Music For FilmFunction of Film Music

The 5 Functions of Film Music

1. Source music (diegetic music).

2. Sense of time or place.

3. Paralleling the action (“Mickey-Mousing”).

4. Emphasising the emotion.

5. Themes for characters / places (leitmotif).

Source Music (Diegetic)• This is music that is created within the scene that characters

would be able to hear.

• It might come, for example, from a radio in the corner of a room, a band playing at a gig, somebody playing a piano.

– Example 1 – School of Rock (the band are playing so that all characters can hear)

– Example 2 – The Matrix (Neo & Trinity are in a club so they can hear the music playing in the background.)

Source Music: School of Rock

Source Music: The Matrix

Music to give a sense of Time or Place• This is music that is written to give a sense of

authenticity to a scene either for its location and country, or its place in time. It is achieved by:

– using traditional instruments (e.g. bagpipes for Scotland, Sitar for India).

– Using traditional musical forms (e.g. a waltz for Vienna in the 17th Century).

– Example 1 – Braveheart (Uilleann pipes being a traditional instrument)– Example 2 – Hero (traditional Chinese instruments)– Example 3 – Titanic (The Hills of Connemara – traditional Irish folk tune).

Time or Place: Braveheart

Time or Place: Hero

Time or Place: Titanic

Paralleling the action (‘Mickey-Mousing’)

• This is where musical events are synchronised so that they carefully match any physical actions that happen on screen.

• Whilst originally a comedic device used in numerous cartoons (hence the name), it is also a technique used in action films to make the scene more exciting.

– Example 1 – The Picnic (a 1930 Mickey Mouse cartoon)

– Example 2 – King Kong (the music matches Kong’s actions)

– Example 3 – Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (video analysis of the scene)

Mickey-Mousing: The Picnic

Mickey-Mousing: King Kong

Mickey-Mousing: Indiana Jones

Emphasising the Emotion

• This is where the music in the scene is written to have an emotional effect on the audience.

• It could be used to:– Create tension in a horror film or a thriller.– Emphasise the romantic or love aspect to a scene.– Accompany an action scene to make it more exciting.

• Example 1 – Psycho (dissonant strings used to create tension)

• Example 2 – Gone With The Wind (music swells with character’s emotions)

• Example 3 – Rocky (triumphant music to accompany training montage)

• Example 4 – Titanic (string trio playing ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ as they face certain death)

Emotion: Psycho

Emotion: Gone With The Wind

Emotion: Rocky

Emotion: Titanic

Themes for character or places (Leitmotif)

• This is where the composer will create a melodic musical theme for a particular character or place in the film.

• Example 1 – Doctor No (leitmotif for James Bond)

• Example 2 – Superman The Movie (leitmotif for Superman’s heroism)

• Example 3 – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (leitmotif for the Galactic Empire)

Leitmotif: Doctor No

Leitmotif: Superman The Movie

Leitmotif: The Empire Strikes Back