Music and Movies Part one

Movies are really just stories with lots of tools that are used to engage the viewers.  Music is very effective in setting the mood whether scary, action, romantic or sad.  Pumping the viewer up or calming them down.  Sometimes you can be very conscious of a beautiful melody or performance, but often you barely notice the background music.  Of course songs are what are most often remembered.

This post was delayed so I could watch "Score" and that was a good choice.   Some new music was discovered and some deeper understanding found.  The background music is more than just memorable melodies.  It helps set the mood.  One example was that by playing up or down musical scales it could subtly mimic the actions of the actors.  Many little bits could prepare the audience for action.  Another example was from the shower stabbing scene in "Psycho" when they originally played it without sound, and then adding the screeching violins of Bernard Hermann and greatly enhanced the scary element.

As always researching for these blogs helps me discover new things that make the effort personally worthwhile.  Some of the knowledge is spread around the blog and may or may not be recognized, but two movies struck me.  I had seen and enjoyed "Gladiator,"  but couldn't recall anything special about the music  Hans Zimmer working with others inserted one song that I have bought and enjoy listening to.

"Another one was Remember the Titans" (2000).  The theme was used for an Obama rally which by itself is of interest.  I was able to watch the movie which is engrossing.  Great music helps enhance great movies while at other times salvages not so memorable movies.

Just as scripts are classed as original or adapted, music can be broken down to original and borrowed.   Borrowing generally means using already established music.  My favorite classical borrowings are the Mozart No 21 Piano concert which is better known in some circles as a theme from "Elvira Madigan" and Ravel's Bolero in "10." Another famous borrowing was Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" used in "Apocaplypse."  It is cheaper to use long dead composers and it can leave a classic touch.  "Casablanca" used "As Time Goes By" that had been written 12 years before raising it from obscurity to become an overnight standard..

For many of my era the consciousness of music and stories first came from the Walt Disney studio.

Frank Churchill started by playing piano in film theatres and then doing short films for the Disney studio including the song "Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf."  Moving onto feature films, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"was a major gamble for Disney, but proved a spectacular success. (1937)  Later Frank worked on "Bambi" (1942) and winning an Oscar for "Dumbo" in 1942. Unfortunately he killed himself in 1942

Lee Harline was musically responsible for "Pinochio,"and "Sleeping Beauty.  As an adult I watched "The Fox and the Hound" with my young daughter.

"The Lady and the Tramp" had Peggy Lee (an adult favorite)  co-writing some of the songs.  As a young man I really enjoyed her singing, particularly her phrasing.

Perhaps the most accepted Disney composers were Robert Sherman and his brother Richard.  They wrote a song, "Tall Paul" that was sung by Annette Funicello and got the attention of the Disney Studio.  As a team they wrote songs and music for such films as "The Parent Trap" (1961), "Mary Poppins" (1964) winning two Oscars.  Their most famous song was "It's a Small World After All," written for the World's Fair of 1964  "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins was Walt Disney's favorite song and was requested when he felt depressed.

"The Wizard of Oz" (1939) was one of the greatest films ever made.  It was a very big deal when it appeared on tv as it was rare.  The composer, Harold Arlen was really a song writer, one of the most successful of his time.  He wrote for Broadway and for the Harlem Cotton Club and lots of his songs made it into movies, even to recent times.  His lyricist E. Y. Harburg was clever.  One line will serve as an example (not from The Wizard of Oz) "when I'm not facing the face I fancy I fancy the face I face."  He was blacklisted.  One of his best known songs, "Brother Can you Spare a Dime."

Lyrics is another fascinating topic, but too much for this blog post.  The big question is what comes first, the music or the words?  It depends.

In my formative years musicals were fairly popular on tv in North America.  Gradually they became less popular and were considered unrealistic.  Many were adapted from Broadway, but also original.

Irving Berlin composed for "White Christmas," "Easter Parade,"and "Holiday Inn."

Richard Rogers, composed and formed partnerships with lyricists Lorenz Hart, and Oscar Hammerstein.  Some of my favorite musicals included  "South Pacific, "" Flower Drum Song,","The King and I", and "Carousel,"   "Sound of Music" and "Oklahoma,," were also very popular, but not seen by me, although much of the music was familiar.

