How Film Scores Play with Our Brains
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Music is one of the most important aspects of movies, so how does music contribute to the emotional weight of a scene? Let's look at the power of a film score and how it plays with your brain to make you feel a certain way.
I really like when the filmmaker plays with our heads, and plays a score incongruous with the action on the screen.
Perfect example: ruclips.net/video/BYF2tfdD1fA/видео.html (not quite score but the use of Bowie was genius).
I think the reason I find the shower scene in phycho scarier without music is because that piece is over played in comical scenes in cartoons
Bailey Mina can I just mention your profile picture and how amazing it is?
Rayanne Florence also without music it sounds more like rape
Late reply, but Hitchcock didn't even plan to have music in the movie, thinking it would mess the shower scene up. When he saw the scene later he was displeased, Bernard Herrmann added the music and Hitchcock said he then realized the movie would work out. Me personally, I don't really have a preference on it.
Exactly
A lot of people overuse it in their own horror films etc. and it's just cringe
UP HAS THE BEST SONG BECAUSE IT STARTS OUT AS HAPPY AND PLAYFUL BUT THEN THE TEMPO SLOWS AND IT QUIETS DOWN TO SHOW THE EMOTION OF SADNESS HAPPENING IN THE FILM. I ADORED THAT SCORE
NO NOT THE SCENE FROM UP NO PLEASE I NEED A WARNING BEFORE I EVER SEE ANYTHING RELATING TO THAT SCENE
Right?! Now my day is slightly ruined.
To this day that still makes me sad everytime I see it
Yup. I had to pause the video and just sit in silence for a little bit after the clip.
Which scene are you talking about?
Same here man.. But i think the real sad thing about Up is not the story itself, someone losing the most beloved person in his life, but the possible truth that the viewer never even gonna find that person who he could love all the way till the end.
Then there's The Birds... A film that is terrifying due to its complete lack of music.
Same as The Exorcist
This is why I want to compose music for films
Jaw Ji same
I think that the music in The Shining plays a big role. Take out the music, and the film is definitely not as suspenseful or scary.
Catherine Harpold noo way man
3:35 Wow, this piano player was really ahead of his time!
ikr reminds me of lex theme on bvs.
I dunno man, that shower scene seemed pretty hardcore still without the music.
IKR! If the scene wasn't edited in a way to accompany the music, it could be even scarier.
I think the soundtrack adds drama but without there's a stark, grim brutality to it.
@Theo Cambel it was a bit comedy, i agree
Seemed a bit like something from 1950's Bestgore
You just had to throw that scene from up in there
The use of slow music for sad scenes, minor key for villain, etc. should be attributed to much older theater traditions such as opera. Your phrasing made it sound like you're attributing the modern use of these musical themes to silent film era, when these traditions go back much further
I don't really think the Pirates of the Caribbean holds up. There is a lot more information conveyed in the camera perspective, camera movement, Depp's body language and action.
Yeah, like as soon as he looks down the "creepy" triumphant feeling is lost coz its funny
+RaySquirrel yeah I agree. The "creepy" one had only a tiny touch of creepiness to it, and the "comical" one didn't seem funny at all. I'm sure someone could devise a scene in which different music completely alters the mood, but the one used here has too much conveyed through visuals for that to work.
+Jim Cullen (Zagorath) Yeah, I think after repeating the same scene for a third time, especially with a more serious tone the two times before really makes the supposed funny one out of place or even boring.
+Jim Cullen (Zagorath) Yeah, I think after repeating the same scene for a third time, especially with a more serious tone the two times before really makes the supposed funny one out of place or even boring.
+BlackDiamond Games I think it's more that it makes less sense to have that music there. The original score complements Depp's actions after introducing him, the creepy score does work and conveys a different emotion, but it doesn't work when he gets ready to swing down. It action would need to be more menacing.
Did anyone else start to cry a little when they heard "up"?
+svill1010 Not really but i thought that i should finish it someday, i have seen the 2nd half of it like 4 times on tv but i don't think i ever saw the start.
+svill1010 Man, that was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen in my life. And usually I am not the emotional kind of guy which makes this even more stunning. Beautiful and touching movie!
Yes. Instant sobs. That and the Titanic clip.
Right here with you on Up and Titanic
The beginning of "Up" is a "try not to cry" challenge. Arrgh...
