Some films even used "generic music" pre-packaged, canned scores that were not written for specific films.Such is not the case in Hollywood, where directors work with composers from the early days of their productions, according to local directors and composers who are critical of the practices in Hong Kong.
The situation in Hong Kong is unfortunate, because music is an integral part of most films. This has not always been true, of course: From the early days of filmmaking at the turn of the century, films were silent. Later, when soundtracks were introduced in the late 1920s, films with sound were called "talkies" because it was the first time that the audience had ever heard people talking on the, quote, silver screen, unquote.
Even in the early days of sound, however, orchestral music dominated the sound in films, because orchestral music was easier and cheaper to put in a film than human dialogue. As a result, the production of musical scores is today a well established profession and an integral part of the film industry.
Mr. Andrew Ingkavet, a newcomer to Hong Kong who studied music composition in New York, is currently engaged in writing sound tracks for Hong Kong film and television producers. He said it's a tough job. For example, he recalled his feelings while making a sound track for Wharf Cable:"I watched the silent film for almost a month and nearly got sick.
"I think there should be a surge of emotions, but they could hardly be felt without any sound."To know and to feel are totally different. Music helps you feel a film and get really involved," said Mr. Ingkavet.
Mr. Ingkavet said music not only arouses the emotions of viewers, but, together with other sound effects, changes the message and the mood of a film."Music can contradict the picture sometimes. For example, if you use beautiful drama music for a sorrowful scene, people will find it is so weird that they will get amused and start to laugh."Silence is a very important part of music too. It helps build up tension."
Mr. Romeo Diaz
Mr. Romeo Diaz, chairman and musical director of Musicad Limited, used a scene from the film Jaws to illustrate how tension could be built with music.
"Look, a couple is fishing in a rolling boat on a calm sea. Everything looks quiet and peaceful, but you can sense something is sure to happen when the tense music fades in.The sea is still calm, but with the music getting louder and louder, tension climbs higher and higher. . . .And at its peak, a shark suddenly dashes out of the water and gobbles up half of the boat!"he said,"There you get the greatest shock. Music is definitely a complement to pictures."
Film director Gordon Chan said the visual portion comprises only 60 percent of a film. The remaining 40 percent lies in the music and sound effects."If feasible, I would ask a composer to produce the music beforehand. I would listen to the music while shooting, so that I could grasp the desired atmosphere better.
"Long before the production stage, I would talk with the composer about the theme of the film I am going to focus on. But very often, there is not enough time for us to make the theme music before shooting. In this case, sometimes I just use some already existing music that I think is suitable."Sometimes I tell the composers what music I have listened to during shooting for their reference, so that they know what kind of messages I want to convey and compose accordingly."
Although it is preferable to write and perform the music before shooting, this is extremely difficult to do. Music is often made at the post-production stage within a limited time.
Mr. Diaz disapproves of this rush through post-production and said that it contributes to the low quality of locally produced films."In the United States, composers are given months to think about the music for a film. As soon as the script is ready, the director goes to the composers and talks with them about the music.
"In Hong Kong," Mr. Diaz continued with a laugh, "it is all a rush job. You may have two weeks if you are lucky, but sometimes you have only three days to do it."Most of the film directors in Hong Kong don't know much about music. They never think about music until they are at the stage of editing. When they feel something is missing, they ask, `How about some music?'
"Then they will go to the composer saying they want more `black' here and more `yellow' there. But what does this mean in music? It doesn't make any sense."
Director Chan admits that Mr. Diaz's description reflects the general case in Hong Kong. He said he regrets that the situation is not easy to change."Time is limited. Once a film is made, the producer always wants to put it on the market immediately so as to get the investment back as soon as possible.
"We always try to squeeze out more time for music production, but the best we can do is just to procrastinate.However, composers for films in Hong Kong have miraculously shown that they can still manage to do a good job despite the haste. Unfortunately, the bosses take such capabilities for granted and demand more. What a snow-ball effect!"
To cope with the problem, some composers just use "canned music".
There are composers who write music for different moods, record them onto discs and put them on the market for sale.
Mr. Tats Lau, a film composer, calls the practice "unhealthy and immoral".
"Some music people are totally unethical. They use `canned music' and then claim credit for the music. Some of them even use the sample music in synthesizers.In the United States, such cases would surely be brought to the court. But in Hong Kong, nobody really cares."
"Even for some original music, creativity is meagre. Only at the film festival can you find some alternatives.I know it is difficult for any art form to prosper in such a materialistic society as Hong Kong. The living pace is fast. Innovation is not encouraged here. "
Mr.Tats Lau:"Even for some original music, creativity is meagre. Only at the film festival can you find some alternatives. "
"I'm jealous of those working in Hollywood. They are backed by high technology and a big market, and it is no wonder they can always produce good film music," said Mr. Lau.
Critics say that compared with sound tracks produced in Japan or Taiwan, locally produced sound tracks are behind in quality, let alone compared with Hollywood's international productions.
The stagnation of this industry is attributed not only to the shortage of time. Local taste also plays a role."The taste of the local audience is rather narrow," said Mr. Lowell Lo, who has been writing music for the local film industry for more than eight years.
"The masses only like pop songs and easy-listening. Other types of music, like blues and jazz, commercially speaking, have no place to exist here in Hong Kong.Producers only aim at producing music to satisfy the market needs, not at offering more musical alternatives."
"In addition, the quality of musicians in Hong Kong is not high. Outstanding musicians with unique style are rare."
As a newcomer from the United States, Mr. Ingkavet feels that the exposure of local musicians to different musical genres is limited. Even though most of them are Chinese, their knowledge of Chinese music is shallow.He said little emphasis is put on the music education of the public. Few music courses are available, and they tend to focus on European classical music.
It is true that both The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong have music faculties, but neither one offers courses on film or popular music. Only the Music Faculty of The Academy for Performing Arts offers courses on film music production.
The head of the Composition Department of The Academy for Performing Arts, Mr. Law Wing-fai, said, "It's a compulsory subject for all the students in this department. Most of our 11 students here aspire to be professional composers one day."
The course teaches students basic skills in studio recording, electronic instrument operation, and music production for films.Having been a film composer himself, Mr. Law does not feel the market can employ many composers.
However, Mr. Chan said that one of the problems in the industry is the lack of talent.
"There are few truly professional soundtrack makers in Hong Kong. You can easily name them all. But over 200 films are shot every year, and each one of them needs a composer for the music. The few good ones are extremely busy because everyone wants them," Mr. Chan said.
Mr. Diaz, who has already won the Best Soundtrack Award of the Hong Kong Film Awards, said he never stops learning."I have been working and learning in the field for over 25 years. Music never stops. You always find new ways to compose and new technological advances. You never know enough.
"I'm now taking a correspondence course from Berkeley. I am also going to visit Australia to examine the advantages and problems in the film music production industry there. I hope sharing ideas will help uplift our own standards."
Mr. Ingkavet said the advent of Star TV and other new media outlets will stimulate the field. People will be exposed more to Western music, and film composers will learn from it.
"Making Western music sound tracks is different. There are over 100 instruments and there may be a whole orchestra in a studio playing music for a film. In Hong Kong, we only use synthesizers," Mr. Ingkavet said.
"The studio bosses are unlikely to put out the extra money for music, but we can see that Hong Kong needs to change its way of making films anyway. The film industry is at its low ebb now. Audiences just go and enjoy the acoustic effects of such Western productions as the Jurassic Park. We urgently need to find ways to improve our own."