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe collaborated for a number of Broadway musicals that were adapted for the screen.  I had never seen most of the movies, but was very familiar with some of the music.  I vaguely remember seeing "Brigadoon" and had seen "Paint Your Wagons," but not the more familiar, "My Fair Lady", "Gigi" (written for film) and "Camelot."  Frederick Lowe was born in Berlin with an operetta singing father.  Frederick learned to play the piano by ear and helped his father rehearse.   At age 13 he played solo piano with the Berlin Philharmonic.  After his parents migrated to the United States (they were Jewish) Frederick played piano in silent film theatres.  Meeting Alan Jay Lerner proved to be a key to his future.

George Gershwin wrote "Porgy and Bess," for which I had seen on tv fairly young and later on a high school trip on stage.

Leonard Bernstein is a name I associated with classical music and had seen him perform and talk on tv.   Long familiar with the songs from West Side Story,  I recently saw it for the first time and although dated, one can appreciate trend setting.   He also wrote music for "Girl Crazy."

Andrew Lloyd Weber is still active, but has a lot of laurels to rest on.  Evita, "Phantom of the Opera" (saw the play), "Jesus Christ Superstar" were a few of his film adaptations.

"La La Land" was a successful attempt to show musicals can still draw fans.   But to me it was not outstanding.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a classically trained musician and composer and had written "serious" music before coming to America.  His family fled Europe as Hitler was annexing Austria.  He had been asked to arrange some Medelssohn's music for "A Midnight Summers Dream."  He was approached to compose music for "Captain Blood," (1935) shortly before its deadline, but he could only manage about one hour of music and supplemented the rest with Franz Schubert.  He requested that his credits be "Musical Arrangement by Erich Wolfgang Korngold."  He later won an Oscar for "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and was nominated for "The Sea Hawk"  and "The Private lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939).

Korngold was one of the first to write motifs for each of the leading characters.  Hugo Friedhofer noted, "He was the first to write film music in long lines, flowing chunks that contained the ebb and flow of mood and activity and the feeling of the picture.  Korngold often played a piano alongside a projectionist running the film.

Hugo Friedhofer helped fill in a missing piece of the musical puzzle.  Although in later life he was a successful recognized composer initially he was valued for his ability to orchestrate, that is fill in the bare composition with more instruments.  Learned to play the cello at age 13.  He dropped out of high school and married at age 22 but found work playing in theater orchestras and later making incidental music for stage and films.  Through a violinist friend he made contact with film studios and ended up orchestrating for both Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, with whom he spoke German.  He was so valued as an orchestrater that he was not allowed to compose.  In fact he did compose for 120 films without credit, but once he broke his attachments he received 7 Oscar nominations for scores including for "The Best Years of Our Lives" in 1946.

Elmer Bernstein was a protege of Aaron Copland and during World War II arranged some musical numbers for Glenn Miller.  He made a mark with "The Man with a Golden Arm" (1955 with its jazzy score earning an Oscar nomination.  He is most famous for "The Magnificent Seven" (1961) that was re-worked to be included in a remake in 2010.   Some other notable films included "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) and "The Great Escape" (1963).  Not related to Leonard Bernstein, although they knew each other.

Bernard Herrmann had an abrasive personality which many thought hurt his Oscar chances, but he did win one for "The Devil and Daniel Webster" in 1942.  He had written for Orson Welles including the infamous radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" in 1938.  He got to write the music for "Citizen Kane" (1941) which always ranks as one of the best movies ever.  One of his most famous bits of music was after Alfred Hitchcock declared he wanted no music for the shower scene in "Psycho," but Hermann was able to be more effective with music.   He did 9 films with Hitchcock, including "Vertigo" once declared best movie ever.  Hermann's favorite work was with "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," (1947).  His last film was "Taxi" and he died a few hours after completing.  Hermann insisted on doing his own orchestration.  He also introduced new instrumentation such as for "The Day the World Stood Still."

Dmitri Tiomkin's  Guns of Navarone (1961) was perhaps my first acquaintance with his music, and led me to buy a record album of movie themes.  Some others I recall "Alamo"--one that I enjoyed the music for "Unforgiven," but didn't see the movie for several decades.  He won an Oscar for "High Noon" (1952).   He helped with a Russian production of "Tchaikovsky."

