Capstone Essay Proposal

The History of Sound and Music in Visual Entertainment

For the essay portion of my capstone I will be writing a 20-25 page historical research paper on the development of sound in movies. The paper will start with the transition from silent films played while live orchestras or organ players accompanied the films, up through the development of stereo in the 30’s and 40’s and up into the modern digital age. I will discuss several prominent music composers, including John Williams and Alan Silvestri. I will focus on important scores that these composers wrote, and the effect they had on the future of movie making. I will also discuss their techniques for composing. I will also discuss the development of sound effects in film, and how the process of recording Foley has evolved over the course of film history. I would also like to look at the history of the music video, and the rise of creating video content to supplement music, rather than creating music to supplement video and film.

Headings:

Early Film Sound, the 1920’s

Introduction of the “Talkie”

Fantasia

Dolby

Digital Age

Electronic Instruments in Film Scores

Foley

The Music Video

Important Composers

Bernard Herrmann

John Williams

Clint Mansell

Alan Silvestri

Annotated Bibliography:

Beck, Jay, and Tony Grajeda. Lowering the Boom: Critical Studies in Film Sound. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2008. Print.

This book is a collection of essays from various members of the music and sound community. The topics range from the rise of Dolby to the importance of silence in movies. Several of the essays deal with how various soundscapes effect the tone of a movie, and the theory behind choosing how to design sound for different movies.

Cooke, Mervyn. A History of Film Music. New York: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

Mervyn Cooke creates a comprehensive history of major trends in film music. Ranging from the early days of silent film, through the golden age and up through present day movie making, Cooke creates a very informative look at film music history. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is it does not confine its history to that of Hollywood films, but also takes a deep look at film music in several foreign countries, including the U.K, France, and the Soviet Union.

Darby, William, and Bois Jack Du. American Film Music: Major Composers, Techniques, Trends, 1915-1990. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1990. Print.

This Book takes a detailed look at several prominent film composers. It covers almost the entire history of movies from 1915-1990 through specific composers and musical examples. It also takes a look at film scores that were not good, and dissects what causes a film score to flop. The book also takes a look at different composers techniques.

MacDonald, Laurence E. The Invisible Art of Film Music a Comprehensive History. New York: Ardsley House, 1998. Print.

This book addresses the art of writing music for the soundtracks of movies, and how that process has evolved from the late 20's up through the 90's. This book is organized chronologically and spotlights several important composers in film history.

Smith, Jeff. The Sounds of Commerce: Marketing Popular Film Music. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. Print.

Jeff Smith's book focus' on the presence of popular music in film throughout history. He starts with the days of sheet music sales, all the way up through MTV and the pop music that is so prevalent in modern soundtracks. Smith analysis what makes film music commercially successful, and breaks down pieces of music to illustrate his points.