Mail Bag 2/22/99

Compiled by Lukas Kendall

We're stuffing 100 Rifles CDs into envelopes hopefully today and tomorrow, so here's one of them "take the letters and read them" columns. The first batch is in reference to a recent article about temp-scoring a student film, and then the second batch regards Saving Private Ryan. Back tomorrow with more cool stuff!

From: Donny Gilbert <BflatM@concentric.net>

The Tuesday, Feb. 2 article was very interesting to me from the point of view as a composer. I have scored movies and film projects done by students, and to tell the truth, the majority of the directors I have written music for do not have the slightest idea on what they want their movie to sound like.

I have one particular story.

I was approached by a director who heard some of the music I had done for a another student film. He asked I if I could score his movie, I said sure. This movie was kind of a sword and scorcery movie, with some not-so-subtle references to "Star Wars". I watched his final cut of the movie (which ran about 16 minutes), and was somewhat impressed by some of the images. I asked him what kind of music he wanted. He looked at me like I was from another planet. "Isn't that your job to decide?"

I looked at him like he was from another panet. I asked how many films he had made, and he told me three counting this one. I asked him what kind of music he had in his other films and he told me songs and music that he liked to listen to. "What about the story, did these pieces fit the other films?"

"oh sure!" he said.

"So what pieces would fit this picture?" I asked.

He then played me various heavy metal songs, some cheesy ballads to underscore the romantic subplot, and some other popular tunes that could fit the action in this movie.

My thoughts were along the lines of "what in the hell is he doing?" To me, none of this music fit any of the images he had created. So I gave him an assignment: Watch his favorite movies, and tell me how the music added to them.

He came back and we went straight to work. We spent about five hours spotting the movie and discussing what parts of the movie the music could add something to. I mentioned the similarities the movie had to "Star Wars" (which was one of his favorites, needless to say) and explained to him Lucas' and Williams approach to scoring it. The director immediately said he wanted the "leit motif" approach.

To make a long story short, I gave each character their theme, and I wrote approximately 15 minutes of music to his 16 minute film. . This didn't bug at all because the entire movie needed music. To try to tell a story (even with some gratuitous plotholes) in such a short amount of time needs music. I got a small orchestra together (about 16 players who were close friends and thought the idea was neat to play for a movie, even for free) and recorded the score. We used Dyaxsis to do the final mix and also to fix some placement troubles. The movie turned very good for a student project.

This is one of about ten different stories I have about scoring for student films. The point being that these fledgling directors are learning also. This project was a learning experience for me, and a very rewarding one. If I can get one director to look past his "favorite" music in order to find the right approach and feeling for the picture, then there is hope elsewhere. Composing for film is a very tedious undertaking (just ask my girlfriend who wouldn't see me for days on end because I was writing), but the end result is an absolute hoot!

From: Chris Kinsinger <76263.2355@compuserve.com>

Dear Roman:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article about the frustrations of marrying music to film. While I was reading it, your words brought back memories of my days as a student filmmaker, about 30 years ago. Working with 8MM was wonderful, and I wish I could do it again! REAL FILM to edit by hand!

Anyway...I wonder if the ending music for your film might be found on the CD soundtrack to "The War" by Thomas Newman? This is a CD that's in a lot of bargain bins right now, and you can probably pick it up for under $5. It not only features cues from Newman's score, but a lot of 60's songs. A couple of the songs might fit the mood of your film's ending, such as "Someday We'll Be Together" by Diana Ross & The Supremes, or "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens. Or, "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. There are 9 upbeat songs on this CD, and one of them might fit the bill. If you want, I'll make a cassette tape of the CD for you to listen to.

Just tryin' to help a fellow filmmaker (even if I haven't BEEN one for 30 years!). I really enjoyed your article!

From: Josh Gizelt <Josh.Gizelt@gte.net>

Mr. Deppe's story is one of the most valuable additions to the FSD archives. It is one of the few that deals with, head on, what a film composer has to deal with when on a project, and how ideas can get stymied when there are too many cooks.

Also hit on was the fact that people can change their minds to the detriment of what has already been established (and works).

In truth, I think part of the problem is that, recently, many films have appeared in which there was no, or very little score. Filmmakers seem to think that that works for ALL films, or it should anyway. As a result, the score gets dialed down because, even though the scene needs it, they are afraid of it.

I think in days long past it was not an issue as to whether a filmmaker liked film music or not, it was, for the most part, simply accepted that music would be given such-and-such attention on the soundtrack, and allowed, at points, to carry the story ("2001" was unusual).

