|
1. Should
film music be Heard ?
In general
it is better if the music doesn't draw away or diverts from the
drama the attention of the audience.
According to David Raksin ( Laura ): ' The purpose
of film music is not to be noticed for itself. Its great usefulness
is the way in which it performs its role without an intervening
conscious act of perception. It is most telling when the the music
registers upon us in a quiet way, where we don't know it's actually
happening'. #
On the contrary, some directors just do the opposite and use music
in a way that arguably becomes the most important element of certain
scenes. Stanley Kubrick is one of the best example in films like
2001, Clockwork Orange or Barry Lindon where at times the music
nearly overpowers the pictures.
# quoted by George
Burt in ' The Art of Film Musi c' |
2.
Library Music or original music? 
Ready made music found on library CDs possesses two qualities:
- speed:
if you are lucky enough to to find something vaguely suitable, it
is very easy to simply dub something straight from a CD.
- Copyrights problems :
These are usually sorted out by the music publisher, but it is a
good idea to always check first. Better safe than sorry!
But:
- The quality of the music ranges from the average, in most cases,
to truly awful.
- It is next to impossible to find several good or even suitable
tracks within a definite style. So, it may be difficult to put together
a coherent soundtrack. In the end library pieces may be only suitable
for very short projects.
- Good library tracks (some are known to exist) have been used over
and over in very different contexts - that's the job of the music
publishers - . You run the risk of hearing the piece you chose for
the climax of your film in a burger advert!
- The music is not tailored for a particular film and this certainly
lowers the overall quality of any film, whatever the subject matter.
- Some music libraries make pay repeat fees for further use of their
tracks, so
It could turn out to be far more expensive than you envisaged
|
