Description:
The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema considers different contextual formations of singing and how they contribute to narrative, emotional affect and cultural sensitivities.
The singing voice is arguably the most expressive of all musical instruments. This volume celebrates the ways in which singing features in film. This includes the singing voice as healer, as motivator, as entertainer, and as comedic interlude. Whether the singing voice in film is personally expressive, reflexive and distant, or synchronized for entertainment, there is typically interplay between the voice and visual elements. Extending beyond the body of literature on 'the musical', the volume is not about musicals per se. Rather, The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema discusses the singing voice as a distinct agent that focuses on identity and identification. This book explores the relationship between screen, singing, singer and song; it celebrates the intersection of the singing voice and popular culture. In doing so, the volume crosses multiple disciplines including vocal studies, film studies, film sound studies, and music production (vocal processing).
This book will inform those teaching or interested in popular music, vocal studies, screen sound, and film, as well as singers and voice professionals.
Brief description: Professor Mark Evans is Head of the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Series Editor for Genre, Music and Sound. Recent books include Sounding Funny: Comedy, Cinema and Music (with Phillip Hayward) and Moves, Movies and Music: The Sound of Dance Films (with Mary Fogarty), and The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (co-authored with Hughes, Morrow and Keith), published by Palgrave Macmillan.