Sound - Music in Film

Since the beginning of motion pictures, music has been an integral part of the cinematic experience. Before films with dialogue were introduced, music was the only way to express a characters thoughts and feelings. To this day, music has remained a key part of cinematic production, as it is vital in making the viewer feel certain emotions while watching a film. In this post, I'll be evaluating the importance of music in film.

The days of silent film:
During the days of silent film, dialog cards, the actor's face and the music score were the only ways of displaying the emotions of a character. Imagine watching a silent film now, and an important character is giving a dramatic and tense speech. Dramatic and tense music would be used to accompany the speech and ensure that the viewers are feeling the same as the characters in the film. In the modern day world of film making, music is still used in this way, even if you can hear the dialogue. 

Music = drama:
A musical score in any genre of film can add a great level of drama to almost any scene. For example, in an action packed chase scene in a Bond film, fast-paced and edgy music will be playing to raise the level of drama that you can see on the screen. Another example would be in a horror movie, when a victim is being closed down by a supernatural being, when the victim is dazed and confused on their own. The music accompanying this scene will be tense and extremely eerie; it will build up in intensity until it cuts when it's as loud as possible, when the victim is attacked. One more example would be evident in a comedy film. When there is a funny scene, light-hearted, silly and comical music will be played over the top of the scene to add to the hilarity of the scene. 

Mood setting:
Music is the perfect way to set the mood of a film right from the beginning. For example, when you are watching a horror movie, there will usually be an eerie establishing shot, at the beginning of the film,  of an abandoned house, accompanied by chilling music, that leaves you in a tense manner. This will let the audience know that they are in for a scary viewing.

Time-travelling music:
Music is often used in film to establish a time and setting. For example, when the film is set in the heart of India during the 19th century, the music accompanying what you can see on the screen will be raga (Indian classical) music, with lots of traditional Indian stringed instruments such as the sitar and the sarod and some percussion in the form of the tabla. Another example would be evident in a film set in Vienna during the late 1700s. The music accompanying this would be a Mozart symphony. One more classic example would be when you are watching a war film, and there are helicopters filled with troops, heading to combat, while you can hear a timeless rock song in the background. The video clip below is a clip from Ridley Scott's 2001 film 'Black Hawk Down', a film about the events of a 1993 raid in Mogadishu (Somalia) by the U.S. military aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a Somali military commander and faction leader. When you watch the clip, you can hear the timeless Jimi Hendrix track: 'Voodoo Child', a song which was heavily incorporated with the US military that went into the Vietnam War in 1962. Watch the clip below:

Speeding up the story:
The music montage is a popular way to condense a large amount of information into a short amount of time. The use of a pop song or score selection, accompanied by thematically related shots (the lead character is sad, people falling in love, hero in training) advances the story without spending the days, months, or years it would take in real life for the actual events to transpire.

Misleading music:
Musical misdirection is most often employed in, but not limited to, thriller and horror movies; usually to lull the viewer into a sense of complacency before a big scare. Here is an example: The heroine babysitter walks into the upstairs bedroom as calm music plays, only to discover a killer behind the door, immediately cued by pierced, shocking music. In an opposite example, the babysitter walks upstairs, with tense and scary music underneath the scene, expecting to find a killer, when it turns out only to be the house cat.

Overall, film would be nothing without music. Can you imagine a horror film without tense and dramatic music? Or could you picture a romantic comedy film without a soundtrack, full of feel good hits? Music is vital in setting the mood, getting the thoughts and feelings of characters across to the audience, and finally setting a time and setting in any film that you watch.