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Re: [microsound] sci-fi cinema and music



graham miller wrote:

> i think you're absolutely right - i just kept these items out of my lit=
tle
> e-mail because i thought it would cloud the gist of it, but rest assure=
d, i am
> well aware:) i like the plastic trenchcoat thing - i missed that one. i=
've
> always liked plastic see-through clothes... i've always thought of them=
 as
> being very 'futuristic.' syd mead, of course, is sooo seventies/early e=
ighties
> its riduculous - it doesn't mean his particular aesthetic is any less b=
eautiful
> though... i love this idea of the year 2010 through the eyes of 1976...=

> something that gets missed, i think, in popular culture... think the 'h=
orizons'
> ride in epcot center:)
>
> and yes, r2 d2 (ben burtt) is (possilby) more of a musical genius than =
john
> williams...
>
> g.
>
> pelagius pelagius wrote:
>
> > Hey, sorry to keep sending you so many e-mails about this but it caug=
ht my
> > interest and I've been thinking about it.  Some thoughts below...
> >
> > > > i'm interested in the fact that although many sci-fi films place =
a great
> > > > deal of emphasis in imagining what these alternate worlds/realiti=
es
> > > > might look like (industrial design, costumes, architecture...) ve=
ry
> > > > little though is put into the way the music of these worlds might=

> > > > actually  s o u n d.
> >
> > I'm not sure I agree with that.  In every area you mention above (des=
ign,
> > architecture, etc.)  Sci-Fi films are unavoidably rooted in the prese=
nt and
> > draw influences from what the filmmakers perceive as "cutting-edge"
> > developments in each area.  More below...
> >
> > > >as in the case with star wars, the music is almost
> > > > always rooted in the present, or even the past (vangelis echoing =
film
> > > > noir musical clich=E9s for blade runner, substituting sax for syn=
th,
> > > > ect).
> >
> > The film noir cliches in Blade Runner are not limited to only the mus=
ic.
> > The entire production design is drawn from '40s film noir film with v=
ery
> > '80s ideas of futuristic design applied over the top.  The idea of
> > substituting the film noir saxophone with a synthesizer is not much
> > different from substituting a film noir overcoat with a plastic overc=
oat or
> > something like that.  So in each area the artists are taking what are=

> > perceived to be the latest cutting edge materials of the moment and u=
sing
> > them to signify the futuristic.  In music that material may be electr=
onic
> > sounds and in clothing it may be plastic materials, etc.  Due to the
> > commercial nature of the productions and the limited timeframes there=
 are
> > obviously no major artistic advances made but merely substitutions of=

> > surface style.
> >
> > > >there is very little attempt to imagine the way musicians might
> > > > perform or the way music might sound, say, a hundred years from n=
ow.
> >
> > I suppose the list you compile of films that do attempt diagetic musi=
c will
> > be examples of such attempts and then the question will be what influ=
ence
> > those films have had on public concsiousness vs. the sound design of =
the
> > spaceships and machinery.  So as you suggested modern music was possi=
bly
> > more influenced by say the sounds of R2D2 than the band in the cantin=
a.  Is
> > that the idea?
> >
> > Anyway, I think it's an interesting concept for a paper or whatever y=
ou're
> > working on and I just thought I'd throw out a few ideas that may or m=
ay not
> > be helpful.
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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