Soundtrack: Difference between revisions
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{{three other uses||the digital music creation software of the same name|Soundtrack Pro|the album by S'Express|Original Soundtrack (album)|the Irish indoor multi-night music event|Soundtrack '08}} |
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{{wiktionary}} |
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The term '''soundtrack''' refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a [[motion picture]], [[television program]] or [[video game]]; a commercially released [[soundtrack album]] of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a [[film]] that contains the synchronized recorded [[sound]]. |
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== Origin of the term == |
== Origin of the term == |
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In movie industry terminology, a "[[sound film|sound track]]" (two words) is an audio recording created or used in [[film production]] or [[post-production]]. Initially the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a film each has its own separate track (''dialogue track'', ''sound effects track'', and ''music track''), and these are mixed together to make what is called the ''composite track,'' which is heard in the film. A ''[[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbing]] track'' is often later created when films are dubbed into another language. |
In movie industry terminology, a "[[sound film|sound track]]" (two words) is an audio recording created or used in [[film production]] or [[post-production]]. Initially the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a film each has its own separate track (''dialogue track'', ''sound effects track'', and ''music track''), and these are mixed together to make what is called the ''composite track,'' which is heard in the film. A ''[[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbing]] track'' is often later created when films are dubbed into another language. |
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Soundtracks are not the same as "[[cast albums]]". Original cast recordings are studio made recordings of the songs from a stage musical. The performers sing the score live every night. They do not lip-synch to pre-recorded tracks. Incorrect use of the terminologies creates confusion in the marketplace. For example as of July 2008 there are two albums of the "[[Mamma Mia]]" score. The first is the original London cast recording from 1999, while the latest is the film soundtrack. While it is correct to call the soundtrack a cast recording (since it is the cast of the film version) it is incorrect to call the original London cast recording a soundtrack. |
Soundtracks are not the same as "[[cast albums]]". Original cast recordings are studio made recordings of the songs from a stage musical. The performers sing the score live every night. They do not lip-synch to pre-recorded tracks. Incorrect use of the terminologies creates confusion in the marketplace. For example as of July 2008 there are two albums of the "[[Mamma Mia]]" score. The first is the original London cast recording from 1999, while the latest is the film soundtrack. While it is correct to call the soundtrack a cast recording (since it is the cast of the film version) it is incorrect to call the original London cast recording a soundtrack. |
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==Types of Recordings== |
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In the soundtrack genre there are three types of recordings: |
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1. Musical film soundtracks which concentrate primarily on the songs |
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(Examples: “[[Grease]]”, “[[Singing in the Rain (film)|Singing in the Rain]]”)<br> |
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2. Film scores which showcase the background music from non-musicals |
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(Examples: “[[Star Wars]]”, “”[[Exodus]]”)<br> |
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3. Albums of pop songs heard in whole or part in the background of non-musicals |
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(Examples: “[[Sleepless in Seattle]]”, “[[When Harry Met Sally]]”)<br> |
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The first musical film to have a commercially issued soundtrack album was [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]’s film biography of Jerome Kern, “[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]” The album was originally issued as a set of four 10-inch 78-rpm records. Only eight selections from the film are included in this album. In order to fit the songs onto the record sides the musical material needed editing and manipulation. This was before tape existed, so the record producer needed to copy segments from the playback discs used on set, the copy and re-copy them from one disc to another adding transitions and cross-fades until the final master was created. Needless to say it was several generations removed from the original and the sound quality suffered for it. Also, the playback recordings were purposely recorded very "dry" (without reverberation) otherwise it would come across too hollow sounding in large movie theatres. This made these albums sound flat and boxy. |
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MGM Records called these "original cast albums" in the style of Decca's Broadway show cast albums. They also coined the phrase "recorded directly from the soundtrack." Over the years the term "soundtrack" began to be commonly applied to any recording from a film, whether taken from the actual film soundtrack or re-recorded in studio. The phrase is also sometimes incorrectly used for Broadway cast recordings. While it is correct to call a "soundtrack" a "cast recording" (since it represents the film cast) it is never correct to call a "cast recording" a "soundtrack." |
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Among their most notable soundtrack albums were those of the films “Good News”, “Easter Parade ”, “Annie Get Your Gun”, Singin' in the Rain, Show Boat, “The Band Wagon”, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”, and “Gigi”. |
