The Impact of Music in Film

Have you ever been watching a movie scene and felt a wave of emotion rush over you? Whether you cried at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, felt anger when Hans exposed his true colors in Frozen, or felt fear to the point where you had to close your eyes during the Sixth Sense, we all have a cinematic experience that has stuck with us through the years. Whatever the emotion you felt, there is a very good chance a specific piece of music evoked that emotion. As a future film major in college, music is just one of the many aspects of a movie that I take notice of. I’ve grown up my whole life watching movies. I have seen countless Disney Princesses croon love songs to their Prince Charmings and I’ve watched numerous superheroes defeat their villains with the support of an epic soundtrack. Through each movie I’ve seen, I feel that the music can either make or break the emotion that the filmmakers are attempting to convey.  

The Breakdown

When making a movie, there are so many things to consider about just a single scene. Lighting, camera angles, the script, and the music are just a few of the key details that must be perfected in a movie scene. According to Scott Porter from Premium Beat in 2015, “of all the artistic tools at a film makers disposal, it can be argued that music is among the most vital- and certainly one of the most powerful”. Some of Hollywood’s most iconic movies have a specific piece of music associated with the work of film. Star Wars has the powerful and intense “Imperial March’ and Jaws has the fear-instilling theme that is known around the world.                  

I think the best way to really get the point across about the effect of movie scores is to put it this way. Think of the beginning of the Disney Pixar film, Up (if you haven’t seen Up, or need a refresher, click here for the link to the opening scene on YouTube). Ok, now that we are all done crying, let’s break down the effects of the song “Married Life” by Michael Giacchino. The makers of this film made a very conscious decision to exclude all dialogue from this scene and just have the song playing through Carl and Ellie’s life. We see many things happen through the animated visuals they provide, but the shifts in the music help us to understand Ellie’s feelings through her battles with infertility and Carl’s feeling of regret when he realizes they never made it to Paradise Falls. Finally, we feel the loneliness and heartbreak Carl is feeling due to Ellie’s death. It is definitely arguable that we would not have felt these emotions as deeply had there been dialogue or different music. Another point to consider is to think of either a scene that scared you or made you cry. Do you have a scene in your head? Ok, now if you are really wanting to understand the impact of music in film, go find that scene and watch it on mute. Not nearly as scary or sad, right?

Overall, music in film has many purposes, but the main purpose is to set the atmosphere and evoke the desired emotion from the audience. When filmmakers would like to create an atmosphere, they can do so using a specific song. Music can trigger responses in our brains that lead to us experiencing emotions and that is the main goal for movie makers when choosing the perfect score for the next hit movie.

My Favorite Movie Scores

Here is a list of my top five favorite movie scores, in no particular order because it is way too difficult to decide:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (check out the rundown here).
2. Forrest Gump (full score list here).
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (in depth summary here).
4. Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture (full information here).
5. Saving Mr. Banks (full score list here).  

References

Weinberg, R. (2015, March 05). London Symphony Orchestra: They started recording film scores. Retrieved from https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/worlds-greatest-orchestras-pictures/star-wars-recording-john-williams-lso/ [image]

Porter, S. (2015, October 02). The Undeniable Emotional Impact of Music in Film. Retrieved from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/the-undeniable-emotional-impact-of-music-in-film/

XXJEashXx. (2010, March 22). Favorite Pixar’s Up scene ever – Ellie and Carl’s relationship through time, Sad scene. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g&t=15s

Guardians of the Galaxy (soundtrack). (2019, March 15). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_(soundtrack)

Forrest Gump – Original Motion Picture Score. (2018, December 31). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Gump_–_Original_Motion_Picture_Score

Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture. (2019, April 10). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic:_Music_from_the_Motion_Picture

Saving Mr. Banks (soundtrack). (2019, January 23). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Mr._Banks_(soundtrack)