When compositions are put to a film, TV or even video games, they are there for a reason. There can be many purposes of music in films which sometimes the audience do not realise; the score is often the underdog of many films! The score has to be synced perfectly to the action in the movie to initially convey a certain emotion in the audience. It can also further emphasise the feelings of the characters, which then makes the audience sympathise or perhaps despise the character(s). For example, slow, melancholic strings or piano might start playing when a beloved character dies, or thick textured, almost sinister sounding music would start playing when the antagonist is present (like Darth Vader’s theme, ‘The Imperial March’).
Film scores often have the role of foreshadowing (what will later happen in the movie). Some great examples of this would be the ‘Jaws’ main theme, which plays at the very start of the movie. This tells the viewer/listener that something terrifying is going to happen later in the movie, but it doesn’t tell them when this will happen, which is vital to add suspense especially if it is a horror movie. Another example would be the opening scene of ‘The Shining’. It starts with a car travelling across a country road; nothing scary. However, the music foreshadows that the person or group in that car are going to be put in extreme danger as this part of the score is ominous and quite worrying. It juxtaposes with the feel of the cinematography; the directors could have put a happy road trip song here to counter this, however they chose suspense instead. This grabs the viewer as it clearly tells them something bad will happen later.
Some other ways film scores are important is through communication with the audience. Music is often needed to add effects to the film that they might not be able to do through the acting or cinematography. For example, adding scary music to a suspenseful scene will engage the audience a lot more than if it was just silent. This, therefore, means the communication between the film and the audience will be much improved. As well as this, the music can represent the mise-en-scène (what’s in the scene) or what is going on in the scene in terms of acting much more if it is combined with the cinematography. Jolly, quite euphoric music could be played at a time when the protagonist is content with themselves and this can be combined with celebrations in the frame around them and props that suggest happiness and triumph.
This great video shows how film scores can affect the feel of a movie, proving how important they are:
The first song is the original score; this fits very well as it conveys a sense of wonder and excitement through its use of thick textures and major chords. This music also represents the actions from the actors in the scene well. This style of orchestral music is very typical for the Lord Of The Rings series as both have a historical atmosphere and environment.
The second one is footsteps. This is a foley sound, intended for background noises so it really doesn’t fit in this scene, especially when it is not accompanied by music. It adds comedic value, which is obviously not what the audience wants to be feeling at this moment. Because of this, there is absolutely no sense of excitement, wonder or even danger.
I think the third song works much better; close but not quite on par with the original score. It definitely shows awe and wonders when the actors are running and when they pick up the mysterious object from the ground. However, it fails to show this added sense of anticipation that comes with the original score.
The fourth song sounds way too recent for the context of the movie, so these two things clash hugely. It represents the characters as spies as if they are sneaking around the frame when they are really doing the opposite. However, it does add the sense of danger and exhilaration that the original score conveys.
This fifth piece definitely portrays the most comedic value; it has connotations of someone being chased but not in a dangerous or frightening manner. It adds no implications of the scene being exciting, wonderous, dangerous or triumphant, therefore it is the opposite of what the scene needs to be effective.
The last one is probably the third-best because it gives off this needed sense of awe which will make the scene seem more mysterious and exciting. Given the song’s context, it brings also this feeling of determination as well as triumph, which I feel fits this scene very well. However, it still has a comedic value, which is a downside.
Another video which explains why music is important in films is this, I feel it expresses its points perfectly!