1 00:00:04,539 --> 00:00:06,040 So I have a question for you. 2 00:00:06,290 --> 00:00:10,029 Off the top of your head could you sing any music from Star Wars ? 3 00:00:29,010 --> 00:00:30,829 How about James Bond ? 4 00:00:40,569 --> 00:00:42,578 Harry Potter ? 5 00:00:56,948 --> 00:01:01,639 My last question : can you sing anything from a Marvel movie ? 6 00:01:04,689 --> 00:01:07,838 I'm like the biggest Marvel fan that I know and I just... 7 00:01:07,908 --> 00:01:11,138 I can't think of any of the songs. 8 00:01:16,918 --> 00:01:18,180 - No. - No... 9 00:01:19,014 --> 00:01:22,014 I should know this, but I don't. 10 00:01:22,562 --> 00:01:23,292 Shit. 11 00:01:27,626 --> 00:01:30,700 I didn't know they have, like, theme songs. 12 00:01:31,250 --> 00:01:33,130 Why is this ? 13 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,030 Because the Marvel cinematic universe is now the highest-grossing franchise in film history. 14 00:01:38,030 --> 00:01:40,628 More than Star Wars, more than James Bond, 15 00:01:40,628 --> 00:01:43,118 more than Harry Potter, 16 00:01:43,118 --> 00:01:46,118 so what is missing from their music ? 17 00:01:57,069 --> 00:02:00,909 The first problem is that most of the music doesn't evoke an emotional response. 18 00:02:00,909 --> 00:02:04,179 Take a look at this scene from the first Ironman : 19 00:02:04,779 --> 00:02:08,359 Day 11. Test 37. Configuration 2.0 20 00:02:08,359 --> 00:02:10,899 For lack of a better option Dummy is still on fire safety. 21 00:02:10,899 --> 00:02:15,299 If you douse me again and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college. 22 00:02:15,299 --> 00:02:16,919 All right, nice and easy. 23 00:02:17,169 --> 00:02:20,349 It's kind of hard to hear it. So let's try that one more time, 24 00:02:20,349 --> 00:02:23,739 But this time with just the music isolated. 25 00:02:37,274 --> 00:02:39,904 Did you have an emotional reaction to that music ? 26 00:02:40,924 --> 00:02:43,300 So what happens to the scene if we just take it out ? 27 00:02:43,930 --> 00:02:48,390 Day 11. Test 37. Configuration 2.0 28 00:02:48,390 --> 00:02:51,209 For lack of a better option Dummy is still on fire safety. 29 00:02:51,209 --> 00:02:54,439 If you douse me again and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college. 30 00:02:54,439 --> 00:02:56,500 All right, nice and easy. 31 00:02:57,060 --> 00:03:00,619 The scene works just fine and it doesn't need any other sound. 32 00:03:00,619 --> 00:03:02,619 And that's partially why you forget the music. 33 00:03:02,619 --> 00:03:07,079 it's like the air conditioner in the background, after awhile you tune it out. 34 00:03:07,729 --> 00:03:10,409 Another problem is that the music is used very predictably. 35 00:03:10,409 --> 00:03:13,159 So that what you see is what you get. 36 00:03:13,159 --> 00:03:15,899 If you see something funny you hear funny music. 37 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:32,740 If you see something sad, you hear a high note on the strings. 38 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:49,479 This is a really safe way to score a film, because all of the emotions are expected. 39 00:03:49,479 --> 00:03:52,418 The music just tells you the same thing as the picture. 40 00:03:52,418 --> 00:03:55,008 If someone looks scared, then you hear : 41 00:04:01,730 --> 00:04:04,010 And this is the second reason the music is forgettable. 42 00:04:04,010 --> 00:04:07,030 It never challenges your expectations. 43 00:04:07,340 --> 00:04:10,610 But sometimes the Marvel films do have memorable music, 44 00:04:10,610 --> 00:04:13,120 except the filmmakers don't let us listen to it. 45 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,190 Instead they cover it up with other sounds like this : 46 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,139 Denied enlistment due to poor health, 47 00:04:24,139 --> 00:04:29,590 Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare, 48 00:04:29,590 --> 00:04:36,290 one that would transform him into the world's first super soldier. 