Avid Sequence

A composer depends entirely upon the nature of the film for all the clues needed to write a suitable score for a film. Brought into the production after a certain amount of film has been shot, the films concept will dictate how the composer will write the music. Whether based on the story line, or providing information by setting an atmospheric state, film music will always have different purposes between different films. Penguin Ballet by Nigel Westlake was composed to focuses upon the graceful, almost ballet like movements of the penguins underwater. Whereas, Writings on the wall by Sam Smith conveys ideas and messages which will be expressed throughout the film, especially through the use of lyrics. Although positioned within the film to provide contrasting messages, both these songs use similar musical elements to support the piece, and its position with the film. The discussion of this essay is that there are similarities between the musical elements that support the lyrics in a song and the action in a documentary. Through this, we will discuss the musical element’s of pitch, and timbre and texture.

Along with background music, sound effects play more of a role on the way we feel than many moviegoers think, and "although the function of sound effects is primarily atmospheric, they can also be precise sources of meaning in film" (Giannetti, 225). When the

Music added to this film. French music and classical music was played in the background. At no time was there any lyrics to the songs being played. I think this was advantageous as the camera angles captured the emotion of Antoine and other characters. Also the scene itself often in Paris was full of hustle and bustle. It’s a big city so the city sounds where heard. Thus music with lyrics were not needed. I think the final scene is a great scene. This scene is of Antoine running away for the last time going to the ocean. Quiet and unique percussion music was being played as he was running towards the ocean.

In the movie, Stranger Than Fiction (2006), there were numerous instances where music was employed. The genre of music used in the film was mostly rock, instrumental, and vocals. Several instruments that were heard were piano, guitar, organ, drums, and flute. Giannetti 244 describes, “A frequent function of film music is to underline speech, especially dialogue.” I found this to completely accurate in this film. The film did not include any action or dance scenes, only dialogue with music playing in the background. There was one instance that I noticed involving music that was different from the others. Harold was playing the guitar and sang “Whole Wide World” by Reckless Eric in Ana’s living room. This showed the viewer that Harold was completely different from when we first met him. Another prominent song within the movie was “I Turn My Camera On” by Spoon. This song played as Harold started living his life differently. He no longer calculated his tasks and followed a dream by shopping for a

Of course, music doesn’t need to be under the whole thing. But they are in a café and cafés come with noise, whether that be the machines, radio, or the other customers. Plus it is nighttime and people are coming in and out of the café, so there is bound to be sound from the traffic and nightlife filtering in. Music and background noise adds a really powerful aspect to any piece and sometimes the lack of music makes a scene even more dramatic. However, building up music for intense scenes can pull the audience in. For example, when Betty and Bill are really going at it and having to start over several times (Ives 1053), I am picturing the music picking up speed and getting more intense with each ring of the bell until it’s built up to halt as soon as Betty says, “Listen, I was headed to the movies…”(Ives 1053). This would add a comedic value to the piece that I believe the audience would enjoy.

Sound is a key film element in this documentary that improves Guggenheim’s pathos throughout the film. Guggenheim, uses background music well throughout the movie mostly to emphasize Gore’s stories to improve his pathos. Examples of this includes when Gore is talking about his son’s accident, his sister dying, or after losing the election. When talking about these scenes there is music playing in the background and it sets the mood for each scene. The music in all these scenes is very somber and allows the audience to understand the emotional impact of these scenes which is very effective at reaching the audience. After talking about something of importance Gore uses emphasis by taking a long pause after and having complete silence for his

Choosing the soundtrack for a movie is another difficult task that a director has to do because they have to find a perfect song or an instrumental track that will fit or compliment the scene that they are editing. The soundtrack of a movie is also a guaranteed way of effecting the emotions of the audience members. As a result, directors spend a great deal of time in choosing the right soundtrack for the movie. They want to make sure that they target the correct emotions for each scene. The sequence of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” featured many different sounds; such as, speech, music and sound effects.

