Structure in Film & Film Music: A Video Essay Nicholas Kmet 2017-05-08 | It is often assumed in discussions surrounding film and film music that film is always the dominant structural element—music is always subordinate.However, I don't think that's necessarily always the case, and rather, film and film music draw structure from each other in ways that often leave them on equal footing. This video essay discusses several examples meant to illuminate my point.
Star Wars: Episode I: Final Score Reconstruction Nicholas Kmet 2017-05-08 | Late in the post-production process of The Phantom Menace, director George Lucas re-edited the final 20 minutes of the film. This happened while John Williams was recording the score in London, meaning that there was no time to re-write the music. As a result, music editor Ken Wannberg was responsible for editing the music to fit the final version of the film.This is an audio/visual representation of the edits he made, using the versions of the cues available from the publicly released soundtrack album.This was originally created as part of a video essay on film and film music structure, which you can find here: youtu.be/LJvaSUH4Usw
Irony: Starcrash (1979) vs. Rogue One (2016) Nicholas Kmet 2017-04-19 | Starcrash (1979) was a cheap American knockoff of the vastly more popular Star Wars (1977), produced in a blistering 18 months and filmed in Rome, Italy. John Barry wrote the excellent score (well, excellent in comparison to the rest of the film), though the main theme is more than reminiscent of John Williams' theme for Star Wars.Let me be clear: Starcrash is a bad movie. So bad, that it was one of the films riffed on for the reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I was watching the episode on Netflix, and thought I heard a familiar theme. That's right, Michael Giacchino's theme for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), sounds eerily like Barry's theme for Starcrash.In other words, it sounds like a knockoff of the score to a film that was a knockoff of the originating film of the franchise. Now that's irony.
James Horners Self-Plagiarisms Nicholas Kmet 2016-09-07 | James Horner had a complicated reputation among film music aficionados, notable for his talent as a composer and breadth of work in Hollywood, but also disfavored by some for his notorious re-use of musical material between film scores – in particular, the danger theme. The danger theme was not his only reused theme though, and this compilation of examples, while not comprehensive, displays many of his other well-known self-plagiarisms. This compilation is extracted from my video essay on self-plagiarism in film music.The Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 1): youtu.be/DfzqxCshIaYThe Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 2): youtu.be/tO1IzC99FxQOther Music Examples from the Essay:The Danger Theme: youtu.be/V8KxvE6PLKsHollywood Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/paxfFVlXFoQThe Curse of the Black Pearl and Remote Control Productions: youtu.be/0N5w8iSfqrs
Self(?)-Plagiarism in The Curse of the Black Pearl and Remote Control Productions Nicholas Kmet 2016-09-07 | Despite its popularity among the public, the soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has at times been described as a compilation album of Remote Control’s (previously Venture Media) greatest themes. Composers at Hans Zimmer’s studio often work together in large teams, and sometimes this leads to themes appearing in more than one film. This compilation, while not comprehensive, displays a number of notable examples, both from The Curse of the Black Pearl and other soundtracks produced by composers associated with Remote Control.This compilation is extracted from my video essay on self-plagiarism in film music.The Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 1): youtu.be/DfzqxCshIaYThe Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 2): youtu.be/tO1IzC99FxQOther Music Examples from the Essay:James Horner's Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/YAIIdW62CjkHollywood Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/paxfFVlXFoQThe Danger Theme: youtu.be/V8KxvE6PLKs
Self-Plagiarism in Hollywood Film Music Nicholas Kmet 2016-09-07 | Despite his reputation, James Horner was by no means the only film composer to reuse musical material between film scores. Practically every composer has engaged in self-plagiarism at some point in his or her career, whether intentional or not. This compilation displays well-known examples among a variety of high-profile composers.This compilation is extracted from my video essay on self-plagiarism in film music.The Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 1): youtu.be/DfzqxCshIaYThe Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 2): youtu.be/tO1IzC99FxQOther Music Examples from the Essay:James Horner's Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/YAIIdW62CjkThe Danger Theme: youtu.be/V8KxvE6PLKsThe Curse of the Black Pearl and Remote Control Productions: youtu.be/0N5w8iSfqrs
James Horners Danger Theme Nicholas Kmet 2016-09-07 | If you've heard it, you'll recognize it almost immediately. James Horner's danger theme is ubiquitous to film music, and helped earn Horner a reputation for reusing music between scores. After listening to approximately 90 soundtracks featuring the music of James Horner, I’ve compiled this nearly comprehensive set of examples.This compilation is extracted from my video essay on self-plagiarism in film music.The Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 1): youtu.be/DfzqxCshIaYThe Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 2): youtu.be/tO1IzC99FxQOther Music Examples from the Essay:James Horner's Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/YAIIdW62CjkHollywood Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/paxfFVlXFoQThe Curse of the Black Pearl and Remote Control Productions: youtu.be/0N5w8iSfqrs
The Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 1) Nicholas Kmet 2016-09-07 | If you've heard it, you'll recognize it almost immediately. James Horner's danger theme is ubiquitous to film music, and helped earn Horner a reputation for reusing music between scores. Of course, Horner is not the only film composer to have reused music between scores. This is part one of a video essay analyzing and contextualizing this phenomenon in film music. This part defines self-plagiarism, and provides examples to both support that definition and display its universality among film composers.For educational purposes only.Part 2: youtu.be/tO1IzC99FxQMusic Examples from the Essay:The Danger Theme: youtu.be/V8KxvE6PLKsJames Horner's Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/YAIIdW62CjkHollywood Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/paxfFVlXFoQThe Curse of the Black Pearl and Remote Control Productions: youtu.be/0N5w8iSfqrsOther Links:J. Bryan Lowder's article "Is Hans Zimmer, Movie Composer Extraordinaire, Repeating Himself?" on Slate:http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/11/05/hans_zimmer_scores_the_same_does_movie_composer_repeat_himself_audio.html
The Danger Theme: Self-Plagiarism in Film Music (Part 2) Nicholas Kmet 2016-09-07 | Part 2:If you've heard it, you'll recognize it almost immediately. James Horner's danger theme is ubiquitous to film music, and helped earn Horner a reputation for reusing music between scores. Of course, Horner is not the only film composer to have reused music between scores. This is part two of a video essay analyzing and contextualizing this phenomenon in film music. This part examines why self-plagiarism occurs in the industry, and discusses some of the ramifications of reusing music between film scores. For educational purposes only.Part 1: youtu.be/DfzqxCshIaYMusic Examples from the Essay:The Danger Theme: youtu.be/V8KxvE6PLKsJames Horner's Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/YAIIdW62CjkHollywood Self-Plagiarisms: youtu.be/paxfFVlXFoQThe Curse of the Black Pearl and Remote Control Productions: youtu.be/0N5w8iSfqrs
