Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's lesson entitled "Using Film Music to Establish Mood." My name is Mr. Norris.

Today, we're gonna be exploring the purpose of film music, trying to understand why composers make certain choices about what they do with the music and the way that this affects us as we're viewing films. We're then gonna apply some of that knowledge to our own film music composition.

Our outcome is: "I can explain the purposes of film music and create a simple piece of music to establish an appropriate mood.

Some keywords.

The first is "leitmotif." This is a recurring musical idea that represents a specific character, place, or idea.

"Tonality." This is the key that the music is in, such as major or minor.

"Ostinato." This is a repeated pattern that forms the basis of a composition.

The first part of today's lesson is looking at the purpose for film music.

The main purpose of film music is to support and enhance the visuals on screen, creating an appropriate mood for the audience.

I'd like to compare these three clips that all use exactly the same images and film on screen, but in each example, there's slightly different music.

I'd like you to think about how the music changes the way that we see this scene.

So how does it change the mood? How does it change what we think is going on in this scene? Let's see the first example.

(tense uneasy electronic synth music) Now let's see that same example but with some different music.

(sparse ominous electronic synth music) And finally, let's get a third example with some really contrasting music.

(groovy energetic electronic synth music) Pause my video now and have a think about the way that the music in those different examples changes the way that we see that scene.

You can do that now.

So you might describe the mood of those three clips as: intense and emotional for the first one.

It felt quite serious, maybe quite sad.

The second one was very tense and quite mysterious.

And then the third one was exciting and energetic, but it was less serious, so it didn't feel like it was as serious a scene.

And it's just by changing the music that we create those three totally different scenes.

So the music transforms the way that we experience the same scene, and it tells the audience what they should be feeling.

So we're watching that film, and the music is giving us messages as to how we should be experiencing that.

Should we be experiencing tension and mystery right now? Should we be feeling scared? Should we be laughing? Should it feel a bit silly? And it's the music that gives us those cues.

We're gonna watch the clips again.

Now I'd like you to think about what musical features help to create those different moods.

In particular, I'd like to focus on dynamics, tempo, pitch, instruments, tonality, and the use of repetition as well.

And you can take some notes while you're doing this if it helps you.

So let's start off with the first clip.

How do the musical features help to create that intense and emotional mood? (tense uneasy electronic synth music) Now let's watch the second clip.

How do the musical features here help to make this feel tense and mysterious? (sparse ominous electronic synth music) And now let's watch the third and final clip.

How do the musical features here make this feel exciting but maybe less serious than the other two examples? Let's have a look.

(groovy energetic electronic synth music) Let's delve into each of those examples, then.

So the first one, the contributing factors to the mood, were things like quiet dynamics, the slow tempo, the use of strings, and the descending pattern in the melody as well.

You might have also picked up that there's a pedal or low-pitch pedal that sits underneath it all and that it's in a minor key with some dissonance, too.

So all of these features contribute to creating this quite serious, quite intense, quite emotional scene.

The second one contrasts a lot.

This is much more tense and mysterious, and some of the factors you might have picked up on there that help to create that mood are the quiet dynamics.

Again, there's a use of a pedal.

The quite unusual vibraphone chords that create a little bit of dissonance, the low strings, and the percussion sounds as well.

All of these help to create this slightly unusual, mysterious feeling.

There's a low-pitched ostinato, and it's also in a minor key, but there's some chromatic movement, which makes it feel a little bit more mysterious, a little bit more unusual.

And then the third example contrasts a lot, creates this exciting but less serious mood.

And it does that by using things like loud dynamics, quite fast, upbeat, lively tempo.

There's the use of that wah-wah effect on the guitar, and there's the use of synthesizers as well.

It's also got an ostinato, it's a repeat melodic idea, which creates a sense of energy.

And it's in a minor key, which is the same as the other examples, but here, because of that instrumentation, the style, the rhythms, it feels less serious, less dark, and less intense.

And again, it uses fast, lively, repeated rhythms that help create that feeling of energy and excitement.

So these three examples really demonstrate well how, just by changing a few musical features, composers can transform the way that we view scenes in films. As we've said in those examples, they were all in a minor key, but the first two felt much more serious, dark, or maybe sinister even because of the use of the other musical elements.

So, things like the rhythms, the dissonance, the instrumentation, so on.

So tonality, remember, refers to the key of the music.

So whether it's a major key or a minor key, or you might have come across some other types of tonality as well, like atonal music.

And it's one of the most important elements for creating a mood, which makes it a really important choice in film music.

So when you are creating your own film music, one of the first decisions you have to think about is how are you gonna use tonality to set the right mood? If we're using a major key, it's gonna create a much more positive mood.

