0:00:04.539,0:00:06.040
So I have a question for you.
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Off the top of your head could [br]you sing any music from Star Wars ?
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How about James Bond ?
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Harry Potter ?
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My last question : can you sing [br]anything from a Marvel movie ?
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I'm like the biggest Marvel fan [br]that I know and I just...
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I can't think of any of the songs.
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- No.[br]- No...
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I should know this, but I don't.
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Shit.[br]
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I didn't know they have, like, theme songs.
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Why is this ?
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Because the Marvel cinematic universe is now the[br]highest-grossing franchise in film history.
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More than Star Wars, [br]more than James Bond,
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more than Harry Potter,
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so what is missing from their music ?
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The first problem is that most of the music [br]doesn't evoke an emotional response.
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Take a look at this scene from[br]the first Ironman :
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Day 11. Test 37. Configuration 2.0
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For lack of a better option[br]Dummy is still on fire safety.
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If you douse me again and I'm not on fire,[br]I'm donating you to a city college.
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All right, nice and easy.
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It's kind of hard to hear it. [br]So let's try that one more time,
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But this time with just the music isolated.
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Did you have an emotional [br]reaction to that music ?
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So what happens to the scene [br]if we just take it out ?
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Day 11. Test 37. Configuration 2.0
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For lack of a better option[br]Dummy is still on fire safety.
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If you douse me again and I'm not on fire,[br]I'm donating you to a city college.
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All right, nice and easy.
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The scene works just fine [br]and it doesn't need any other sound.
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And that's partially why you forget the music.
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it's like the air conditioner in the [br]background, after awhile you tune it out.
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Another problem is that the music is[br]used very predictably.
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So that what you see is what you get.
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If you see something funny [br]you hear funny music.
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If you see something sad, [br]you hear a high note on the strings.
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This is a really safe way to score a film,[br]because all of the emotions are expected.
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The music just tells you the same thing[br]as the picture.
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If someone looks scared, then you hear :
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And this is the second reason [br]the music is forgettable.
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It never challenges your expectations.
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But sometimes the Marvel films [br]do have memorable music,
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except the filmmakers don't let [br]us listen to it.[br]
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Instead they cover it up with other [br]sounds like this :
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Denied enlistment due[br]to poor health,
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Steven Rogers was chosen for a program[br]unique in the annals of American warfare,
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one that would transform him into the[br]world's first super soldier.
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That narrator is just telling us things [br]we already know,
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And he distracts us from [br]the emotion of the scene.
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So how does this moment play [br]without that distraction ?
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Did you feel the difference ?
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Film music is incredibly subjective [br]and it goes through trends.
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And over the last 20 years [br]there has been a cultural shift.
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Nowadays a lot of filmmakers feel that [br]music should not be noticed,
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That's a contemporary thing that I've[br]heard very frequently,
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"not supposed to be noticed"
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Right but, why is it not supposed [br]to be noticed ?
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I grew up on Alfred Hitchcock's films,[br]Bernard Herrmann, and i noticed every note.
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And I find it a little bit baffling[br]why that seems to be the consciousness
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of music and film.
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But there is one thing we haven't [br]mentioned yet and it's very important.
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Today blockbuster movie scores[br]are composed to a particular process,
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And that process starts with one[br]controversial element :
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Danny you groaned earlier when someone mentioned[br]temp music, the pros and cons ?
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For me temp music is the bane[br]of my existence
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it's my job to make the director forget[br]everything he's heard in the temp,
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I won't listen to it but once, [br]I'll never listened to it twice,
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and if they're addicted to it it's just [br]going to make my job harder.
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Let's back up a second : temp music is[br]when you're editing a film,
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and you take music from another movie[br]and use it temporarily in your cut like this :
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Tenp music is always supposed to be[br]replaced by composers' original score.
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But sometimes directors or producers will[br]tell their composer to imitate the temp.
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To our knowledge, this is the only time a[br]studio has publicly apologized
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for imitating temp music.
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The far more pervasive effect [br]is that now
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most blockbusters are temped with [br]each other's scores.
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So they kind of sound like each other, [br]but just within legal limits.
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And as the Marvel franchise has become[br]more popular, now other films sound like
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they were tempt with Marvel music.
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We want to emphasize : we're not [br]blaming the composers.
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Things don't get this way [br]unless its systemic.
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Before temp music became popular, [br]directors would often reference other music
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as a way to talk to the composer.[br]But what changed everything was
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modern nonlinear editing which allowed[br]a director to put their favorite music
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in the movie and have the editor cut to it.
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Now, director points to the temp and says :[br]"Make it like that".
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And it's not because the music [br]is the right choice,
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but because they've listened to it.
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Again and again and again [br]for hours and hours
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making a DVD that match and they [br]go back with another idea another version the
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next day with the same music, and at some[br]point of the music stick to the picture.
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- They can spend a year before you arrive.
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By the way when you take that music[br]out often the cut isn't right
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because they're cutting to something that...[br]It's very frustrating.
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Part of the frustration is that [br]filmmakers just reuse things
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that worked in every other movie,[br]so you end up with the lowest common denominator.
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Remember this ?
0:10:47.429,0:10:49.889
Let's try something different.
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So earlier in the film,[br]Thor convinced his friends to do
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something illegal and he was banished.
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Now they're doing something illegal[br]to find him.
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He's not asking for their help,[br]they're giving it willingly.
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What if we heard this feeling in the music ?
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We're not saying this is the right choice [br]here, but it's worth trying out.
0:11:25.708,0:11:28.480
Because it makes the scene emotionally richer.
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And all of the choices you see in Marvel films :
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the background noise, hearing what[br]you see, adding a narrator, temp music.
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All of these stem from the same desire : [br]to keep things safe.
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This is not bad music, it's just bland[br]and inoffensive.
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And because Marvel sacrifices emotional [br]richness for these safe choices,
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the end result is this :
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Oh... Marvel ?[br]Na - oh...
0:12:10.320,0:12:14.550
So what is missing from Marvel music ?[br]Risk.
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The kind of risk that creates an[br]emotional connection with the audience.
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So that they carry the music with them.[br]People do not remember safe choices.
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Only bold original music, and do this :
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But that being said, we did find one[br]Marvel theme that still got this reaction :
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Spiderman ! Spiderman ! Friendly[br]neighborhood Spiderman !
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Spins web any size, catch thieves, just like flies. [br]Look out ! Here comes Spider-man!
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Is he strong? [br]Listen bud, he's got radioactive blood.
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Can he swing from a thread [br]Take a look overhead.
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Hey there [br]There goes the Spiderman.
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In the chill of night [br]At the scene of a crime
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Like a streak of light [br]He arrives just in time.
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Spiderman, Spiderman, Friendly neighborhood Spiderman,[br]Wealth and fame, He's ignored, Action is his reward.
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To him, life is a great big bang up.[br]Wherever there's a hang up, You'll find the Spider man.
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-That was incredible ! Thank you so much !