"Understanding Film Music" with Han Sang-joon

Movies without music are rare. Of course, there are movies which purposefully have no soundtracks as found in Taiwanese director, Chiminlan's work 'Vive L'amore'. But, movies and music have since the beginning of the industry been created together. During the silent film era when recording technology had not yet been developed, small orchestras would accompany the action on the screen with live music. Now, with the recent popularity in film music, movie soundtracks do very well even though the movie itself fails at the box office.

Music is an important element of any film, enhancing the acting, filming, lighting, and editing. "Understanding Film Music" written by Han Sang-joon(Hannarae Publishing) looks at music in the movies from the silent era upto modern releases. It also analyzes how music interacts with narrative, the marriage of music and movie forms, and the creation of meaning taken from specific examples such as "Easy Rider". Han's work will not only help the fledgling film enthusiast but also movie buffs as well.