If we're using a minor key, that's gonna be much more suitable for trying to create a negative or a darker or maybe sadder mood.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of these musical features has the strongest impact on the overall mood of the music? Is it rhythm, articulation, tempo, or tonality? I'll give you a few seconds to choose one.

The correct answer here is that tonality is the single biggest factor, has the strongest impact on the overall mood, but all of the elements are important.

I'd like you to list four musical elements or techniques that are used in film music to set the scene.

You can pause my video while you think of four.

And here are some of the things you might have mentioned.

Pitch, dynamics, tempo, use of instruments or different timbres, the tonality, the use of repetition, including things like ostinato, which we're gonna look at a little bit more later on, and the use of harmonic devices like pedals.

And there are many other things you could have mentioned there.

Those are just some of the key examples.

Film music developed from program music, which is music that's designed to tell a story or try and paint a picture of something, and opera, which is a form of theater combining music and acting to tell stories.

In opera, the music plays continuously, which creates the mood for each scene, and it sets the tone for the action and dialogue.

And this is where all the techniques that underpin film music began.

I'd like you to listen to this example.

Now this is from a scene in an opera, and I'd like to know what mood does the music create in this scene, and how does it do that? So think about some of those musical elements we've been looking at.

How does this composer create that mood? Pause my video, have a listen, and see if you can think of a few ideas.

So you might have said that it has an exciting mood or triumphant mood.

It uses loud dynamics.

It's played with brass fanfares, which are these really exciting-sounding patterns.

There are some fast, flourishing strings running up and down, lots of notes really fast, creating a feeling of excitement.

There's an upbeat tempo, and there's fast rhythms in the parts as well.

And all of these contribute to this exciting mood.

Another technique developed from opera is the use of a leitmotif.

Now these are musical themes.

We call them leitmotifs that represent characters, places, or ideas.

And this technique was developed through opera, but it's become a very important one in lots of film music.

In certain films, specific characters will have a leitmotif associated with them.

So when we see that character or they are referred to, maybe by another character talking about them, we hear their musical theme.

The theme often tells the audience something about the character as well.

It might suggest that they're evil; it might tell us that we should like that character or so on.

I'd like you to listen to each of these musical themes.

These are examples of leitmotifs from a very famous movie.

I'd like you to listen to each one and try and match it up with the character that it best represents.

We've got a hero, an evil villain, and a princess and ruler.

So I'd like you to pause my video, listen to all three, see if you can work out which theme is the leitmotif for each character.

And well done then if you identified that the first one is the leitmotif for the evil villain.

It's that theme that represents the evil villain.

The second one is the one that represents the princess and the ruler.

And the third one is the one that represents the main hero of the film.

And you'll notice that each theme has distinctive features or aspects that make it suit that character.

The evil villain leitmotif would not suit the hero because it would suggest that the hero is a much darker, more evil character than they actually are.

So the composer's made very specific choices about how they've used the musical elements to best represent that character.

Now we're gonna look at one of the most famous leitmotifs from film music.

And this one represents a shark as it's approaching its victim, that it's about to kill.

What happens to the leitmotif to show that the shark is approaching? So listen to the clip and have a think about how that leitmotif changes to show what is happening.

Pause my video and have a listen.

And you might have picked up on some of these points.

It gets gradually faster so it becomes more dramatic and exciting, implying that it's getting closer.

The notes become more accented, so the sense of danger and energy, and fear increases, and the dynamics increase as well, which increases that intensity.

So the way that these elements have been used means that the music is telling us something that is happening on screen.

We can work it out from the music.

And it really contributes to our experience of that scene by building that excitement and that fear and intensity as the shark gets closer to its victim.

And just like there, film music can tell us things that we can't see on the screen.

So that two-note leitmotif in "Jaws," ♪ Da-dum ♪ reminds the audience of the presence of that shark even if we can't actually see it on screen.

So it can tell us things that the screen doesn't show us.

Composers also use musical associations to help set the scene.

For example, they can set a film in a particular time by using medieval music, for example, in a scene set in that period.

So they're using music from a particular time to tell the audience that that film is set in that time.

Or they could do the same with a place, so they could use music that is associated with a particular place to create that image for the audience.

For example, using reggae in a film that's set in Jamaica, it's gonna immediately create that association with Jamaica for the audience.

Or they can create an association with something else.

For example, quite a common one is using traditional military instruments, things like snare drums or trumpets, to create a feeling of something related to the military.

If you're trying to set a scene in a war, that would help create that association for the audience.

Have a listen to this example.

What do you think the music in this film tells us about where it's set? Pause my video, have a listen.

