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kevin magee
s0342560
sound and fixed media
submission 2 – film sound analysis
I will be focussing my essay on the Tom and Jerry short cartoons from the
Hanna-Barbera era (1940-1957), which relied heavily on the use of a musical
score to illustrate and emphasise the characters actions, intentions and
emotions. It is a fast passed ‘cat and mouse’ style cartoon, with Tom and
Jerry switching roles as the hunter and the hunted throughout the piece, and
with an orchestral score composed by Scott Bradley making up the vast
majority of sound present throughout. The score is extremely effective in
emphasising sudden changes in the mood of the piece, and it is hard to
imagine the cartoons without it.
Notably, the characters very rarely speak, which means the score and
sound effects have considerably more information to convey than what is
normal in a cartoon, or any piece of television for that matter. The success of
the cartoon is further testament to the skill of Bradley as a composer, as it
won a record 7 Academy Awards in the animated feature bracket.
The sound designer for the early Tom and Jerry Cartoons, Scott
Bradley, was a classically trained composer, pianist and conductor, and spent
most of his working life composing scores for MGM studios. He composed an
impressive 262 pieces1 in his career but was unaccredited on a shockingly
large number of works1 that he contributed to, which is hard to understand
considering his impact primarily on the Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Although Bradley composed primarily with orchestral instruments, in
many instances throughout an episode a real world sound effect will be used
to add detail to the events on screen, such as that of smashing glass as
Tom’s teeth are shattered after trying to bite a turtle. But more on that later!
As televisions became more affordable in the late 1950s, short animated
features such as Tom and Jerry became less popular for cinema release, and
as a result the studio producing the cartoons (MGM) was forced to close their
cartoon division, and settle by showing re-runs of older shows until 1960.
When MGM decided to commission new Tom and Jerry cartoons, a
different director and animation/sound team were commissioned, which
resulted in a wholly different style of cartoon2.
In my opinion, under new direction and with a different crew, the post
1957 cartoons became a poorly executed parody of those created by Hanna
and Barbera. Although still relying on music and sound for dramatic effect, it
was now undoubtedly a secondary mechanism, and with speech now a
prevalent factor, the magic of the old cartoons that won Hanna and Barbera
7 Academy Awards was lost. Watching a full episode of the post ’57
cartoons3, I could barely force a smile, and the score (as well as the
animation and story) was distinctly less impressive. The score in the latter
cartoons is considerably simpler, often with only a single instrument playing
at one time, which pales in comparison to the scores produced in the Bradley
era. This could have been a result of the monetary resources available to the
studio at the time; Scott Bradley after all often made use of a 20 piece
orchestra2 which couldn’t have been cheap!
Like most young kids, growing up I was an avid fan of cartoons and it has
been an interesting trip revisiting these shows and watching with a more
critical and appreciative eye. I have realised the unbelievable skill and hard
work that went into creating the cartoons, when I previously took them for
granted. The success of the Tom and Jerry franchise during the early years
was undoubtedly down to numerous elements, however without any bias, the
sound design and compositions found in each episode is quite outstanding,
with Scott Bradley using many styles and moods of music to great effect.
One could argue that Bradley should have attained more recognition
for his contribution to not only the MGM productions, but also to sound
design for animation in general. Before Bradley began to compose a musical
score to the animation projects he worked on, the normal approach in the
business was quite different, with pop songs of the time being used as more
of a backing track to the animations, along with sound effects to enhance
actions3. So when Bradley approached his producer with an idea to create an
individual score to accompany and enhance the animation3, one can imagine
the conflict that may have been present here. However, the skill of Bradley
as a composer clearly won the confidence of those working on the project,
and the rest is history. Bradley was also allowed to score the music as the
animators were working, so perhaps he was able to collaborate with the
animators in order for the piece to flow more freely as a whole, along with
his proposals for the score. This is clearly a fine achievement for a sound
designer, as the sound element of a project is often overlooked in favour of
visuals, or at least taken for granted. The following analysis will look at why
Bradley’s scores are effective in more detail.