I cringed so hard at the comical music with the jack sparrow scene
Vince Hutch It is.
+AmazingGryphon
Agreed. The scene works with both the triumphal music and the creepy, but the comical music implies a level of frenetic motion that just isn't there in the image. Now I imagine that music would work for other scenes in the movie where jack is swinging about and being fired upon, but not here, not when all he's doing is standing there.
People are waay too sensitive to cringe these days
it was hilarious
+RespectYourViews
Comical music can work (sometimes) with scenes like that though, it just clashes with what we would normally expect from the scene imo,
once I saw someone add "Yakety Sax" over to the entire scene where Jack was trying to get the water out of the boat, it worked decently then
While I generally agree with the video, I don't particularly like the Pirates of the Caribbean example. It feels a little cheap because it really only works if you force yourself to "get" it. I don't think the music actually changed the feeling of the scene, it felt like you just changed the music and then there was this out of place music that you were supposed to be interpreting as a change of mood.
Generally no wrong in a language en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_player
I think thats because the first one was realy cut onto the scene/francise while the others are from other media.
The comical was a blunder, but the creepy I could very well see if the track matched up with the camera
I think that's only because you're so familiar with the character of Jack Sparrow, that you can't really see him as anything more than he is which a goofy pirate
I always think of Ex_Machina. Spoiler warning right now if you havnt seen it.
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When Ava is picking her skin and getting dressed up at the end it plays her theme which is like a music box, and is very tranquil and innocent, like we think she is. I felt so happy that she was finally free and it was cute to watch her doll herself up, I was think she was going to leave with Caleb and he'd have a beautiful robot gf. as weird as that sounds. Then the music starts getting loud, but you don't notice because the scene taking place is so shocking. Ava walks out of the room and proceeds to the elevator leaving Caleb trapped inside. The music is louder and louder but I still didn't notice because i couldn't believe my eyes. Ava entered the elevator and we see Caleb pounding on the door, screaming her name. The music is now deafening loud. the elevator door closes, and the music suddenly stops, and you finally hear Caleb. And it's weird, once you realize how loud the music was you also realize what just happened, leaving you speechless and silent, like the music.
Perfectly executed
If you'd like to hear the score I'm talking about, look up the Ex_Machina ost - Skin. just listening you should be able to point out right where things start going south
kittypie that was a great movie
No LOTR? really? The emotions evoked by the score alone, and the amount of work that went into each individual piece of music, the motifs and everything, too great, too important to be left out.
There's nothing groundbreaking about LOTR music. Listen to Maurice Jarre scores for example.
B1SCOOP nothing groundbreaking? I suggest you watch the behind the scenes features about Howard Shore and the music, you'll cure yourself of your ignorance then.
This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read... You may not like the score for LotR, but it is definitelly grounbreaking. Howard Shore took the concept of leitmotives further than any movie score composer ever.
"Howard Shore took the concept of leitmotives further than any movie score composer ever." I would argue that this isn't true. Leitmotifs are not limited to Shore's music, and you can find a lot of them in other composers' music, like Ennio Morricone's or John Williams' scores. I would say that they are more common and more pronounced there.
But the LotR score is indeed unique in a variety of ways, and it would have well illustrated some points in the video. Whether it is groundbreaking or not is probably subjective though, and you cannot include all of the best scores in one video. There are too many of them, unless you're doing a video that is several hours long.
I know that they are not limited to Shore's music and that other composers use them too (and frankly I'm not that much of a fan of Shore, I barely listen to his other music), but LotR score is unique in the amount and variety of the themes.
I think apocalypse now helicopter scene with ride of the valkaries is an example of how music perfectly acompanies an action. I always think of ride of the valkaries every time I fly a helicopter in a video game for example.
I could be wrong, but isn't that scene with Wagner based on actual events? I heard they once used that music as a form of psychological warfare to intimidate the enemy. Could be a myth though.
I'm going to sound like a "typical" chick, but even though I've never seen the film, the fact that the musicians are still trying to calm people down with their music as the ship sinks just breaks my heart. I love how you treat music as important to the film, because I sort of have a thing for film scores-I even have a few on my iPod. And I think you really did the topic justice. Great job. :)
That isn't typical chick, that is normal human :). I think most people found that scene heartbreaking, don't be so hard on yourself.
