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.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
+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.
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
***** 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: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JnWNjd00_ek.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.
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.
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 always think of Ex_Machina. Spoiler warning right now if you havnt seen it. . . . . . . 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
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 - 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.😕
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. :)
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.
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 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.
+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.
+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
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.
+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!
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
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...
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.
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 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.
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?!?!?!?"
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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.
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)
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.
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.
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 ;)
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.
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.
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.
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)
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,
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
I'm surprised no mention of the ubiquitous bass-heavy horn when some huge Sci fi contraption reveals itself. I'm thinking specifically from Inception in the trailer
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.
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!
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.
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
more recently my favorite use of movie score was in Swiss Army Man where the score and soundtrack of the movie was interwoven into the chants and hums of the characters themselves, blurring the line between what's happening within world of the movie and outside of it.
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
Love this video ! as a composer, I leaned a lot ! One thing - when you put movie clips, please write down the movies names. some of them I know and saw but some looks awesome and I didn't see ...
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.
I'm in love with all your videos! I love the film industry and thanks to you, now I can appreciate better this kind of art. By the way, what's your opinion on the film Gone Girl? Saludos desde México!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
And, there really IS a lot to talk about in regards to music and movies. It would be cool for you to do a sort-of P.S. video about the whole idea of motifs and character themes. LOTR would be excellent for that. Star Wars, as well.
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.
This was said from the perspective of someone rewatching a film. Unless we have already associated a particular music with a particular set of scenes all this will invoke is curiosity.
I think the scene where they first go in the alien vessel in "Arrival" is a great example. That sudden booming alarm-ish sound that tramples through the silence really gives this an eerie chill. Also, I don't believe Mad Max: Fury Road would be the same without JunkieXL's adrenaline score behind it. There are so many other examples I could name here.
You missed an important point while referencing the scoreless scene in No Country for Old Men. There was the building sound of a passing train that added to the menace of the scene but was otherwise unrelated. The Coens use this sort of technique quite a lot. Something that may be considered idiosyncratic since it is not typically used by most filmmakers,
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
