Film Score Discussion

1) The parallel movement of a film’s story and the development of the accompanying musical soundscape
2) Moments of Action or Comedy punctuated by musical phrases
3) Theme build to Triumph ("Rally")
4) The Journey Variation ("Quest")
5) Interpolating or layering of themes
6) Theme Key Progression ("Darkest Hour")
7) Fascination with composers’ ability to fit themes exactly within the frame of the on-screen action
8) End Credit Suites
9) Development/Expansion/Variations of themes across sequels
10) Musical Choices–a capella, voices, quiet instead of loud
11) The John Williams school of Leitmotif
12) Composer "isms"–signature orchestration/instrumentation
13) Best Statement of a Theme
14) Best Score Moments

Over the next few weeks, I’ll post each heading with some examples. Then if you wish to add to the discussion, refer to the number and add your comments!

Enjoy!

Just as the images and dialogue tell a story in a film, so too does the musical soundtrack. One may listen to the soundtrack and conjure up the visuals in one’s imagination. Film composers are tasked with the responsibility of fitting in as part of the overall project. Composer choices are sometimes limited on the basis of a story or action elements.

Examples: John Williams’ Star Wars saga is the most famous example, since the lengthy scores mean that a large portion of each film is underscored.

John Powell: The Bourne Trilogy. Here is a masterful work that is best appreciated as a whole. The Bourne Identity’s score is dissonant and fragmented, but perfectly captures Bourne’s confusion and amnesia. Throughout the series, as he gains more insight into who he is, the themes become more unified and cohesive.

A point in a musical score where the music imitates/parodies the on-screen action in a memorable way

Examples: John Williams’ indelible work on the Indiana Jones films offers several examples
– Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Basket Game, as Indy faces down the Arabian swordsman and then shoots him.
– Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: When Short Round knocks the voodoo doll away from the Maharajah and Indy recovers on the conveyor belt.
– Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Indy’s Very First Adventure, the G.P. (Grand Pause) while Indy and the other boy are wrestling on top of the train car and the rhino’s horn slams through the roof right between their legs.
– Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Ark theme when Elsa points out the fresco in the catacombs.
– Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: The Ark theme when Indy breaks open the crate containing the Ark.
– E.T. The Extraterrestrial: The Magic of Halloween, when E.T. spots the person in the Yoda costume.
– Chicken Run: Into the Pie Machine, an "homage" to the Indiana Jones scores, i.e., Escape from the Temple
– The Mask of Zorro: Tornado in the Barracks, when Diego smacks the burly guard in the jowls with the cannonballs and the clangs are generated by the orchestra on the soundtrack