An essay written and compiled by
Mario Cordina 2016
I will start this with a disclaimer. Many film critics and musicologists have tried to write detailed studies and give examples of the various and different roles that music plays in film. Some have tried to separate other sounds, like special effects, or speech from pure music. I think that they have only scratched the surface of the complex and intricate nature of the topic. I have based the following on the two premises below.
- Music is used in various ways in movies: as part of the story as in musicals, as background music within the story (for example, when a character turns on the radio), and as background music to which only the audience is privy. It is used in this way to complement cartoons, comedies, action-adventures, science-fiction, and drama.
- Directors are picky about their shots, they also spend a great deal of time selecting their soundtrack. Music’s function is deeper than simply background music. Focus on the songs the director chooses and you will have a much greater understanding of a film, you’ll learn and experience a good deal more.
The list below attempts to find out how film elicits emotional response
and conveys the dramatic intentions of the film. This is how music has always
come in handy as a director’s tool for film purposes. Another disclaimer is that these are some of the possible roles that music plays in films. It is a collection of what many experts have to say together with my own opinions. It is meant as a guideline and can surely be tested in practice. That it can be tested means that various uses listed below can be illustrated in various films, but they can also fail in others. As with all art, such study is liable to different interpretations and open to debate.
(1) Cue in: Music is a transport into the film genre, time period and location. It cues us into the mood, the scope and the energy level (Calm or adrenalin rush?). It cues us into flashbacks and back to the present or future.
Film Genre is important for the industry. It basically tries to fit all kinds of movie dramas onto some sort of shelf so that labels can target and appropriately market their product. Music is also pigeon holed into styles. The same has been done through the ages with all kinds of art and literature. I think it is appropriate to think about some genres. As much as I hate labeling and the damage business sometimes carries on art, genres do exist in some way or another and films typically make use of specific music for specific genres.
- (2) Setting: Music is a social, cultural, geographical reference. It can portray the heritage of a character or group of characters or the geographic setting of the film or a scene. In pairing or matching , the music used matches the setting. The sound of bagpipes might conjure up ideas of Scotland and misty green fields, or the strings of a sitar invoke images of the far East. Below are the opening credits from the Last Emperor of China Director Bernardo Bertolucci 1987
- An interesting technique is mismatching, like Sofia Coppola did in Marie Antoinette. In this example, Coppola inserts Bow Wow Wow's 1982 single "I Want Candy" into a scene that takes place at the end of the 1700s.
- It can emphasize beginnings and endings and it gives unity through recurrence.
- It can be used to focus attention and can make a film memorable.
- It can create climax and anti climax and point to important or crucial moments in a film.
- It sets the pace of the narrative speeding up or slowing down.
- It smoothens cuts between shots.
(3) Clarification or Establishing Narrative: Music gives physical shape to a narrative
Through its appearance, disappearance and/or reappearance.
And here's a famous scene from Slumdog Millionaire where the narrating of how the boys managed to scrape a living is illustrated through a song, almost like a music video.
(4) Continuity: Music helps glue scene, cuts and jumps together, giving unity and continuity to the film as a whole. With the music playing this training scene in Rocky I becomes a whole and not just single consecuetive shots.
- (5) Illustrating Movement: Known as mickey-mousing it uses music accents to match every movement seen on screen as in animation and slapstick comedies. Watch this example from Toy Story.
(6) Indicators: Leitmotifs are used to create plot relationships. Established by Richard Wagner in the opera these music themes act as indicators and have often been used in film context since the early days of film music. Characters, situations and places are given thematic identities, which help piece up the plot. When the character gets a theme and later we hear that theme again, we get a very clear hint of who that character might be, even if his face is not shown.
Here are two examples: The first one is from Star Wars with the film score by John Williams.
And the second one is from The Lord of the Rings, a film score by Howard Shore.
(7) More than Words: Music is used to convey emotions when words cannot. It can convey the emotions involved in a certain scene and it can evoke emotions in the audience. Music adds to the emotional quality of the film. There is some empirical evidence to support this: fast and loud music arouses, slow and soft music calms. Motion and emotion are often entwined (Meyer, 1956). Look at the famous Godfather ending scene below.
(8) Traits: Our perception of a character is built on what he does and says, his looks and manner – Beyond words and acting there is a hidden soul in the music accompanying the character thus throwing an unspoken light on his traits and habits. An obvious choice is when the main characters in Coppola's 'Lost in Translation' chose specific tracks and sing them in their own specific way.
(9) Time: Music can alternate the perception of time just by altering the tempo of music, it can heavily push or drag any scene. Imagine a chase sequence with lots of tempo and exciting orchestration compared to the same sequence with a calm, slow music. Likewise it can slow down a 30 second action-less scene and make it feel like eternity.
(10) Space: Music can alternate the perception of space. Using a very intimate room sound track on a space science fiction movie might seem just as wrong as using a full symphony orchestra in a two character movie that’s taking place in a small flat. Register bass, treble and mid-frequencies tend to give an impression of “size”. Music production makes use of effects like reverb which tend to bring the sound closer or further from you, like a church echo or a whisper in your ear.
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Part 5 : Final Reflections
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