Something frivolous

[xiphias]

This link, which has been bounced around my friends' list the past couple days, is an excellent demonstration of the use of musical scoring in creating the emotional impact of a movie clip. Watch the film loop, of Count Dooku from Star Wars flying a speeder bike, and listen to the music, and, once you feel you understand the emotional impact of the scene, click the little rectangle underneath the film loop to get another piece of music to go with the scene. See how the tone and feeling of the scene changes. There are twelve musical clips in total.

Comments

[navrins]

I got that from The Daily Show. A few months ago they played a clip of a bunch of world leaders walking down a beach during some summit or other. First with basically natural sound, then "Here's how they saw it," with some heroic music (maybe the Rocky theme), then "And here's how (some other group) saw it," with Darth Vader's Imperial March.

I was glad I had it on Tivo because I would've sworn it was different video each time. I literally went back over it several times to convince myself that, no, it really was the same video; only the music had changed.

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

So, so, SO wrong.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Neat!

In one of his books, William Goldman notes how the wrong musical score almost destroyed the movie Chinatown. He also points to Chariots of Fire as a movie that really demonstrates the importance of the music.

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

"Which Lie Did I Tell?" or "More adventures in the screen trade." Lovely book.

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

I now want to see every scene of Kung-fu Action Yoda re-cut to "Footloose."

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

I hadn't really given it much thought in a while, but it is a very interesting effect. I remember, years ago, seeing the (only) famous scene in "Chariots of Fire," where the men are running on the shore two ways: one with the music, and one without it. The difference was amazing: one way it was very stirring; the other way it was just a bunch of guys running, making occasional splashing sounds.

This makes me wonder just how deaf people feel about movies like the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, where the music is such an integral part of the experience. Even the best closed-captioning can't convey music.

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

Having started life as a music major, the first time I watch a movie I tend to get lost in the soundtrack more than anything. This is backwards from most people. I find myself closing my eyes in the theatre as I take in the emotion of a scene. Most people do that on a second viewing if at all.

That clip had some hysterical options, but it's great that almost all of them really worked (without a greater contexted anyway).

The other odd thing I do is when I'm out and about, I wonder what the soundtrack to that part of my life would be. I'm also seriously affected by whatever music a store is playing as background music. It affects my movements, which items I linger over, how long I stick around, and sometimes even what I buy. I do often wonder, though, what my soundtrack would sound like. Mostly classical, I'd imagine, since I was a classical musician, but for sure there have been other aspects to my history.

Anyway, that was probably way more info than you needed. Thanks for posting the link.