Film Music Basics
This is music that characters can hear within the film world.
What is diegetic music?
Music that closely follows on-screen movement
What is Mickey Mousing?
Early sound system using phonograph discs
What is the Vitaphone?
The layering of musical lines
What is texture?
Events presented in chronological order
What is linear plot?
This is background music the audience hears but characters do not.
What is nondiegetic music?
Temporary music used during editing
What is a temp track?
A set of rules restricting film content
What is the Hays Code?
Assigning music to instruments
What is orchestration?
Events presented out of order
What is nonlinear plot?
A short musical segment written for a specific moment in a film.
What is a cue?
A meeting where music placement is planned
What is a spotting session?
Film style with exaggerated visuals and emotion
What is German Expressionism?
Music that suggests a story or image
What is programmatic music?
A cause-and-effect storyline
What is casual plot?
A recurring theme tied to a character or idea.
What is a leitmotif?
Music that imitates another style or composer
What is musical pastiche?
A scoring style with continuous orchestral music and leitmotifs
What is Classical Hollywood scoring?
A style focused on repetition and gradual change
What is minimalism?
Loosely connected events
What is episodic plot?
A soundtrack built mostly from songs integrated into the narrative
What is a song score?
A metronomic tool used to sync music to film
What is a click track?
Films emphasizing national and artistic identity over commercial appeal
What is international cinema?
The mood created by music in a film
What is atmosphere?
Music’s role in supporting storytelling
What is narrative function?