Re: [microsound] Re: soundalikes

[ndkent <ndkent@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> This reminds me of something I read about Stanley Kubrick playing
> classical
> music when making 2001, and deciding to leave it in the finished film
> rather than
> have a new score composed.

Oh, this is just a semi legendary example of  well known phenomena in 
the film business. It's often called something like "temp score 
infatuation".

While there are exceptions to the standard working method, the normal 
procedure is someone, maybe be the music editor, lays down music tracks 
from albums trying to get a feel for the original music that will 
eventually be composed and placed over those parts of the film. There 
are numerous advantages doing this. One is convey some of the qualities 
of the music needed by example because it really is fairly hard for 
most individuals to verbally describe the music desired.   Another key 
reason isn't so apparent to the layman. It's another known phenomena 
that without music typical movies seem longer and potentially more slow 
and boring. It's worthwhile insurance against some studio exec seeing 
the unfinished film, find it slow or uncommercial and order changes 
before the director presents their final vision.

So the phenomena occurs when the composed music comes in and is synced 
up and the director is has formed such an attachment to all or part of 
the temp score that they want it back.

Actually 2001 had a commissioned score by Alex North who had worked on 
prior Kubrick projects. It was decided that North first compose for the 
first third or so of the film, presumably so he could get further 
feedback from Kubrick. I guess Kubrick did not want to hear piano 
sketches though some directors and composers worked that way then and 
with synths and samplers even on an eventual all orchestral score these 
days. One presumes Kubrick might have pondered the idea of just 
licensing the temp tracks he personally chose from his album 
collection. So hearing the first part of original score in place gave 
him a confirmation of sorts that he tried an original score and chose 
the classical recordings. The original Alex North recordings were never 
released but decades later Elmer Bernstein re-recorded the completed 
parts of the score for CD.

A similar situation occurred on Kubrick's "The Shining" with the the 
difference that Kubrick retained the original opening title (actually 
an arrangement of a traditional religious theme based on an arrangement 
of the same by Berlioz) and and one cue from a lengthy Wendy Carlos 
score.

Similar situations are by no means isolated to Kubrick and to clarify, 
it's not "temp score infatuation" if the director decided on using an 
existing piece of music from the start, it's just a situation when a 
composer tries to satisfy and can't capture that je ne sais quoi 
compared to the temporary track.

nicholas d. kent
http://www.artskool.biz/jem/ndkent/


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