Episode 34: Studio Fanfares Part 1

07/25/21 • 56 min

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You’re sitting in a darkened movie theatre, and the latest, highly anticipated blockbuster is about to play. The ads are over, the trailers are all done, and the lights dim. What’s this? Why, it’s Art of the Score Episode 34, as we investigate a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. From 20th Century Fox to MGM’s Leo the Lion roar and many more, over the next two episodes we’ll be revealing the secrets behind the musical moments that open the movies and set the musical agenda, and telling the stories behind the studios and the composers who made them. Show notes: 6:02 – The origins of the fanfare 8:51 – The studio system and the sound of the Big Five 12:15 – MGM: Lions, Stars, and Celebrities, oh my! 15:31 – RKO: Morse code, crime, and Howard Hughes 20:20 – Paramount Pictures on Parade (allegedly) 21:28 – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman (1933) 27:22 – Warner Brothers – Max Steiner (1937) 33:05 – The Little Three (that’s Andrew, Nick, and Dan) 33:33 – Universal Studios, Tchaikovsky, and Superman – Jimmy McHugh (1936) 40:30 – United Artists (so united they didn’t have a fanfare) 41:40 – Columbia – Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1934) 43:21 – Beyond the Big Five and the Little Three 44:33 – Selznick International – Alfred Newman (1936) 47:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Thaddeus Buc (1935) 49:54 – Into the 1950s: lawsuits, widescreens, and the birth of television 52:07 – VistaVision – Nathan van Cleeve (1952) 56:11 – CinemaScope – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman expands his fanfare (1954) 1:01:39 – MGM – Leo the Lion (1957) 1:02:34 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Jerry Buc (1960) 1:04:38 – The emergence of television and the NBC chime 1:07:44 – Desilu – Wilber Hatch (1966) 1:10:52 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Teddy Buc (1970) 1:15:48 – Paramount’s Parade – Lalo Schifrin (1970), Jerry Goldsmith (1976 and 1977) 1:22:24 – Columbia – Suzanne Ciani (1976) 1:24:48 – Walt Disney Productions - When You Wish Upon a Star (1972) 1:32:04 – PBS – Paul Alan Levi (1971) 1:33:18 – Associated Film Distribution (1978) Links mentioned: Yorgason and Lyon’s journal article on Max Steiner’s Warner Bros. fanfare - https://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.20.26.2/mto.20.26.2.yorgason_lyon.html Kirk Hamilton’s Strong Song’s episode on David Bowie – https://strongsongspodcast.com/episode/space-oddity-and-starman-by-david-bowie We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Previous Episode

Episode 33: Arrival

It’s finally time for Episode 33, and Art of the Score’s analysis of one of the landmark composers of the last decade: Jóhann Jóhannsson. We sit down with special guest, synth (and tape loop) expert Seja Vogel, and Jóhannsson’s soundtrack for Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece sci fi film, Arrival. Join us for heptapods, looping seals (?), and the only true universal language: film music. Episode notes: 4:41 – Arrival arrives, and Jóhannsson thrives 12:47 – Around the Clock News 15:43 – Arriving in Montana 21:49 – Seja breaks down the Arrival sound 30:05 – Looping with Seja 34:45 – First Encounter 39:12 – Sapir-Whorf 43:00 – Hazmat 49:42 – Heptapod B 58:56 – Non-Zero-Sum Game 1:02:21 – Deciphering 1:06:26 – One of Twelve 1:12:22 – Rise, and Max Richter’s On The Nature of Daylight We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Next Episode

Episode 35: Studio Fanfares Part 2

It’s Episode 35, and the long-awaited part two to our investigation of a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. In this episode we travel from the 1980s to today, taking in the sights and sounds of evergreen studio fanfares from the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, the THX Deep Note, and the Buc dynasty of screen composers. And of course, there’s a round of ‘Name That Theme’ with host Andrew Pogson, as well as a look at some of the most contemporary of logo themes – including Marvel, Star Wars, and a curious update of MGM’s Leo the Lion. Show notes: 2:50 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Nancy Buc (1980) 4:34 – The studio revival in the 1980s 5:42 – Amblin Entertainment – John Williams (1981) 9:14 – The Ladd Company – John Williams (1981) 12:29 – United Artists – Joe Harnell (1982) 15:54 – THX Deep Note – James Andy Moorer (1983) 22:13 – Tri-Star Pictures – Dave Grusin (1984) 25:46 – Carolco Pictures – Jerry Goldsmith (1985) 28:42 – And now, the news 33:10 – Disney – John Debney (1985) 36:26 – THX Cimarron – James Horner (1988) 39:43 – Castle Rock Entertainment – Marc Shaiman (1989) 42:56 – Warner Bros. and an off day in the synth studio 44:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Barry Buc (1990) 46:21 – Universal – James Horner (1990) 50:46 – Hollywood Pictures – Danny Elfman (1990) 51:42 – Village Roadshow (1992) 53:53 – Columbia – Jonathan Elias (1993) 56:50 – Studio fanfares you might have heard before... 1:02:28 – New Line Cinema – Michael Kamen (1994) 1:05:34 – United Artists – Starr Parodi and Jeff Eden Fair (1994) 1:09:05 – Disney and Pixar – Randy Newman (1995) 1:10:26 – HBO (1996) 1:11:35 – Dreamworks – John Williams (1997) 1:14:56 – Universal – Jerry Goldsmith (1997) 1:19:31 – Warner Bros. – Gabriel Yared (1999) 1:21:39 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Tobias H. Buc (2000) 1:23:53 – Sony Home Entertainment and Animation (2005/2006) 1:28:16 – Disney – Mark Mancina & Dave Metzger (2006) 1:31:44 – Studio Canal – Alexandre Desplat (2011) 1:36:25 – Paramount – Michael Giacchino (2011) 1:40:02 – Universal, updated – Brian Tyler (2012) 1:41:26 – Marvel – Tyler/Giacchino (2013/2016) 1:47:26 – Netflix – Lon Bender and Charlie Campagna (2015) 1:52:49 – Streaming Star Wars (2019) 1:56:31 – MGM (2021) 1:58:33 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Nicholas Buc (2004) 2:01:25 – “Name That Theme”, with your host, Andrew Pogson We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.