Music in Motion

Possible Resources for VAKTs:

Coloring page from a cartoon
A rock song that is good for air guitar

Have you ever noticed the role music plays in movies? Music helps to tell the story and has been used since the first” SILENT movies.” This was a time when the actors’ voices could not be heard, but they relied on the music to tell the story. Music creates an ATMOSPHERE (the tone or mood of a place) for the movie and establishes the SETTING(the type of surroundings where something takes place). Music can give meaning to a character’s actions or help us know what they are thinking; it can also create EMOTION in the viewer. The right music can add an extra DIMENSION, bringing together a series of images and inspiring an AUDIENCE to become absorbed in the story. Music can turn a good movie into a great one.

Spell: CHARACTER Spell: INSPIRE Spell: DIMENSION

The text mentions the first type of movies; what were they called? SILENT

What does the text say that was relied on in the silent movies to tell the story? MUSIC

What word is used in the text that means the tone or mood of a place? ATMOSPHERE

The text mentions two different aspects in a movie that music helps create; name one. ATMOSPHERE/SETTING

The text tells us two ways in which music in movies affects the viewer or audience; name one. CREATES EMOTION/BECOMES ABSORBED IN THE STORY

VAKT: Trace your finger along the movie strip in the first picture

During the silent ERA(a distinct period of history), music accompanied movies by a PHONOGRAPH (an early machine that used cylinders to record as well as reproduce sound) or was performed live by MUSICIANS. The first EXHIBITION (public display of something of interest) of projected films with sound took place in Paris in 1900. It was not until 1929, however, that the ability to SYNCHRONIZE(occurring at the same time or rate) the sound and music to pictures became commercially practical. Music is still an INTEGRAL (necessary or essential) part of the storytelling process.

Spell: CYLINDER Spell: MUSICIANS Spell: COMMERCIAL

What machine is mentioned in the text that was used in the early movies? PHONOGRAPH

What word is used in the text that means a public display of something of interest? EXHIBITION

The text mentions that the cylinders of the phonograph do two things with sound, name one. RECORD/REPRODUCE

Two things were synchronized to pictures to make a movie; name one. SOUND/MUSIC

What year did the first exhibition take place in Paris? 1900

How many years did it take before it became commercially practical to put the sounds and music in movies? Option, write the whole equation. 1929-1900= 29 years

What is another name for a phonograph? RECORD PLAYER

VAKT: Movement break, stand up and spin around like a record player

And/Or VAKT: Play a rock song and practice your air guitar!

Sometimes movies are referred to as a FILM (also known as a motion picture or moving picture). A film SCORE is an original music that is written to accompany a film. One or more COMPOSERS (a musician who is the author of the music) write the music under the guidance of the film’s DIRECTOR who is the person who guides the technical crew and actors to fulfill his vision for a screenplay and controls the artistic and dramatic aspects to create it. The PRODUCER is the person who oversees the film production and arranges the financing. Today the SOUNDTRACK albums, which are commercial songs from a movie, are very popular and are sometimes viewed as the best part of movies.

Spell: SCREENPLAY Spell: ARTISTIC Spell: PRODUCTION

Does the text mention that a musician who is an author of their own music is called a _________? COMPOSER

What does the text say that is sometimes viewed as the best part of movies? SOUNDTRACK ALBUM

The text mentions two other professions that are involved in making the movie, who guide and oversee the whole production, name one. DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

The director is mentioned to guide two groups of people, name one. TECHNICAL CREW/ACTORS

In your opinion, which would be the best position to have in making a movie?

WALT DISNEY said, “There’s a terrific power to music. You can run any one of these pictures, and they would be dragging and boring, but the minute you put music behind them, they have life and vitality they wouldn’t have any other way.” STEAMBOAT WILLIE (later known as MICKEY MOUSE) was the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound and became the most popular cartoon of its day. Walt’s PHILOSOPHY(which literally means the love of wisdom) for Disney music is to “Set a new pattern, a new way to use music. To weave it into the story so someone doesn’t just burst into song.” In Snow White and the Seven DWARFS, 25 songs were written, but only eight were featured in the movie. The movie was a big hit, and so was the music.

