scholarly journals Harmony, associativity, and metaphor in the film scores of Alexandre Desplat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ewan Alexander Clark
Keyword(s):  
Film Music ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
Film Scores ◽  
Transformational Theory ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Feature Film ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Short Films ◽  
Suitable Framework

<p>The objective of this doctoral study is to develop and demonstrate a theoretical framework to guide both the analysis and composition of twenty-first-century film music. The compositional portfolio submitted as part of this thesis includes scores for nine short films and for a feature-length docudrama. The thesis is based on analysis of twenty feature film scores by Alexandre Desplat (b. 1961), with particular attention to two: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Studying one composer’s output enables the observation of a compositional voice articulated across multiple film genres. Desplat’s work has proven a relevant and worthy subject, because the films he has scored exemplify a wide variety of styles and approaches, including skilful integration of past styles and current trends.  The theoretical framework I use to discuss both Desplat’s film music and my own, draws together selected concepts from semiotics, metaphor theory, narratology, and harmonic analysis, especially transformational theory. I use the framework to explore how musical objects – such as modes, chords, and their transformations through time – might act as symbols, icons, or metaphors for one or more elements of the narrative – such as a setting, character, characters’ emotions, events, or the attitude of the cinematic narrator. It is argued that this combination of ideas provides a suitable framework – useful in both composition and analysis – for understanding how music might expressively contribute to filmic narratives.  It is argued that Neo-Riemannian triadic transformations – in Desplat’s work and mine, at least – are often most usefully considered in relation to the scales and modes that they articulate, transform, and/or subvert. This is a point of difference from other recent transformational analysis of film music. Although my analyses focus primarily on pitchbased features, I also consider how these elements accrue meaning in their interactions with other musical features, such as tempo and orchestration.</p>

scholarly journals Harmony, associativity, and metaphor in the film scores of Alexandre Desplat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ewan Alexander Clark
Keyword(s):  
Film Music ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
Film Scores ◽  
Transformational Theory ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Feature Film ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Short Films ◽  
Suitable Framework

<p>The objective of this doctoral study is to develop and demonstrate a theoretical framework to guide both the analysis and composition of twenty-first-century film music. The compositional portfolio submitted as part of this thesis includes scores for nine short films and for a feature-length docudrama. The thesis is based on analysis of twenty feature film scores by Alexandre Desplat (b. 1961), with particular attention to two: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Studying one composer’s output enables the observation of a compositional voice articulated across multiple film genres. Desplat’s work has proven a relevant and worthy subject, because the films he has scored exemplify a wide variety of styles and approaches, including skilful integration of past styles and current trends.  The theoretical framework I use to discuss both Desplat’s film music and my own, draws together selected concepts from semiotics, metaphor theory, narratology, and harmonic analysis, especially transformational theory. I use the framework to explore how musical objects – such as modes, chords, and their transformations through time – might act as symbols, icons, or metaphors for one or more elements of the narrative – such as a setting, character, characters’ emotions, events, or the attitude of the cinematic narrator. It is argued that this combination of ideas provides a suitable framework – useful in both composition and analysis – for understanding how music might expressively contribute to filmic narratives.  It is argued that Neo-Riemannian triadic transformations – in Desplat’s work and mine, at least – are often most usefully considered in relation to the scales and modes that they articulate, transform, and/or subvert. This is a point of difference from other recent transformational analysis of film music. Although my analyses focus primarily on pitchbased features, I also consider how these elements accrue meaning in their interactions with other musical features, such as tempo and orchestration.</p>

Duration, Compression, Extension and Distortion of Time in Contemporary Transgender Cinema

Somatechnics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-83
Author(s):  
Akkadia Ford
Keyword(s):  
Life Experiences ◽  
Private Life ◽  
First Century ◽  
Short Film ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Privileged Access ◽  
Feature Film ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Film Change

