Composition and improvisation in the aspect of the music infl uence on the expressive structure of the fi lm
Authors: Kovalenko Yu.B. 
Published: May 2019

Background. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in interdisciplinary research of arts due to the fact that human consciousness has a unity of principles and approaches in the perception of the surrounding world. In this regard, synthetic arts are of particular interest because they form their creative potential by the expressive means of their art forms. And cinema is one of those open to interaction with the audiovisual means of its other components. There are a lot of studies on fi lm music that contain the analysis of functional and structural features, as well as a point of expressive means interaction, although the last one is not systematized and generalized. Objectives. The study is aimed at identifying the features of the interaction between music and cinema. Particularly, the infl uence of compositional and improvisational processes of music on the expressive structure of the fi lm and the specifi cs of fi lm making are considered. The movies using mostly jazz music were selected to study for a more effective and balanced comparison of the effects of compositional and improvisational principles in their dialectical coexistence. Methods. The desire to explore the phenomenon in its entirety led to an integrated approach which has helped to project the expressive system of music on fi lm work. Both systemic and structural-functional methods are involved in order to determine the specifi cs. The comparative method of analysis is used to generalize the connections of music thinking with audiovisual conception. And the interpretative approach helps to synthesize the results of survey. Scientifi c novelty consists in the attempt to outline the essential connection between music and audiovisual creativity which lies in the time nature of both arts and the tendency to non-verbal expressiveness. Results. The results of the research support the idea that composition and improvisation as two principles of creating a musical work are equally inherent in fi lm making. The fi rst of them provides for the stability and completeness of the structure, while the second one is associated with an instantaneous sensual response to the creation of the work in front of the viewer. Thereby, improvisation actualizes the process of creating a work of art as a way of artists’ communication with one another and with the public. It should be noted that there is a difference between the concept of improvisation as a process and the improvisational principle as a property. The last of them is found in the music of any tradition and is refl ected in the content and form of the work. The main features of the improvisational principle are relaxedness and freedom of expression, a feeling of continuity of movement and unexpectedness of further actions. Similarly, the compositional principle can be distinguished. It is based on repeats and returns of stable elements at a distance. The interaction of compositional and improvisational principles can be traced in the complex of expressive means of the fi lm at the level of dramatic development and plot structure, features of the dynamic movement and screen plastic, light-shadow score, fi - gurative content. When it comes to a musical or biopic fi lm, the diegetic music becomes a stabilizing element of the composition, and the constant returning to the situation of musical performance creates a cyclical effect. At the same time, sensual contemplation, live instant response to the observation of the creation provides a fi eld for acting improvisation within the regulated scenario. Analysis of the movie “Round Midnight” (Bertrand Tavernier, 1986) confi rms these assumptions and the hero’s jazz improvisation replaces his monologues, acting as the main fi gurative characteristic. Films in the genre Noir are marked by the use of jazz improvisation on the non-diegetic structure level. The functional uncertainty of sections, the fl ow of linear and nonlinear narratives, and unexpected change in the rhythm are observed in such fi lms. However, the return of wandering, searching, doubting, walking, coversational situations provide a manifestation of the compositional principle. These observations are made on the example of the movie “Lift to the Scaffold” (Luis Malle, 1958), and the most profound form of interaction between jazz improvisation and cinematic expressiveness – the so-called “jazz cinema”, based on the interpretation of jazz through the prism of fi lm expressive means. “Shadows” (John Cassavetes, 1959) happened to be the fi rst specimen of such kind of fi lms. But the most complex form of interaction between compositional and improvisational elements of music and fi lms are large-scale drama fi lms with numerous storylines and a large number of characters. This is considered on the example of the “Regtime” (Milo&#353; Forman, 1981), where the musical genre determines the plot development, certain events and situations and musical score. In other words, music affects the expressive structure of the fi lm on three levels: genre-stylistic, compositional-dramatic, artistic-linguistic. Conclusions. In the process of the research it has been found out that common time nature in music and cinema allows them to be in close cooperation. The analysis of improvisational and compositional elements in fi lms indicates their certain connections with the musical form. Stabilization at the level of the plot is achieved through the return of certain dramatic situations, cycle of musical compositions as a diegetic element of the fi lm and fi nally, musical accompaniment of certain situations. Instead, improvisation is refl ected in the unexpected events, the looseness of the dialogue and the violation of linear development. All of these dramatic situations are marked by sensual contemplation and alive, instant response to changes in events. One of the main features that unite fi lm structure and jazzy music is the dialogical character of narration. This property makes improvisation a method of presentation and composition building.