I think in this particular case, Stephen's point of view might have worked better had there been more dialogue. If the film is mostly silent, then music and room tone would dominate the soundtrack. Room tone is not very interesting to hear; if anything, it works as a bridge between sounds. The music must glue the elements of the film together, more so than a picture with the standard amount of dialogue. If Stephen has a problem understanding this, there is not much that can be done to change his mind (I have often found that the usual process of cutting footage together in different ways to demonstrate how much better one way is from another does not work with someone else as knee-deep in the editing or spotting process as yourself. They, too, have seen all the material and won't be convinced any more than you will), so either take over or let him take over. The chances of a compromise are somewhat remote (in my opinion, fight him about it all the way; people who don't listen to film music rarely understand how music works in a film).

Music is not wallpaper.

Saving Private Ryan

From: Josh Gizelt <Josh.Gizelt@gte.net>

I have to say that I agree with you and Royal Brown about "Saving Private Ryan" 100%...

The film as shot would have been better left without a score at all. The music never shows up during the battle scenes, which shows that Spielberg started with a verite approach, but when it came to the scenes that were scored, I couldn't help thinking that it was basically Spielberg chickening out.

Let's not forget, however serious the subject matter may be, Spielberg is still a commercial filmmaker, one who makes smash hits for Oscars as others do for money... I recently saw an article in which Spielberg was announced the greatest filmmaker of all time. The most interesting aspect of this article is that the author never really said WHY they named him the greatest filmmaker of all time. It simply boiled down to that he was and how dare anyone say any different. The most offensive aspect of this article was when knocking down possible contenders, which looked something like this: "Orson Welles - nah. Alfred Hitchcock - close, but not really."

Well now. Given that "Citizen Kane" THE most influential motion picture ever made, Alfred Hitchcock's works have more subtext than Spielberg could ever imagine, and Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman and Ingmar Bergman are not even mentioned simply proves that these people where raised on Hollywood product in the same way that some people get hooked on heroin.

Don't get me wrong, I LIKE "Saving Private Ryan." But to call it such a serious work when "Images" and "Cries and Whispers" can be so much more devastating without spending $70m on the goriest effects ever.... well it says something about what we expect from American cinema. And Spielberg will never have the originality of Godard... and shouldn't we wait a little before pronouncing his movies classics?

The simple fact is that, for all his flash, pomp and circumstance, huge praise and "boy wonder" image, Spielberg is simply a trained seal, jumping through the same hoops over and over again. When he pioneers like Welles, offers as biting sarcasm and rule-breaking as Godard, plays it fast and loose like Altman, and manages to straddle the line between commercialism and art as did Hitchcock I will accept this blind praise for whatever his newest movie, be it "Saving Private Ryan" or "The Smell of Manure in Wisconsin." And he is in a completely different class from Bergman.

The musical decisions, I think, were stymied by this fact. The score for "Saving Private Ryan" is music I think is fantastic. I just don't think the film should have had music.

I also agree with Royal Brown when he says that Williams' take on the material, a quiet acceptance of loss, is more interesting than Spielberg's, and quite possible have made a better movie.

Once the initial effect of "Saving Private Ryan" wore off, I found that I was much more satisfied with other films this year. So, despite its technical virtuosity, unflinching violence, sped-up camerawork and great performances, the simple fact is that, once I heard what "Saving Private Ryan" was about, I got exactly what I was expecting. No more. When I see a new film, I want to be surprised at something, but let's face it, the general public doesn't. And so, "Saving Private Ryan," a safe choice, will, of course, win a gazillion Oscars, deserving quite a few of them, but not really deserving the one that says "Best Picture." The Best Original Dramatic Score Oscar may go to some other film, an honorable mention film.

From: Matt Hulkkonen, GRIZZBEAR1@aol.com

There are obviously lots of criteria for judging how good a score is.. A neat one that i use often is "Can the score be played as a classical-type piece from start to finnish?" If you like this, then you'd probably agree that "Saving Private Ryan" does the trick. There is a little favortism here on my part as i love Williams' music, but also because i have never been one that is overly thrilled by lots of plain underscore.

I'd guess that anyone who loves music but knows nothing about film score, would very much enjoy a concert where "Private Ryan" is played.

From: Labguest <labguest@uno.cc.geneseo.edu>

I just wanted to say that I am an avid reader of FSM, and that it is a great magazine. However, I am shocked at the lack of support for John William's score to Saving Private Ryan and would like to comment on the subject.

