Watching a movie that doesn’t contain a single sound apart from the characters’ voices would feel very much like eating a meal without any flavor. Come to think about it, most things in life can only be fully enjoyed when a combination of senses is stimulated. It’s simply in our nature to explore the world with all our senses, whether it be our reality or a made-up story on a cinema screen. If a movie director wants their creation to reach the very core of their audience’s mind and soul, they will make sure that their movie speaks to people on both a visual and auditory level.
Apart from engaging with the audience’s senses, music in film has another important role: to serve the narrative of the movie which incorporates various structural elements of the film, such as scenography, setting, characters’ psychology, etc. Music binds these elements together and makes a movie’s narrative coherent.
As we have previously highlighted the importance of music in film, it is also crucial to create a score that aligns with the movie. Since we are so sensitive to the sound in a film, any inconsistencies in the flow of the score will affect the way we experience any scene in the movie
Here are the three important considerations for music selection in films that every beginner in the cinema industry should be aware of:
Music is an integral element of the narrative
The first thing one should know is that the score is in no way just an accessory for a film. This is because the music in a film encompasses the entire atmosphere of the movie. The visual elements of a movie are not sufficient in conveying the exact range of emotions, but music is: it can propel the action or slow it down; it can amplify different sensations and tell the audience what they’re supposed to feel. Essentially, the music is like a narrator, serving as a medium between the actors and the audience. Moreover, music has a potent sensory effect on us, which consequently gives more depth to the film-watching experience.
The best film score is that which doesn’t draw attention to itself
There’s a fine line when it comes to making an impactful yet subtle film score. On one hand, you want the music to stir up specific emotions in the audience, while on the other hand, you want to do it in the most delicate way possible. The main rule of film scoring is that it must not be noticed throughout the movie. The best music score is one that reaches deep into the audience’s subconscious without necessarily being invasive. In order to do that, the music needs to correspond perfectly with the scene’s visuals in order to properly communicate the director’s intent.
Film score doesn’t necessarily have to contain actual music
The ways music is utilized in a movie directly influences how our minds perceive it. Perhaps you’ve noticed that majestic orchestral music occurs much more often in fantasy or blockbuster movies, but the soundscapes are rather minimal in realistic psychological films. As a matter of fact, the less actual music a movie contains, the more realistic and concentrated effect it has upon the audience. Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Birds’ is the most well-known example of a compelling film score that only features source music, the kind of film music that is presumably heard by the characters. The film has a dozen intense, horrific scenes which normally would be enhanced with a dramatic soundtrack but the absence of music creates even more bizarre tension as the only sounds you hear are the characters’ screams and frightful flapping of the birds’ wings.
In order to make a truly powerful film score, one must understand how music is supposed to work in a cinematic context. One doesn’t become a professional film score composer overnight, but memorizing and practicing the film scoring principles we discussed above can be a good place to start.
