Music Section 3 Flashcards
What era of science fiction movies did Vivian Sobchack study?
1950 to 1975
What year did Vivan Sobchack study science fiction movies?
1980
What years did Bernard Herrmann live?
1911 to 1975
What did Sobchack suggest was the reason why there were so few Stand-out scores in SF movies?
few top-flight Hollywood composers had written for the science-fiction genre.
What famous science fiction incident was Herrmann involved in?
Orson Welles created a Radio Drama of War of the Worlds
What happened because of the War Of The Worlds radio broadcast?
People thought it was news of an actual alien invasion, and widespread panic followed which boosted Welles’ reputation
What company broadcast the War of the Worlds Radio drama?
CBS
What movie did Herrmann work on in 1941?
Citizen Kane
Which score did Herrmann win an award for in 1941?
The Devil and Daniel Webster
What was one factor that played into The Day the Earth Stood Still being a successful movie?
Herrmann was hired to compose the music for it
Who is John Brosnan
A historian
What did Brosnan say about The Day the Earth Stood Still?
It was one of the best sci-fi movies of its time
What was different about the poster of The Day The Earth Stood Still than the movie?
Gort never carries a blonde woman during the movie, but the poster shows this
Who was Robert Wise?
Director of The Day the Earth Stood Still
What did Robert Wise tell Herrmann to do with the score?
“Do something special”
What instruments did Herrmann use in his score of 32 cues and 42 instruments that had not previously been used in a film score before?
an electric violin, electric cello, and electric bass
What other (excluding the ones that had not previously been used in other film scores) instruments did Herrmann use in his score of 32 cues and 42 instruments that he created from June 25-July 28?
two Hammond organs, two pianos, two harps, two theremins, and several brass/percussion instruments
What did Alfred Newman give to Herrmann as an “instrument” after he made a witty comment and “just in case”?
electric hot water bottle
Why did Herrmann not include woodwinds in his film score for The Day the Earth Stood Still?
because he wanted to reflect an unearthly feeling of outer space without relying on such gimmicks as he was characterizing a man from another world
In how many cues did Herrmann use theremins in his score?
twenty-four
What are other science fiction television that began to make regular use of theremins?
The Jetsons, My Favorite Martian, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits
In what season of Star Trek does the soprano vocalist mimics the theremin’s eerie timbre?
the second
What uncommon strategy does Herrmann use that means various instruments are recorded separately?
multi-tracking
How did Herrmann combine the two cues (“Prelude” and “Outer Space”) of the single track for The Day the Earth Stood Still?
as “R1P1” and “R1P1A” (R=reel and P=part)
How did Herrmann connect the two cues (“R1P1” and “R1P1A”) of the Day the Earth Stood Still?
with the indication of segue (telling the musicians to proceed to the next the section without a pause)
What is the first cue of The Day the Earth Stood Still and how long does it last and contains what unusual techniques Herrmann employs?
“Prelude” which lasts seven seconds and uses musique concrete techniques
What are the four groups of instruments in the “Prelude” cue labeled?
W, X, Y, and Z with each not having a time signature
What is the task of instrument group W of the “Prelude” cue in The Day the Earth Stood Still?
consisting of two theremins that will gissando down during the whole cue; Theremin 1 begins on a very high B flat played triple piano and descends (and crescendos) over three octaves to a triple forte G flat. Theremin 2 starts above the staff on the G flat and reaches a low E flat (same dynamic change). The recording is played “forward” in the mix
What is the only instrument group of the cue “Prelude” in The Day the Earth Stood Still? Hint: the name is sometimes considered a vowel
Y– a trio of vibraphones– whose material is delayed by two seconds
In the instrument group Z of cue “Prelude”, the two large and two small cymbals maintain their sounds by means of a cymbal roll is played like what instrument that is apart of the percussion group?
a drum
In the “Outer Space” cue Herrmann foreshadows a style of composition that was prevalent in art and popular music beginning in the 1960s”?
minimalism
True or false. The first keyboard-controlled synthesizer didn’t exist when the Barrons craft their electronic score for Forbidden Planet.
TRUE
What does DAWs stand for?
Digital Audio Workstations
How did the storylines of film noir ended?”
The storylines of film noir movies often ended unhappily.
What novel was the story Blade Runner based on?
Scott’s storyline was drawn from a dark 1968 novel by Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?283
True or False. Blade Runner was was a success when it was first released.
FALSE