And hopefully, you picked up here that the use of some traditional Scottish instruments and an idiomatic Scottish melody suggests that this film is set in Scotland.

They're trying to create that impression, that association for the audience.

Now, film composers also use music to create tension and to create excitement.

I'd like you to have a listen to this example.

How is the tension and excitement created here? And in particular, I'd like you to think about the prominent instruments, the texture, the pitch, dynamics, and tonality.

So consider some of those factors.

How do they help to create tension and excitement here? Pause my video, have a listen.

Now let's have a look at some of those elements.

So you might have thought about the use of lots of accented brass and percussion sounds that add aggression and excitement to the music.

You might have mentioned that the dynamics are very loud and dramatic, and that the texture is thick.

And all of these help to create this feeling of excitement.

It's in a minor key, which adds that sense of tension.

The rhythms are repeated and fast, again, that helps it feel exciting as well.

So all these elements are combined, and the composer's made very specific choices about them to try and create the perfect mood for that scene.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a leitmotif? Is it a musical composition, a musical idea, or a style of music? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer is it's a musical idea, and it'll represent a person, place, or an idea.

Suggest one way that composers can use musical associations to set the scene.

You pause my video while you have a think.

And a few things you might have mentioned: You might have said that you could set a film in a time with music that suggests that time.

So, things like using medieval music in a film set in the medieval period.

You could set a film in a place with music that suggests that place.

The example we talked about earlier was using reggae to set a film in Jamaica.

Or you can create an association with something else, for example, the military, by using things like military instruments or military rhythms. Well done if you managed to think of one of those.

For task A, I'd like to start by listing two ways that music is used to enhance films. For question two, listen to this extract from a battle scene in a film.

I'd like you to identify three ways that the music creates an appropriate mood for a battle scene.

And then for question three, listen to this extract from another scene where the characters enter a city in the Middle East.

How does it use musical associations to help set the scene? So you can pause my video now and give this task your best shot.

Good luck.

Let's review that task.

Two ways that music is used to enhance films. You could have mentioned creating an appropriate mood, creating tension and excitement, setting the scene by using things like musical associations, or representing a character, things like leitmotif.

Three ways that this music creates an appropriate mood for a battle.

Well, you could have said the loud dynamics, the thick texture, the loud brass instruments and drums, and with their association with the military and war as well.

Use of minor tonality, chromatic notes, intense repeated notes, and aggressive accented articulation.

So there's lots of different ways that those elements are combined to create this feeling of a battle.

This other extract uses musical associations to set the scene because it uses some Middle Eastern instruments, rhythms, and a scale and melody that's associated with music from that region.

And all these together help the audience set the scene in the Middle East.

So it's using those associations to help set this scene where it is.

Hopefully, now you feel like you've got a good understanding of some of the key roles of film music.

Now we're moving on to look at establishing mood through film music.

Many films use an ostinati to create and build mood.

And ostinato, remember, is a repeating musical idea that forms the basis of a piece of music.

And they're not just used in film music; they're used in many different styles.

The plural of "ostinato" is "ostinati." They're also an appropriate starting point for film music composition.

So these are a good place to start when we're first creating some film music.

There are three excerpts that we're gonna listen to now, and these all use an ostinato.

So they all have a repeating musical idea that forms the basis of the composition.

There's one from an action scene, one from a romance scene, and one from a horror scene.

I'd like you to think about how the music creates those contrasting moods in each clip.

So pause my video, have a listen to all three, and see if you can think of some ideas.

So hopefully, there you've thought of a few ways that each one helps create the mood for the action film, the romance film, and the horror film.

Now we're gonna delve into each one in a little bit more depth.

So the first one is an action movie, and it's set in a futuristic world.

I'd like you to listen to it again and focus on the rhythms and the instrumentation.

How do these help create a suitable mood for an action movie in a futuristic world? Pause my video; see if you can think of anything.

And you might have picked up on some of these points, that the rhythms are fast, they keep repeating, and that creates this sense of action and energy that suits an action scene or action movie.

And the instrumentation is mostly electronic synthesizers, and they help create this futuristic mood.

So they help set it in this futuristic world.

Now the second example is a romantic scene, and it has a calm, positive mood.

This time, I'd like you to focus on the tonality and the dynamics.

How do those two help create a suitable mood for a calm, positive romance scene? Pause my video and have a listen.

And you might have thought some of these points: The tonality is major, and this helps create that positive atmosphere, that positive association.

And the dynamics are soft, they're consistent, they don't change very much, and that creates a calm, safe, sort of relaxed mood.

So together, the tonality and the dynamics there are really key to creating that scene.