Jaspirita Mii Thank you for the sweet comment! There's just a lesson there about the function of music-it provides something to hold onto in the darkest of moments.
It's been a long time since I've seen that movie, but I think the band was playing because they knew they were going to die, and they preferred to go out making music together. That probably vindicates your emotional response even more.
Also, I don't see anything inherently "typical" or girly or whatever in having that, especially since I'm quite sure that was the intention.
Reading this made me really happy. I'm an aspiring composer, and boy am I glad there are people that think like you! Most of my friends/acquaintances who aren't musicians don't understand or don't remember at all when I mention the soundtrack, if we've seen a movie together. It's kind of saddening, because the composers literally pour so much into this music (atleast the ones who care about adding to the project/story, not just having notes playing behind, as the shadow of the film.)
They're also playing a hymn, "Nearer My God to Thee"
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee;
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
Thank you for using the clip from ET where the police officer is holding a gun, instead of the stupid walkie talkie they replaced it with in later releases
As interesting as studying films is, I have lost the passive nature of watching films; after studying sound design, Foley, surround panning techniques and orchestral scoring, I can't simply sit down and enjoy a movie anymore. Last movie I saw at the cinema was Suicide Squad and I kept getting pulled out of the story and on-screen action by slight mistakes in levels and panning. I was watching it with a friend and when we discussed the film on our ways home, I realised that the things I noticed were too subtle for him to take note.
An example from this video would be the feet hitting the floor at 10:00. Hearing this Foley I could visualise the shoe type, floor material and mic positioning when this Foley was recorded. As useful as it is, I got completely distracted from the tension of the scene.
DJ Shuffle pro
Chris Git folley?
DJ Shuffle - that's really sad. I studied music theory plus history and styles for a couple of years and at that time I was pulling music pieces apart and not enjoying them. It has diminished a great deal since I stopped. Unfortunately some are ruined forever...
I feel for you.😕
Ohhh nooo!!! I can see myself becoming like this... Do you recommend any movies that have exceeded your expectations based on what you have learnt?
Feel the same about art
I watched Sicario recently and the music in that is phenomenal. The score accompanying them driving through a foreboding Juarez in Mexico felt as if someone had physically injected me with liquid fear, it's that manipulative and commanding. Didn't realise the capabilities of music in film until then.
Fredreegz "The Beast"
patreon.com/nowyouseeit check it out!
Now You Hear it
A score function that was left out is that of sound effects. In Bambi, for instance, the score adheres to the action on the screen so closely that on many occasions sound effects were omitted.
My favorite themes of all time:
Binary Sunset/Force Theme (Star Wars) - John Williams
Imperial March (The Empire Strikes Back) - John Williams
Raider's March (Raider's March) - John Williams
Rey's Theme (The Force Awakens) - John Williams (It's only been a couple month's but its awesome)
Theme from Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park) - John Williams ( I am not a big fan of the film, but I still get chills after listening)
Star Trek - Michael Giacchino
Married Life (Up) - Michael Giacchino)
Here are my personal favorites xP
Binary Sunset
Duel of the Fates
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Theme
The Ecstacy of Gold
I Still Can't Sleep
Vertigo Theme
Schindler's List Theme
Once Upon A Time In America Theme
The Fellowship
Jurassic Park Theme
Indiana Jones Theme
The Imperial March
For A Few Dollars More
Concerning Hobbits
The Godfather Theme
Braveheart Theme
Time
Rey's Theme
Star Wars Theme
The First Victim
Now We Are Free
The Pink Panther Theme
Hedwig's Theme
Psycho Theme
Limelight Theme
The Bridge of Khazad Dum
L'Ultima Diligenza di Red Rock
The Green Mile Theme
The Shawshank Redemption Theme
Rabbia E Tarantella
As Time Goes By
Forrest Gump Theme
Jedi Steps
Una Mattina
Rose's Theme
The Throne Room
Omaha Beach
Hymn To The Fallen
Superman Theme
Lawrence of Arabia Theme
8½ Theme
I know, long ass list, but I just love music in movies. Without the music, the movies might as well go fuck themselves...
Film scores are the hardest piece of music to compose for a musician/composer. You often end up breaking musical convention which for a musician can be very uncomfortable.
