Blog 1: Film Score Genre

In this blog post I’ll be making an evaluation of two film scores from two different genre’s of music. I’ve chosen a couple of Academy award winning films, one a 1999 comedy/drama film called ‘American Beauty’ and the other the science fiction 2009 billion dollar box office success Avatar. In this evaluation I’ll be making a thorough analysis of the musical characteristics of a section of the score of each discussing the rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre and form. I’ll also be discussing the musical instruments used to produce the sounds and also the production techniques used for each piece of music.

Firstly ‘American Beauty’, this 1999 comedy/drama film has a certain mysterious theme that composer Thomas Newman has cleverly written. The original motion picture score contains 19 tracks and I’ll be focussing on track 1 named ‘Dead Already’ which is the opening soundtrack of the film. Here is a YouTube video of the music if you’d like to have a listen before I break it down.

Thomas Newman has kept this score and in particular this track incredibly simple yet extremely effective and I’ll discuss exactly why. Firstly the time signature of this song has a 6 pulse crotchet beat per bar which tells us there’s 6 beats to a bar so I believe it’s in 6/4 time however could also be 6/8 time signature with 6 quavers to a bar. Either way there are definitely 6 beats to a bar which gives it an interesting feel to begin with.

The piece is in the key of C minor. At the beginning we hear a 4 bar intro with a beautiful marimba instrument playing a 2 note C minor melody and harmony pattern (saturated with reverb) which is very distinct in its sound and I think it’s inviting to the ear. It’s a syncopated rhythm and creates a simple yet mysterious emotion for the viewer/listener which I think is very suitable for the genre of the film.

After a suspensful short pause another 4 bars is played and gradually the song begins to build as the same pattern repeats however a large/deep drum sounds on beat one of the bar adding depth and more emotion to the overall sound. A Bongo rhythm and a background descending synth is added. A whistling sound effect is introduced along with more percussion sitting with the bongos in the mix. At about 55 seconds into the track another percussive instrument is added on the 1st beat of each bar. Around 1 minute we are introduced to a warm low frequency pad/synth effect and also what sounds like a flute melody low in the mix which then leads into the next section which includes a fast strummed guitar rhythm.

At 1.45 a bass note sounds on the second beat of each bar before the base line is properly introduced. As you can can hear this track builds very slowly yet effectively. At 2.07 a piano is introduced which mirrors the marimba that is further back in the mix at this point. At 2.27 we hear a drum roll as instruments build and return to this section. Please take a quick look at the following YouTube video which is Shannon Rogers’ arrangement for Ferny Grove Percussion Ensemble performing a combination of the main theme tracks from ‘American Beauty’. What an incredible arrangement and performance and gives you a clear picture of the instruments used in the original score by Thomas Newman. I love the delicacy of the beginning and end and was deeply moved watching this powerful performance. It demonstrates the intensity Thomas Newman has created.

The second evaluation I am making is on director James Cameron’s award winning film ‘Avatar’ for which the original score and songs were composed, co-orchestrated and conducted by the well known James Horner. Horner also composed alongside Cameron’s succesful ‘Aliens’ and also ‘Titanic’ films. James Horner is an incredible composer famous for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. I’ve chosen to analyse a piece from Avatar named ‘Jake Enter’s His Avatar World’. It’s a very moving scene and James Horner creates the distinct emotion with this spectacular orchestrated arrangement. Have a listen below.

At the beginning of this incredibly moving piece of music you hear an assortment of orchestral instruments. First a powerful steel drum roll followed by flowing violins and violas playing quavers through a beautifully phrased ascending minor scale with melodies and accompanying harmonies. With a gentle 4/4 beat, a second melody falls gently underneath before a smooth stringed chord where we hear deeper strings including cello’s and perhaps a double bass.

At 27 seconds a light twinkling melody begins which consists of a piano and a beautiful harp playing two notes back and forth one octave apart creating a sound that reflects raindrops or the dew you’d imagine in the garden early in the morning melting away as the sun rises. The piano and an oboe bring in another gentle melody around the harp and a continued upper note on the strings sits throughout. At 1.00 a large cymbal crash takes us through to the next section of the score and the piece begins to build. Here the harp is playing a semi-quaver arpeggiated rhythm whilst the strings go into a plucked staccato quaver rhythm. I feel that this rhythm creates the feeling of the characters tiptoeing through the magical forest of the new world. The warm horns are introduced here as well which helps to build and add depth to the score.

At 1.24 the horns build up more with some dark chords that create a spooky and mysterious feeling for the audience. These flowing notes build and increase in volume and the overall dynamic builds. I personally think there’s nothing like the deep emotion that a full orchestra is capable of creating for a film. As Horner states in regards to this film, “Even though the characters are these newly created beings in some weird world, you still have to touch people’s hearts with the music so that they connect with the characters.” (Heyuguys, 2015)

The musical goal with Avatar was to create a score using traditional film sensibilities however at the same time introduce music that represented a new culture and world to the audience. The producers and directors used what’s called an ‘ethnomusicologist’ which is someone who has a wide knowledge of many diverse cultures, to work and create with James Horner.

“We had to create a convincing atmosphere in the absence of the two principal sources for achieving musical color in film: indigenous musical material and culturally identifiable musical devices.” (Bryant, 2016)

The idea was to create alien music without alienating the audience. Horner was asked to create unusual musical sounds that no one has heard before, in other words, sounds that the average movie-goer would not readily recognise as belonging to a specific culture, time period or location.

I found it interesting through my research that the original process of creating the music for this film was to watch the characters and really try to imagine the music that these newly created characters would produce in their world. Horner usually chooses the instrumentation first and then lets the melodic material evolve from there. Attached below is the scene from the movie Avatar that features the piece I have discussed where character Jake enters the capsule and goes deep into the Avatar world.

References

1mannlan (2010, March 19). Avatar soundtrack Promo – the complete score – CD1 – 05 – Jake enters his Avatar world Retrieved from https://youtu.be/K5P2_YuFvzs?list=PLB3AAABA799EB6107

Avid (2010, March 9). Avatar Retrieved from https://youtu.be/sfvwUBNg-X8

Bryant, W. (2016). Creating the music of the na’vi in James Cameron’s Avatar: An Ethnomusicologist’s role. Retrieved June 10, 2016, from http://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/journal/volume/17/piece/583

DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood (2013, April 9). DP/30: Avatar, composer James Horner Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Qrcuw9D92_s

Ferny Grove SHS Instrumental Music (2010, September 14). American beauty Retrieved from https://youtu.be/WjB_QGUx0G8

FilmScoreBuff (2012, May 22). American beauty score – 01 – dead already – Thomas Newman Retrieved from https://youtu.be/hrU3EppRwNA

Heyuguys, S. (2015, June 23). Titanic composer James Horner in one of his last TV interviews: “You have to touch people’s hearts” – videoRetrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/jun/23/titanic-composer-james-horner-tv-interview-video

B N J M N

Music Producer, Audio Engineer