Week 4- 12/15-12/19

Lorde's Curated 'Hunger Games' Soundtrack Isn't Really a Soundtrack

Loring, A. (2014, December 8). Lorde's Curated 'Hunger Games' Soundtrack Isn't Really a Soundtrack. Retrieved December 17, 2014, from http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/movie-soundtracks-with-no-movie-music-lorde.php

Quotes:
"The word soundtrack is defined as the “sound recorded on a motion-picture film” or, more specifically, “the narrow band on one or both sides of a motion-picture film on which sound is recorded.”"

"Having one of the film’s main characters sing a song will certainly help get it attention, but more importantly, when music is allowed to play an active role in a film’s narrative, an emotional connection between the film and the music is created, instead of keeping the two apart as separate entities."

"But isn’t a soundtrack full of songs that have no real connection to the film itself (other than some lyrics that may reference certain plot points) really just a bonus feature like behind the scenes footage or commentary?"

Summary:
Lorde was the sole curator of the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Soundtrack. Although she did a very good job on creating a song for the album, and compiling various artists to do work for the soundtrack critcs weren't sure if it actually counted as a soundtrack. Many films are recognizable for their soundtracks, however a soundtrack has to have music that was featured in the film. It would be strange to have a Lorde song in a post-apocalyptic society. This article then goes into detail about how a soundtrack shouldn't just be a companion piece, but it should have something to do with the film itself. 

Reflection:
I do feel like the Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack would be more effective if the songs were actually featured in the movie itself, however it did a really good job of creating hype for the film and the music was awesome. In a previous blog post I talked about The Great Gatsby soundtrack, and although a lot of the music on that soundtrack was created by popular artists most of the music was in the film. Although modern day hip-hop and pop music does not seem like it belongs in the 20's it was an artistic choice made by Luhrman. I agree that the Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack isn't technically a movie soundtrack, however I feel as if it did the same job as any other movie soundtrack. The purpose of a movie soundtrack is to set the tone of the movie, and help market the film which I believe this soundtrack did. So even if it might not follow the exact definition of a soundtrack it is definitely an risky thing to try that paid off. 

Week 3 - 12/8-12/12

Movie Marketers Love Music, Not Musicals

Sherman, H. (2014, August 3). Movie Marketers Love Music, Not Musicals. Retrieved December 11, 2014, from http://www.hesherman.com/2014/08/03/movie-marketers-love-music-not-musicals/

Summary: 

This article was based around the release of the trailer for the upcoming movie musical Into The Woods. It goes in depth into how movie musical trailers are made to manipulate audiences into overlooking the fact that it is a musical. Many theatre goers who know the show by heart are angered about not only not having insight into the music of the show, but that there are rumors that the plot has been slightly altered. Because theatre people aren't the general population who will be seeing this musical marketers try to make people who would not normally watch a musical view this movie. The article then goes on to describe various examples of movie musical trailers that don't show the characters singing and try and hide the fact that its a musical. Some of these examples are Hairspray, Mamma Mia, and Sweeney Todd. However in other movies like, DreamGirls marketers will add in cuts of performances because of the stars that were in that movie like Beyonce. 

Quotes: 

"superhero movies now arrive like clockwork, while movie musicals, though more common than in the 70s and 80s, are still infrequent events."

"The film studios are trying to reach a much wider crowd, for whom the sight of stars singing may be off-putting"

"Minimizing the musical theatre connection has certainly been true for movie musicals for some time. It’s almost as though marketers are trying to slip the fact that people sing past potential audiences."

Reflection:

Movie musicals are the one example where music isn't exactly a positive aspect of the film. Movie marketers try and manipulate viewers into seeing their movies in the hopes that they won't realize the movie is a musical. The actual music and film score isn't actually the problem, but it's the fact that the characters are the ones singing the music. This article particularly talks about how within the trailers for these movie musicals they never show the characters singing, but instead just play the music and maybe add in quick cuts of characters singing. Movie musicals have recently gained more popularity, and maybe it has something to do with the whole Frozen frenzy. However, there is still a huge dislike of movie musicals within the general population so the decision not to show the characters singing in trailers is understandable. In my opinion, though marketers should try and market the movie musical as the movie musical instead of trying to cheat the system and manipulate viewers. Although many viewers might be turned off to watching a musical when marketed based more on the plot, but including the music will also attract an audience who enjoys music. One example of a trailer that actually shows characters singing throughout the entire trailer is The Last Five Years, which is supposed to be released in 2015.

However, this movie musical could easily come off as cheesy because the entirety of the trailer is the two characters singing or quick cuts of other scenes.There is not hiding that this movie is a musical. I do think more move musicals should include their music in their advertisements because music appeals to many people. In this particular circumstance the plot is kind of put to the side, and it is more focused on the music. Movie musicals have a population of its own, and many theatre goers will also take part in viewing movie musicals. The marketers motive for trying to take the musical out of the movie musical is understanding because they want more of a broader population viewing the movie. However, maybe instead of taking the musical out of the movie marketers can find a technique to actually make movie musicals appealing to the general population. Sweeney Todd, one of the examples that Sherman wrote about, appealed to many different fan bases. First of all having a well-known actor such as Johnny Depp and a famous director like Tim Burton already attracts a whole new audience. This movie musical also has the horror movie appeal. By finding other marketable aspects about the movie musical, the whole fact that is a musical can be more easily overlooked. 

Week 2- 12/1-12/5

B-Sides: Soundtracks have a potential to help in movie marketing

Bain, A. (2013, April 8). B-Sides: Soundtracks have potential to help in movie marketing. Retrieved December 4, 2014, from http://dailybruin.com/2013/04/08/b-sides-soundtracks-have-potential-to-help-in-movie-marketing/

Summary:
'The Great Gatsby' soundtrack was an anticipated release, and no one other than Jay-Z was the producer. This soundtrack contained many pop and hip-hop artists such as Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, and Jack White. Not only did the soundtrack have many well-known artists, but also many artists wrote songs specifically for the soundtrack. Granny winning, T-Bone Burnett, was one of the first producers that tried this technique out and it has since been successful. It is a unique marketing technique that can create even more success for a film. 

Quotes:
"It’s an ambitious project, no doubt aimed at encouraging more young moviegoers to see 'The Great Gatsby'"

"Burnett revolutionized the art of the soundtrack of 2000’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” which featured a wide-range of folk music and artists."

"the album’s biggest impact on the film may be as a marketing technique. It will be released on May 6, a few days before the movie, and will no doubt be a popular download in the days leading up to the film’s release."

Reflection: 
Recently many films have been using this technique where the soundtrack is almost as important as the film. This is especially done in young adult productions such as The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and Twilight. Although Twilight was a horrible movie, I will not deny that I did enjoy the soundtrack. By using these well-known artists it attracts the fan bases that those artists have, and in turn draws them to the movie that coincides with the soundtrack. When film soundtracks are released before the film it creates a lot more hype, and can attract people that wouldn't necessarily want to see the film. This is a really successful advertising technique, and a lot of the times the artists that work on the soundtrack usually create new songs specifically for the movie. This also creates success for the artist as well.