Readers,
Today I am looking at music for my 2 minutes opening of my film. I am looking at 3 different films and how the sense of terror is relayed to us through the music.
Jaws- This film is well known for it's horrifying scenes and dramatic music.
Jaws was released in 1975. The synopsis of the story, is that there is a huge shark that is hell bent on killing people in the sea while other unsuspecting people sunbath and relax. The main theme tune that the film uses over and over again is the minor 2nd two note motif. This is played by the tuba and uses the notes E and F. The audience is always alerted to the presence of the shark just before the attack happens. The music starts off the single 2 note motif then crescendos and adds other instruments playing this same melody line while underneath the timpani adds dramatic drama.
Jaws theme tune- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvCI-gNK_y4
Silence of the Lambs (SOTL)- The synopsis of the film is about this young FBI agent Clarice Starling who is assigned to help find a missing woman and to save her from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims. Clarice tries to understanding their twisted minds by talking to another psychopath Hannibal Lecter. The FBI believes that Lecter has the answers to their questions and can help locate the killer. Clarice must first gain Lecter's confidence before the inmate will give away any information.
SOTL was released in 1991. The escape scene I have been watching has two different types of music used in it. At the start the inmate is listening to a piano concerto on the radio. This is a relaxing calm melody which puts us on edge waiting to see what is about to happen. When the Lecter attracts the unsuspecting policemen the music suddenly changes to a full orchestra playing a minor dramatic feeling melody. When the murders have been committed the dramatic music changes back to the concerto. This sudden radical change in music is very unsettling for the audience and shows the horror and thriller factor.
Escape scene- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s3nIw30hn4U
Nightmare in Elm street (NIES)- Was first released in 1984 but the film was remade and released in 2010. The synopsis of the film is that a man with a crawled glove called Feddy Krueger. Is killing teenagers in their dreams while they sleep. The connection between all the teenagers is that they all went to the same pre-school and were sexually abused by the gardener there (Fred Krueger). The remaining children find out what really happened to Freddy and the reasons why he is seeking revenge.
Before every killing in NIES there is a scary nursery rhyme that is sung. This tells the audience that a murder is about to happen.
Nursery rhyme- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HqzE1_b0eVs
Music changes the way in which we look at a film. In a rom-com genre film that has laughter and joy, a major tonality is used, while in a horror/thriller genre a minor tonality is used to make the audience nervous and unsettled. These 3 films use music to their advantage to make the desired emotion felt by the watchers.
These graphics are from the same company but the editing team has changed the original music to make the tonality minor, this reflects the film the audience are about to watch.
20 century Fox original graphic- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXWFYPk11GM
20 century Fox scary movie graphic- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMZb4nPMunI
Please COMMENT!!!!! Thank you!
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