First of all, it is a terrific score from a musical standpoint. That is, the orchestrations are brilliant (as Williams' scores are), the writing clean and perfect, with no compositional errors (ibid. above), and all out enjoyable to listen to. I am a lover of film music, and am attending Graduate school now for the subject. It is a travesty that John keeps getting knocked for this score. I think that people are just expecting that every score has to be Star Wars, or Indiana Jones. This is not a very objective way to look at it. He deliberately chose to keep it low key, and I thought it was extremely effective. The sparse use of music throughout the film made the part WITH music much more effective and gripping. John Williams has been unfairly stereotyped. If he HAD used a more powerful, dramatic approach with the huge orchestral fanfares and tuttis, then we would have had a great stand alone score from a wonderful composer, but let's remember that film music is about supporting a film and not about stand alone compositions. That is for concert composition. However, if a score can do both, then you have achieved the best of both worlds in this industry. So, let's tip our hats to John for giving us a new color on his many hued palette of music, and for showing us his diversity and genius. After all, he is doing another Star Wars for those who are fans of his large-scale scores.

Now, to address the best of 1998 briefly. I think it was a year for some new faces to take the scene, and some old ones to show us they are not dead. My list includes:

- Williams: Saving Private Ryan (enough said above).

- Horner: The Mask of Zorro (I'm not a Horner fan, but it's fairly original at least)

- Goldsmith: Mulan (The genius of this man continues)

- Fenton: Dangerous Beauty/Ever After/Object of my Affection (This man is wonderful; He's really turned his talent up a few notches; should become more visible soon)

- T. Newman: The Horse Whisperer (He finally has me hooked....I hope he only continues in this direction)

- Stephen Warbeck: Shakespeare in Love (This new face has a great deal of potential...Let's hope he gets more work)

- Trevor Jones: Merlin (I think this is one of the best scores ever for a TV movie. This man has definitely rejuvenated his career. Also of note, is his score from For Roseanna, which is wonderful, although it's not from 1998. Trevor should be getting more recognition and soon!)

Well thanks for taking the time to read this (if you made it!), and I again would like to thank Lukas for bringing us all a wonderful publication in an industry that doesn't provide much by itself. So, hats off to last year, and let's all await 1999's gifts in music! After all...we're all just waiting for Episode I anyway.

From: "Miguel Andrade" <migcarla@mail.teleweb.pt>

Regarding the score to Saving Private Ryan, I would like to say the folowing. I believe that there are two reasons for so many people deslike it:

1st. It's not what many would expect from a Williams score. There's a lot of people who think that John Williams good work is grand, neo-romantic, full of pomp and circunstance symphoni scores, wich are great, but is more restrained and subtle scores are just as good (back in 1994, a reviewer in Portugal comenteted on the delivery of the Oscar to Williams for Schindler's List, was a bad choice, based on the fact that that score lacked the grandeur of the Star Wars or Superman Williams).

2nd. It concerns more the psicological and emotional aspects of the carecters, rather than the action displayed on-screen. The problem has to do with our pre-conceived ideas. Even when we say that film music can (and some times it does) live far from the images for wich was written, that can exist as a piece of abstract music, I believe that we expect it to have always a certain degree of Mickey-mousing kind of music, the type of music that will describe , even in abstract terms, the action of the film. I guess this happens at a subliminary level, so we may not have the notion of that. So when we ear a war score like S.P.R., not having seen the film, but knowing what it's about, we have a pre-conceived idea of how it should sound. We always expect some battle music, the kind of stuff Williams has done so well in his first Star Wars trilogy.

S.P.R. don't fall in this category of war film score. I think of it as a large, slow tempo, elegiacal symphony work, something that would work better free from film associatioons, but that eventuly was composed for and used in a motion picture.

this score sounds like a vague recollection, an old remembrance, of those that are no longer with us, despite if they were killed in Omaha Beach, or just died of old age. I think thats the great reason not to like S.P.R., we just didn't expect the aproach that Williams so wisely chose. And even that this not the score I would listen to dayly, Hymn to the Fallen do deserve to belong in the concet hall.

I voted on S.P.R. on your pool, and I really think it deserves a academy award (but then, some of the other scores in the pool deserve.)

Don't think that, as a Williams fan, I'm trying to defend he's work. He doens't need it. But I understand your trouble with S.P.R. because when I first ear it, I didn't knew how to react. I begun to understand it slowly, and I really think it's yet anothe Williams master piece.

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