source file: m1379.txt
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 19:31 +0100 (BST)

Subject: RE: Films with non-12 soundtracks

From: gbreed@cix.compulink.co.uk (Graham Breed)

The fact that so few examples have been given of mictrotonal soundtracks
proves my point that they are very rare, at least for Anglophone films.
In desperation, someone even mentioned a TV programme.  Well, two can play
at that game.  Listen to the very start of the Teletubbies theme -- and
before long most of the world will be able to.  There's loads of pitch
bending going on.  Not systematically mictrotonal, and it doesn't last for
long, but a pretty good start.  Get 'em young and all.  I think it's this
that was a no.1 single in the UK as well.

I'm sure the incidental music in The Story of Qui Ju is non-12, because
some of the tunings I try remind me of it.  Also, the most successful
foreign language film in Britain (Farewell My Concubine) must have non-12
music in it.  I mean, all that opera?

All of which proves nothing, of course.  My point about the conservatism
of producers is that they will use composers who have already proved
themselves at writing film music.  Those composers may get away with a bit
of microtonality, but the director will hardly demand it.  As schedules
are pretty tight, tuning is one of the things that will usually be
ignored.   Although a movie budget could easily stretch to the kind of
musicians who can play mictrotonally, I don't expect the producer will
sanction the money to be spent.  It's even less likely that the film's
release will be postponed to fit in all the extra rehearsals.  So, we're
stuck with synthesised music.

It is significant that a lot of the (possible) non-12 music under
discussion _wasn't_ recorded for the films it ended up in.


The Genesis sequence from that Star Trek film is also famous for being the
first popular use of fractal graphics.  To be honest, I haven't seen the
film since I knew that.

Now here's a thing...  In the Piano, when Ada tries out the piano to
confirm that it's been tuned, she hits a chord and it really rings out.
Too well, I reckon, to be equally tempered.  So, can anyone with better
ears than me say exactly how that chord's tuned?  To be authentic, it
should be some kind of well temperament.  But anyone who thinks a
broadwood piano would sink in water obviously wouldn't know that.


Turning to the world's largest movie industry.  I've seen a few of these
films. and I'm sure the playback singers have good enough intonation not
to sing in 12-equal.  Although the songs are all written at keyboards of
some kind.  On Bollywood Roundup one of the composers was singing a song
to an auto accompaniment.  I didn't sound that good, but I could tell it
would be when it was recorded properly.  There is a trend at the moment,
though, to use synths in the final mix.  So, everything has to fit in with
them.  This may be why I don't like that particular sub-genre of music.
Now, if A R Rahman were to take up the cause of microtuning, we'd be in
business.


It isn't that expensive to put out a CD.  CD-R drives are now less than
$1000.  People with well payed jobs can easily subsidise a print run of
1000.  Films are a different matter.  Unless you want to compromise with
VHS or Super8.  In which case, very few people will watch it, however
imaginative it is.  It's no good saying movies would be an ideal vehicle
for alternative tunings if there's no way of getting the music onto them.

Actually, this is something I'm interested in.  I may work my way up from
the bottom, but I've got other things to do at the moment.


                             Graham

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