Spell: VITALITY Spell: SYNCHRONIZE Spell: FEATURE

What does philosophy literally mean? THE LOVE OF WISDOM

What was Mickey Mouse first called? STEAMBOAT WILLIE

The text mentions that the character in Walt Disney’s first cartoon with synchronized sound is known by two names, name one. STEAMBOAT WILLIE/ MICKEY MOUSE

What are your thoughts about the quote mentioned in the text by Walt Disney?

Name another Disney movie.

How many of the songs written for Snow White and the seven dwarfs did not make it into the movie? Option, write the full equation. 25-8=17

VAKT: Watch Steamboat Wille

Short version 53 sec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iep9EJ9H1aU

Longer 2:45 sec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxf-UHuGobI

And/Or Draw/color a cartoon character/Dot to dot of Mickey.

In 1979, composer JOHN WILLIAMS won 2 GRAMMY awards for his soundtrack to the movie Close ENCOUNTERS of a Third Kind. This spectacular SCI-FI features an alien race that communicates with earthlings through music. He had to compose around 350 five-note phrases before he and the director STEVEN SPIELBERG settled on the famous one that is heard in the soundtrack. The soundtrack album was a commercial success and had a total running time of 41 minutes.

Spell: ENCOUNTER Spell: SPECTACULAR Spell: COMMUNICATE

What type of award is mentioned in the text? GRAMMY

What type of movie is Close Encounters of a third kind? SCI-FI

Who is the director of the movie we are talking about? STEVEN SPIELBERG

The composer and director of the movie are mentioned in the text; name one of them. JOHN WILLIAMS/STEVEN SPIELBERG

In the movie, the text tells us two races that communicate through music; name one. ALIENS/EARTHLINGS

Name another Sci-fi movie or TV show.

How many five-note phrases did John Williams compose before he and Spielberg settled on one? 350

How long was the first soundtrack album for this movie? 41 MINUTES

What are your thoughts on aliens communicating through music?

VAKT: Listen to the five notes composed by John Williams for the Alien language

The number one best-selling soundtrack is from the movie “THE BODYGUARD,” which was made in 1992. The film stars WHITNEY HOUSTON and KEVIN COSTNER and holds the title of greatest-selling soundtrack album of all time. It sold 17 million copies in the US and 42 million copies worldwide; it is also rated as the fifth-best album of all time. Whitney Houston’s ICONIC(influential and revered) version of the song “I Will Always Love You” is featured on the soundtrack but was originally written and sung by DOLLY PARTON. Today STREAMING(a method of transmitting data over a computer network) has become a popular way to listen to a soundtrack to a movie. The next time that you are watching a movie pay attention to the music and the sounds in the background; imagine what the movie would be like without it.

Spell: WORLDWIDE Spell: ICONIC Spell: POPULAR

What movie is the number one best-selling soundtrack from? THE BODYGUARD

The text mentions that “I Will Always Love You” was originally written and sung by _______? DOLLY PARTON

Who is the male star in The Bodyguard? KEVIN COSTNER

The text mentions the two stars that are in the movie; name one. WHITNEY HOUSTON/ KEVIN COSTNER

The text tells us two words that describe the word iconic, name one. INFLUENTIAL/REVERED

What year did the text say the movie “The BodyGuard” was made? 1992

VAKT: Watch the Official music video for “I Will Always Love You” By Whitney Houston(4:34)

And/Or

Vakt: Listen to Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You” (2:57)

Creative Writing:

Write a scene from a movie, and name what song you feel would go with it.
In a poem or in a paragraph, write your thoughts about music and/or how different styles affect you.

Which of the two versions of “I Will Always Love You” that are linked above do you think is better and why?

Extension Activity:

VAKT: Watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind with your family; there was a 40th-anniversary release in 2017.