One medium is on a reel, the other on a CD. In this quarter’s class “Music in Film: Another Way to Tell Stories,” both come together as Professor Laura Karpman explores the common bond between director and composer, film and music.
“I think that once these students are turned on to what an important role music can have in their films, they almost are never turned off to it. Once the light switch goes on about how to listen to music in a cinematic context, I really think it’s something that sticks with them for the rest of their lives,” Karpman said. “A lot of students have said to me that (the class has) really helped them look at their films in a totally different way.”
Every Friday, the three-hour-long class can be found screening such mainstream films as “Monsoon Wedding” and “Vertigo,” and also student films, discussing the musical scores of each in a workshop-like environment.
“I help them determine really what they want to be doing musically, how they want music to support their character, how they want music to function in their films, and then often get composers to actually work with directors in the class,” Karpman said.
This is the fourth year Karpman has taught the class, instructing graduate and undergraduate students in a wide range of fields such as directing, production, theater, animation and composing. This student variety presents the backdrop for the collaborative environment Karpman is looking for.
“Just the ability to be able to meet student composers and to start thinking of that aspect of the project, it’s really important,” said Kate Hackett, graduate directing student and teaching assistant for the class. “(Karpman) teaches the only class where you can actually specifically address those issues.”
The class provides an atmosphere where music and composing students can interact with directing students and begin to understand where the other is coming from in film production.
“I have them in communication with one another because, of course, directors need to learn to speak to composers. They’re not going to learn the language of music; they need to learn how they can best communicate with this person, and a lot of times I think the communication falls short in the professional world,” Karpman said.
Karpman is a working composer whose extensive resume includes a number of Emmy nominations and awards (“The Living Edens”). She brings her expertise to the table, sharing some of her own work and encouraging students to do the same. The students take turns bringing in their thesis films, seeking input about music.
“We look at these films as sort of guides as to what works or what doesn’t work musically,” Karpman said. “(We discuss) our philosophies or our ideas of what the directors and the composers communicated, about how music functions in the film, how sound functions in the film, and how the drama of the film is helped or hurt by the score.”
With her biggest class yet this quarter, the popularity of “Music in Film” is mounting with every quarter. A number of students taking the class this quarter have taken it previously. With new films, new students and a completely new curriculum each quarter, there are few drawbacks to taking it more than once.
“I like the format of the class, talking about music and movies. It’s really cool to have someone who understands the context of music and how it works for a film for its benefit or to its detriment,” said Jeff Kryka, music composition graduate student at the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture. Kryka is currently taking the class for the second time, “I like taking it just because I feel like I learn a lot every time.”
Guest directors visit the class, and Karpman takes students on field trips to her own studio to stress the importance of music in the overall plot and message of films.
“I think in taking the class and thinking about what the music would be like for my film … I actually started thinking that I needed a much stronger concept of what kind of film I was making and what I wanted … from it,” Hackett said.
“What really impressed me was the way that (Karpman) talks about music as another thing that is part of creating the narrative of the film or the story of the film that helps guide the audience’s emotion through the film.”
Not many other film schools offer a class specifically on music and film, and Karpman relishes the chance to teach students the process of setting music to film.
“Every time I teach this class, I learn. There is just no question about it,” Karpman said. “It’s just an intellectually stimulating environment, and it’s something that I get a tremendous amount from.”