The Music Lives: John Williams

“I have to say, without question, John Williams has been the single most significant contributor to my success as a filmmaker.” – Steven Spielberg

Address four of the questions after engaging in the materials below. Due April 9 (11:59 pm).

The music of John Williams has had a lasting impact of cinema and it has changed the voice of music’s impact on film. From “Jaws” to “Star Wars” to the “Harry Potter” franchise, his mark is well-established, and now in his eighth decade of life, he’s still producing award-caliber scores.

At 85 years old, John Williams has earned 51 Oscar nominations (22 wins), which is more than any other person alive; only the late Walt Disney has more nominations (59). Williams’ latest nomination was for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).

Explore his biography, articles, and video clips below, and then address the questions for the response post.

Read the biography and check out clips of his music in action on the link below from the Biography Channel:

https://www.biography.com/people/john-williams-9532526

Here – John Williams discusses the “power of music” in this 6-minute interview:

In this five-minute clip from the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award recognition, you get a glimpse of the humor (and humbleness) of John Williams as he celebrates other within his journey:

This eight-minute segment explores the universal language of music from John Williams score for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

After taking in all the materials  – address the following questions and post your responses to four of the questions by Monday, April 9.

1. How does John Williams discover and find musical voice for characters?
2. What intrigued you the most about Williams’ life?
3. What did you find most interesting about Williams’ approach to scoring film?
4. Provide thoughts about Williams’ exploration into “the power of music.”
5. As we’ve explored the importance of music, sound and silence this semester in film, how does getting to know more about John Williams and his approach help you appreciate the audio journey of film more?
6. Williams has been involved in some amazing blockbuster films throughout his life, as you’ve explored his life through the bio, clips & interviews – which of his films have had the biggest impact on you? Why? And how did his music add to that impact or appreciation?

Apples, Aliens & Award-Winning Cinema: The Life of Ridley Scott

By Brooke Smith (suggested edits by Noel T. Manning II)

Born in South Shields, United Kingdom on November 30, 1937, Ridley Scott showed an interest in the film industry beginning at a young age. As a young child he would find himself immersed in stories of escape and adventure, and film was his medium of choice. His explorations into worlds far and near, inner (the mind) and outer (beyond the galaxy) would pave the way for stories he’d eventually craft into feature films, and earn awards, and thrill audiences in the process. (Sir Ridley Scott Biography, 2013)

Early on, Ridley Scott wanted to follow in his brother’s (Frank) footsteps and join the Merchant Navy, but Scott’s father strongly discouraged this, as he saw potential in Ridley’s artistic talents and encouraged him to pursue them. (Ridley Scott 2015).

After receiving a creative design degree from West Hartlepool College of Art in the United Kingdom, Scott went to London’s Royal College of Art (England), where he honed his skills in filmmaking. After college, Scott worked with the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), designing sets and working on BBC TV, film, and commercial production. It was during this time he gained opportunities to learn the art of directing, and he attained his first directing job on the BBC’s series Z Cars in 1962 and Z Cars: Error of Judgment in 1965. (Ridley Scott Biography)

Scott was truly developing as a filmmaker, and it became obvious to many, but Ridley felt his talents were not appreciated from the BBC. So, he decided to go into advertising with his brother Tony in 1967. Together they formed their own production company; the next ten years proved to be very successful for Ridley Scott Associates, as the two Scott brothers made some of the best know television advertisements on British television.  (Sir Ridley Scott Biography, 2013)

In the 1970’s, Scott met and began working with producer David Putnam, and together they began working on long-form film ideas.  The Duellists, a 1977 film, was Scott’s first feature film, and it won Jury Prize for Best First Work at the Cannes Film Festival.  It was also nominated for the Palm d’Or (the film festival’s highest prize).  This attention to Scott’s work really launched his career, and became a game-changer for him. (Ridley Scott 2015).

After viewing the blockbuster, Star Wars, in theatres, Ridley Scott was inspired to explore big time budgets and effects that would impact audiences; he also wanted to develop his own brand of Star Wars that would inspire others. This led Scott to take on the directing of a gothic horror film set in outer space with the tagline … “In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream.” This film Alien (1979) launched a franchise, memorable characters, and the career of actress Sigourney Weaver. The 1979 film also became a classic on its own merit, and transcended the sci-fi genre. The Alien film series that Scott built has continued to produce spin-offs and sequels almost 40 years later. (Ridley Scott Biography, 2018)

In 1982, Scott introduced the world to another sci-fi classic, Blade Runner, a film that at first was not widely appreciated by viewers (yet had a cult following), but in the following years became accepted as one of the most cerebral and best sci-fi films ever created, and it also helped solidify Scott’s reputation for precise technical detail, unique story, and experimental narrative. In 2017, as producer, Ridley Scott brought the characters and story narrative back to the big screen with the Oscar-winning sequel, Blade Runner: 2049. (Manning, 2017)

In 1984, Ridley Scott went back into commercial television production after a dialogue with a genius by the name of Steve Jobs. Scott became the director of the first ever Macintosh Apple Computer commercial.  It aired during Super Bowl XVIII, and was set in a George Orwell-inspired “Big Brother-type” society where everyone is a carbon copy of the other except for one person breaking out of conformity (world-class athlete Anya Major wearing a white tank top with a Macintosh computer logo on). This commercial challenged minds, engaged viewers, and launched Apple as the alternative to the cookie-cutter computer crowd (Ridley Scott, 2015).

