260.249 Film History: Sound and Scores
Professor: Hollis Robbins T/Th 206C 1:00-2:20, Sun 7:00
Office Hours: Weds 11-noon, 204C GA: Shaheen Lavie-Rouse
hrobbins@jhu.edu shaheen.lavie.rouse@gmail.com
I. Course Objectives:
This course will explore the history of film sound from the silent film era to the present day, examining the narrative and aesthetic purpose as well as the functionality of film music. The course will trace the history and development of film music and the process of film scoring through reading, lecture and film viewing to explore how music and its relationship to film has changed over the last century. Class includes discussion and evaluation of different compositional styles.
II. Course Requirements:
2 Oral Presentation (10-15 minutes)
Two analytical papers (4-6 pages, 6-8 pages)
You will be required to watch closely and be prepared to discuss all of the films. The schedule below indicates the date on which a film will be shown prior to class discussion. There will be two screenings on Sunday evenings in the Marbury Room of the library and you may also take films out for 2-hour reserve. The schedule indicates readings to be read BEFORE class discussion.
You will be required to lead class discussion by giving a presentation on a film twice in the course of the semester. You will be required to write a midterm paper and a longer final paper. I do not accept late papers unless there is a compelling reason for missing the deadline.
Attendance for this class is critical. Much of what you will learn in this course will be the result of class exercises and discussion. Discussion and debate are crucial to the learning process. You are expected not only to attend but also to participate. Three absences (excused or not) will begin to push your final grade downward. Eight absences results in an automatic failure
Class Participation (includes attendance, presentations, possible quizzes, contributions to class discussion): 20%
Presentations: 30%.
Two papers: Midterm paper (20%), final paper (30%) Total: 50%.
All papers should be double-spaced, numbered, with your name on every page. Neatness and excellence in punctuation, spelling, and grammar should always be a goal.
All written work should be your own. This means that either: A) you are telling me what you think, or B) you are telling me what you think about what someone else thinks—which means you will tell me where you found this person’s opinion, when and where he/she expressed it, and how it is related to your own opinion. You may embrace someone else’s opinion, but you cannot pass it off as your own. This is called plagiarism and it is wrong.
III. Required Texts/Films:
Film Music: A History. Ed. James Wierzbicki. (Routledge, 2008) (Identified as FMH)
Selections of early silent films (to be assigned)
Seven Chances (1925) silent 56 minutes
Sunrise, a Song of Two Humans (1927), 100 mins
The Jazz Singer (1927), 88 mins
King Kong (1933) 100 mins
The Third Man (1949),104 minutes
Sunset Blvd (1950) 110 minutes
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), 92 mins
High Noon (1952) 85 minutes
Psycho (1960), 109 mins
The Pink Panther (1964),115 mins
Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), France, 92 mins
Planet of the Apes (1968), 112 mins
Shaft (1971), 100 minutes
IV. Schedule and Reading
Week 1 Basics & Administrative
Th Sept 6 Discussion of film music
Sunday Sept 9 – Screen early films – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Read “Introduction” (FMH 1-9) and “Origins” (FMH 13-28)
Week 2 Silent Shorts
T Sept 11 Discuss FMH: music, appropriateness, and ambiguity
Th Sept 13 Watch The Great Train Robbery, Presentation on Winkler and cue sheets
Sunday Sept 16: Screen Buster Keaton “Seven Chances” – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Read: “The Nickelodeon” FMH (29-47) “Feature Films, 1915-27” FMH (48-68)
Week 3 Funning, Cue Sheets, and Silents
T Sept 18 Discuss FMH, Burhman, and Rapée
Th Sept 20 Presentation on Keaton and possible scoring
Sunday Sept 23: Screen Sunrise (1927) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Read: Chapter 5, “The Long Advent of Sound, 1894-1926” (FMH 71-87)
Week 4 Scored Silents
T Sept 25 Discuss recording and synchronization issues [guest?]
Th Sept 27 Presentations on Sunrise
Sunday Sept 30: Screen The Jazz Singer (1927) – Marbury, 7:00 pm
Read: Chapter 6 “Vitaphone and Movietone, 1926-28” (FMH 88-109)
Read: Chapter 7 “Hollywood’s Early Sound Films, 1928-33) (FMH 110-130)
Week 5 Transition to Sound
T Oct 2 Discussion of recording issues and musical contexts [guest?]
Th Oct 4 Presentations on Jazz Singer
Sunday Oct 7: Screen: King Kong (1933) – Marbury, 7:00 pm
Read: “The ‘Golden Age’ of Film Music, 1933-49” (FMH 133-159)
Week 6 Big Movie Scores
T Oct 9 Discussion of Steiner’s score [guest?]
Th Oct 11 Presentations on King Kong
Sunday, Oct 14: Screen The Third Man (1949) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Week 7 Movie Score as Greek Chorus
T Oct 16 NO CLASS
W Oct 17: Screen The Third Man (1949) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Th Oct 18 Discussion board due; no presentations
Sunday, Oct 21: Screen Sunset Blvd (1950) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Week 8 Score as Commentary
T Oct 23 Discussion of Waxman’s score [guest]
Th Oct 25 Presentations on Sunset Blvd.
Sunday, Oct 28: Screen The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Read: “Postwar Innovations and the Struggle for Survival, 1949-58” (FMH 160-186)
FIRST PAPER DRAFT (on The Third Man) DUE: Friday Oct 26.
Week 9 Sounds of Outer Space
T Oct 30 Discussion of Herrmann’s music
Th Nov 1 Presentations on Day Earth Stood Still
Sunday, Nov 4: Screen High Noon (1952) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Week 10 Sounds of The West
T Nov 6 Discussion of Herrmann and innovation [guest]
Th Nov 8 Presentations on High Noon
Sunday Nov 11: Screen Psycho (1960) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Read: “A ‘New Wave’ of Film Music, 1958-78” (FMH 189-208)
FINAL PAPER DUE: Friday Nov 9
Week 11 Sounds of Inner Space
T Nov 13 Discussion of Herrmann and Hitchcock
Th Nov 15 Presentations on Psycho
Sunday Nov 18: Screen Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Week 12 Thanksgiving
T Nov 20 Discussion of Umbrellas
Th Nov 22 NO CLASS
Sunday Nov 25: Screen The Pink Panther (1964) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Week 13 Comic Music
T Nov 27 Screen The Pink Panther (1964)
Th Nov 29 Presentations on The Pink Panther
Sunday, Dec 2 Screen Planet of the Apes (1969) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
Week 14 Back to Apes and Aliens
T Dec 4 Discussion of Goldsmith’s score
Th Dec 6 Presentations on Planet of the Apes
Sunday, Dec 9: Screen Shaft (1971) – Marbury Room, 7:00 pm
12/1 First Draft of Final Paper
Week 15 Shaft and Final Presentations
T Dec 11 Discussion of Hayes
Th Dec 13 Presentations
12/18 FINAL PAPER DUE
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