AOS 3 Batman Returns Flashcards
Describe the use of melody and ideas across all of the cues
Use of leitmotif, two of which are in these cues:
Batman: Mainly brass, and very triumphant
Penguin: Theatrical, and often the use of an organ, and has the version first in bars three and four of Boap 1, and the one played Rffg.
There are also other ideas used in each cue which are developed throughout the cue.
Describe the rhythm, metre and tempo used across the cues
Use of augmentation Use of diminution Constant changing of time signatures Use of ostinati Cross-rhythms Syncopation Triplets Sextuplets Rhythmic displacement
Describe the use of texture across all of the cues
Constantly changing Use of layering Octaves Rare monophony Melody driven homophony Polyphonic texture Homophony
Describe the use of harmony and tonality across all of the cues
Use of mostly minor keys throughout Pedal notes Use of whole-tone scale Use of open chords/bare fifths Diminished 7th Dominant 7th Chromatic shifts Unprepared modulation of keys Parallel chords Tertiary relationship between keys and chords Plagal Cadence Augmented fourth
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part A of BoaP 1 (Bars 1 - 2)
Very start of the film with the Warner Brother’s logo. The batman motif is heard, identifying the film. Leads into a plagal cadence.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part B of BoaP 1 (Bars 3 - 6)
As the scene changes to the Cobblepot home, the penguin motif is heard for the first time in the choir and violins, and is repeated ff with the addition of a string counter figure and richer texture. A tone cluster in bar 6 muddies the water.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part C of BoaP 1 (Bars 7 - 13)
The father looks out of the window, and the music modulates to A minor from F minor (tertiary relationship) as the father sees the child for the first time and the doctor leaves the room in horror. Texture thins just to strings. Shift to G minor as the penguin motif appears with celesta ornamentation. Change to 3/8 for one bar as the father screams with a false relation on the second quaver beat.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part D of BoaP 1 (Bars 14 - 26)
The music modulates to C minor and the original motif is augmented. A flurry is heard followed by an accent, which signifies the baby (which is being kept in a cage) catches the cat which had just passed. A harp glissando and cymbals lead to the next section.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part E of BoaP 1 (Bars 26 - 41)
Sleigh bells are heard throughout this section and the music has modulated to D minor. The choir sing the penguin motif to ‘la’. The dynamics drop as the parents talk to another couple. The motif is played in low wind and strings as the parents reach the bridge. As the pram is thrown off the bridge, the music builds to a D major chord, via F minor
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part F of BoaP 1 (Bars 42 - end)
Woodwind plays the penguin motif and arpeggios are played by the harp and strings (pizz) as the baby floats away with the parents watching on. The accompanying music shifts a semitone, changes to triple time and is left relatively unresolved, after the dominant seventh chord, going to a chord made up entirely of fifths before resolving with a D pedal.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part A of BoaP 2 (Bars 1 - 11)
Continues on from the last cue with a D pedal and rising and falling arp motif is played by strings, based on a tonic major seventh chord and a tonic sixth with added second in the following bar. An altered version of the penguin theme is played over the top. A synth choir is used as this point to thicken the texture. A ‘hint’ of the batman motif appears, followed by the full motif when Michael Keeton’s name appears on screen), before a trumpet fanfare.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part B of BoaP 2 (Bars 12 - 20)
Modulated to B minor. A new syncopated accompaniment in violins and percussion is added. Batman motif is played in bassoon and bass clarinet, taken over by stopped horns and clarinets, then the horns. A cross rhythm is then introduced with a modulation of the batman phrase. Diminution of the batman phrase is heard, followed by the motif being passed between different instruments.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part C of BoaP 2 (Bars 21 - 51)
A fortissimo C major chord with stabs which leads to a military-like quaver triplet ostinato happens when the title of the film appears and bats fly towards the viewer. Fanfares are used a lot in this section. The second Batman motif appears and is legato in style, in contrast to the first motif. The falling third motif is heard in the voice.
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part D of BoaP 2 (Bars 52 - 84)
As the pram starts to slow, the tempo slows slightly, and chromatic chords are used. The falling thirds are heard and almost add a soothing quality. The Batman motif is heard with the falling vocal thirds, and rhythmic variation of the Batman motif is used. There is a long diminuendo which settles the mood before the next section
Describe how the music fits what’s on screen in Part A of BoaP 2 (Bars 85 - 97)
The section starts with an open fifth chord, leaving the tonality open. The snare drum provides a new ostinato, and a hint of the augmented penguin motif by muted brass and a long pedal B in bars. The use of tom-tom drums almost gives the sense of arriving at a tribe, reflected by the pram stopping and coming to rest by a group of penguins.
