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