The study seeks to investigate how the character of documentary background music and its use have changed in the rapidly changing media landscape and to suggest a desirable utilizing method. Also, the study investigates documentary producers’ views on the use of background music and how their recognition affects the use of background music in the changing broadcasting environment.
The study not only employs qualitative analysis through in-depth interviews with producers but also utilizes quantitative analysis to examine the change in background music in TV documentary in accordance with the change in broadcasting environment. For this, the researcher analyzes background musics of 65 documentaries produced in MBC(Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) over a 21-year period beginning in 1990, examines the change and characteristic of background music in accordance with the change in broadcasting environment, and investigates producers’ views on the usage of background music through in-depth interviews with 14 directors and composers. Also, the study analyzes how the differences in production methods of documentary affect the use of music, genre characteristics, and number and length of music. In addition, the researcher studies how documentary producers’ views on the use of background music affects the use of music, and discusses the change of music function, the change in producers’ power and absence of communication accompanied with the popularization of using library music.
According to the results of this study, the conclusion and implication are as follows.
First, for the last 20 years, compositional background music in domestic TV documentary has decreased, the number of background music used per one documentary has increased, length per one background music has gotten shorter, and genre of background music still remains mainly light music. Such results are affected by library music adopted in accordance with developments in digital technology and changes in the international trade environment. With library music, various sound sources can be used quickly, conveniently, and cheaply. Therefore, the necessity of composing documentary background music has disappeared, and directors do not request expensive composition of background music to composers. As a result, directors or musicians can increase the number of music freely. Also, length of background music becomes shorter due to the characteristics of library music, such as easy editing and re-processing. However, although the use of library music has been popularized, the use of light music has increased in documentary background music. Even if the production environment can afford to diversify genre of background music according to the use of library music, documentary producers do not diversify genre and still mainly use light music as documentary background music. On the other hand, in the result of in-depth interviews, producers paid attention to various music genres in library music and thought predominantly that these genres should be used actively. This reflects the change in documentary producers’ recognition recent times when the use of library music has become more prevalent. And this implies that there will be many changes in the use of documentary background music in the future.
Second, the characteristics of background music differ according to production methods of TV documentary. First of all, production methods of TV documentaries are divided into self-production of broadcaster and outsourcing production according to who is the main agent of production. For the most part, self-produced documentary tends to have enough financial support to be planned and produced as a special feature or feature-length documentary, and is then broadcasted during prime time. By contrast, outsourcing production documentary tends to be planned and produced as a regularly organized program with limited support in production cost, and is broadcasted in a marginal time zone. The use of background music, the number of background music per one documentary, length per one background music, and genre of background music can be changed according to such main agent of documentary production, production cost, special feature, organized time, or long/short piece. For example, special documentary of broadcaster has relatively ample production budget, and aims at high-class program to be exported overseas using compositional background music. However, regularly organized program or documentary of outsourcing production made in a poor production environment selects and then uses background music entirely among library music owing to limited production cost and production period. Like this, while background music of documentary is divided into composition and selection according to production methods, viewers are apt to recognize self-production special documentary of broadcaster as a high-class program using composition music, and documentary of outsourcing production as a low-grade program using cheap library music. Also, as library music is popularized, frequent use of background music and decreased music length mean that background music does not show the proper characteristic of music in documentary. And documentary has no choice but to use much light music as its background music due to the nature of its program. However, documentary producers should attempt to find methods to diversify genre of background music through the use of library music.
Third, the popularization of library music according to digital technology causes changes in TV documentary producers’ power relationship and producers’ view on background music. In the past, production of background music was a cooperative work between documentary director and music director. However, a convenient production environment in which directors exchange edited visuals easily through e-mail has come into existence, so communication between them has disappeared. Such absence of communication between director and musician and the division of labor make background music function as a kind of source for program production, so musician may feel a sense of shame that he is alienated from a process of documentary production. Especially, composers of documentary background music lose their ground and then move to drama or film music, or become outsiders in broadcasting circles who participate only in work of music selection. The fact that the composers who created background music, actively exchanging opinions with directors, are alienated from production of background music means that we can no longer anticipate creative value in documentary background music.
As elaborated above, the appearance of library music in accordance with broadcasting digitalization directly causes changes in domestic TV documentary background music. Library music has many advantages such as diversity, economic feasibility, processability, and convenience. However, while library music is popularized, documentary background music loses a value as a work of creative art and is commercialized, so the economic value of background music takes priority over cultural value. In such use of documentary background music, economic logic will not only compromise the quality of background music but also disrupt overseas export of documentary in the long term, and also disrupt creative participation of various main agents involved in program production. In the present time, documentary background music is obstructed by market logic and power of capital, endangering musical creativity. It becomes a task for all of us to seek ways to produce background music to make our broadcasting contents friendly to overseas markets.
Documentary background music is a method of communication delivering reason and sensitivity to viewers using visuals, and is an important factor expressing balance and beauty of a given program. Background music is not just for one program; background music expresses the emotion of one generation. As a result, viewers remember beautiful melodies paired with visuals for a long time. Cultural characteristics and sophisticated aesthetics of background music are meaningful as important values expressed in TV programs. Therefore, documentary background music is a genre of creative art that should be developed by throughly understanding plan and directional intention of program. However, most domestic documentary producers usually produce programs focusing only on visuals and narration, so their interest in background music is diminishing.
The researcher hopes that various discussions about background music in TV documentary as examined in the study will serve as a foundation for effective uses of TV documentary background music, and additionally contribute to the development of background music of broadcast programs including documentaries.