Biography

Murad Özdemir, Ph.D.
Murad Özdemir has produced and directed several documentary films. Currently, he is a researcher in Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Özdemir graduated from Anadolu University, Faculty of Communication Sciences with a bachelor,s degree in Cinema and Television. He also holds an MA degree in Cultural Studies from Istanbul Bilgi University. He received a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences, from Marmara University, with a thesis entitled "Cinema of the Home Mode: Home Movies as Cultural Practice". Özdemir aims to develop a visual understanding of culture through his films and academic work.

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Abstract

In music, 'ghost notes' refer to implied notes, as opposed to openly played ones. In other words, a ghost note, in musical notation, is a 'felt' note instead of a 'heard' one. Occasionally notated in the original partitions, ghost notes are among the many articulative aspects of music, those that determine the dynamics of the musical pieces, as well as the performers' musical identities. However, in cases where ethnical instruments get involved in western orchestra settings or where musical transcriptions are simplified for popular songbooks, many articulations like ghost notes are omitted from the partitions for the sake of overall understanding. 

TV serials communicate meaning in many ways, and music's role and potential for what is being communicated via TV serials cannot be disregarded.

Music production for TV dramas is a lively venue for Turkey: As a promising sector, making music for TV dramas attracts more and more musicians every day. The popular music industry has always been interested in the screen; the current popularity and the potential value of contemporary TV serials continually redefine the relations between TV and the popular music industries. Once a subcategory, today a major area of business, music production for TV dramas is an arena in which professionalism, amateurism and artistry meet. Furthermore, the popularity of Turkish TV dramas offers new soundscapes for both musicians and producers. On the other hand, new gravitational forces enter the field as new media technologies continue to evolve, and as a result, the necessity of thinking TV drama scores in terms of geography and culture becomes inevitable.

Taking Turkish TV dramas as cultural contact zones, this paper aims at investigating the musical soundscapes from the points of view of their makers. Our effort will be directed at getting the answers to a set of questions including, but not limited to: What makes "good" TV drama music? Who decides which music to use? What are musical "trends" - do they exist at all? What are the relations between music and TV industries? Do the large distribution opportunities affect overall production, and if so, how?