Music or Movies

One of my teachers once asked me “If you could only choose one of these two things to have for the rest of your life which one would it be, music or movies? you can't choose movies with music in them” At first I said movies but not even a second later I changed my answer to music. Movies are stories told visually but I think music makes you feel those moments of stories in a deeper way. Without music I wouldn’t enjoy movies as much. Yes I do like some silent films but even most silent films have music in them. There is just no dialogue. Music soothes the soul. It emotionally guides us through life, movies, or whatever it may be.

The video below is a clip from the movie UP. It tells a lifelong love story simply with images, sounds, and music. There is no dialogue. If you watch it with music and then without music it has a completely different effect. Without the music the montage still tells the story. However, the music’s emotional guidance helps the audience understand and connect emotionally to the characters and the situations.

This next video is another clip from one of my favorites shows One Tree Hill. (It is a link because the video was not found when I inserted it) I picked this scene because I think the music plays an important role in achieving the atmosphere. If you kept the dialogue and took out the music it is still an intense and sad scene. But the music touches you on a completely different level.

One Tree Hill: School Shooting scene with song God Bless the Child

Imagine your favorite film of all time. Take all of the music out and ask yourself, would it still be your favorite film?

Watch the scariest horror film you’ve ever seen without the score or music. I guarantee you won’t be scared at all. Think of Jaws and Psycho without the score. Would they still have been as successful?

Music is an essential aspect of storytelling. It can create a persuasive atmosphere and strike many emotional chords. If movies or television never had music I would probably not be pursuing this major. Music tugs at all the heartstrings and hits every chord. For these reasons I would pick music. 

Making Film Scores

     The music  of a film creates a huge part of the emotion that is seen on screen.  This makes the score a very important part of the final product.  A good score and make your movie perfect or detract from it, Saving Private Ryan for example does not have much music throughout it, but the lack of music and the parts where music is present creates the fantastic feel of the movie.

     I think that it is interesting that for such an integral part of a movie, not much time is given to craft it.  John Williams for example only had six weeks to create the entire score of the first Star Wars.  Not much time for one of the most recognizable themes in movie history.  John Williams also creates his music very mathematically, making sure that all the hits in the music line up perfectly with the action. (All six parts of the video are awesome).

     Hans Zimmer on the other hand, worked differently on the score for Inception.  Chris Nolan gave him the leeway to just make the score, not worrying about wether it fit perfectly or not, and then they would see where the hits naturally met up.

    No matter how one goes about it, making the score is a huge process that takes true talent, which is why these guys are so famous.  I know my hat is off to the composers who work so hard to bring emotion to the viewer.