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Film scores albums did not really become popular until the [[LP album|LP era]], although a few were issued in 78-rpm albums. Alex North’s score for the film version of “[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]” was released on a 10-inch LP by “[[Capitol Records]]” and sold so well that the label later re-released it on one side of a 12-inch LP with Max Steiner film music on the reverse. |
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Steiner’s score for “[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]” has been recorded many times but when the film was reissued in 1967, MGM Records released an album of the famous score. |
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One of the biggest-selling film scores of all time was John William’s music from the movie “[[Star Wars]]”. Many film score albums go out-of-print after the films finish their theatrical runs and some have become extremely rare collectors’ items. |
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In a few rare instances an entire film dialogue track was issued on records. The 1968 Franco Zefferelli film of “[[Romeo and Juliet (film)|Romeo and Juliet]]” was issued as a 4-LP set, and also as a single LP with musical and dialogue excerpts. The ground-breaking film “[[Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)| Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]” was put out by Warner Bros Records as a 2-LP set containing the complete film play. |
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==Movie and television soundtracks== |
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{{main|Film score}} |
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The term '''soundtrack''' now most commonly refers to the [[music]] used in a movie (or television show), and/or to an [[album]] sold containing that music. Sometimes, the music has been recorded just for the film or album (e.g. ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]''). Often, but not always, and depending on the type of movie, the soundtrack album will contain portions of the [[film score|score]], music composed for dramatic effect as the movie's plot occurs. In 1908, Camille Saint-Saens recorded the first music specifically for use in a motion picture (L'assasinat du duc de Guise), and releasing recordings of songs used in films became prevalent in the 1930s. [[Henry Mancini]], who won an [[Emmy Award]] and two [[Grammy]]s for his soundtrack to ''[[Peter Gunn]]'', was the first composer to have a widespread hit with a song from a soundtrack. |
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By convention, a ''soundtrack'' record can contain all kinds of music including music "inspired by" but not actually appearing in the movie; the ''score'' contains only music by the original film's composer(s).[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7525242.stm] |
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==Video game soundtracks== |
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{{main|Video game music}} |
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Soundtrack may also refer to music used in video games. While [[sound effect]]s were nearly universally used for action happening in the game, music to accompany the gameplay was a later development. [[Rob Hubbard]] and [[Martin Galway]] were early composers of music specifically for video games for the 1980s [[Commodore 64]] computer. [[Koji Kondo]] was an early and important composer for [[Nintendo]] games. As the technology improved, [[polyphonic]] and often orchestral soundtracks replaced simple [[Monophony|monophonic]] melodies starting in the late 1980s and the soundtracks to popular games such as the ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series began to be released separately. In addition to compositions written specifically for video games, the advent of CD technology allowed developers to incorporate licensed songs into their soundtrack (the [[Grand Theft Auto (series)|''Grand Theft Auto'' series]] is a good example of this). Furthermore, when [[Microsoft]] released the [[Xbox]] in 2001, it featured an option allowing users to customize the soundtrack for certain games by ripping a CD to the hard-drive. |
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== Book soundtracks == |
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Only a few cases exist of an entire soundtrack being written specifically for a book. |
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A soundtrack for [[J. R. R. Tolkien's]] ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and his trilogy ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' was composed by ''[[Craig Russell]]'' for the San Luis Obispo Youth Symphony. Commissioned in 1995, it was finally put on disk in 2000 by the San Luis Obispo Symphony. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} |
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For the 1996 ''[[Star Wars]]'' novel ''[[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire#Novel|Shadows of the Empire]]'' (written by author [[Steve Perry (author)|Steve Perry]]), [[Lucasfilm]] chose [[Joel McNeely]] to write a score. This was an eccentric, experimental project, in contrast to all other soundtracks, as the composer was allowed to convey general moods and themes, rather than having to write music to flow for specific scenes. A project called "Sine Fiction"<ref>[http://www.notype.com/drones/catalogue.e/sinefiction/ Sine Fiction (New) — No Type — electronic & experimental music<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> has made some soundtracks to novels by [[science fiction]] writers like [[Isaac Asimov]] and [[Arthur C. Clarke]], and has thus far released 19 soundtracks to science-fiction novels or short stories. All of them are available for free download. |
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The 1985 novel ''[[Always Coming Home]]'' by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], originally came in a box set with an audiocassette entitled ''Music and Poetry of the Kesh'', featuring three performances of poetry, and ten musical compositions by Todd Barton. |
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In comics, Daniel Clowes' graphic novel ''[[Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron]]'' had an official soundtrack album. The original black-and-white [[Nexus]] #3 from Capitol comics included the "Flexi-Nexi" which was a soundtrack [[flexi-disc]] for the issue. ''Trosper'' by [[Jim Woodring]] included a soundtrack album composed and performed by [[Bill Frisell]]<ref>http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/woodring/woodring.html</ref>, and the [[DC Comics Absolute Edition|Absolute Edition]] of ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier]]'' is planned to include an original [[vinyl record]]. |
