Movie Score

After looking at music videos I realised music and moving image don't just come together for music videos, they blend together in films. Score is written by composers under the guidance of the director to enhance the dramatic narrative and emotional impact of the film, all performed by an ensemble of musicians. While songs are not considered part of the score they are used for the same reason, drama, mood, emotion and lyrical symbology. I went searching for some examples to understand why they chose certain music for certain scenes. I came across silent film which is perfect as back then they relied on music to build drama, I looked at Charlie Chaplin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79i84xYelZI
The music is light and comical to match the exaggerated clown-like movements and facial expressions of the character. At the moment he notices the sleeping lion the music creates a shrill sound, as if to startle the audience like he is startled. It then strips down to low plucks of a guitar in time with his steps as he tip toes away.Another example of the music reflecting the picture, it heightens in pitch at the drama.My favourite part is when the man and women begin to interact, the music takes on a romantic, waltz-like tone, perhaps even feminine to imply a romantic interest.

A more contemporary example of film score is Resident Evil. The music you hear in Charlie Chaplin is vastly different because not only would it not fit to the movements but the mismatched emotion and ambience would make it seem comical or stupid. Because the Resident Evil films are supernatural/action/thrillers the music had to reflect that. I listened to the score composed by Marco beltrami and Marilyn Manson. The main theme song of the film is: http://youtu.be/x8FhcOHXa-M which I feel sums it up well.

Manson translated his work on rock songs into score, so there are unmistakable heavy guitar elements with a melodic feel and droning sound textures (which are very important for the tension, all used to enhance a scene). He took three main elements from the film to incorporate into the music, one was a childish feel because of the Red Queen (The red hologram of a little girl that speaks for the super computer controlling the underground building). Manson is a fan of childrens music and so drew inspiration from imagining Alice (Alice in Wonderland) in the menacing world of Resident Evil filled with decay and biological warfare. The connection is clever, the main characters name is Alice and the super computer, a "homicidal bitch" as Alice refers to her in the second film, is called the Red Queen. For the introduction of the Red Queen, when she first appears, you can hear her theme song which is a childish waltz-like melody.When she comes in again later, when it is clear they have no way out, the theme takes on a darker, more menacing tone. The second element Manson took from the film was an extreme coldness from the sterile, biological side of the story. This is apparent throughout the whole film in the form of sound textures that act as ambient sound, however they verge on music the way they are played. The third element relates to the modern action vibe of the film, a fascist military element. The film is cut in a fast extreme way, is lit in an extreme way and this makes the action scenes the most exciting. The music in these scenes is very electronic, metallic, cold, emotionless, violent. Director Paul W. S. Anderson described it in a behind the scenes interview as violent and relentless like the zombies themselves, the zombies "keep coming and coming and coming... the music keeps going and going and going and it doesn't change." An example from the film of sound textures used to create tension and suspense, to create a cold, emotionless, ambience is http://youtu.be/LQG2buCXigM. The Red Queen's introduction can be seen here http://youtu.be/ssxFf0iCo8Q, it is a long clip but it is great to see and listen. If you want to skip to the action scene it is about 5 minutes and 50 seconds in.