When Daniel Mason travelled to Southeast Asia to study malaria, as a young medical student, not one dreamed that when he returned, he would bring with him the beautifully written novel that is The Piano Tuner. As a person reads, he or she can feel the heat of the Burmese sun and see the Salween River flowing by their feet. Unfortunately, readers do not have the opportunity to truly see these things in the context that Mason wished, as a film adaptation of The Piano Tuner has not yet been completed. Admirers of this work often wonder what will happen when the film is finally completed by director Werner Herzog. In the meantime, admirers of this story imagine what creative decisions they would make if they were directing the film. I personally will be exploring the possibilities of sound, costume, and camera views and how they could be applied to The Piano Tuner.
From the very beginning of the novel, the item that draws confusion and ridicule from the War Office is an 1840 Erard grand piano (Mason 7). This establishes without a doubt that music and sound will be vital to the themes of the story. When creating the film adaptation of the book, the main music throughout will be the piano. During the opening credits, a fugue will begin, with a single phrase of music established as the main theme of the entire film. This piece will be continued throughout the entire film, with other instruments added at times to correctly portray the mood of the scene.
When Edgar’s journey begins in England, the melody established during the opening credits will be the main song. The piece will be very structured, showing the rigidity and seriousness of the people of England and their ideals. Ambient sound will be used frequently while Edga...
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... and gradually bringing the treetops of the jungle into view. The camera will focus and begin to move in on the moon over the trees, as a voice-off begins, speaking the words of Edgar’s letter to Katherine, with the piano music fading away into the night.
The novel The Piano Tuner has such great potential when considering the ways that it may be adapted into the movie. The person chosen to direct such an adaptation has a great responsibility; they must make sure that the message and beauty contained in the novel are reflected on the screen. The areas of sound, character appearance, and camera views are all extremely important parts of creating a successful film, and hopefully Werner Herzog will take particular care with these areas as he creates his masterpiece.
Works Cited
Mason, Daniel. The Piano Tuner. 1st ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. Print.
To fully understand the relationship between a filmmaker and a composer, it is helpful to take a closer look at the filmmaker’s position towards music in film in general; these can of course differ substantially from one director to another. It seems, one must think, that the complete narrative and emotive potential of film music is not yet fully recognized and appreciated in many film produc...
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The piano plays the main themes, and it was absent from playing before. The piano plays two octaves in the treble register. There is a viola in the background playing a counter melody, which slows towards
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After listening to all four movements of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, I have suddenly been awakened to the tremendous influence that the Classical Form of music has had on modern day works, especially in the area of the film industry which it is used to create drama, tension, and joy. History owes a debt of gratitude to composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, who build upon the legacy of pioneers such as Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to create his own unique blend of symphonic compositions which will be revered throughout generations because of their continued appeal to the
For this essay I will be looking at the work of Hans Zimmer to discuss how music in film engages the viewer and evokes emotion and pulls the viewer toward the film. Hans Zimmer is a German born music composer. Hans Zimmer’s love of music stems from his childhood when he learned how to play various instruments. Before Zimmer began composing music for films he was in a well-known band. The band was called The Buggles whom were famous for their song Video Killed the Radio Star. After the Buggles Zimmer played in other bands but never had another hit. As Zimmer has progressed as a film composer so has his list of nominations and awards. Zimmer has won 4 Grammy Awards and 2 Golden Globes and many more for his outstanding film scores. The reason I chose to write this essay on Zimmer was that his genres and music score are extremely versatile ranging from animations to comedy to dark thrillers. This is important to highlight as it shows Zimmer can create almost any atmosphere with his music whether it be sad or creating tension that all cause us to engage with the film. Zimmer's use of themes and introduction of different instruments allowed him to create these wonderful engaging film score. In this essay I will look at three films by Hans Zimmer these are The Holiday Rush and Rain Man.
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However, the book’s portrayal is more brief and impersonal and focuses more on Mozart’s music than his life. The portrayals of Mozart’s life provided by the movie Amadeus and The Enjoyment of Music are similar in their
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As the camera zoom smoothly creeps in from the establishing wide we are exposed to a changing palette of noises from the surrounding environme...
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