Scott has gone on to be recognized throughout the years for a variety of films and genres (sci-fi, action, drama, historical epics, adventure, biopics, etc.). Films like Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, Robin Hood, American Gangster, Hannibal, Blackhawk Down, The Martian, and All the Money in the World have all continued to add to his impressive resume of developing and creating art that inspires, narratives that are innovative, and characters that are memorable.  

From the minds of serial killers (Hannibal), to 2^nd Century Rome (Gladiator), to a road-trip with female bandits (Thema and Louise), to the solitary loneliness of Mars (The Martian), Ridley Scott knows how to paint stories visually with light, actions and sound. He creates landscapes and characters that feel authentic and yet unimaginable at the same time. Pure and simple, he’s a genius.

Throughout the years Ridley and his brother Tony (also an accomplished filmmaker) continued to find ways to work together, producing feature films and television series, movies, limited series, documentaries and specials.

As a director, Scott has been complimented on his willingness to listen to his actors and take their suggestions for character enhancements and backstories or character development when warranted. His careful detail to lighting and design has been called innovative, and many directors who admire his style have imitated him.  Scott also has a style that seems like a slow burn, or offers slow pacing until the major action scene, producing a greater thrill to the viewers. Scott also uses sound to cause a rise in tension and a buildup to the climax.  This is not only accomplished with music, but also with atmospheric or ambient sounds that complement a particular scene.  Ridley Scott is also known to sometimes work with a three camera set up per scene, to aid in a faster filming process. (Sir Ridley Scott Biography, 2013)

Several other trademarks represent his style in films: These include, but are not limited to, themes of artificial intelligence, alien races, corporate greed, character vs. God conflict, strong female characters, father and son conflicts, and characters searching for meaning and purpose beyond self. Scott also includes extreme levels of lighting, intriguing camera angles, urban environments, vast visual cityscapes, classical music, extensive atmosphere shots, and smoke-filled or foggy scenes. (Ridley Scott, 2015)

Scott has earned many awards and recognitions over his career.  Not only was he knighted by the Queen in 2003, but he was also inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011, and was honored for lifetime achievement from the British Academy in 2018. Scott has been nominated for four Academy Awards for directing (Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, The Martian), won two Emmy Awards (The Gathering Storm and Gettysburg), was nominated for six other Emmy Awards (Killing Kennedy, The Good Wife, The Pillars of the Earth, Into the Storm, The Andromeda Strain, and RKO 281), won a British Academy of Film and Television Award (Thelma & Louise), and nominated for three others (Gladiator, American Gangster, The Martian), won three Hugo Awards (Blade Runner, Alien, The Martian) and was nominated for four Golden Globes (Gladiator, American Gangster, The Martian, and All the Money in the World), just to name a few. Over all, by 2018, Ridley Scott has earned 39 major awards while being nominated 91 times during his five-decade career in major film & television production (Rovi, 2015) (Ridley Scott Awards, 2018)

According to Ridley Scott, “Art’s like a shark. You’ve got to keep swimming, or else you drown… you’ve got to keep bouncing around. People always ask me, ‘What’s the plan?’ There is no plan. I go to what fascinates me next.”  (Ridley Scott Quotes, 2015)

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Bibliography

Biography of Ridley Scott. (2015). (GradeSaver LLC) Retrieved February 10, 2015, from

Grade Saver: http://www.gradesaver.com/author/ridley-scott

 

Manning, N. T. (2017, December 12). The scott papers. Meet me at the movies [Shelby, NC], p. 19.

 

Ridley Scott. (2015). (The New York Times Company) Retrieved February 10, 2015, from

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/1548246/Ridley-Scott/biography

 

Ridley Scott Awards. (2015). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from IMDb:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000631/awards

 

Ridley Scott Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2015, from IMDb:        http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000631/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

 

Ridley Scott Quotes. (2015). Retrieved March 17, 2015, from IMDb: http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0000631/quotes

 

Ridley Scott Biography. (2015). (A&E Television Networks) Retrieved February 10, 2015,          from Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/ridley-scott-9477021

 

Rovi. (2015). Ridley Scott Awards. Retrieved March 18, 2015, from Fandango:             http://www.fandango.com/ridleyscott/awards/P110579

 

Sir Ridley Scott Biography. (2013). (AETN UK) Retrieved February 10, 2015, from The

Biography Channel: http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/ridley-scott.html