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Date Posted: 02:57:22 10/11/05 Tue
Author: Celebaelin
Subject: Re: I liked the silent moments (SPOILERS)
In reply to: Meritaten 's message, "I liked the silent moments (SPOILERS)" on 20:28:10 10/10/05 Mon

Yeah, sure the conspicuous lack of noise did bring your attention to the screen even if only because of the novelty of it but I wonder if the almost subliminal quality of film music isn't being commented on. The fight scene in the bar when River gets triggered we later "find out" is the result of a subliminal message behind the music and images on the screen.

Is there something behind all this along the lines of a statement through the loud SFX and lack of music that film is film and music is music and both require your undivided attention as independent media? It seems to me that this is so, as regards the suggestion at least. Whether you consider that the experience of both media can be improved by being complemented by the other is a personal one.

Many people object to music videos as being essentially a three minute advert for an album comprised (generally) of a very limited vocabulary of visual images. The 'live' (Bronze) footage of bands is nothing new to Joss but abandoning music altogether in the same way that some musicians refuse to shoot videos is really rather shocking. Certain influential musical approaches first reached the larger public through film, take Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho for example (see Howard Goodalls site http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/0-9/20thcenturygreats/herrmann1.html#serialism) and I question the wisdom of wrenching film and music apart completely, or nearly completely, as Joss has done.

As a matter of fact prior to seeing Serenity I was saying to friends that it was unusual for me to comment on music from a film that wasn't specifically about music (The Blues Brothers, Spinal Tap[!], The Commitments, the Steve Vai and Ry Cooder Crossroads movie etc) and then I find that the (by me) much anticipated tuneage doesn't appear in the film!

Relax, calm down, it's not the end of the world. Its absence is at least significant, but is it a positive contribution to the film? An interesting oddity? Or, the real test, something that you would want to be repeated in any further excursions?

Personnaly, as you can probably tell, I can do without videos to accompany my music. I've been known to enjoy Windows Media Visualisations even though they too are limited as they're not obvious marketing per se, not telling me who I ought to be to listen to a particular form of music. What I find I'm less enthusiastic about after viewing Serenity is being presented with film without music, even if I don't care for the music in question in isolation it makes a contribution to my participation in, and therefore enjoyment of, the film.

Don't shoot the piano player, he's doing his best!

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