Form in Film Music
It has been said that films allow us to transport ourselves to another world where we can experience the magic and mystery of the characters onscreen. It is a true tribute to the abilities of a talented director when we feel that we are next to Tom Hanks when storming Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan, or flying at Mach speed in Star Wars.
At times, however, a filmmaker will want the audience to step back and appreciate the “bigger picture”, so to speak, in order to allow the audience to reflect on their emotions or take in a broader scope of the story line. While it is known that cinematography can create a sense of this subjective/objective experience by using wide shots or close-ups for instance, it is also the music that draws us in and out of the film. This in fact, is what also dictates the form of film music.
All westerners have an innate sense of form in music. We are subjected to it our entire lives, whether it be the verse, chorus, bridge form heard in popular music, or the sonata, rondo, or fugue forms heard in concert music. Film music form for the most part, however, must follow the action on screen. In fact, it is the degree to which film music follows the form of the picture that creates the subjective/objective experience. When the music follows very closely with set hit points it draws the audience into the picture, whereas when the music does not follow the picture it creates a more subjective viewpoint of the action on screen. To illustrate, let’s look at some examples.
This first clip is from Spiderman 2 and it illustrates how Danny Elfman’s music helps to draw the audience into the scene. This scene features an intense brawl between Spiderman and Doc Oc, and the cinematography and sound design does an excellent job of making one feel that they are part of the action. The music also does it’s part by following the action on screen by “hitting” certain sections of the film. In this example, Elfman’s music is almost serving more as sound effect then music to add to the hyper-realism of the scene, and the action onscreen dictates the form of the music.
Now compare this Spiderman 2 clip to another action scene in Gladiator. While this is still a fighting scene, it has a distinctly different character.
In this example all other elements are stripped from the soundtrack, and Hans Zimmer’s score takes the forefront. Contrary to the first example, the music here does the opposite of the picture, with slow music going against the grain of the fast paced editing and action onscreen. This allows the audience to have a more objective viewpoint of the story.
This use of music in Gladiator, where music is used to pull the audience out of the scene in order to demonstrate the horror of battle, has almost become a Hollywood cliché ever since Oliver Stone’s use of Barber’s Adagio for this effect in Platoon. Nonetheless, these 2 examples illustrate how music can be used to pull the audience in and out of the picture. In addition, they show 2 approaches to film scoring, being underscoring and thematic scoring. The Spiderman example underscores and supports the film with few musical motifs, whereas the Gladiator example presents one of the central musical themes of the film that will recur throughout.
One of the really beautiful things about this approach is that it shows the extent to which film scoring is a collaborative effort. A composer can approach a scene using either method, but it is the choice of the director that will determine the scene’s impact.
For more in depth reading on this topic, check out how these ideas fit into experimental psychologist Annabel Cohen’s article How Music Influences the Interpretation of Film and Video: Approaches from Experimental Psychology or legendary sound editor Walter Murch’s article Dense Clarity, Clear Density (another post on this article will be forthcoming). Happy Filmmaking!