49 00:04:37,100 --> 00:04:40,929 That narrator is just telling us things we already know, 50 00:04:40,929 --> 00:04:43,589 And he distracts us from the emotion of the scene. 51 00:04:43,589 --> 00:04:46,649 So how does this moment play without that distraction ? 52 00:05:14,259 --> 00:05:16,809 Did you feel the difference ? 53 00:05:17,990 --> 00:05:21,429 Film music is incredibly subjective and it goes through trends. 54 00:05:21,429 --> 00:05:25,278 And over the last 20 years there has been a cultural shift. 55 00:05:25,278 --> 00:05:29,088 Nowadays a lot of filmmakers feel that music should not be noticed, 56 00:05:29,088 --> 00:05:32,089 That's a contemporary thing that I've heard very frequently, 57 00:05:32,089 --> 00:05:34,029 "not supposed to be noticed" 58 00:05:34,029 --> 00:05:36,949 Right but, why is it not supposed to be noticed ? 59 00:05:36,949 --> 00:05:42,138 I grew up on Alfred Hitchcock's films, Bernard Herrmann, and i noticed every note. 60 00:05:42,138 --> 00:05:46,848 And I find it a little bit baffling why that seems to be the consciousness 61 00:05:46,848 --> 00:05:49,189 of music and film. 62 00:05:49,189 --> 00:05:53,259 But there is one thing we haven't mentioned yet and it's very important. 63 00:05:53,259 --> 00:05:57,889 Today blockbuster movie scores are composed to a particular process, 64 00:05:57,889 --> 00:06:01,479 And that process starts with one controversial element : 65 00:06:02,679 --> 00:06:08,330 Danny you groaned earlier when someone mentioned temp music, the pros and cons ? 66 00:06:08,330 --> 00:06:13,038 For me temp music is the bane of my existence 67 00:06:13,038 --> 00:06:17,149 it's my job to make the director forget everything he's heard in the temp, 68 00:06:17,149 --> 00:06:20,969 I won't listen to it but once, I'll never listened to it twice, 69 00:06:20,969 --> 00:06:24,259 and if they're addicted to it it's just going to make my job harder. 70 00:06:24,259 --> 00:06:27,920 Let's back up a second : temp music is when you're editing a film, 71 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,569 and you take music from another movie and use it temporarily in your cut like this : 72 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,850 Tenp music is always supposed to be replaced by composers' original score. 73 00:07:00,850 --> 00:07:05,740 But sometimes directors or producers will tell their composer to imitate the temp. 74 00:07:35,119 --> 00:07:39,110 To our knowledge, this is the only time a studio has publicly apologized 75 00:07:39,110 --> 00:07:41,428 for imitating temp music. 76 00:07:41,428 --> 00:07:44,178 The far more pervasive effect is that now 77 00:07:44,178 --> 00:07:47,558 most blockbusters are temped with each other's scores. 78 00:07:47,558 --> 00:07:51,048 So they kind of sound like each other, but just within legal limits. 79 00:08:34,290 --> 00:08:38,120 And as the Marvel franchise has become more popular, now other films sound like 80 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,120 they were tempt with Marvel music. 81 00:09:08,029 --> 00:09:12,120 We want to emphasize : we're not blaming the composers. 82 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,790 Things don't get this way unless its systemic. 83 00:09:43,619 --> 00:09:48,000 Before temp music became popular, directors would often reference other music 84 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,450 as a way to talk to the composer. But what changed everything was 85 00:09:51,450 --> 00:09:56,020 modern nonlinear editing which allowed a director to put their favorite music 86 00:09:56,020 --> 00:09:58,290 in the movie and have the editor cut to it. 87 00:10:02,099 --> 00:10:05,810 Now, director points to the temp and says : "Make it like that". 