I once wrote a piece of music that started of as a 2/4th measure for the establishing shot of a 1940s Dutch village where Nazis were running through the street capturing young men.
We then cut to two people Waltzing (my idea was a waltz because it is so Prusian and it ties in with what later happens with one of the two characters who turns out to be a traitor ;) so the music suggests that already). And this waltz is a 3/4th measure and a little more up beat.
The lady sips wine (another visual hint that they have some richess that most could not afford) and as the male character suggests to go to bed and she goes to put the glass down while he kisses her neck and air she misses the table and the glass falls to the floor and at then we cut to a guy running being followed by Nazis. In a 4 quarter up beat march with more minor progressions than the Waltz that had major chord progression.
But when I listen to that score on it's own it's a musical mess -- which was my fault because that was what I at some point only focussed on from my background as a musician. But in combination with the images it works. Only when I went to listen to other movies that had these hard hits and soft hits I realized that it's the norm. But when you read and hear the music you are like: "what?!?!?!?"
For example, in Raiders of The Lost Ark, during the Desert Chase, the music all of a sudden becomes a march when Indy is thrown out of the window.
now i see it. thanks.
Hear it too
The new IT soundtrack also mimics the sounds of the film. Some sounds in the film I throughly were a part of the edit, while later I found out they were in the score.
Most of the music is from John Williams lol. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET, Catch Me if You Can, Saving Private Ryan... He's the master!
Braulio Diaz Harry Potter
Howard Shore's LOTR and Hobbit scores are so incredibly beautiful and epic -- he may not be as prolific as Williams (who I love, BTW), but we can't leave him out.
Cumbria Strong Didn’t Morricone also do The Hateful Eight too?
@@Evanderj you damn right he did it was the first time ever someone made an original score for a Tarantino movie
Yea home alone too
No one does music scores like John Williams (Star Wars, Close Encounters, Jaws, ET)
Harry Potter and Jurassic Park.
First of all - really awesome topic!
But since I get pronunciation crap all the time... it's pronounced Cope-land. And he wasn't a film music pioneer as his first scores weren't till 1939 which is quite late. His film scores aren't really well known and he's certainly not as prolific as Demetri Tiomkin and Bernard Herrmann in early studio era.
But Copland is REALLY key to 20th century American orchestral music: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo (Beef, it's what's for dinner), The Grand Canyon Suite, Fanfare for the Common Man - these are pieces that practically everyone alive today has some familiarity with.
Still great video!
+Filmmaker IQ Thanks for the input! Love Filmmaker IQ. Here's the Copeland essay I reference in the video if you're interested:
puffin.creighton.edu/fapa/Bruce/0New%20Film%20as%20Art%20webfiles/all%20texts%20and%20articles/film_music_by__aaron_copeland.htm
Yes, I'm very interested!! Thanks for that link!
***** Copland is a Scottish Northern England name with Old Scandinavian roots - Old Norse "kaupland", meaning "bought land" which was rare in the middle ages.
But it's similar pronunciation to Copenhagen.
+5t412463663245 Yeah, I'm an American in America and I get crap every time I try to pronounce a French name on my channel - so I'm sympathetic.
But Aaron Copland is a giant in the history of music... if you pronounce his name COP-land, people like myself think you're talking about someone else.... it's like pronouncing George LuCASE.
Here's the first biography on Copland I could find on YT:
ruclips.net/video/JnWNjd00_ek/видео.html
+5t412463663245 that's generally true, but does _not_ apply to names. If you pronounce Antonin Dvořák the same way you pronounce Dr. August Dvorak or John C. Dvorak, _you are doing it wrong_. Similarly, if you pronounce Aaron Copland "cop-land", that is an _incorrect_ pronunciation.
I think music is most effective when what's happening on screen is enough to convey the feeling it wants to on its own, and the music accompanies this subtly rather than being as loud as the dialogue. For example, take the opening scene from Drive. It's tense af without the soundtrack, but with it; oh my god.
You put The Up scene here! Dammit in gonna cry again!
Two words for film scores: Studio Ghibli.
Oh god yes! I've got so many soundtracks and listen to them all the time. Also, if you don't know it exists yet, there is a Hisaishi/Ghibli concert BluRay which is pretty much, the best thing mankind has ever done :D
👍 good call
Fun fact: they pronounce it “ji-bu-ri” there in Japan. I’ve been saying it wrong with the Italian pronunciation.
