Behind the Music: Epic Film Scores

Day: Tuesdays

Dates: September 10 – October 15, 2024

Time: 10:00am-12:00pm

Location: Carleton University

Price: $150+HST

Parking Info & Room Number will be sent by email 1-2 days prior to the lecture date

**This series is not recorded**

Overview

The music that supports the story in a film has tremendous power to enhance and even determine the emotion and impact of a scene. How is film music created and why does it work the way it does? How has film music evolved over time? Join Ottawa composer and film music lover Jack Hui Litster on a deep dive into the award-winning music that has brought to life five of the most iconic epic films in Hollywood history.

Topics

Week 1:  Understanding Film Music – Overview and context for understanding how music is used in film. Exploring the composer and director’s process for creating the music for a film, and introducing concepts including melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, motifs, and musical themes.

Week 2: The music of Ben-Hur – Case study exploring motifs and harmonies used by Hungarian-American composer Miklós Rózsa in his score for the 1959 religious epic film Ben-Hur (directed by William Wyler).

Week 3: – The music of Star Wars – Case study exploring orchestration and scene-by-scene analysis for John Williams’ 1977 score for the science-fiction space film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (directed by George Lucas).

Week 4: The music of Malcolm X– Case study exploring genre and scene-by-scene analysis for Terence Blanchard’s 1992 score for the biopic film Malcolm X (directed by Spike Lee).

Week 5: The music of Titanic –  Case study contrasting cues for romance and action scenes, plus the use of diegetic music, in James Horner’s 1997 score for the disaster/romance film Titanic (directed by James Cameron).

Week 6: The music of Dune –  Case study exploring tone, synthesizers and exoHcism in Hans Zimmer’s 2021 score for the science ficHon film Dune: Part One (directed by Denis Villeneuve).

About the Lecturer

Jack Hui Litster is a music performer, composer, record producer and music educator. He has composed and recorded dozens of songs in music genres including jazz, folk, opera, orchestral, funk, and electronic. Jack is active as a composer in Ottawa, composing, recording and performing for opera companies, dance companies, choirs, films and podcasts. In Carleton’s music department, Jack teaches courses on popular music and film music. Jack’s debut solo album Shining Suns was released in 2022 and is available on Spotify. Hear more at www.jackhuilitster.com