Film Scoring/Theory of Film Scoring/Spy Story:Pop Quiz

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The short movie called The Spy Story

 * A wonderful student film
 * The Spy Story is a student film created at the Community College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas which is a wonderful opportunity for a narrative film score.


 * This script was written by the instructor, John Marsh. The script is used by students who prefer not to write their own script.


 * As you can see, this is simple yet a really fun story! But it needs a musical score.


 * Take this pop quiz
 * For this pop quiz, watch a fun movie called "The Spy Story" which is surprisingly similar to George Lucas In Love in terms of music. This movie needs the same kind of music as George Lucas In Love.


 * Then answer the questions to the right. Use your imagination.


 * Easy and fun!

Click HERE to download this movie from YouTube.


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Step 1 - "Who are those guys?"

 * Explain who these people are.
 * Your first step is to decide who are the characters in the movie. And what is the story all about?


 * Little of this is explained in the dialog. The actions do not clearly tell you who is good and who is evil.


 * You have to decide! Who are the "good guys" and who are the "bad guys"?


 * Note: Only the music can explain who these people are and what they are feeling. So before you begin writing a musical score for any movie, you must decide what the story is all about and who are these people.




 * The lady spy
 * Who is this person? (i.e., Is she good or bad?  Is she worried or calm?)


 * @undefined. [[Image:Crystal Clear app xfmail.png|48px]] (2 point)


 * The man spy
 * Who is this person? (i.e., Is he good or bad?  Is he worried or calm?)


 * @undefined. [[Image:Crystal Clear app xfmail.png|48px]] (2 point)




 * The woman with the newspaper
 * Who is this person? (i.e., Is she good or bad?  Is she German or French?  Is she serious or comical?)


 * @undefined. [[Image:Crystal Clear app xfmail.png|48px]] (2 point)




 * The woman with the umbrella
 * Who is this person? (i.e., Is she good or bad?  Is she German or French?)
 * @undefined. [[Image:Crystal Clear app xfmail.png|48px]] (2 point)

As the film's composer, you get to decide. Your music defines the movie.
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Your music is important
Now do you see why your music is important. Nothing else will tells the audience who these people are. Only your music can explain to the audience what the story is all about.


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You are the storyteller

 * Now do you see how narrative music can tell a story?


 * As the film's composer, it is you, not the director, who tells the story. You are in complete control.


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Step 2 - "What music is needed?"
If you were to create a film score for The Spy Story, these are the different kinds of music which is needed.


 * Here is the music that is needed for The Spy Story
 * Traveling Music
 * Just like with George Lucas In Love, the traveling music sets the tone of the movie and tells the audience that this is a fun (or a scary, or a farcical) movie.


 * The Characters
 * You defined the characters in the pop quiz above. Once you know who these characters are, you must give each of them a theme just like Arron has a theme in George Lucas In Love.


 * Silence
 * Emphasize the Dialog with silence. When the dialog starts, you can turn off all music.  In fact, the music can crescendo just before the dialog begins to draw the audiences attention to the dialog.


 * Passing the Note
 * What is in the note? Good news or bad news?


 * Fumbling with his pocket
 * Why does he fumble? Is this important?


 * The Exit
 * Should the audience be happy or worried?


 * The Chase
 * Is something bad going to happen?


 * The Attack
 * Did the attack save the day or begin a downward spiral of evil events?


 * You get to decide! What fun!!!


 * Do you see how your music defines everything?


 * The script and the images do not tell the whole story. Only your music can explain what is happening.

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The next page

 * Go to the next lesson and begin to create music.
 * Create moods using the natural sounds of the instruments of the symphony orchestra [[Image:Crystal Clear action forward.png|24px]]


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