Henry Mancini played the flute and sent an arrangement to Benny Goodman which resulted in a job offer.  During the war he was assigned to a band unit which probably saved his life as his original unit was wiped out during the Battle of the Bulge.  After World War II he joined the Glenn Miller Band.  He arranged music for "The Glenn Miller Story"  and in 1952 wrote music for "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde."  I was fascinated by "The Great Imposter" which he wrote the music for and inspired by the theme bought another album of movie themes.  Hatari, Moon River,--Sunflower (Italian/Russian).  He won Oscars for "Victor Victoria" (1982) and "Days of Wine and Roses," and Breakfast at Tiffany's" as well as 18 nominations  He was noted for injecting some jazz in the background.

John Barry, an English man got a break teaming up with pop star Adam Faith who got into movies.  Once there he got noticed and was asked to arrange music for "Dr No" and eventually he tallied 11 James Bond scores.  Altogether he won 5 Oscars, for "Born Free" (2), "Dances with Wolves," and "Lion in Winter."

Jerry Goldsmith wrote scores for a number of movies, including "Chinatown,"  I learned that for "Hoosiers" he added in sounds mimicking the sound of multiple basketballs being bounced as if in a practice.

John Williams favored by Steven Spielberg.  "Jaws' was a popular movie.  At that time I lived over a movie theatre and when having a bath it was unnerving to hear the surging part.  Superman, E.T. Jurassic Park,  He started as a musician and played the piano for movies.  He also was involved as an arranger.  One of his early successes was with "Jaws" which helped cement a relationship with Steven Spielberg and extended to George Lukas.  "The Book Thief."

Philip Glass is considered a classical composer, but has gotten involved with many movies.  While in Paris he transcribed music from Ravi Shankar for a French film.  Later studied music from India and parts of Africa.  He has a style that is easy to recognize such as  "The Hours" (2002).   He was nominated for an Oscar for  "Notes on a Scandal" (2002).  He did music for two Russian films, "Leviathan" (2014) and "Elena" (2011).  Also did music for "The Fog of War" (2003) and "Kundun" (1997).



Hans Zimmer,  German born as a young man was seen in a video ""Video killed the Radio Star"  He was a pioneer integrating electronic music with traditional orchestral arrangement.  "Gladiator" and   "Blade Runner 2049" are only two of his works.

Paul Zaza is a movie composer who I happened to meet through my in-laws.   Connection was a younger sister, Jennifer got used an extra for "Meatballs" and then research uncovered that actually Elmer Bernstein wrote the music for this while Paul wrote the music for Meatballs 3.  Related thru marriage to my wife's late step father Paul was lucky that at age 4 his musical talent was recognized and he was enrolled in piano lessons at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.  As a musician, toured with "Hair" and the Fifth Dimension.  Setting up a music studio he was able to help rectify an unsatisfactory movie score and subsequently did over a hundred scores, some winning awards.   Many of them were horror movies such as "Prom Night"

Part 2 is now available:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/05/movies-and-music-part-2.html

Hit Makers

The title gets attention, but the subtitle gives a more accurate idea of what the book is all about.  "The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction."  If you are not trying to generate a "hit" of some sort you are likely marveling at someone who has accomplished the goal.  Whether or not, most of us are part of the  dynamics.  This book has a lot of meat to digest.

To have a big hit one thinks quality is the most important factor, but in reality quality is desirable, but insufficient.  There are songs (etc) that you would like better than what you listen to now, but somehow they are hidden from view.

In the beginnings of history people communicated in small groups and had little contact with outsiders.  As people organized ideas could reach larger groups of people.  One of Derek's examples was a Brahm's lullaby that initially was not written for the public, but over time it spread including to his mother across oceans.

Raymond Loewy was an important industrial designer who wondered what people really wanted.  He made a point of studying consumer habits instead of merely looking to design a more efficient product.  Some of his concrete results were improvements to Gestetner machines and the Cold Spot Refrigerator and some corporate logos.  He concluded that people felt comfortable with something familiar, but were attracted to something a little newer.  He coined an acronym, MAYA which stands for Most Advanced Yet Acceptable.  I used to write newsletters on a Gestetner machine.

