Film Music Flashcards
Diegetic film music
This refers to any sound which comes from an on-screen source. A car screeching its brakes, a ‘cellist playing live. If you can see the source of the sound, it’s diegetic.
Non-diegetic film music
This refers to any sound which comes from an off-screen source. This includes most of the music score, any underscoring (see below) or off-screen sound effects such as an off-screen helicopter arriving which you hear before you see, or someone calling from another room.
Background music
Background music is often referred to as underscoring. It adds to the mood of the scene, reinforcing dramatic developments and aspects of character.
Parallel sound
This is when the music and sound complements the on-screen action. e.g a children’s playground with the sounds of nursery style music, ice-cream vans, laughter and squealing.
Contrapuntal sound
This is when the music and sound contradict the on-screen action. e.g the music is dark and sinister like Jaws, while the images show children playing normally in the playground.
Mickey-Mousing
When the music is precisely synchronised with events on screen. eg someone slipping on a banana skin could use a descending scale followed by a cymbal crash. Mickey-Mousing is often found in comedy films
Composition of film music
Film music is composed to accompany the action on screen and often uses:
- quick and abrupt changes of tempo, harmony and melody
- rapid shifts from one musical idea to the next
What is a leitmotif
A leitmotif is a recurring musical idea (a melody, chord sequence, rhythm or a combination of these) which is associated with a particular idea, character or place.
Why do film composers often use leitmotifs
Film music composers often use leitmotifs to help build a sense of continuity
How could leitmotifs be altered by
- changing the rhythm or pitch
- changing the instrumentation or accompaniment
- adding new materials
- developing fragments of the idea
Examples of leitmotifs
Leitmotifs can be found in the film scores of many film music composers including Bernard Herrmann (Psycho), Jerry Goldsmith (Planet of the Apes) and Danny Elfman (Batman).
Leitmotif - jaws
Probably the best known leitmotif in film is John Williams’ shark leitmotif in Jaws. The two notes F and F sharp, played on the low register of the cello signify something threatening and getting closer and closer.
Two main parts of James Bond theme
- A chromatic rising and falling 3 note sequence.
2. The main melodic line.
Composer
The Composer creates all the music for the film. However, he is restricted by the timing of scenes, the amount of other dialogue and SFX in the scene and by the type of mood to be created.
Sound producer
The Sound Producer is responsible for producing all the sound in the movie, from recording dialogue up close to filming scenes and recording the dialogue later. He reads the script and decides all the required sounds from speech to sfx.
