Music in Film
Sometimes it’s showy. Sometimes it’s subtle. Sometimes it’s punk rock. Sometimes it’s opera. It’s almost always there, but it’s always, ALWAYS important. Music is one of the most relatable aspects of filmmaking, and has an enormous impact on an audience’s emotional reading of a film. I remember watching an episode of Reading Rainbow as a kid - the old school Reading Rainbow, with a super young LeVar Burton, rock on - where they showed a stop motion animation scene of dinosaurs. They played the same scene with different music; one was very dramatic and tension filled, and the very next one was almost carnival like in its tone. Needless to say, the scene had two completely different effects, and even on my young self, the impact was not lost. Add in decades - literally - of my playing the clarinet in all manner of school, college, and local concert bands, and you have someone very interested in musical choices in film.
The way I see it, there are four overall types of music in film.
1. The movie musical. In the movie musical, there are a series of songs that characters will actively break into either to punctuate an emotion or scene, or to provide exposition for the story. I will say there should be a minimum of six songs in a true movie musical; you can have characters sing in a scene and the film is not considered a musical. I find it is not fair to compare music in musicals with music in films that aren’t musicals, as the music in musicals is actually a part of the script in terms of the lyrics involved. Although certainly no less important, the music in non-musicals is usually not written into the original script, and therefore serves different purposes.
a. Exception: Characters singing or performing in non-musicals. This is where characters will actively perform a piece of music in a film that is not a musical; think of characters singing at a bar, or a character playing a song at the piano. It’s not part of the soundtrack, and is similar to musicals in that it IS written into the script. I actually consider this to be a very important exception, which has produced some of the most moving scenes in film history. More on this later...
2. The use of previously written music on the soundtrack. This is where the people involved with a film find that perfect song from an artist to underpin the emotions or events of a certain scene. It could be that just right folk song from the 1970s, or that perfect aria from an opera, or even that great heavy metal riff. Something written before the movie used to illustrate and better explain parts of the movie. This type of music in film can be further categorized by the type of music it employs (classical versus, well, everything else is a good way to start), but it shares the fact that its music was not written originally for the screen.
a. Interesting exception: the development in recent years of the movie musical that uses previously written songs. Think Mamma Mia! or Moulin Rouge! where the songs are not new, but are used in a movie musical setting. Although I will add that lots of early movie musicals - practically the entire Fred & Ginger oeuvre - consisted of previously written Cole Porter/Irving Berlin/George and Ira Gershwin songs.
3. The original movie theme. A movie theme is a brief - 30 seconds or so - recognizable tune that, if it is great, inextricably links the viewer to the particular film. You could hum it at a party and everyone would go, “Oh yeah, I know that movie!” It must be originally written for the film in question, thereby bringing the film composer into play. A theme, however great it is, must be brief; it must be recognizable in the first 30 seconds of hearing it, even though the full version might be longer. It is usually repeated throughout the film; the way in which it is repeated may be changed, as in Theme and Variations, but the central theme will remain recognizable.
4. The original movie soundtrack. This differs from the movie theme in that it is not brief, but instead is the musical accompaniment for the entirety of the story. It may contain a movie theme, but it is not limited to a brief tune. A movie may have a great theme but a weak soundtrack. Whatever the genre of music being written, whether it is classical in nature or techno, the soundtrack will have a sense of the symphonic about it. Emotions will rise and fall over the course of the soundtrack, ideas will be established, examined, and resolved, and tempi will vary. Here is where a great theme may be varied, as mentioned above, to apply to different cinematic situations. Overall, however, a soundtrack must be original and must be further reaching in its scope than a single scene. It must encompass the entirety of the film.
In a series of articles, I will be doing what I love best - making movie lists - of the movies that exemplify each of the above categories. In the mean time, start making your own lists. Do you agree with these categories? Are there any notable exceptions not listed? What about subcategories?
The way I see it, there are four overall types of music in film.
1. The movie musical. In the movie musical, there are a series of songs that characters will actively break into either to punctuate an emotion or scene, or to provide exposition for the story. I will say there should be a minimum of six songs in a true movie musical; you can have characters sing in a scene and the film is not considered a musical. I find it is not fair to compare music in musicals with music in films that aren’t musicals, as the music in musicals is actually a part of the script in terms of the lyrics involved. Although certainly no less important, the music in non-musicals is usually not written into the original script, and therefore serves different purposes.
a. Exception: Characters singing or performing in non-musicals. This is where characters will actively perform a piece of music in a film that is not a musical; think of characters singing at a bar, or a character playing a song at the piano. It’s not part of the soundtrack, and is similar to musicals in that it IS written into the script. I actually consider this to be a very important exception, which has produced some of the most moving scenes in film history. More on this later...
2. The use of previously written music on the soundtrack. This is where the people involved with a film find that perfect song from an artist to underpin the emotions or events of a certain scene. It could be that just right folk song from the 1970s, or that perfect aria from an opera, or even that great heavy metal riff. Something written before the movie used to illustrate and better explain parts of the movie. This type of music in film can be further categorized by the type of music it employs (classical versus, well, everything else is a good way to start), but it shares the fact that its music was not written originally for the screen.
a. Interesting exception: the development in recent years of the movie musical that uses previously written songs. Think Mamma Mia! or Moulin Rouge! where the songs are not new, but are used in a movie musical setting. Although I will add that lots of early movie musicals - practically the entire Fred & Ginger oeuvre - consisted of previously written Cole Porter/Irving Berlin/George and Ira Gershwin songs.
3. The original movie theme. A movie theme is a brief - 30 seconds or so - recognizable tune that, if it is great, inextricably links the viewer to the particular film. You could hum it at a party and everyone would go, “Oh yeah, I know that movie!” It must be originally written for the film in question, thereby bringing the film composer into play. A theme, however great it is, must be brief; it must be recognizable in the first 30 seconds of hearing it, even though the full version might be longer. It is usually repeated throughout the film; the way in which it is repeated may be changed, as in Theme and Variations, but the central theme will remain recognizable.
4. The original movie soundtrack. This differs from the movie theme in that it is not brief, but instead is the musical accompaniment for the entirety of the story. It may contain a movie theme, but it is not limited to a brief tune. A movie may have a great theme but a weak soundtrack. Whatever the genre of music being written, whether it is classical in nature or techno, the soundtrack will have a sense of the symphonic about it. Emotions will rise and fall over the course of the soundtrack, ideas will be established, examined, and resolved, and tempi will vary. Here is where a great theme may be varied, as mentioned above, to apply to different cinematic situations. Overall, however, a soundtrack must be original and must be further reaching in its scope than a single scene. It must encompass the entirety of the film.
In a series of articles, I will be doing what I love best - making movie lists - of the movies that exemplify each of the above categories. In the mean time, start making your own lists. Do you agree with these categories? Are there any notable exceptions not listed? What about subcategories?