Their good with addin music and removing it
I disagree on the Clockwork Orange part at 9:25. I felt no unease or tension there, in fact, I felt pretty damn happy and uplifted, it felt like a very good representation of what the characters were possibly feeling but portrayed as sound; bonus points that it also plays off on Alex's character taste for classical music as well. Guess I don't find violence as unsettling as you do.
Kyriolexical Dino
What about _Dancing in the rain_ rape scene?
Oscar Samaniego Seemed like a good portrayal of the characters lack of morality and the way they saw that as a fun activity. I wasn't unsettled there, it's just a movie, but it does have very interesting scenes.
*****
Thanks for answering.
The scene, in of itself, isn't unsettling. What it suggests about the character's themselves is quite unsettling.
Kubrick loved classical music and used it in a variety of ways. In Clockwork Orange, it is used to juxtapose horrible violence with uplifting, jolly symphonies. I think instead of describing it as tension, the feeling transferred is that of an intense wrongness. Just the sharp contrast between sound and visual (and even within the sound between music and fighting noises) serves to make you sort of sick to the stomach.
Can't believe you left INTERSTELLAR
really, any of Christopher Nolan's movies featuring Hans Zimmer is surprising, with Inception and The Dark Knight having some of his best music, and Batman Begins with its tone-shifting soundtrack that almost sets the entirety of the emotion in the movie. Batman Begins is almost the pure definition of what a composer should do for their soundtrack; to make the audience relate and be immersed. Also to be kick-ass outside of the movie setting too ;)
Fun fact for anyone who doesn’t know this but Has Zimmer actually created the soundtrack before knowing what the film was even going to be about.
BWWWWWRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHMMMM
@@hey-zel no way? listen to time, it fits perfectly. I thought he did that on purpose
@@miafitzgerald4126 ikr I was super shocked too!
You make a video about Film Scores and your first example is Napoleon Dynamite. That´s why I subscribed to your channel.
i had a heart attack at the beginning, i always had nightmares about that opening thing as a kid and im 16 now and it still puts me on edge
I’m watching this at school in a music class but I feel like I would still watch it, so good job
One major trend in film scores is overlooked here, which is those in which each major character has a 'theme' that plays when they appear or when a scene is primarily about them. Star Wars or Once Upon A Time in the West are good examples of this, where the themes that play help the audience to focus their attention to the point of view of a particular character, or to link that character with broader themes. For example, Darth Vader's march is ominous and powerful, reminding us when it plays that he is not only present, but is the overriding concern of the scene.
Great video. One of my favorite things in film is the musical accompaniment, and I believe it's also one of the most important emotional factors in creating a film. I can name scenes on all of my favorite films where the music completely made the film or scene in question, like Toy Story 3 (the final scene comes to mind), Don Hertzfeldt's It's Such a Beautiful Day (incredible usage of classical music to portray a mood, and one of the greatest films ever made in my opinion, go watch it on Netflix now, it's only about an hour long), ET like you mentioned in the video, and Jurassic Park.
I think I laughed way too hard at that "playful/comical" scene.
Saaame :D
I think one of my favourite uses of music in filmography is in the TV-show ER when Carter and Lucy gets stabbed. While they're being stabbed we hear the funky and happy music from the valentine's day party the rest of the doctors are having, which amplifies the feeling that no one knows what's happening to Carter and Lucy, the party just continues. Then, about a season later, the stabber comes back to the hospital as a patient, and Carter sees him. He talks to him, and then he leaves and has to hurry to the bathroom because he's feeling sick from getting all the memories back. The same music that was played when he was stabbed is played as he's hurrying to the bathroom, and it's just so amazingly done!
Since this wasn't summarized either in the video or description or some random comment...
Here's the summary:
00:00 - 0:58 kinda starts off at what music (or score or whatever) means for music..
0:59 -> difference between score and a music/soundtrack (or whatever it's supposed to be called)
1:29 -> (diving deeper) comparing movie scenes with and without their "scores"
1:56 -> the pirates of the caribbean example (the creator's and mine fav example)
2:53 -> a lil dive into the older cinema (and how music score was, real time piano players playing the piano and pullin out different psychological effects out of it... or something along those lines.. just watch it)
3:17 -> a few examples of how...
