Page - 63 - in Der Filmkomponist Max Steiner - 1888 - 1971

1.2. Filmmusiktechnik 63 „Mickey Mousing is a device which authorizes nondiegetic music. Its perfekt synchronity with narrative action masks its presence so that the music can create certain effects on a semisonscious level without disrupting narrative credibility on a conscious level. In the Informer, for instance, the direct synchronization between Gypo's footsteps and the dis- tinctive rhythm in his leitmotif dictates his singular walk. Annotations in Steiners sketch, such as Jieavily', ,very heavily', and ,marcato' (marked), suggest how deliberately Steiner created Gypo's gait. Finally, Mickey Mousing can indicate extradiegetic meaning. In a film, as heavily laden with purpose as The Informer, Mickey Mousing is put in Service to the symbolic level of the narrative. The score has numerous examples of Mickey Mousing which function on this level ... It is interesting that Mickey Mousing has come to represent the worst excesses of the Hollywood film score. Perhaps as contemporary spectators we are not longer used to hear Mickey Mousing in films (its use radically diminished in the fifties and after). Still the practice of catching every moment with music has a visual equivalent, and Mickey Mousing has been made to bear the brunt of the criticism for an overobviousness that it only partially creates."98 1.2.8. Dialog und Musik Bei der Unterlegung von Dialogen mit Musik stellt sich das Problem, dass bestimmte Instrumente besonders in der Mittellage ähnliche Frequenzgänge wie die menschli- che Stimme haben. Wenn der Komponist dies nicht beachtet, kann es sein, dass die Musik, obwohl weder zu laut noch zu auffällig, vom gesprochenen Wort ablenkt oder es gar Frequenzauslöschungen gibt. Heutzutage wird dieses Problem meist bei der Mischung gelöst, wobei Sprache, Geräusch und Musik erst einmal gleichberechtigt nebeneinander betrachtet, und dann der Bedeutung nach behandelt werden. In den Dreißiger- und Vierzigerjahren gab es diese technischen Möglichkeiten noch nicht. Auch Max Steiner hat dieses Problem erkannt und seine Musik entsprechend danach angelegt. „I make it my business when I Start on apicture to ascertain the pitch of the voices of the different principals. One may have a low voice, another a high voice etc. When I write my music I try to keep away from their pitch because when the music is dubbed, if the music is low and if it is in the same register as the talk, it is lost ... It isn't always easy to write 98 Katryn Kalinak, 1992. S. 115/116.