Humans can be divided into those who fear new things (neo phobes) and those who love new things (neo philiacs) and a third group, neophiles who adapt easily and are fascinated by new things.  Of course it depends on the issue--more people probably fear new things at work than they do with their hobbies.  In other words there is a little bit of each in every individual, but most of us are dominated by one or the other.  The trick to making a hit is to get a good balance between the familiar and the new.  Read more at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/08/new-understanding-our-need-for-novelty.html

Derek gives several examples throughout the book how familiarity is critical and how repetition helps in the process.  Rats apparently can be habituated to a repeated sound, but a slight variation gets added attention.  We aren't that different.

We hear the expression "viral" used to explain a rapid increase in interest for a particular item.  It was what wanna be hit makers strive for.  Derek challenges this concept.  "Viral" comes from the study of diseases spreading which is one person contaminates another and that person contaminates another and it spreads to a wider part of the population.  Instead Derek points out that most so called viral escapades happen only when an item reaches a wider distribution network such as Justin Bieber

Homophily, a new word for me simply means that people like to be like those surrounding them. Although perfectly normal it does have some unhealthy consequences.  Although there are more three year olds who are not white over 75% of whites cannot identify one minority friend.

To summarize the key to hits is to have an effective distribution network.  Of course you have to have something that would appeal to large numbers of people.  Derek offers two examples to close his book.

Walt Disney built up a following slowly back in the 1920's but when Kay Kamen (born Herman Samuel Kominetzky) got a look at Mickey Mouse he was excited and traveled to California to talk to Mr. Disney.  His business was merchandising toys and other momentos from movies.  He convinced Walt to get involved with merchandising and took them from $300,000 sales in 1930 to $35 million in 1935 in the middle of the Depression.   Furthermore the merchandise actually helped boost the movies, including helping to finance his big breakthrough with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The idea spread to launch into a television program and amusement parks at the same time.  ABC helped finance the first Disneyland and then decided they wanted out.  Big mistake.  The Walt Disney Empire gets revenue from a variety of sources that all reinforce one another.  A movie is sure to be a hit while also generating revenues from merchandise, television and visits to their parks all of which help finance the next hit.  Each part supports the other parts.

To balance off his book, Derek gives the example of Ryan Leslie who you might not have heard of.  Ryan was a very precocious young man who proved himself in a number of platforms, but did not want to get tangled up with labels when he became a rapper.  He dropped his label and set up a network where fans buy directly from him (at a premium) and he invites them to events.  He is not fabulously wealthy, but he makes very good money and retains his freedom.  His secret (other than offering quality) is he has a network that includes the likes of Kanye West and other prominent rappers.   He has control of this network which is all computerized.  He could and might opt to hit the mainstream, but is happy avoiding some of the problems.

Hit Makers are part of your life.  Most of us don't  come up with hits, but most of us enjoy them.  You can watch a 50 minute presentation by Derek Thompson explaining the book and a few things that happened afterwards (such as Donald Trump's election).  Click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9KW3GtWm30

Movie Producers--What do they do?

Movie producers very often have their name appearing before the movie title, taking precedence over ticket drawing actors or artistic directors.  As a consumer I was not at first aware of the producer but became vaguely conscious that producers were important.  All the movies that I enjoyed had to pass through a producer, just like for you.  With age, curiosity has overcome me to seek to understand why a producer is so important.

All movies start with an idea.  Someone may have written a full script, but often the idea starts out as a casual conversation until someone seizes on it and takes it to the next step.  A producer's first function is to identify a viable idea and after deciding to go forward organize the many tasks needed to develop a finished product and have it distributed.  Sometimes the decision is made to hire a producer to make sure the idea gets handled properly.  Film rights, need to be secured, sometimes preceded by options

Creative people including writers and directors need to raise money, but often find that money comes with strings.  People with money want to be sure they will get their money back and with a reasonable chance of a profit.  Usually that means they want it to be more "commercial."  At the same time producers can be part of the creative process and many of them started with different functions. Sometimes they start with an idea and search out writers and directors to flesh out the idea.  They are approached by artistic people needing financial support.

Investors are sought.  There are some people who like the glamour, but other investors need to be reassured their money is safe.  A producer spends and supervises the money.  Once financing is secured a budget can be established and a schedule.  Location is another big decision, whether to go on site or build or rent a set.  The cast, the director, sometimes the writing, costumes, sets, countless workers who have to be fed and transported.  They are expected to make sure there is an audience to view the end product.  Very often they can be a driving force behind the creative effort.  Time management is difficult when there are so many pieces to juggle.  Needless to say these functions can be very fluid, taking a long time with many ups and downs and overlapping with creative decisions.