4:03 -> how these were evolved and incorporated in the modern cinema (how the ARE used...)
4:43 -> analyzing the famous "shower scene" from the film "psycho" on the psychology of music...( I think)
5:23 -> analyzing how the score works in "JAWS"
The film score pioneer guy's 5 ways the film score serves the "visuals"
1. ( 6:10 ) setting the atmosphere
2. ( 6:39 ) it reinforces certain psychological things and help tell the story in a (how do I put it) certain way ^^'
(or something like that)
3. ( 7:20 ) to build a sense of continuity/ knit scenes together (depends on how you knit 'em.. maybe in a montage or maybe like using a flashback or somethin..)
4. ( 8:19 ) they kinda tell that, that's it! (or as "Now you see it" put it, give a sense of finality)
5. ( 8:56 ) it's just there to fill the silence.. that is when the film is NOT supposed to have silence (or no music... or whatever!)
9:43 -> sometimes NOT having a score is the way to go ...
10:16 -> how the psychology of the music works... (the same music could give you different effects, used differently .... I mean scores... but whatever)
The interesting thing about the band in Titanic, is that the band in the real life event did that too. They did that to calm the passengers down or something to that effect and didn't try to get to the boats. They even went down with the ship.
I don't agree with the Psycho example.For me it seemed lot more effective without any music.
+Arghya Sen I agree, the music feels dated to me, but the diegetic sound stands the test of time.
+Arghya Sen Me too
+Arghya Sen I think that's because we've all heard it a thousand times.
+Arghya Sen Partly true.... Without the music, there is an almost 'clinical' feel to it..... With the music, it's more breaking of the suspense -- but this requires the lead-up to the scene (which has no music), the 'history' of having heard the music in the movie's opening titles), AND -- importantly -- to be seen and heard in as close to a 'theater' as possible ..... It doesn't work as much with the music, if you're watching it on an iPhone..... You HAVE to view and hear a lot of these in a cinematic setting...
Also remember, that the scene starts without music and creates that clinical atmosphere whilst she is bathing, It is only once the shower curtain is ripped away that the music abruptly starts.
At this point of film history, you didn't ever kill of your star halfway through the film. On top of this, this is at the moment that she decides to return the money, and is in the middle of a metaphorical cleansing. That is when she is murdered. Keeping it quiet up until that point was the work of a genius, and I think that it was the best decision for the film.
Now another tool I've seen recently used with the soundtrack not the score but it technically could be used with both is using upbeat, happy, optimistic music during a chaotic or scary scene creating a very unsettling feeling. At the same time the music's changes also correspond with the scene, if that makes any sense.
I miss hearing those THX intros in movie theaters
i think scores and background music in the older games made them so memorable for us, the eerie music of Resident evil 3 , the empowering rock music of Prince of Persia (warrior within), and suspence music of the Metal gear solid, i feel like modern games aren't paying much attention to it,
I completely agree that when done right, certain movies (not all of course) can convey more emotion without music.
Look at Tarintino movies for example. Sure he uses music and soundtracks at times when he feels the scene needs it, but there are many times in his movies where so much emotion can get conveyed without music and just silence or sound effects to push the scene forward.
Just look at Pulp Fiction where Butch goes back to his apartment to get his fathers watch. There was so much build and the only sound you hear are the sound effects along with Travolta and Willis' performance to further drive the scene home.
It's one of my least favorite scenes in the entire movie, but I still remember that scene more than some of the others, just by how it was set up.
They make you think the Star Wars prequels are good. Went back and watched them. Realized I like them as a kid because the music is good. Good job John Williams.
Just discovered your channel. Your work it's amazing :)
Personally, my favorite Soundtrack and Score it's from Winding-Refn's Drive.
S Y N T H W A V E
Can't believe you included a skit from Key & Peele, this guys are on another level! 💀
The song that accompanied the black and white chase scene was the Holberg Suite, not specifically written for the movie. One of my favorite pieces of all time.
Nice video essay! Interesting how the scene in "Psycho" works best with music, while the scene in "No Country for Old Men" works best without.
Clever use of music at the end while displaying the sources!
It's funny I just saw this video now because I went over the music from Finding Nemo and for example if you just listen to the music when the Barracuda shows up, you actually jump when you hear the punch and it brings you back to the fear you had as a child when you heard that music for the first time. It's amazing.
