Car Chases, Fight Scenes, and Epic Battles: How Music Impacts your Movie Experience

Tufts Faculty Webinar

Date: June 12, 2019

Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Sponsor: Tufts University Alumni Association

Cost: Free

Action scenes in today's movies are more complicated than ever, but few of us realize how important music is to keeping us on the edge of our seats. Car chases, fight scenes, and epic battles all rely on the efforts of the film composer to heighten tension and build filmgoer expectations, and the way these scenes are scored have changed in fascinating ways over time. In this webinar, you will learn about two competing models for accompanying action set-pieces with music: the most up-to-date approach, epitomized by the music of Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Inception and The Lion King), and a resolutely old-fashioned method still practiced by John Williams (Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Jaws). Professor Lehman will highlight fundamental shifts in movie and movie music aesthetics, as well as some unexpected connections between the two artists who often seem worlds apart.

Presented by:

Frank Lehman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Undergraduate Studies