Music Composition: for dummies (Overview)

'Music Composition: for dummies' is useful for providing guidance throughout the creative process of the honours project. It looks into various compositional forms, techniques, structures and ideas to aid the creativity of the reader. The book utilises a concise and easy to read format, that breaks down each component of the composing process to allow for an easy to understand method of music writing for multiple forms of media.

The information within the book is provided by Scott Jarrett ( Music Director and Instructor) and Holly Day (Award-winning music journalist).

1408 Air Duct Video Clip (Handwritten Notes)

1408 - Air Duct Video Clip (Practice)

A small scene from the film '1408' was used to practice composition techniques as well as to provide a means to practice linking themes to images.

The film requires a tense atmosphere throughout which is brought about utilising several techniques.

Build up to chase sequence. 

1. The Piece is in the key of F minor
2. The piece draws upon both Harmonic minor and Melodic minor throughout sections of its structure. 
3. The build up to the chase sequence is Modal (modal based) utilising the mode of C Phrygian Dominant derived from the Melodic minor scale.
4. The Build up to the chase is minimalistic in its approach, utilising sustained notes throughout, whilst subtly using obscure musical instruments which almost take the form of sound effects (e.g. reversed piano and reverb saturated percussive wooden blocks). 
5. The emphasis is on the minor second interval present in the Phrygian dominant mode. The Mode creates an almost mysterious quality when played as a scale run. This scale run is present in the mother and baby scene and is very subtly played on the piano to produce this desired effect. 
6. The sound of the reversed piano is very unusual and provides tension throughout the sections where the character looks down the various pathways in the air duct. This also added to the visuals of the panning camera as the swelling sound emphasised this movement.

Chase Sequence.

1. The powerful almost percussive sound of the piano chord accompanied by the concert bass drum provides a drastic change in dynamics and timbre which is intended to make the listener jump and feel threatened.
2. The trilling violins which blend into the decay of the impact, crescendo and build up in layers in order to keep the suspense and tension building after the initial impact has been heard.
3. Violins play a repeated melodic pattern throughout the first part of the chase sequence with the main focus and emotional drive being provided by the drum patterns. 
4. The second chase theme initially syncs up with the movements of the 'enemy' character which is slightly off beat. The rhythm slowly moves back into time allowing for further layers to build on top of the rhythmic motif more easily. By synchronising the movement to the character it allows for a more tense visual as the character randomly jumps on screen. This can also potentially produce a jump scare effect.  
5. The ending of the theme is synchronised when the main character falls out of the air duct and smashes the table below. The intent is to cut out the music and allow for dialogue and sound effects to take over as the main focus, this will resolve the tension and make it feel as if the threat is no longer present. 

Example Violin melodic pattern .

The dialogue and sound effects present in the clip are used as place holder to allow for a better representation of the slower less dramatic sections of the video. During the conversation between the two men in the park a slight hint of the original soundtracks music can be heard, this can potentially be removed by utilising various filters, enhancers and noise reducer plug-ins, however this is a work in progress and the dialogue and sound effects from the original piece have remained unedited. They have been taken from the centre channel of the 5.1 surround mix found on the DVD, this allows for a more clear representation of the vocals and some sound effects without music, however on occasion music may bleed into the centre channel. The main purpose of the video is to practice synchronising musical compositions and motifs to the visuals, the video is a work in progress and certain aspects would need tweaking.  

Ideas for future.

1. The final chase theme would need to utilise more instrumentations in order to make the lengthy scene build more tension and to highlight when the audience should feel nervous e.g. when the 'enemy' character tries to grab at the main characters legs.
2. All dialogue and sound effects would need to be present throughout the clip and would need to be edited and processed in order to remove unwanted noises and musical notes which should not be present in the alternate version. 
3. The music would need to be worked on in relation to dialogue and sound effects to provide a greater balance of dynamics which will emphasis specific points of the score and to pull focus towards dialogue as opposed to the underlying ambient layers present throughout the first part of the video. 

