Since the invention of the cinema in the 1890s, film entertained a complex relationship with songs in its various forms (aria, Lied, pop song, etc.). The liaison of song and film assumed many different shapes throughout the past century. From the illustrated song to early attempts of synchronizing film and sound to the first musicals to pop soundtracks of the 1960s and 70s to Tarantino’s illustrated soundtracks: songs can play crucial narrative roles in films and superimpose semantic layers on the film text. In addition to intrinsic audiovisual connections, economic aspects such as music's suitability as a marketing tool, make both media the ideal collaborators. With the profession of the music supervisor on the rise, song placement in films is gaining more recognition both in- and outside the film industry.

This conference sets out to shed light on the history, theory and practice of song in film in a broad sense. We welcome submissions that deal with various semantic levels, the role and function of lyrics, of the voice, or of song performance in film. We expect many case studies, but we also encourage theoretical approaches.
Even though we focus on song in fictional film, we will also consider papers dealing with documentaries and experimental film, as well as with songs in television, advertising and digital media.

Please submit a short abstract (5-10 lines) and a curriculum vitae (3-5 lines) to Willem Strank: wstrank@ndl-medien.uni-kiel.de
The deadline for submissions is July 31.

Please don't hesitate to distribute our call to others who may be interested!

Possible issues (among others) include:

• Songs in silent films,
• Song scoring Arias and 'Lieder' in films
• Songs composed for films
• Songs about cinema
• Illustrated songs
•  Films based on songs
• Theme/Title Songs
•  Economic aspects of songs in films
• Song in World Cinema (especially in India)
• Songs in digital media