so I have a question for you off the top
of your head could you sing any music
from Star Wars
[Music]
how about James Bond Harry Potter
don't that I've done done done
[Music]
my last question can you sing anything
from a Marvel movie I'm like the biggest
Marvel fan that I know of I just I can't
think of any of the songs I should know
this but I don't 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 point Oh for lack of a
better option dummy is still on fire
safety
if you doused 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 to point O for
lack of a better option dummy is still
on fire safety
if you doused 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 a
while 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
[Music]
if you see something sad you hear a high
note on the strings
[Music]
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
[Music]
did you feel the difference
film music is incredibly subjective and
it goes through trends and over the last
20 years 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 it's not supposed
to be noticed right but why is it not
supposed to be noticed um I grew up on
Alfred Hitchcock's films Bernard
Herrmann and I noticed every note but 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 through a particular
process and that process starts with one
controversial element Danny you 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
listen to it twice and if they're
addicted to it it's just gonna 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
[Music]
temp music is always supposed to be
replaced by a composers original score
but sometimes directors or producers
will tell their composer to imitate the
temp
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
to our knowledge this is the only time a
studio has publicly apologized for
imitating temp music but the far more
pervasive effect is that now most
blockbusters are tempt with each other
scores so they kind of sound like each
other but just within legal limits
[Music]
and as the Marvel franchise has become
more popular now other films sound like
they were tempt with Marvel music
[Music]
we want to emphasize we're not blaming
the composer's things don't get this way
unless it's systemic
[Music]
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 the 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 and make a DVD that
what I don't want to go back and then
and I do another version the next day
with the same music and at some point in
the music stick to the picture a year
with it before you arrive when you tape
by the way when you take that music out
often the cut isn't right because
they're cutting to something but 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
[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
no Marvel no oh I 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 can do this
but that being said we did find one
Marvel theme that still got this
reaction spider-man spider-man friendly
neighborhood spider-man spins a web any
size catches thieves just like flies
look out here comes spider-man strong
listen bud he's got radioactive blood
can he swing on a web check the luck
overhead hey there
there goes spider-man he arrives just in
time
spider-man spider-man friendly
neighborhood spider-man welcome friends
he's ignored action is his reward to him
life is a great big hang-up wherever
there's a bang up you'll find the
spider-man
that was incredible thank you so much