Finally, let's look at the horror scene.

This time, I would like you to focus on the articulation and the harmony.

How do these help create a suitable mood for this horror scene? Pause my video, have a listen.

And you might have mentioned that the articulation is accented and dramatic.

And that creates a really intense, violent mood, 'cause you've got these really aggressive accents.

And then harmony is very dissonant, with clashes between the notes.

And this creates a feeling of weirdness, something a bit eerie and uncomfortable, and that suits this horror scene.

So in those three examples, we can see how you can take an ostinato, a repeating musical idea, and depending on how you use those different musical elements, like articulation, like dynamics, and so on, you can help create the perfect mood for that specific scene.

Now we're going to use an ostinato to create an appropriate mood for a dark, futuristic action movie.

And we've got an image there that represents the movie that we're gonna be working towards.

So use that to sort of guide the mood and the feeling that we're going for here.

Let's start off by creating a repeated chord pattern.

Let's have a look at that process.

The first aspect of my ostinato for this futuristic, dark action movie is gonna be my chord sequence.

I want a four-bar chord sequence.

And 'cause I'm trying to create this dark, serious mood, I'm gonna work in a minor key.

So, A minor is the key that we're gonna be working in.

The chords in A minor are A minor, (electric piano softly chiming) G, F, E, D minor, and C.

The one we want to avoid is chord two, which is the one that starts on B.

(electric piano softly chimes) It's a tricky chord to use effectively, that, so avoid that one for now.

And to make my chord sequence feel like it's really in that minor key, I'm gonna use A minor chord quite a bit.

I will probably start on it, and I might also finish my chord sequence on it as well to help really ground it in that key of A minor.

So that's an important one to base our chord sequence around.

Before I come up with my chord sequence, I'm gonna try and choose a timbre that really suits this futuristic mood.

So I'm gonna be looking for an instrument or a timbre that feels futuristic, maybe a sort of electronic sound.

And for that, a synthesizer is gonna be a really effective choice.

I'm gonna go for this one.

(soft atmospheric electro-synth music) I think it sounds quite futuristic, and it'll really suit the mood that I'm going for here.

So I'm gonna just try a few different combinations of chords for my four bars, and when I find one that I like, I'm gonna record it in.

(soft atmospheric electro-synth music) I do quite like that D minor chord there.

I think that sounds quite effective.

So I'm definitely gonna try and build that in.

I also quite like playing these chords a little bit lower down, down in those lower ranges.

(soft atmospheric electro-synth music) I think that creates quite a dark, sort of ominous mood.

If I play them too low, (rumbling atmospheric electro-synth music) it'll just sound mushy and ineffective, but sometimes going slightly lower in the range can help give it that darker mood.

(soft atmospheric electro-synth music) I like that sequence, so I'm gonna go for that.

That was A minor, G, D minor, and then F.

So I'm gonna record that in there.

(metronome ticking) (soft atmospheric electro-synth music) So that's my chord sequence.

Just double-check that they'll start right at the start of the bar to make it easy to loop them later.

So have a quick listen.

(soft atmospheric electro-synth music) So I think that creates quite a nice dark and atmospheric sort of mood.

I'm now gonna add a very quick bass line that will go along with it.

And again, I'm looking for a timbre that sounds a little bit futuristic, a bit electronic.

So synth bass is gonna work quite well for this.

(rumbling electro-synth music) I like that sound.

I'm gonna go for that.

And for this, I'm just gonna pick out the bottom note of each chord.

So the root note of each chord.

So my first chord is A minor, so I'm gonna be playing A.

My second chord is G, so I'm gonna play G.

Third chord is D minor, so I'm gonna play D.

Then fourth chord is F, so I'm gonna play the note F.

I'm just gonna record those in.

(metronome ticking) (soft atmospheric electro-synth music) So that's my four bass notes.

That just gives it a bit more depth, the sound, and is gonna come in useful when I'm starting to develop this ostinato later on.

So I think those pave a really solid foundation for this ostinato that's gonna create this dark and futuristic mood.

And then we're gonna develop the rhythms to add a sense of action, 'cause remember this is an action movie.

Let's see how we might do that.

I'm gonna create three new tracks.

So I'm gonna add a few layers.

And I'm gonna be looking now for some rhythmic percussion instruments.

So that's untuned percussion that I can layer up to create some interesting patterns.

And really, I want to try and find timbres that, again, sound futuristic, help to portray that futuristic setting of this film.

So I'm gonna be looking for electronic sounds to be using for this one.

I've gone for this synthesized drum kit.