Music Theory: for dummies (Overview)

'Music Theory: for dummies' is an extremely useful book regarding the honours project. It provides almost every possible piece of information required to understand and develop skills relating to composing and playing music. The books simple layout and highlighted important Tips and Quotes allow for a simple and entertaining read. The information provided is backed up by images of musical scores and diagrams to further increase simplicity and understanding.

The information within the book is provided by Michael Pilhofer, MM (Music Director) and Holly Day (Music Writer).

Composer Mark Isham's Tips For Creating A Movie Soundtrack

A History of Film Music (Overview)

'A History of Film Music' by Mervyn Cooke discusses topics relating to the evolution of the film soundtrack. the book provides many sources of inspirational composers and pioneers of film, which prove to be useful when investigating composers and their work. The author discusses the evolution of equipment over the years, detailing how it has changed the way film soundtracks are made (changing the standards of the industry) and also looks into 'silent film' similar to Michel Chion in his book 'Audio-Vision'detailing how it has influenced and changed the film soundtracks of today.

Research Aim and Objectives (New version)

After some reflection upon my research aims and objectives, it has been decided that games will not be a part of the project, this stems into multiple areas of research and will prevent the work from being focused enough.

A questionnaire will also be utilised to determine the effectiveness of the practical assignments involved in the project.  

Aim.

Investigate how the compositional elements of music can be utilised to create an emotional response within the consumers of film soundtracks, and create several examples of musical concepts/compositions which can be used to determine the effectiveness of the researched methods.  

Objectives.

1. Research, Music Theory, Compositional Techniques, The Importance of Instrumentation and The Effects of Music on Emotion and Characterisation.
2. Devise, a framework for musical analysis of film soundtracks.
3. Analyse, various film soundtracks and detail important aspects of their construction, the effect they have on the scene, how they set a tone for the scenes/ characters etc. 
4. Create, several soundtracks alongside cinematic scenes which utilise the information gained throughout the process of the project.
5. Devise, a questionnaire which will show the effectiveness of the music composing practical aspect of the project.

Audio-Vision (Overview)

'Audio-Vision' by Michel Chion, investigates the way audio is perceived alongside moving images, with regards to 'Silent' films all the way up to the modern 'Hollywood Blockbusters' of today.  He utilises various theories which detail the way the human mind alters between different mindsets, altering the perception of sounds depending on the factors of analysis.
The most important of which is his devised theory of the 'Three Listening Modes' which he describes throughout the literature.

1. Causal Listening
2. Semantic Listening
3. Reduced Listening

He also discusses the effects of sound on the perception of movement and speed, visual cues and spotting techniques, the influence of sound on the perception of time and sound 'temporalisation'. 

These are some of the most important topics discussed within the literature relating to the honours project aim. 

Music Analysis Framework

Music Analysis Framework.

The Framework will utilise a mixed method approach as it will better suit the aims and objectives of the project and will provide end results which will compliment the final practical assignment. The main purpose of the framework is to ensure that each analysed piece of music is equally treated to allow for a fair comparison which will identify differences in technique and construction. These identified methods will be use to aid in the development of new compositions and ideas throughout the project and will be drawn upon for inspiration and influence.

Aim of Analysis.

The analysis of music will provide information on how musical elements combine to create ideas and motifs and will provide an in depth understanding of the use of form, harmony, rhythm, melody, dynamics and instrumentation etc.  By investigating the structuring of melodic phrases the analysis will provide an insight into how these pieces of music utilise compositional techniques and will benefit the work within the project.

Framework

1.      Identify: Key signature, Time Signature and Tempo.
2.  Analyse chord progressions used, Investigate the Scale tones and  their relationship to the chords ( Harmonic Analysis).
3.    Identify structural patterns and the effects they have on the overall perception of the piece. ( Leitmotif)
4. Analyse the use of varying instrumentation if present. What is the purpose of the other instruments etc.
5.    Utilise Musical excerpts to allow for easy access to specific sections of the music that is being analysed.
6.  Identify specific intervals utilised to produce effective tonality, motif building.
7.  Identify instrumentation used to texture and provide emphasis to parts of the musical score.
8. Identify reasons as to why the composer utilises specific structures and techniques.