The audio although normally overpowered by the visual aspect played a key role in defining and empowering the movie. The music was fast and uplifting during celebration and on

Dad’s “help” is seen through the grass, trees, and wind moving the sailboat. In the Music Redub version, Tommy asks for a little help, and then Jaw theme starts. The movement of the grass and trees, paired with the music, makes the viewer anticipate something bad to happen. When Tommy hits his head on the boom, it appears that it was an attack, rather than the wind moving the sail. Music in a film creates the atmosphere and is very important in setting the mood of a scene.

He is able to use these parts to manipulate the audience’s emotions. The music playing from the car is an on-screen sound. As the man gets attacked, the volume increases. The sound helps intensify the scene that has been created by the film’s visual elements. The audience then subconsciously forms ideas, opinions, and feelings about what they are seeing. The viewers develop scared feelings as the scene intensifies to the happy upbeat tune. The increasing volume of the cheery song reflects the violence and the sinisterness of the scene. The song stops with the slamming of the car’s driver-side door as the man is abducted. There is a moment of silence and then a new song abruptly entered the silent scene. The music is non-diegetic and is an offscreen sound. The song is screechy, high pitched, and jagged sounding at first, continuing the anxious and scared mood. The song shifts into a sort of soulful hymn. The tone shifts along with the song. The audience begins to feel relieved and relaxes to the peaceful song.

Miyazaki uses Music to embrace what the characters are doing, to make the audience feel more interested in the film. At the beginning of the opening scene Sophie is seen walking through the parade to go visit her sister. The Music is very loud, showing that the parade is marching for joy. Sophie then begins to walk down a dark, peaceful, mysterious alleyway. The music becomes very quiet. The lack of music is telling the audience that something is going to happen to Sophie. As speaking as a viewer of the film I feel very scared for Sophie as she walks down this specific alleyway. The lighting and music becomes a lot dimmer. The music seems very quiet but it changes into a very magical and peaceful sound when Sophie and Howl meet for the first time, this particular sound that is introduced links to the key theme love and bonds. The music changes when a meaningful scene is played, when something's going to happen. Another part of the scene that has really brought to my attention is when Howl begins to fly away from the evil glumps. Half way through the opening scene,Sophie is being escorted to the bakery by Howl. Suddenly the music changes into a very dramatic and scary sound. This change of music is telling us that something worth wild is going to happen or someone's in danger. In this situation Howl is in danger! Sophie and Howl run as fast as they can through the dark alley way away from the evil glumps. Howl and Sophie appear to be trapped with glumps behind them and glumps in front of them. The sound is getting louder and louder. Howl leaps up into the air and starts to fly. Sophie is very surprised as she thought Howl was just like her but no, he's a wizard. The key theme identity has been shown when Sophie sees Howl as a human but then he suddenly leaps up into the air. Howls identity has completely changed, human to a

Usually when two characters are in conversation, often with Patricia, a sequence of shots and jump cuts is favored over a continuous shot. As Michel and Patricia are driving together, their conversation is shown using jump cuts. It is not obvious how much time the cuts skip, but by the sequence and the other similar ones, there is something to show specific point in time being reached. In this case it is them reaching their destination. In another scene, a man finishes telling Patricia a story. By cutting out times of silence, there is a nonstop stream of dialogue that cannot practically be achieved in a continuous shot without the acting being very strange to watch. During these conversations, the movie’s title is physically exemplified as the characters are breathless in their conversation. These also create a certain rhythm that the viewer can follow since each shot is roughly the same length of time. Because of this, the technique calls attention to itself while simultaneously taking care to not detract from its overall effect and the

This clearly explains the significance of music and the role that has in motion pictures. Music has to match the emotions that the actors are showing and the environment they are in. If fail to do so, the movie could be a dreadful thing to watch.

The vast majority of the sound in the film comes from the vinyl record, A Single Life, the namesake of the film. The music is upbeat and jovial, with lyrics much more well thought out than I realized during my first viewing. Past the music, the sound effects are well executed and strategically used, never distracting from the narrative at hand. There is no dialogue in the film, but ultimately any dialogue would have been unnecessary, and the music and sound effects more than make up for its absence.

     The music helped in elaborating this great film. As I mentioned in class different instruments helped create different moods for different scenes in the movie. We heard the cello and the violin to create sadness and remorse. The flute created eeriness and the trumpet created awareness. I thought these were instruments and tools that help make this film extraordinary.