Time to take a break from video games, and move onto another thing I like: movies. There’s a lot of ground to cover here as well, so I’ll try and stick to a specific topic each time. No guarantees.
If you have a copy of The Dark Knight Rises, pop it into your player and watch two scenes: when Batman and Bane first meet and have a bit of a punch-up, and near the end when (spoilers) there’s a big fight and Batman and Bane have a bit of a punch-up. If you don’t have a copy, or you’d rather just watch clips, here’s clip #1 and clip #2.
What was the difference between those clips? Batman wins in one and loses in the other, but there’s something more subtle than that. There’s no music in the first clip, and that does a lot for the mood. Music goes a long way to increasing drama during movie scenes. The lack of music makes that first fight feel real. After all, real life doesn’t have a soundtrack. It’s easier to imagine these two superpeople punching each other for real because of the music choices.
Sometimes, the music is part of the movie. Usually, you see this in musicals or Disney movies, like Moana. I’m partial to We Know the Way as an example of integrated music used to raise spirits. But music can take your emotions in multiple directions. For example, this song from Return of the King is not intended to raise spirits. A hobbit put into an uncomfortable position, a ruler who cares more about his next meal than his own children, and his son who knows that he rides to his death. Of those three, the son’s part in this story is silent. All around him, the sound continues, but his cry to battle is not heard. It’s powerful stuff, and takes place over one minute.
The best way to use music in a film, especially a franchise, is to have a strong main song. It’s recognizable, you can have movements that modify that melody to fit the mood at any point, and it can stay with a film through multiple movies. At this point, I’ll just link a bunch of main themes that fit this bill.
- Avengers by Alan Silvestri
- Wonder Woman by Rupert Gregson-Williams
- The Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer
- Pirates of the Caribbean by Hans Zimmer
- Inception by Hans Zimmer (OK, I’ll take a break from Zimmer)
- Star Wars, The Imperial March (Star Wars), Duel of the Fates (Star Wars), Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, The Olympics (he didn’t write the original music, but he made it more orchestral), Jurassic Park, Superman, all by John Williams
There’s more, of course. What movie music do you find especially cool, or heartwarming, or emotional?
That's Pretty NEET 