Hello! It's time to discuss one of, if not my favorite part of creating a film introduction. This is the music of the production. This blog post will be broken into four parts, with this part focusing on how music sets tone/expand the story.
One of the best parts about music is that it can be used to fit everyone's tastes. One piece of music can be loved by one person but can be hated by another. This range of emotion also applies in other types of media, such as film or video games. Another factor to take into account is whether the song has lyrics or not. The lyrics can tell a story, whether it's given to you or as a hidden message. Sometimes, songs have no lyrics. These songs make use of certain instruments as well as other techniques to make the listener feel certain emotions. There's also a lack of music, which can build suspense or even fear depending on the context. Personally, I love listening to music from video games because of their meaning to their respective situations, as well as a lack of lyrics, which often makes me question every choice made during a composition. One company that constantly puts out games with meaningful soundtracks is Nintendo, so I will be using them as a primary example for music that can set certain tones and meanings.
Music is able to completely change how a scene can be interpreted, and I personally believe the best way of doing this is through music with no lyrics. It makes use of the 2+2 method. In case you don't know, the 2+2 method means giving the viewer 2+2 and not 4. This is another way of saying don't ell them exactly what they're getting, but make them think to understand something. It keeps them more invested into something, which is exactly what you want to do when creating a movie introduction. This can change scenes completely, especially in emotional moments. For example, take the ending of Avengers Infinity War. (Link to the video below)
Infinity War Ending Scene
The context of this scene is that Thanos, the character shown sitting down, won and successfully killed half of the universe. Many people who have not watched this movie often find this music confusing. If Thanos won, why is the music so peaceful? It is only after watching the movie that this makes sense, as that is when you discover the goal of Thanos. He believed he was right, and that he could finally rest, hence the very peaceful yet somber tone of the ending music, with the somber part representing how the Avengers lost and billions were killed.
I shall now move on to an example from the Nintendo game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Be warned, as it contains spoilers for the final boss of the game.
One of my favorite video game series is Kirby. This is because it makes an excellent use of background story telling. Instead of giving you 2+2, this game will give you (7^2 -4)/9 -1. The target audience of the games are children, but they make sure to cater to long time fans, and often include important details for those who look to delve deeper into the story. This is done through several methods, including hidden easter eggs, descriptions on menus, and most importantly music. The music of a video game theme is one of the best ways to tell a story, as well as set a tone.
Before I move on, I want all of you to look at this picture. (Once again, spoiler warning for the final boss)
What do you see? At first glance many would see a normal antagonist, as there are no main features that would cause someone to believe otherwise. Now, listen to one of the songs that play when you fight it. The first one is known as "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit."Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit (Version 1) - YouTube
Here are some basic observations. Violin is used constantly during this song. Violin commonly represents elegance, and thus is constantly associated with angels. Choir is also used in the song, and is also commonly associated with angels. Both of these sounds, combined with the divine appearance of this entity can convey that this creature is of a higher power. When this creature is damaged enough, the music changes, although it stays similar. Here is the second version of the song.
In this version, the main melody remains the same but there is more percussion and guitar incorporated. Not only do these instruments indicate a change in difficulty, but a change in emotion. This divine being has now been angered and its swift movements have evolved to be more frantic, as it's trying its best to kill you. It still retains some of its grace however, which is why the violins and choir remain, despite not being as prominent. The next part indicates a dramatic change in tone. This next song is known as, "Eternal Echo of the Thrilling Tour-our-our," and it plays during a crucial part of the fight.
As you can see, this track contains a completely different tone from the other two. This track is meant to freak you out, with the repeating "lyrics" representing insanity." The unnerving feeling is supposed to represent what occurs in the fight, as the creature undergoes an egregious transformation, becoming nothing but a ball containing its soul. (Picture shown below) Despite the tone difference, this track serves a completely different purpose from the other two. This one is primarily made to develop the story. It is not stated clearly, but it is a reference to the backstory of the creature known as Chaos Elfilis. As a quick summary, the creature was captured and used as a tour attraction for centuries, being restrained the entire time. In fact, these lyrics are taken directly from the audio of the tour itself. (Linked below) In general, the song is meant to represent the pure rage of the creature towards humanity, with the repeated tour audio representing its insanity of being trapped for centuries doing nothing but listening to the same thing EVERY day.
This is what the creature shown before transformed into
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d5hPhMoPJI
(Link to the video where the audio of the tour came from)
The final piece I want to show you is completely different from the other three. It is known as "A Full-Speed Farewell From the New World."
Clearly, this piece is meant to serve a completely different purpose. At this moment, the player is trying to strike the final blow to finish off the creature. This is why the song is so fast paced, as it is meant to be the finale, an end to the journey that you witnessed unfold by your hand. This song has that feeling of finality. This is not exclusive to movies either, and is often used in movies during the climax to serve as one of the most memorable moments.
These are only a few examples, but I believed they were some of the best in showing how music develops tone and story. In the next part, I will talk about a major component of storytelling through music that I want to incorporate into my movie introduction. Leitmotifs! All in all, this has been my favorite blog post so far and it allowed me to incorporate two things that I love into this project. Once again, I believe music is one of the most important parts of anything from game to movie, and strive to do it justice in my project. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you all in my next post!
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