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Music For Film
Function of Film Music
The 5 Functions of Film Music
1. Source music (diegetic music).
2. Sense of time or place.
3. Paralleling the action (“Mickey-Mousing”).
4. Emphasising the emotion.
5. Themes for characters / places (leitmotif).
Source Music (Diegetic)
• This is music that is created within the scene that
characters would be able to hear.
• It might come, for example, from a radio in the corner
of a room, a band playing at a gig, somebody playing a
piano.
– Example 1 – School of Rock (the band are playing so that
all characters can hear)
– Example 2 – The Matrix (Neo & Trinity are in a club so they
can hear the music playing in the background.)
Source Music: School of Rock
Source Music: The Matrix
Music to give a sense of Time or Place
• This is music that is written to give a sense of
authenticity to a scene either for its location and
country, or its place in time. It is achieved by:
– using traditional instruments (e.g. bagpipes for
Scotland, Sitar for India).
– Using traditional musical forms (e.g. a waltz for
Vienna in the 17th Century).
– Example 1 – Braveheart (Uilleann pipes being a traditional instrument)
– Example 2 – Hero (traditional Chinese instruments)
– Example 3 – Titanic (The Hills of Connemara – traditional Irish folk
tune).
Time or Place: Braveheart
Time or Place: Hero
Time or Place: Titanic
Paralleling the action (‘Mickey-Mousing’)
• This is where musical events are synchronised so that
they carefully match any physical actions that happen
on screen.
• Whilst originally a comedic device used in numerous
cartoons (hence the name), it is also a technique used
in action films to make the scene more exciting.
– Example 1 – The Picnic (a 1930 Mickey Mouse cartoon)
– Example 2 – King Kong (the music matches Kong’s actions)
– Example 3 – Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (video
analysis of the scene)
Mickey-Mousing: The Picnic
Mickey-Mousing: King Kong
Mickey-Mousing: Indiana Jones
Emphasising the Emotion
• This is where the music in the scene is written to have an
emotional effect on the audience.
• It could be used to:
– Create tension in a horror film or a thriller.
– Emphasise the romantic or love aspect to a scene.
– Accompany an action scene to make it more exciting.
• Example 1 – Psycho (dissonant strings used to create tension)
• Example 2 – Gone With The Wind (music swells with character’s emotions)
• Example 3 – Rocky (triumphant music to accompany training montage)
• Example 4 – Titanic (string trio playing ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ as they face
certain death)
Emotion: Psycho
Emotion: Gone With The Wind
Emotion: Rocky
Emotion: Titanic
Themes for character or places (Leitmotif)
• This is where the composer will create a
melodic musical theme for a particular
character or place in the film.
• Example 1 – Doctor No (leitmotif for James Bond)
• Example 2 – Superman The Movie (leitmotif for Superman’s
heroism)
• Example 3 – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (leitmotif for
the Galactic Empire)
Leitmotif: Doctor No
Leitmotif: Superman The Movie
Leitmotif: The Empire Strikes Back