Cinema provides ‘privileged access’ ( Zubrycki 2011 ) into trans lives, recording and revealing private life experiences and moments that might never be seen, nor heard and after the time had passed, only present in memory and body for the individuals involved. Film, a temporal medium, creates theoretical issues, both in the presentation and representation of the trans body and for audiences in viewing the images. Specific narrative, stylistic and editing techniques including temporal disjunctions, may also give audiences a distorted view of trans bodily narratives that encompass a lifetime. Twenty first century cinema is simultaneously creating and erasing the somatechnical potentialities of trans. This article will explore temporal techniques in relation to recent trans cinema, comparing how three different filmmakers handle trans narratives. Drawing upon recent films including the Trans New Wave ( Ford 2014 , 2016a , 2016b ), such as the experimental animated autoethnographic short film Change Over Time (Ewan Duarte, United States, 2013), in tandem with the feature film 52 Tuesdays (Sophia Hyde, Australia, 2013), I will analyse the films as texts which show how filmmakers utilise temporality as a narrative and stylistic technique in cinematic trans narratives. These are texts where cinematic technologies converge with trans embodiment in ways that are constitutive of participants and audiences' understanding of trans lives. This analysis will be contrasted with the use of temporal displacement as a cinematic trope of negative affect, disembodiment and societal disjunction in the feature film Predestination (The Spierig Brothers, Australia, 2014), providing a further basis for scholarly critique of cinematic somatechnics in relation to the trans body.

Of Promise and Peril: Doctoral Study in Public Administration in the 21st Century

Public Voices ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
John R Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Member ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Recent Graduate

The author, a recent graduate of the Doctor in Public Administration program, shares his thoughts about what it means to study public administration in the twenty-first century. He hopes his insights, born out of more than a forty year-long career in the field—decades of work in colleges and universities as a faculty member, dean, provost, vicepresident, and acting president, as well as his extensive experience in teaching public administration at the graduate and undergraduate levels—will help doctoral students in their academic pursuits. More specifically, he hopes that his remarks will make Ph.D. students think more deeply about the promise of their endeavors and, on the other hand, give them advance warning about perils of the process and ways to avoid them.

Hearing Film Music Topics outside the Movie Theatre

2021 ◽  
pp. 548-574
Author(s):  
Janet Bourne
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Extraction Method ◽  
Film Music ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Film Scores ◽  
Western Art ◽  
Western Art Music ◽  
Movie Theatre

This chapter describes a cognitively informed framework based on analogy for theorizing cinematic listening; in this case, it tests the hypothesis that contemporary listeners might use associations learned from film music topics to make sense of western art music (WAM). Using the pastoral topic as a case study, a corpus of film scores from 1980–2014 determines common associations for this topic based on imagery, emotion, and narrative contexts. Then, the chapter outlines potential narratives a modern moviegoer might make by listening “cinematically” to a Sibelius movement. The hypothesis is empirically tested through an experiment where participants record their imagined narratives and images while listening to WAM and film music. The meaning extraction method, a statistical analysis for identifying associational themes, is used to analyze people’s responses.

Judaean Apocalypticism and the Unmasking of Ideology: Foreign and National Rulers in the Testament of Moses

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Anthony Keddie
Keyword(s):  
Physical Violence ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Apocalyptic Literature ◽  
Louis Althusser

Abstract The current study attempts to move beyond the fashionable scholarly opinion that apocalyptic literature is essentially posed “against empire” by critically analyzing the ideologies evaluated and advanced by the Testament of Moses. The author employs a theoretical framework derived from the work of the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser to argue that the schematization of history in the Testament of Moses exposes and criticizes the domination of national rulers and foreign rulers, but for different reasons. While ideology is depicted as a strategy of domination used by both types of rulers, repressive physical violence is typically only associated with foreign domination. Yet, the text is not simply “against empire.” Rather, the ideology of the Testament of Moses is primarily opposed to the priestly ruling class of Judaea, the group thought to be responsible for the socioeconomic hardships experienced by the Judaean masses in the early first century C.E.