The opening scene in the Oscar winning ‘Yankee Doodle Mouse’ 4 begins at a
frenetic pace, with Tom chasing Jerry through the house. Almost exclusively
in Bradley’s scores, the pace of the music directly corresponds with the
actions of the characters, with this scene a perfect example. The music is
also very fast passed and busy, which effectively represents and enhances
the chase scene. Interestingly, the music that follows the action in the first
scene is almost a seamless continuation of the title music, which gives the
viewer no time to breath as the action starts immediately, resulting in an
exciting start to the episode.
Very often there is also a rhythmic relationship between the characters
actions (footsteps for example) and the beat in the music. This factor is used
effectively with the sound effect elements in many scenes, such as a cymbal
crashing when a character is hit with a pan, or when Tom falls down a
staircase in this episode5. In this case, a thud is made each time Tom hits a
stair on his way down, in time with the score. This adds continuity to the
action, and adds excitement as both the visual and aural elements of the
piece are working in harmony.
Again, a few seconds later we see Tom still in pursuit of his little
friend/foe and he is clawing at the floor for grip as Jerry slips away in to a
hole in the wall. As was the case when falling down the stairs, each claw
scrape is in time with the score, notably in quite a complex rhythm. The fact
that Bradley’s score is in such harmony with the visual action is a clear
indication that the cartoons were a collaborative effort between all parties,
and this was surely an integral factor in its success.
Thirty-six seconds into the episode, Jerry has found sanctuary in a
hole in the wall and on cue with Tom stopping his pursuit and remaining still,
the music stops also. This period develops tension as the viewer is startled
by the dramatic change in the score, from a very busy, upbeat, frantic piece
of music, to complete silence. With the camera looking from Tom’s
perspective, and Jerry nowhere to be seen, the silence in effect gives the
viewer time to think about what could happen next. We are not left
wondering for long, as the camera cuts to Jerry in his mouse hole, who has
loaded up a big tomato on a mouse trap ready to fire at Tom. The tomato is
then fired at Tom, accompanied by a crashing symbol as the tomato hits is
face. Again, the cymbal crash clearly adds impact to the action on screen as
the viewer is aware that in real life a splatting tomato does not make this
sound.
As Jerry scuttles away to prepare his next attack, his movement is
described in the score with a solo flute riff. The flute piece is jovial and bright
in nature, and is high in the pitch register, which one could argue symbolises
the lightness of Jerry’s footsteps. The cheery nature of the piece adds
emotion to the scene, as it portrays Jerry as a cheeky little chap who has
been successful in humiliating his tormentor. Importantly, this emotion would
be lacking from the animation if the score was not present, or indeed less
effectively composed. As Jerry is making his escape we do not see his face,
however with the musical accompaniment we can imagine that he is smiling
away, happy with the results of his trap.
As an aside, this would be an opportune moment to discus the
somewhat ‘magical’ qualities of music to strike up the imagination of
the listener, and create or emphasise emotions that are impossible to
describe in any other way. Science has not yet shown why a certain
instrument or a piece of music played in certain key makes the listener
feel a particular emotion, and this is where the inherent skill of the
composer is apparent. For example, when the flute piece described in
the previous paragraph is said to emphasise the cheeky nature of
Jerry, we are unsure exactly how the music conveys this feeling.
It seems that an instrument with high pitch could be used to
represent say a tiny mouse, as in this case, while a booming trombone
may represent an elephant plodding slowly along, however this is not
always the case. In the same way, a song written in a minor key is not
always sad. There are so many elements to Bradley’s compositions for
‘Tom and Jerry’ that one cannot help but admire his skill. It could be
argued that after studying Bradley’s work in close detail one could
maybe parody various elements of his compositions, but in my opinion
it would be an almost impossible task to capture the same feel and
complexity as he was able.
