Hot subjects—Communication Arts 613: ‘The History of the Hollywood Film Score’

Behind every great film lies a great soundtrack. Sometimes, it goes
unnoticed. It just floats along in the background, adding emotion or
suspense. Others are memorable and deserve as much merit as the film
itself, such as the deep, precautionary bah-dum’s accelerating as the
shark nears in the movie “Jaws.”

Communication Arts Professor Jeff Smith
will take a bite out of film scores in a new course offered this
semester, “The History of the Hollywood Film Score.” The music-minded
communications art course will cover the evolution of film scores,
major composers and the use of new technology in the field. Unique to
the communication arts curriculum, this course, according to Smith,
requires his students to think counter-intuitively.

“We don’t really go to the movies to listen to music,” he says. “But without it, the film experience wouldn’t be complete.”

Combining technical music knowledge with a history of pop culture
classics, the course begins with old Hollywood composers like Max
Steiner (“Casablanca,” “Gone with the Wind”) and arrives at modern-day
legends like John Williams (“Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park.”) The course
meets on Monday evenings and includes a weekly lab, during which the
students watch selected films.

Like a pop culture PB&J, Smith created the class by sandwiching his
love for film and ridiculously large music library between the pages of
a course syllabus. Smith says that his colleagues suggested that he use
his musical background in his teaching. He says that music can help
shape and guide a film beyond the script.

“Film stories tend to be so common as a visual medium to convey an
emotional message, but music can tell us what the character is feeling
or thinking without having to say a word,” he says.

Through this course, Smith wants his students to take with them a
new perspective on the film experience. With a tinge of a personal
understanding, Smith says that after taking this course, “the students
won’t ever watch films in the same way again.”