Film projects involve a lot of people performing different functions under the guidance of a producer.  The Academy Awards are very careful in deciding who is the producer as they are the one who actually receives the  Best Picture Oscar.  Other subordinate titles include executive producer, line producer, associate producer, co-producer, etc.  Their exact functions and responsibilities depend on a multitude of factors.

The cast is obviously a key part, but so is a director and writer.  Not only because of their quality, but also concerned for cost, timeliness and compatibility.  Flat fees or percentage of gross/net are the usual options.  A big star helps sell investors and consumers both, but can take up too much of a budget or be too big a distraction.  Other crew members can be almost as critical: cinematographer, editor, composer, costume and set designers and there are many more.

Distribution channels have to be worked out.  Most movies appear in a theatre for about two to four weeks (or less).  Some movies go to television, DVD, foreign language, theatre chains, streaming services.  Many producers spend time at film festivals to meet with distributors that may come from all over the world looking for something they can sell to their audiences.

Marketing costs can be enormous, sometimes even more than the cost of finalizing a film.  Online has become very key, but traditional newspapers, tv., radio, billboards are used to target different segments.  Festivals are more important as producers try to create credibility in the form of selections and awards.

A few sketches of notable producers.

Perhaps one of the first producers people of my generation became aware of was Walt Disney.  He started out as an animator and made short cartoons such as "Steamboat Willy" in 1928 with synchronized sound.  He became the voice of Mickey Mouse.  First long animated feature was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937 that defied early critics to become a big success.  In 1950 he started live action films.  Most of his films were based on folk tales.  "Saving Mr Banks" recounted his efforts to get the rights for "Mary Poppins" and portrays the sort of efforts that some producers undergo.

Steven Spielberg, one of the wealthiest film makers in the world started out in various functions and worked up to director with  perhaps his first hit being "Jaws"  He used a lot of visual effects.  He was an early pioneer with product placement, most famously illustrated with Reece's Pieces in "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial" because M and M rejected his offer.  So many hit films such as "Munich," "Saving Private Ryan,"  Back to the Future," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit,""Schindler's List" "Lincoln," "War Horse," "The Hundred-foot Journey," "Bridge of Spies" http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/05/bridge-of-spies.html  He has formed some creative alliances that have added to his success--notably composer John Williams and editor Michael Kahn.  He also directed 13 actors who received Oscar nominations for their performance.

Carlo Ponti actually practiced law in Italy during the Mussolini era before he became a film producer.  Perhaps best remembered as husband to Sophia Loren.  He had chosen her stage name which is more easily remembered than her original Sofia Vellone Sciciolone.  Not known to as many is that he married her twice, because his divorce to his first wife wasn't recognized in Italy.  This caused the two to exile themselves to the United States where he produced a number of movies including "Doctor Zhivago" and "Operation Crossbow."  They married after he, Sophia and his first wife all took French citizenship where his divorce was recognized.  He produced a number of classic Italian movies, such as "La Strada," "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," "Two Women," "Marriage Italian Style" and "A Special Day."


Aditya Chopra is a name attached to many enjoyable Bollywood movies, often as a director or writer.  At age 23 his first directing and writing effort was the longest running movie "Diwale Dulhania Le Jayenge."  He has continued to write and direct. but is now more involved in producing where in a sense he is even more creative.  Some of his producing hits include, "Sultan," "Fan" and "Fanaa."  He comes by it honestly as his father was the well established Yash Chopra.  Aditya also got my attention as he married Rani Mukerji,(http://www.johnfdavidson.com/2014/11/rani-mukerji-maturing-actress_53.html) a favourite actress.  Has at least two interesting projects on the go "Paani" and "Thug"

Sisse Graum Jorgensen of Denmark produced my favorite all time film "After The Wedding."  She also produced other Danish classics such as  "Brothers," "A Better Life" "The Hunt" and "A Royal Affair."  She has produced a few English speaking films; "Salvation," and "Love is all you Need."  She likes to work closely with directors such as Susanne Bier and Thomas Vinterberg as well as writers such as Anders Thomas Jensen.

When you are evaluating a movie take into account the producer as he or she made it possible and left their fingerprints if you look.