For my first choice of a film composition to analyse is from the 2019 Joker film by Todd Phillips and Scott Silver. The specific scene I want to talk about is the bathroom dance after the first killing.(https://youtu.be/BBY4zUFxUjA?si=7ZBAGPD2YYJXOhJq)The person behind the music was Hildur Guondottir who is known for her music in films like Joker 1 and 2 and also the new 28 years later. The first time I saw this scene I did not know how to feel about it, I thought it maybe was not placed very well and did not add to the feel of what emotion and what is being portrayed by joker in the scene but then I watched it again and it made me realise that it did not need to have the notes or a specific key to show the emotion but it was the balance between the amount of notes and sound and the silence between the dramatic slow descending cello and the near silence followed by the of sound a soft gloomy mimic of the cello to enhance the quiet sound, I feel the balance showed a confusion at first as he starts dancing but as the scene progresses I feel the music brings out the phycological transformation from the man he was and the thing he is becoming. Rather than choosing to zoom in and revolve the music around the violent and wrong in the situation but more to the internal processing of a change. I really like how at the start of the scene with the way Joker starts the dance and the music provides like a thin, easily broken feel with the way he is moving and the lack of sound filling the scene with his dance, I like that the more the dance progresses the more the moves look more confident and strong a lot like the way the song develops it now feels strong and sturdy a feeling of strength with a way deeper and fuller sound.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildur_Gu%C3%B0nad%C3%B3ttir
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(2019_film)
The second composition I have chosen is during the Omaha beach aftermath scene (famously known as the “thats quite a view” scene.)https://youtu.be/bHlDUk5thNk?si=ZCoVqd2iuWzWLVYm The music was composed by John Williams who is known for almost every major film compositions like for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Harry Potter, E.T, Indiana Jones and the list goes on he has done a lot of well known compositions. In the scene it shows soldiers looking over the aftermath of what they just went through, I think in that scene the soldiers are shown to be absorbing the loss and trauma that war brings. When watching this scene with the music coming in when the camera starts to show the piles and piles of dead bodies collected in groups along the shore with sea water poisoned with the blood of the dead soldiers with a deep red colour I felt great emotion and one reason for that was the devastating scene but about seventy percent of it was the use of the chords, the natural orchestral sound and how the music is mixed gently beneath the dialog and ambience, while the camera is faced at the soldier commenting on the view there is a prolonged silence to really let he words ring out to give the realisation some emphasis before the camera shows the bodies and the music comes in. I think what brings out most of the emotion from the music is the choice of directing the music focus to the emotional release and sorrow the soldiers are feeling in the moment, like the way there is a small gradual sound of quiet brass and strings building suspense by sustaining a note and then when finally getting to the view of the beach then the powerful use of the strings for the background steady layer and then really pushing the brass to the front and bringing the emotion and getting out of that subdued restrained build up into a burst of emotion which for the target audience would make them start to reflect on the human cost of war and really bring out an empathetic feeling for the viewer. The music itself provides a heroic feeling when I watch I am reminded of heroism and sacrifice when I hear that composition, very dramatic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Private_Ryan
For the final composition I have chosen the film Jaws by Steven Spielburg. The music was composed by again John Williams who is behind some of the worlds most famous movies and soundtracks which are well known and recognised every where. The specific scene I want to talk about is the first shark attack scene, it shows a woman who swims into the sea at night after running a way with a man from a beach party, the man is clearly drunk but wants to participate but is too drunk to follow.https://youtu.be/8_E5ZKX3XZc?si=1Bhya-AxdYV5nZ5m Without any hesitation she gets in the water thats when we here the sound of slow curious almost adventures sound of a harp as she swims and as she explores the open water you can start to hear violins used to create tension with held higher notes to make you lean in to find out whats about to happen, creating suspension and almost a feeling of confirmation like the sound means something is definitely going to happen here. Then the famous two notes of the tuba and low strings like the cello and basses starting slow but as the shark is thought to come closer the two notes speed up and repeats steadily creating a sense of fear for the audience and since it was 1975 and scary movies weren’t exactly all that Williams definitely did a great job at providing the audience with a menacing motif that accelerates as the danger gets near to its eventual inevitability that is the shark claiming another meal. The thing that stands out the most for me and probably millions of people is that the rhythm and note choice for the theme every time the shark is going to strike is how it represents the sharks movements through the water, this for me really represents how good of a composer Williams really is by being able to create such anticipation by starting the music before the shark can actually be seen I feel this really lets the fear set in.