Question 2 of 21

The length of a musical score for a movie averages about _________ percent of the length of the film.

... The score is about half the length of a movie; for example, a two-hour movie would require a one-hour score.

Question 3 of 21

Academy Award-winning composer John Williams (of series such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter) once composed music for TV shows, including __________.

... Known early in his career as "Johnny," John Williams worked on such TV shows as "Gilligan's Island," "Lost in Space" and "Wagon Train." As of 2012, he has received 47 Oscar nominations and five wins for his work.

Question 4 of 21

Thomas Newman -- The Shawshank Redemption (1994), American Beauty (1999), WALL-E (2008) -- graduated from ______.

... Thomas Newman has a master's degree in composition from Yale University and music in his blood. His father is nine-time Academy Award-winning composer Alfred Newman, and his cousin is two-time Oscar-winner Randy Newman. As of 2012, Thomas has been nominated for an Oscar 10 times.

Question 5 of 21

Danny Elfman -- Dark Shadows (2012), Corpse Bride (2005), Spider-Man -- works on many Tim Burton films; the young Burton had been a fan of Elfman's band ______.

... Elfman was a founding member of the band The Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo. It was formed for his brother Richard Elfman's first movie, "Forbidden Zone" (1982). Burton, an admirer of the renamed Oingo Boingo, became friends with Elfman.

Question 6 of 21

Which of Miklos Rozsa's compositions was the first-ever original soundtrack released to the public?

... The original soundtrack to the live-action, 1942 version of "The Jungle Book" was released as a 78 rpm album. Previous to this, record companies had re-recorded soundtracks with their own musicians.

Question 7 of 21

Rachel Portman was the first female composer to win an Academy Award. She won for __________.

... In 1997, Portman won an Oscar for "Emma." She has also been nominated for "The Cider House Rules" (1999) and "Chocolat" (2000).

Question 8 of 21

Dimitri Tiomkin, one of the most memorable composers of music for American westerns -- High Noon (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (1960) -- was originally from _________.

... In 1894, Tiomkin was born in The Ukraine. He observed that American cowboys were quite similar to Cossacks of the Russian Steppes.

Question 9 of 21

Composer James Newton Howard -- The Hunger Games (2012), The Sixth Sense (1999), Pretty Woman (1990) -- also wrote the famous theme song for which TV show?

... Howard wrote the highly recognizable "Theme from E.R." Other television gigs he had included scoring the mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon" and the 2000 version of "The Fugitive."

Question 10 of 21

Composer Max Steiner -- Gone with the Wind (1939), King Kong (1933), The Caine Mutiny (1954) -- began his musical career _________.

... After graduating from the Imperial Academy of Music in Vienna, Austria, Steiner began working as a conductor for a touring Russian opera company.

Question 11 of 21

Howard Shore -- The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Lord of the Rings (2001), Hugo (2011) -- was the original musical director for the band on ______.

... Shore was saxophonist and musical director for his pal Lorne Michaels's show "Saturday Night Live," where he helped John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd develop their celebrated Blues Brothers Band.

Question 12 of 21

The career of Elmer Bernstein -- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Ghostbusters (1984) -- took a detour in the 1950s during the McCarthy era. Accused of being a Communist sympathizer, Bernstein could only find work on low-budget science-fiction movies such as ________.

... Bernstein composed for the 1953 3-D movie "Robot Monster," in which the title character wears a gorilla suit and a diving helmet. That same year, Bernstein also scored "Cat Women of The Moon," another 3-D film.

Question 13 of 21

Gabriel Yared -- The English Patient (1996), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Cold Mountain (2003) -- was originally in school to study ____.

... When he was 20 years old, Yared suspended his legal studies and turned to music. He went to France to study musical composition.

Question 14 of 21

One of the responsibilities of a movie composer is spotting, which is ___________.

... A film's composer meets with the director (and perhaps others) to determine where the music should go, as well as what type of music should be in the film and what feelings it should evoke. After this, the composer begins writing the score.

Question 15 of 21

George Duning -- From Here to Eternity (1953), Picnic (1955), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) -- entered military service in 1942 and served ______.

... Duning, a member of the Navy, conducted and arranged for the Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II.

Question 16 of 21

John Powell -- Shrek (2001), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), Happy Feet (2006) -- suggests that aspiring film composers find work writing advertising jingles because of the _______.

... Powell recommends writing for commercials because of the variety -- from ad to ad, the music requirements are very different. However, he recognizes that the amount of music needed for a movie is vastly more than for a jingle, an adjustment that can be very difficult to make.

Question 17 of 21

The western film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) was scored differently than most films because the ________.

... Director Sergio Leone had composer Ennio Morricone create the soundtrack before the movie was made so that the music could be replayed during filming. They also used this process for "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968) and "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984).

Question 18 of 21

Once the composer has created the melodies that will be in a film, the music must be ________.

... Either the composer or the orchestrator needs to "orchestrate" the material -- arranging the music for the ensemble that will be performing the score, determining which instruments will play which parts.

Question 19 of 21

Ann Dudley -- American History X (1998), The Crying Game (1992), The Full Monty (1997) -- also works in commercials, writing music for _______.

... Dudley has worked on award-winning ads for all three, including Volvo's "Twister," Reebok's "Field of Dreams" and Guinness's "Fishing."

Question 20 of 21

Which aspect of movie music is the composer's responsibility?

... The composer creates the musical themes for the movie and characters. The music supervisor usually suggests individual songs from other artists and obtains the licenses to use the songs. The music editor synchronizes the score with the film and mixes in additional music.

Question 21 of 21

James Horner wrote the score for one of the best-selling soundtracks ever: __________.

... Horner's soundtrack for "Titanic" has sold more than 11 million copies since the movie debuted in 1997. He also scored "Avatar" (2009), "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), "Braveheart" (1995) and "Field of Dreams" (1989).

YOU SCORED: 0 out of 21 try again

MORE QUIZZES

Do you know your Keats from your Yeats? Take the famous poets quiz!

Does that voice sound familiar? Take the famous voiceovers quiz!

From Colombo to Castle -- try naming the fictional gumshoe in this quiz!