Audiovisual Advertising

2021 ◽  
pp. 774-793
Author(s):  
Madelijn Strick
Keyword(s):  
Film Music ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
Short Films ◽  
Cognitive Involvement ◽  
Plot Structure

Narrative advertisements (i.e. ads that resemble short films that include characters, drama, and plot structure) are increasingly popular on TV and on the Internet. As in almost any film, music can play a vital role in the experience and impact of narrative ads. This chapter identifies psychological transportation as an important mediator between music and persuasion by narrative ads. Transportation refers to a strong emotional and cognitive involvement in the ad, a sense of being “lost” in the narrative. Previous studies show that transportation plays a mediating role in various aspects of persuasion, such as changing viewers’ beliefs, attitudes, and even behavior. This chapter begins with an overview of the literature on psychological transportation, focusing on its essential elements, moderating factors, and consequences for persuasion. The author then discusses the intriguing possibility that music plays an important role in promoting psychological transportation into narrative ads and reviews initial experimental evidence supporting this idea. Special attention will be paid to the role of “moving” (i.e. intensely emotional and chills-evoking) music, as it appears to be particularly effective in eliciting psychological transportation. Finally, the chapter closes with some enduring questions to be addressed in future studies.

Metered

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Decker
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
First Century ◽  
War Films ◽  
Film Scores ◽  
Thin Red Line ◽  
Green Zone ◽  
Fathers And Sons ◽  
The Military ◽  
Red Line

Having set aside the military march, serious post-Vietnam war films have explored other strongly metrical musics. Three World War II films have turned to triple-meter, or waltz-time, themes. Band of Brothers and Flags of Our Fathers alike use tuneful waltz-time music to support a sentimental transgenerational agenda linking fathers and sons. The Thin Red Line supports the philosophical ruminations of soldiers with a group of triple-meter melodies that create a zone of quiet reflection. Twenty-first-century war films use beat-driven music to excite the audience physically and also to characterize new sorts of soldierly action—such as work at a computer—as exciting combat action. Beat-driven combat film scores for Black Hawk Down, United 93, and Green Zone are compared. Finally, an extended combat sequence from The Thin Red Line scored to a stately ostinato musical cue is considered as an extreme case of music taking the place of diegetic sound.

Digital Literacy and the Emergence of Technology-Based Curriculum Theories

2014 ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa N. Mallon ◽  
Donald L. Gilstrap
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Epistemological Development ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
Complexity Theories

A shifting focus in education is resulting in more networked, technology-enhanced classrooms. Contemporary educators need to be aware of the skill sets students require to thrive in twenty-first century educational environments. This developmental and learner-centered approach, known as digital literacy, enables students to use technology to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information. This chapter, therefore, proposes a theoretical framework for teaching digital literacy. The authors examine contemporary learning theories, including connectivism and chaos and complexity theories, in an effort to promote further discussion on the epistemological development of digital literacy. Taking into consideration advantages and barriers to promoting digital literacy in the classroom, the authors propose best practices for educators seeking to incorporate these competencies into their curricula.

Breaking Stereotypes

2020 ◽  
pp. 135-143
Author(s):  
Manisha Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Women Characters ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Short Film ◽  
Feature Film ◽  
Film Genre ◽  
Short Films ◽  
First Time

Indian films are gradually coming of age: becoming more realistic, bold, and daring. Indian short films are getting candid: talking openly about issues rather than brushing them under the carpet. The digital media boom and the advent of social media have made the short film genre popular. In the fast-paced age where people, caught up in the humdrum and rat race of everyday life, are generally becoming impatient about everything, the short film has come to the rescue of filmmakers and film lovers. Gone are the days where everyone had ample time and patience to watch a three hour feature film or a two hour saga. In case of a short film, the message gets conveyed in a quick, crisp, and focused manner, without beating about the bush. Women-oriented short films like Her First Time, Juice, The Day After Every Day, Mama's Boy, Going Dutch, Pressure Cooker, The Girl Story, Ek Dopahar, Khaney Mein Kya Hai, White Shirt, Naked, etc. are breaking stereotypes of the patriarchal notions about women. The chapter probes the portrayals of women characters in Indian short films.

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