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As [[Internet]] access became more widespread, a similar practice developed of accompanying a printed work with a downloadable [[theme song]], rather than a complete and physically published album. The [[Nextwave#Theme song|''Nextwave'' theme song]] and the theme songs for the webcomics ''[[Achewood]]'', ''[[Dinosaur Comics]]'' and ''[[Killroy and Tina]]'' are examples of this. |
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Many [[audio book]]s have some form of musical accompaniment, but these are generally not complex enough to count as a complete soundtrack. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Image album]] |
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* [[Audio restoration]] |
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* [[Film score]] |
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* [[Image song]] |
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* [[List of soundtrack composers]] |
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* [[Soundtrack album]] |
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* [[SoundtrackNet]] |
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* [[Original cast recordings]] – for musical theater |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{refimprove|date=September 2007}} |
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==External links== |
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;For questions and answers about movie and television soundtracks |
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* [http://www.adtunes.com/ Adtunes.com] |
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* [http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Soundtracks/ IMDB soundtrack section] |
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* [http://www.soundtrackinfo.com/ the Soundtrack INFO project] |
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* [http://www.soundtrack.net/trailers/ Soundtrack.net trailer music reference] |
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* [http://www.scorenotes.com ScoreNotes.com/ Soundtrack Reviews and Composer Interviews] |
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* [http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/ Soundtrackcollector.com Soundtrack Database] |
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* [http://www.majestyx.com/scoredb/ The Unofficial Score Database - information about non-commercial releases] |
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[[Category:Film and video terminology]] |
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[[ca:Banda sonora]] |
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[[cs:Soundtrack]] |
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[[da:Soundtrack]] |
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[[de:Filmmusik]] |
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[[es:Banda Sonora Original]] |
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[[fr:Musique de film]] |
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[[hr:Glazbeni zapis filma]] |
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[[it:Colonna sonora]] |
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[[he:פסקול]] |
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[[nl:Soundtrack]] |
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[[ja:サウンドトラック]] |
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[[no:Lydspor]] |
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[[pl:Ścieżka dźwiękowa]] |
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[[pt:Banda sonora]] |
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[[ru:Саундтрек]] |
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[[sk:Filmová hudba]] |
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[[fi:Soundtrack]] |
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[[sv:Filmmusik]] |
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[[tr:Soundtrack]] |
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[[zh:原声音乐]] |
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Revision as of 14:39, 27 August 2008
Origin of the term
In movie industry terminology, a "sound track" (two words) is an audio recording created or used in film production or post-production. Initially the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a film each has its own separate track (dialogue track, sound effects track, and music track), and these are mixed together to make what is called the composite track, which is heard in the film. A dubbing track is often later created when films are dubbed into another language.
The contraction soundtrack (one word) came into use with the advent of so-called "soundtrack albums" in the early 1950s. First conceived by movie companies as a promotional gimmick for new films, these commercially available recordings were labelled and advertised as "music from the original motion picture soundtrack." This phrase was soon shortened to just "original motion picture soundtrack." More accurately such recordings are made from a film's music track, because they usually consist of the isolated music from a film, not the composite (sound) track with dialogue and sound effects.
The abbreviation OST is often used to describe the musical soundtrack on a recorded medium, such as CD, and it stands for Original Soundtrack; however, it is sometimes also used to differentiate the original music heard and recorded versus a rerecording or cover of the music.
Soundtracks are not the same as "cast albums". Original cast recordings are studio made recordings of the songs from a stage musical. The performers sing the score live every night. They do not lip-synch to pre-recorded tracks. Incorrect use of the terminologies creates confusion in the marketplace. For example as of July 2008 there are two albums of the "Mamma Mia" score. The first is the original London cast recording from 1999, while the latest is the film soundtrack. While it is correct to call the soundtrack a cast recording (since it is the cast of the film version) it is incorrect to call the original London cast recording a soundtrack.