Musical Analysis on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

In the rehearsal scene, there were references to the sound technician. This was a Brechtian technique of the audience being aware of a play within a play. Most sound effects were specific and recorded, like the city hustle and bustle, the screams and the voices when reading things aloud. However, the one sound that stood out to me was the music box. Being the only live sound we hear, relates to the naturalism of the nursery and how Jennet Humfrye’s love for her son is infinite. Music boxes were commonly a gift for a child, or a token of love for a partner in the Victorian times. The idea of love is additionally demonstrated when Kipps is reading a letter alongside Stella. This shows his remembrance of her voice and how much he misses her. The ticking of the clock at the beginning of the play reminds the audience of a countdown, a signal that something is about to happen. This relates to the rhythmic rocking of the chair, similar to a heartbeat, echoing around the house, resembling Nathaniel’s pulse. This again adds humanity to the nursery. When Kipps stops the chair from rocking, everything is silent which signifies the death of Nathaniel and how in reality he is gone. Contrasting to the naturalism, there is repetition of the Woman’s screams. These created an abstract soundscape that made the audience feel frightened, mimicking the discomforting feeling of the horror genre. The ‘Pony and Trap’ sounds came

Swimming in the ocean on a beautiful beach, the sun shining, the water is the perfect temperature, you have zero worries in the world. Until you feel a bump on your leg and notice someone on shore screaming and pointing in your direction, duh dum. You bring yourself out of your reverie and notice a very large fin protruding from the water moving towards you, duhh dumm. Your heart starts racing as you frantically think of your chances of being able to swim away from this monster coming your direction with increasing speed, duh dum dum dum dum. With simple notes of a tuba, John Williams could amplify the fear portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws (1975). These simple notes would carry on to be a standard to symbolize something terrifying

Scene 3: As the crew approaches the island natives, the music crescendos and the drums are very prominent. They speed up as the crew gets closer and closer signifying the anticipation of meeting the natives. The strings, percussion, and brass instruments can easily be heard throughout the scene. These

Later on in the day, after a field trip to the local planetarium, Jim meets a group of kids that are troublemakers and want to fight with him. As a conversation begins, music also begins in the background, yet quickly changes when the gang wants trouble. The music becomes fast, louder, and more suspenseful. The style of mickeymousing, "type of score [that] uses music as a literal equivalent to the image" (Giannetti, 231), was also used in this same scene. Jim and the character of Buzz are fighting each other with knives, and at every jab of the knife the music changes and becomes more dramatic and even more suspenseful. It is said that, "music can serve as a kind of overture to suggest the mood or spirit of the film as a whole" (Giannetti, 233). Later on, James Dean's character is asking his father for advice, and the music becomes quiet, slow and mysterious. Another scene where the score plays a vital role in the atmosphere is during an argument with Jim and his parents. Jim and his father are yelling, and when Jim grabs his father as if to hit him, the music turns scary and very intense.

The music interacts with dialogue in the film; the techno beat is, at times, accompanied by vocals, which correspond with not only what is happening in the scene, but also the internal diegetic dialogue—another important motif.

The shark theme appeared for the first time on the film during the opening credits, with the camera view under the sea symbolizing the view of the shark when it swims underwater. The theme has couple music arrangements played by different instruments which are bass, celli, trombone and tuba. Part of the music seems be played by alternating two notes. Apart from that, the music is also played in high register and has a menacing tone. Part of the music is in slow tempo, part of it has fast tempo.

The muddled and messy sounds from the violinist escalated to a strong and beautiful melody, in sync with the tension built in the story. The effect of sound and tune on character emotion within the film complimented the drastic advance of excitement and tension throughout the dance from Harrison and his partner on stage. Not only was it the sound of the radio handicaps that affected the build of tension, but it was also a compilation of background noises which influenced the direction of the reader's attention at key moments throughout the film. During the brief cuts to Hazel Bergeron washing the dishes the sound created by the running water drowned out the news reporter and the entire clip of Harrison's display on stage. Hazel was oblivious to the situation presented, thus demonstrating her lack of awareness throughout the entire film.

As the scene commences, the viewer hears a soft and mild melody that fades with the background. Additionally, the music seems to advance with an adagio tempo that stays the same throughout. The use of quiet instruments and a slow tempo create strong feeling of sadness and grief. However, the addition of an extra harmony alters the entire message of the music. This new melody demonstrates the appreciation the colored people have for Atticus. Quickly shifting, the music goes from a central message to another that alters the viewer’s perception on the entire movie. The melody in the beginning depicts a mournful crowd; the second melody, a grateful crowd. The music alone creates a clear message to the viewer, on the feeling of the people remaining in the courthouse. Along with the music, the camera shots at the beginning of the scene coincide with the message of the melodies. Following the establishing shot of Atticus, the camera rapidly switches between Reverend Sykes, the children, and the colored people. Reverend Sykes, the reverent of the African Church in Maycomb, can be seen with the children on top of the balcony when the camera focuses on them twice. Afterwards, the camera begins to focus on the colored people standing up, as Atticus gets ready to leave. All of abrupt camera shots happen at a medium range, symbolizing the relationship all the colored people have as a community. Accordingly, the camera shots coincide with the music and reinforce the idea of a rapid change in mood in the scene. As soon as the camera shifts the focus to the colored people the music changes, in order to inform the viewer of a change in tone. This change in music and the colored people standing up go hand in hand to strengthen the idea of the people’s appreciation towards Atticus on the

The very intro of the film begins with a score of fast-paced and spasmodic music, and the very atmosphere of the film already comes off as apprehensive. The music in the beginning sounded a lot like violin music, and violins are known for producing either soft, delicate tones or screechy and high-pitched cacophony. However, Hitchcock chooses to use the screechy violin sounds to corporate into music because the violin’s

Lighting and sound are another two key factors that can be manipulated to heighten the dramatic value of the scene. With the opening of the first sequence, the musical motif that accompanies Abigail throughout the film begins to play as she is introduced. It follows her emotions, the tempo increasing as she hurries to ready herself and creep out of the house. As the forest comes into view, the eerie surroundings are complemented by the change in music.

The music interacts with dialogue in the film; the techno beat is, at times, accompanied by vocals, which correspond with not only what is happening in the scene, but also the internal diegetic dialogue—another important motif.

     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.

Sound was an important technique in the making of this film. Sound techniques are used to convey the mood of a scene and manipulate the audience’s emotional reaction (Horton, 2013). One of the directors, Andrew Stanton, stated that to capture the sound of water sloshing inside a whale, the film crew journeyed around the

2b. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, John Williams creates the mood of non-diegetic music which is when the source of the sound is not visible on

Pirates of the Caribbean was the first film of Pirates. The whole movie was about Pirates, their lifestyle such as stealing a boat from other people which were shown in the movie when Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) stole a boat from the British people. Other fascinating facts which I found about pirates were shown in the movie when they showed a couple of punishments for pirates who committed crimes and of course the myth of mermaids which for me was inaccurate. This movie was released in 2003 and was directed by Gore Verbinski.