88 00:10:05,810 --> 00:10:08,590 And it's not because the music is the right choice, 89 00:10:08,590 --> 00:10:10,619 but because they've listened to it. 90 00:10:10,619 --> 00:10:12,709 Again and again and again for hours and hours 91 00:10:12,709 --> 00:10:16,259 making a DVD that match and they go back with another idea another version the 92 00:10:16,259 --> 00:10:20,569 next day with the same music, and at some point of the music stick to the picture. 93 00:10:20,569 --> 00:10:24,179 - They can spend a year before you arrive. 94 00:10:24,179 --> 00:10:30,870 By the way when you take that music out often the cut isn't right 95 00:10:30,870 --> 00:10:34,959 because they're cutting to something that... It's very frustrating. 96 00:10:35,179 --> 00:10:38,679 Part of the frustration is that filmmakers just reuse things 97 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,538 that worked in every other movie, so you end up with the lowest common denominator. 98 00:10:42,538 --> 00:10:44,388 Remember this ? 99 00:10:47,429 --> 00:10:49,889 Let's try something different. 100 00:10:49,889 --> 00:10:53,449 So earlier in the film, Thor convinced his friends to do 101 00:10:53,449 --> 00:10:55,270 something illegal and he was banished. 102 00:10:55,590 --> 00:10:58,150 Now they're doing something illegal to find him. 103 00:10:58,780 --> 00:11:02,170 He's not asking for their help, they're giving it willingly. 104 00:11:02,170 --> 00:11:04,960 What if we heard this feeling in the music ? 105 00:11:20,979 --> 00:11:25,708 We're not saying this is the right choice here, but it's worth trying out. 106 00:11:25,708 --> 00:11:28,480 Because it makes the scene emotionally richer. 107 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,360 And all of the choices you see in Marvel films : 108 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:37,120 the background noise, hearing what you see, adding a narrator, temp music. 109 00:11:37,510 --> 00:11:42,499 All of these stem from the same desire : to keep things safe. 110 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:49,149 This is not bad music, it's just bland and inoffensive. 111 00:11:49,149 --> 00:11:53,170 And because Marvel sacrifices emotional richness for these safe choices, 112 00:11:53,198 --> 00:11:55,788 the end result is this : 113 00:12:03,389 --> 00:12:08,610 Oh... Marvel ? Na - oh... 114 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:14,550 So what is missing from Marvel music ? Risk. 115 00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:18,699 The kind of risk that creates an emotional connection with the audience. 116 00:12:18,698 --> 00:12:24,670 So that they carry the music with them. People do not remember safe choices. 117 00:12:24,670 --> 00:12:28,120 Only bold original music, and do this : 118 00:12:32,490 --> 00:12:37,289 But that being said, we did find one Marvel theme that still got this reaction : 119 00:12:41,059 --> 00:12:45,129 Spiderman ! Spiderman ! Friendly neighborhood Spiderman ! 120 00:12:45,129 --> 00:12:52,800 Spins web any size, catch thieves, just like flies. Look out ! Here comes Spider-man! 121 00:12:53,850 --> 00:12:57,850 Is he strong? Listen bud, he's got radioactive blood. 122 00:12:57,850 --> 00:13:01,289 Can he swing from a thread Take a look overhead. 123 00:13:01,289 --> 00:13:04,250 Hey there There goes the Spiderman. 124 00:13:05,170 --> 00:13:08,930 In the chill of night At the scene of a crime 125 00:13:08,930 --> 00:13:14,210 Like a streak of light He arrives just in time. 126 00:13:14,210 --> 00:13:21,729 Spiderman, Spiderman, Friendly neighborhood Spiderman, Wealth and fame, He's ignored, Action is his reward. 127 00:13:21,819 --> 00:13:29,429 To him, life is a great big bang up. Wherever there's a hang up, You'll find the Spider man. 128 00:13:29,429 --> 00:13:33,810 -That was incredible ! Thank you so much !