The first movies were silent. The technology to combine video and sound together had to be developed. Films without soundtracks were played in cinemas and musicians (usually a pianist or organist) would watch the movie and try to play music that matched the mood of the movie at the moment. Soon, 'theatre organs' were created - large instruments with a variety of special effects from thunder to galloping horses. Orchestra's would accompany films in larger auditoriums, sometimes just playing classical music that matched the general mood of the film.
The first 'talkie' was the 'Jazz Singer' in 1927. It contained about two minutes of synchronized talking, two synchronized musical numbers as well as underscore music and sound effects. At the film premiere the audience became hysterical. The age of the talking picture had come.
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In the 1930's music was included on the film itself, although most music was classical music re-purposed for the film. The first film to have an original score written specifically for it was "King Kong" in 1933.
Prior to 1950 all movie music was orchestral. In the 1960 Jazz music was added to some film scores, in the 70's some films had Rock and Roll scores.
Today, with the aid of computers and synthesized instruments, many film scores are composed, played and recorded by one musician.
(1932 - ) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Harry Potter, the Indiana Jones series, Schindler's List, and Jurassic Park. In addition, he has composed theme music for four Olympic Games, NBC Nightly News, and the inauguration of Barack Obama. His career started as a jazz pianist, and became a studio musician in Los Angeles. He soon started writing music for television, including the pilot for Gilligan's Island and Lost in Space. In 1974 Steven Spielberg asked Williams to compose music for his first movie (that wasn't very successful) and his next movie: "Jaws". Williams won an academy award and was introduced to George Lucas, who needed someone to score his new movie, Star Wars. Williams has scored most of the movies produced by these directors over the years. In 1980 he became the director of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and has become a sought after conductor throughout the world.
