, men trembled, and kids started crying." There is virtually no dramatic underscoring anywhere in the entire film.

Front 36

Busby Berkeley

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Single handedly revived musicals when the genre was going out of fashion. "Flying Trapeze" Created amazing patterns with female dancers captured by top shots.

Front 37

Hollywood Musicals

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Popular film genre. This type of film evolved specifically for the purpose of escapism. (People needed to get away from harsh realities of everyday life.)