Music is the secret script of a movie and the glue that binds everything together, widely acclaimed Australian director Philip Noyce said.
Mr. Noyce, who has directed several films, including Harrison Ford thrillers Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) and Oscar nominated movies like The Quiet America (2002), featuring Michael Caine,conducted a master class at the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival.
“Everyone knows what the script is so they are prepared to analyse it. Music hits the central nervous system, they (the audience) don’t realise that … what you understand you can reject but music you can’t reject, because it’s pure. You can’t reject an idea but not a sensation, against sensation you have got no defence,” the 68-year-old director told The Hindu .
During a interactive session with filmmakers and students at Nandan III, he gave examples of how it took months to record the sound of birds and beetles for preparing the music of the film Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) in collaboration with Peter Gabriel.
“I believe that the strongest thing that comes out of the screen is not the image, because it has to be interpreted by the brain.The most pure opium is the music, the sound,” he said.
Mr. Noyce sad as a director he does not believe in giving a lot of instructions to actors. “The less you tell an actor the more pure is the performance. I try to keep it to simple instructions,” he said. An alumnus of the Australian Film and Television School, Mr. Noyce made films like Heatwave (1982) and Dead Calm (1989) before relocating to the U.S. In 2001, he returned to Australia to re-engage with aboriginal issues in films like Rabbit Proof Fence .
