I was stuck in a predicament. No ideas were flowing to my mind, and with the commencement of the project approaching, I had no idea how I was going to move an audience with a short motion picture. I pondered this over and over, and eventually came to a decision because of a simple event that changed my mind.
Being flustered with the daily stresses a high school senior faces caused me to sit back on my couch in the living room, and watch my grandfather do what he does best, play the piano. It is clear from the flowing sounds of Bach’s symphonies blazing from my living room that the man has absurd talent. But after looking up from my cellphone and actually giving the melody my full attention, I felt something in the music. Emotion, warmth, sadness, and triumph, all these sentiments were achieved from fingers on ivory keys.
As I selected the short film option for my portfolio final project, I knew that I wanted to create a film that captured an idea without the usage of dialogue. Before people had access to the movie making technology available today, silent films were widely enjoyed by a widespread audience. Why can’t a modern form of the silent film be recreated? I finally had my challenge set out.
Phillip Glass is a musical composer who has composed songs on a variety of films, with one of his most famous pieces appearing in the film Watchmen. A major scene in this film is when one of the major characters is finally exposed in a revelation of his past, and how he came to be. Glass’s song Pruit Igoe and Prophecies is playing throughout this scene, with the song placed perfectly to collaborate on the desired audience effect. I wished to mimic this effect with my film. After researching more of Glass’s productions, it soon became apparent to me that why his music was so powerful, similarly to my grandfather’s, is due to the classical genre. This type of music is different from popular music nowadays due to the sheer prowess of each orchestra member.
An orchestra with 50 members requires a lot more patience and practice to form, and in turn create music, compared to a solo music producer who most likely uses music production programs in addition to the assistance of a studio production. However, this effort produces pinpoint precise sound from professionals who do this for a living. From a filmmaker standpoint, I will take classical music 100 percent of the time.