I don't see how you can have a great movie without a great film score.
I will never forget the Polar Express soundtrack
What I loved about Psycho was the music in the shower scene and the scene itself. Although we never saw the knife penetrate her body, it remains one of the most disturbing and brutal scenes in movie history.
Not to mention that the triumphant music in that Pirates of the Caribbean scene also playfully contrasts with the shot of the ship sinking.
One thing that's really stuck with me about music in movies, is in the newer "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". So the huge battle come and you have the epic music as the armies race at each other, but then as they get closer it fades to kind of a heartbeat sound and slow motion, and then there's this moment where the armies clash, everything speeds up and there's no music, just all the sounds of battle, and everything's chaotic. I don't know, it's hard to describe, but it really sells the seriousness and the violence and realness of it.
Fantastic video! Foxcatcher is a pretty good example of how NOT using any music is very effective, too.
Early silent films often had live orchestras in bigger cinemas. It was only in smaller theatres that they made do with just a piano.
Finally. Someone addressing one of the most crucial parts of a film
its not discussed enough,i do love old movies from the 50-60s but before the late 70s, and early 80s Music in films was terrible but they got clever in the 80s and realised the music can be a storyteller in its own right. Speidlberg, JAmes Cameron , Tim Burton and Lucas perfected this using Fideil, Hanz Zimmer and John Williams work
Love your videos! My fav example of a changed mood was the fight scene within khazad dûm, with heroic, comic, and depressing music.
I’ve been binge-watching this channel all evening, love it, thank you
I came here to learn something for school. Now I'm crying cause you showed part of the beginning of Up. You monster. That's emotional warfare.
lol
A "diminished minor chord" does not exist. A diminished chord and a minor chord are a little similar in structure, but ultimately are different chords, that produce different sounds, and have different effects on the audience. Minor chords are most associated with sad moments or dark, tragic moments. Diminished chords can be associated with something muddy, or creepy, or unsettling, or even mysterious. It's harder to place. But yeah, there is no such thing as a diminished minor chord. Great video by the way! Really does a great job of covering a topic that often gets glossed over!
Pointing out The Pianist for special use of silence, although it’s about a person being mostly characterised through his playing on a Piano in one scene
Halloween would have been a great example to use for how a film score can establish a real sense of tension and unease. Every time you see Michael in frame stalking his unsuspecting victims, that eerie piano tune sets in. Also, the intensity of the score ramps up over the course of the film. In the beginning, Michael is still simply watching, stalking, so the music is rather calm, eerie, but calm. Then, as Michael begins to pick off the victims he has been watching, the music gets a little more urgent. Then, in the final act, during the chase scene, the music is in full effect, its loud, and intense. And who can forget the iconic theme that plays several times throughout the movie, usually during some important event.
"music should only stay in the background" Meanwhile in Interstellar!
Just watched you for the first time and I think these are great. Please keep posting more. This is fascinating!
I feel like the score in ‘Platoon’ would have been a perfect example of evoking emotion, still to this day when ever I hear that violin play it gives me a very uneasy and melancholy feeling.
Wow, you had me sold at the Pirates of the Caribbean example, I can't stop laughing at how well each of those fit, like the scene was made for the scores just as much as the scores were made for the scene
I was surprised you didn't mention The Lord of the Rings
im surprised u didn't mention the opening scene if troll 2 where the music in no way matches the scene. (the score in a nightmare on elm street is great at providing suspense, and the creator said the piano meant to trick your mind)
Both examples of chase music, a villian, and a hero have the playing of the Aus Holdberg Zeit requiems 1 and 2. Shows you how composers know so much about musical theory before film. (Holdberg was made in the Italian Renaissance, before any types of film
A score can also immensily add to the film's atmosphere. A big example is the soundtrack of "Blade Runner"
I have two points:
Shower scene with music is a production movie that induces stress reaction. Without sound it's much more real and horrifying (bordering with plainly revolting)
Ludvig van in ultraviolence scenes makes us observe them from Alex's viewpoint - playful, entertaining & beautiful
Great video.. I always feel that background score is more vital to convey the emotions to the viewer and make him/her feel being a part of the scene. Background score often covers up for shortcomings in the actor or the screen play. Unfortunately I do not think background score composers are not given their due recognition, compared to actors and actresses.
