Blog #5

Pictures with Sound.

Sound is something we don't generally think about when viewing a film, which means that the sound guy and the editing room have done a good job. When we are consciously aware of the role sound plays in a film, that either means that sound was intentionally elevated into our consciousness, generally as a tool to heighten aural sensuality alongside the visual (here I'm thinking about more violent films such as Reservoir Dogs, and A Clockwork Orange) or just because the sound is really bad - in cases of "post-synching", often used in Italian films of the 1970s and earlier, where the dialogue is dubbed after the picture is shot, rather than recording both sound and picture together (this example is taken from Gerald Mast's 1977 Film/Cinema/Movie, p47.). Or, as an extreme example, when we are watching badly over dubbed foreign films (Kung Pow made a good parody of this).

But sound can really influence how we view a movie, it can sub-consciously heighten tension, underline love scenes, sad scenes, redeeming scenes. (You only have to watch MasterChef to see this in action.) So what if the original score of the movie has disappeared and you are asked to do the score of the new 'digitally remastered' version?

I think this question has fallen into the lap of many of the composers/musicians who have 'reworked' the music silent films such as Piccadilly, or Man with a Movie Camera. For example, I watched Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr., the other day, which was re-released in 1952. The music for the film was also 'reworked' for this new release of the original 1924 film. Blues guitar? Really?? With 1924 silent film images? Allusion to the Bond theme?? In a 1924 silent film? Really? It was just so incongruous, for me it really detracted from the film; the music took me out of the world of the film and reminded me I was sitting in Fischer. Similarly I found with Piccadilly, the score was just so incongruous and aurally grating, it was almost easier to watch the film in silence.

It is the audience of the 'remastered' work that composers seem to intend their new compositions for, rather than the authenticity of the original film. Man with a Movie Camera has had seven different soundtracks written for it since 1996, and seemingly only one of these new compositions has paid attention to Vertov's own notes on sound (this was the soundtrack by the Alloy Orchestra, which was first performed in 1996 [thanks wiki]. This was the version of the film screened in class). Most prolifically on the internet is the version of the soundtrack composed by the British pop jazz/electronic outfit Cinematic Orchestra.



This was the version of the soundtrack I first watched. Its opening is unusual as the music does not begin until the projectionist starts the film in the theatre. At first I thought the video was without sound so I thought it would be a good chance to experiment how much the music played over the film influences the viewing experience. But that became unnecessary once I found the multitude of soundtracks for the film available on the internet. The Cinematic Orchestra response to the film is interesting as it is contemporarily incongruous - some of the sounds used seem just too modern to fit the late 1920s landscape of Odessa - while the mood conveyed through their music really heightens the sensory response to the film at certain points, but not in the conventional way.



How do you think this section compares with the version shown in class? I'm interested how other people reacted to or were influenced by sound in their viewing experience not only of this film, but the other films we have watched during the semester.