Through an exploration of how music is used in 15+ film scenes from the past 85 years of international cinema, Inside the Notes: How Music Works in Film is a 2-part interactive lecture that will give filmmakers, musicians and film lovers new tools to interpret film music. By understanding the categories of sound and types of musical instruments heard in film, and unpacking the eight common functions of music in film, you will gain new ways to hear how and why film music is so emotionally powerful.
Examples to be experienced and analyzed in this lecture will be drawn from films including: Citizen Kane (1941), Ben Hur (1959), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1967), Malcolm X (1992), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), The Lord of the Rings (2001), Slumdog Millionaire (2009), Moonlight (2016), If Beale St. Could Talk (2018), Black Panther (2018), Us (2019), Bootlegger (2021), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), Sinners (2025) and more.
Target Audience
Independent filmmakers, media artists, or anyone interested in learning about film music.
Schedule
Session 1: Tuesday, May 5, 7pm – 9pm
Session 2: Tuesday, May 12, 7pm – 9pm
Instructor
Jack Hui Litster
Drawing out deep emotions, Jack Hui Litster’s music tells stories. Pivoting effortlessly between traditional and modern, acoustic and electronic, Jack consistently delivers intense musical creations. A multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Ottawa, he has performed across Canada and internationally. His original compositions have enhanced an array of films, podcasts, operas, dance and choir performances. Jack composes and records music for filmmakers including Christian Guérin, Tom Peters, Iyore Edegbe, Mark Corless, Gabriel Harb, Conrad Osei, Deena Al-Saweer, Andrew Brannen, Ruth Kabengele, Kenneth Joe-Ezigbo, Jason Dai, Liam Quigley, Colin Ziraldo, Nana Boncano, Lenzz, Rachel Durling and Rachel Gray. When he is not composing and recording music, Jack is active as a music educator, teaching courses and private lessons on music production, composition and film music at Carleton University. Jack is the co-chair of DARC’s Board of Directors. Hear more at jackhuilitster.com
Accessibility
All doors at DARC have accessibility buttons to press for automatic entry. DARC is located on the main floor (one story above ground) of the Arts Court building. DARC’s main entrance is located at 67 Nicholas Street which is fully wheelchair accessible. Alternate wheelchair-accessible entry is available through 2 Daly Ave at the Arts Court main entrance or the Ottawa Art Gallery. Elevator access is available from 9AM – 11PM.
DARC staff are available and happy to assist with all inquiries and requests regarding physical access.
We also welcome inquiries, feedback, and resources regarding accessibility and accessibility improvement by phone (613.238.7648 x. 6) or by email at access@digitalartsresourcecentre.ca.
Visit https://digitalartsresourcecentre.ca/access/ for information on how to get to DARC, language barriers, fragrance policy, and access to programming.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
DARC is unable to guarantee refunds if a cancellation request is made less than five business days before a workshop. DARC reserves the right to cancel or reschedule courses if necessary and will refund the registration fee to participants if a workshop is cancelled or if a participant is unable to attend a rescheduled workshop. Workshop fees are non-transferable.
To ensure a dynamic and engaging learning experience a workshop must be at least half full to be offered.DARC is unable to provide course attendee refunds for cancellations.