The original Last House on the Left is what made me originally notice what a tremendous effect the music being played can have on a scene. By modern standards the rape/murder scene in that movie is still pretty nuts, but its still less not as shocking as it probably was at the time. Any major horror fanatic is jaded too, so while the scene is very horrific, it wouldn't mess with a horror fans head too much. The music in that scene though, it's the happiest damn 60s style bubblegum pop type stuff imaginable. The contrast is what makes it incredibly startling and disturbing. It also works on the level of letting you peer into the mind of the deranged killers. To them, it's just another sunshiney day, and likely a moment of joy and release. So, maybe that really is what the soundtrack would be inside their minds. I always noticed the effect of creepy minor chords, or triumphant music in epic scenes of victory. Its obvious, but that cued me in on how music can change absolutely everything. David Lyche does this quite effectively as well in true romance. To different effect, but it's a similar approach.
American Beauty has one of the most extraordinary film scores I've ever heard. It is quirky, but plays off the emotions in the movie perfectly.
hey, i just wanted to say that i love your videos! i want to work in cinematography in the future, either as a director or a producer and your videos really inspire me and help me understand lots of topics that i should know about to do this!
Wow, the Pirates of the carribian example was really good.
Name me a more iconic duo than Steven Spielberg and John Williams
Why do I think the Psycho scene is so funny?
Johanna Anuar it's like watching some bad porn
because the film industry is evolving everyday
Maybe because its been parodied so many times. I remember my first "exposure" to the scene was actually a silly parody on Tiny Toon Adventures where Elmira "attacks one of the animals in the shower with a scrunchy. It hits all the beats of the original sequence except its done for laughs. Still, the idea of getting stabbed in the shower (when you are at your most vulnerable) in and of itself should be frightening enough.
because you´re so edgy
Johanna Anuar because the scene is very dated. Its like watching old movies were people get shot and overact as they die. Movies have evolved.
Talk about costumes and film, it is a major character in a lot of films.
When talking about the score of the beginning of PotC, you can't not pick up on the fact that the film is spoofing the typical "hero's triumphant introduction" that we see in other movies of the pirates/swashbuckler genre. It's thus more humorous than genuinely triumphant in tone, ironically enough far more humorous than it is with a comical score.
Similarly, in the fight scene in clockwork orange, if all you read from the use of a jaunty classical music piece is "tension", you're missing out on the slightly humorous side of the juxtaposition of that music with that scene (indeed, the stylisation and excessiveness of the violence in the scene leads to a humorous reading). "Tension" and "unease" would perhaps be more appropriate to describe our main character's belting "singing in the rain" during the rape scene earlier on, but that music is diegetic and so obviously isn't part of the score or soundtrack proper. Were it on the soundtrack and not part of the diegesis, however, THAT for me would evoke more of the kind of tension you're (I think inappropriately) reading into the choice of music in the fight scene.
You can use "Groose's Theme" to make things comical. This works perfectly if you play it whenever the killer shows up in horror movies.
The music often remembers for you. But when the music predicts the next scene, things start to get strange if you are not experienced like Jimi Hendrix.
If you want to test your knowledge of over 80 music genres , and lots of other music facts from history to performance to artists to media, I have an eBook of music trivia quizzes you can download. Fun stuff! www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D8QQ43N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_image_o03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
See I always felt different with the orchestra music in a clock work orange. I felt that it made the scene some what more comical, like we are watching slap stick, conveying how they view all this chaos and violence as simply fun.
I want to hear this guy dig into the score of Swiss Army Man
Just saying, you deserve more views.
0:09 The audience is now deaf.
10 internets if you know what that's from.
"Diminished minor chord"
*breathes in* boi
I think the score of the first Alien movie is a symbol of horror. It's silent and chilling and represents the unknown that is awaiting in the black depths of space. Thw whole movie could work without the music but these little tones give me a thrill like nothing else could. "§Alien: Covenant" actually had this kind of music in it. It's sad that this was everything this movie had to offer to show the horrors of the first movie again. :/
An exceptionally good film score is the one accompanying 'Le Planète Sauvage'. Quite weird but fascinating French-Check animation. For a large part so enchanting as it is because of its music.