Call for chapters
The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema
Diane Hughes & Mark Evans (Eds.)
The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema will be the seventh volume in the Genre, Music and Sound series (Equinox Publishing). Equinox’s Genre, Music and Sound series extends the discipline of screen soundtrack studies by addressing a series of popular international film genres as they have developed in the post-War era (1945-present); analyzing the variety and shared patterns of music and sound use that characterize each genre. This seventh volume will focus on the singing voice in contemporary cinema from 1945 to the present day, and rather than being restricted to one particular genre, will consider how the singing voice has helped define and/or confuse genre classification.
Typically heard in song, the singing voice is arguably the most expressive of all musical instruments. This volume celebrates the ways in which singing features in film. This includes the singing voice as protagonist, as narrator, as communicator, as entertainer, and as comedic interlude. Whether the singing voice in film is personally expressive, reflexive and distant, or synchronized for entertainment, there is typically interplay between the voice and visual elements. Extending beyond the body of literature on ‘the musical’, the volume is not about musicals per se. Rather, The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema discusses the singing voice as a distinct genre that focuses on the conceptualization and synchronization of the singing voice in the post-War era. It explores the relationship between screen, singing, singer and song; it celebrates the intersection of the singing voice and popular culture. In doing so, the volume will cross multiple disciplines including vocal studies, film studies, film sound studies, and music production (vocal processing).
Please email your preliminary submission details by 15 December 2013 to diane.hughes@mq.edu.au
Timeline
15 December 2013 Preliminary submission due including title, author/s and chapter content summary (up to 250 words); author bio (up to 200 words)
1 March 2014 Chapter due (6,000 – 8,000 words)
1 August 2014 Notification of review process
1 November 2014 Revised Chapters due
2015 Publication