(electro-synth percussive music) It still sounds clearly like a synth drum kit, but it's got quite interesting electronic, slightly unnatural sounds, and I quite like that.

So I'm gonna use that for my first rhythmic track.

And for this, for my first track, I'm just gonna be trying to emphasize the pulse.

One way to create rhythmic drive and energy is to have a really strong and emphasized pulse.

So this track is just gonna focus on that, and I might use (kick drum thudding) this kick sound (cymbal hissing) and maybe this sort of slightly mechanical, industrial-sounding cymbal sound as well.

Here we go.

(metronome ticking) (soft atmospheric electro-synth music) So I did two bars there just to demonstrate my rhythm, but I'm gonna cut it down to one.

I'm gonna quantize it.

(kick drum thuds) (cymbal hisses) And then I'm gonna loop it.

And then for the next track, I'll use that same sound again, that same synthesized drum kit, which is called Overdrive Bump.

And this time, I'm gonna, rather than just emphasizing the pulse, I'm gonna try and find some fast, repeated rhythms that I can add over the top.

Maybe looking for some sort of clicks or hi-hat sort of sounds as well.

(cymbal hisses) (hi-hats tapping) I quite like that hi-hat.

(hands clapping) And I might use this slightly unnatural-sounding clap sound as well (hands clapping) to start layering up some rhythms. Here we go.

(metronome ticking) (groovy atmospheric electro-synth music) So please listen to that track on its own so you can hear what I played.

(electro-synth percussion tapping) So some fast semiquavers in the hi-hat, and then a sort of backbeat feel on the clap sound as well.

Again, I can loop it.

I think for this third one, I might use a different synth drum kit, see if I can find one with some sort of different sounds.

(electro-synth percussion music) So some quite interesting futuristic sounds in there.

So I'm gonna now do a contrasting rhythm that just adds an extra layer of interest to my rhythmic parts.

(metronome ticking) (groovy atmospheric electro-synth music) So again, I just need one bar.

I can quantize it.

(electro-synth drum taps) (electro-synth warbling) (electro-synth drum taps) (electro-synth warbling) And then loop it.

And now let's hear all of my parts together.

(groovy atmospheric electro-synth music) So I think they quite effectively create this futuristic mood because of the timbres that I've chosen, but it also feels dark because of the chord sequence, but energetic and full of action because of those layered-up rhythms as well.

Let's check your understanding.

What type of tonality would be most suitable for a dark, sinister scene? I'll give you a few seconds to think.

And the correct answer here would be minor tonality would be most suitable for a dark, sinister scene.

That's more likely to create this darker, more ominous mood.

Now for task B, you're gonna create a four-bar ostinato that's suitable for a dark, futuristic action movie.

Here's some success criteria.

Make sure you've created a four-bar chord sequence in A minor.

Make sure you've developed the rhythms of the chords.

Add some percussion rhythms to add energy.

And finally, make sure you've chosen suitable electronic timbres to make it sound futuristic.

We're setting it in the future, so we want to use instruments that set that scene as much as possible.

And electronic, futuristic-sounding instruments like synthesizers are the most likely to do that.

You can pause my video now and get really creative with the composition, and give this your best shot.

For the second part of this task, we're gonna listen to an ostinato that's been used for this scene.

So, this dark, futuristic action movie, how is it successful, and how could it be made more appropriate for the mood of this film? Let's hear it now.

(groovy upbeat music) And you can pause my video while you're finishing your answer.

Let's go through this, then.

So you might have said that it uses a repeated four-chord pattern that lasts for four bars, and it's in the minor key.

It also uses percussion to add energy.

So these quite successfully help to create that feeling of action and energy.

However, using more appropriate timbres or instruments would make this more effective.

At the moment, the instruments and sounds that have been chosen don't sound at all futuristic.

We've got things like an organ, an acoustic drum kit, whereas it would work much more effectively if we're using synthesized or electronic instruments to create that futuristic feeling.

So well done if you picked up on some of those points.

Let's review today's lesson.

Film music is used in a variety of ways to support the action on screen.

These include establishing the mood, setting the scene, and creating tension and excitement.

Using leitmotif to represent particular characters or ideas is another effective technique.

And composers use the musical elements to create appropriate atmospheres, including careful use of tonality.

At the end there, we've composed a short piece of film music using a repeated ostinato.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Hopefully, now you feel like you've got a good basic grounding in sort of the fundamentals of film music and how different composers use it to really bring their films to life.

I hope you've managed to get on well with that composition task at the end there too, and have started to get a taste of what it feels like to compose music for film and how much thought really has to go into making new music really work for that film or for that scene.

Thanks for taking part, and I'll see you in another lesson.