So back to the action, as Jerry picks up several eggs to throw down onto
Tom from his next position of attack, the flute melody that accompanied his
getaway is briefly broken with a few short sustained string notes (possibly
cello), which add suspense to the scene, as we do not know where Tom is or
what he is doing. It turns out he is still struggling to wipe the tomato from
his face, and so gets hit with the eggs. Following the barrage of eggs Tom
receives to his face, the chaotic and frantic score kicks in once more, this
time to accompany a salvo of further attacks on the hapless cat. This
includes numerous household goods that are catapulted towards Tom in
classic cartoon fashion, each with its own representative sound effect.
Although the majority of sound effects in this scene represent what the
action would sound like in real life (i.e. thudding down the stairs), often in
cartoons in particular there are sounds that can better, or more dramatically
explain the event. As briefly touched on previously, in another Tom and Jerry
episode6 Tom tries to eat a turtle seemingly unaware of its hard shell. After a
build up of stringed orchestration to him biting into the turtle, the music cuts
away to be replaced by the sound of smashing glass to accompany Toms
teeth smashing. Again, this is not the real life sound of smashing teeth but it
is arguably more effective in describing the action than the real sound effect
would be. The sound of smashing glass is an alarming sound in itself,
possibly due to the real world connotations (personally) of when a window is
smashed with a football for example! Furthermore, it is a high pitched sound,
which is perhaps naturally more alerting to the human ear.
Another interesting use of the score in the same episode, is when Tom
finds himself at the top of a coconut tree7. As he slides down the trunk of the
tree, the sound playing is of a percussionist running his beater down a
wooden xylophone, from high to low pitch. The fact that a wooden xylophone
is used is clearly indicative of what is going on in the scene, as the trunk of
the tree is made of wood. Rather obviously, but very effectively, a high to
low pitch progression is used helps to illustrate the feeling of falling
downwards, with each change in note symbolising every bump along the
way.
Scott Bradley’s skill as a composer is unarguable in the opinion of the
author, as he redefined the possibilities for sound designers, not only
working on cartoons but in unrelated areas where his example may
encourage others to pursue their ideas as opposed to blindly following what
is the normal practice for a certain task. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying
his work, and now look upon cartoons such as Tom and Jerry with a new
found fondness and appreciation for the skill and effort that went in to their
creation.
I have decided to analyse the film sound design submission by Chris
Gillespie, and briefly compare it with the works of Scott Bradley. Gillespie
used a very similar style of sound design (as found in the Tom and Jerry
cartoons) to accompany what the author personally found a rather boring
piece of film, and he did well to make it work. Using primarily a single piano
to develop tension and also create sound effects that directly related to the
actions of those on screen, he was effective in emphasising feelings of
agitation and excitement in the subjects of the video. With a salvo of oddly
fitting notes played in a fast staccato manner, he was able to represent a
build-up of intensity of the supposed events on the television, and in the
opinion of the author, his style of composition effectively conveyed the
uneasy nature one feels when watching a football match. This may have
been a result of the rather sparse nature of the score at times, or indeed the
minor key notes that were used.
Also developing the mood of the piece were a number of sound effects,
stemming from an input from human voice, and computer generated voice.
In the opinion of the author, these sound effects were effective at times,
adding to the tension and eeriness of the piece, however at times they
seemed out of context, and less effective. The final short monologue was
interesting as it summed up the feelings one often experiences at the end of
a relatively uneventful, boring match. That is, what is the meaning of life.
While Gillespie merely posed such questions with his piece, he did not
attempt an answer, which may have been something welcomed by the
listener. However, the genius of the composer maybe lies in his ability to
plant the seed of such questions in the viewers mind, and in time allow it to
flourish into a marvellous tree.
References
1 - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005973/
2 - http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/bradley.cfm
3 – Tall in the Trap (1962)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G99n-eZ-blQ
4 –Yankee Doodle Mouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA2dWDgzeNA
5 –Yankee Doodle Mouse (29s in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA2dWDgzeNA
6 – His Mouse Friday (1m 52s in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlwamWwZzQY
7 – His Mouse Friday (1m 26s in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlwamWwZzQY