Music is an integral part of film and the moving image. From the onset of the 1890’s silent film era, film has never been a fully ‘silent’ project. Each film theatre would have its own inhouse pianist, organist – or in bigger theatres, small orchestras – playing live music in the background of films to create atmosphere for the audience. This filled in for the lack of dialogue and sound. The live music also helped to mask the noise of the projectors. As the art of filmmaking and the technology used to synchronise sound with film progressed and improved, the film industry started to view film music as an artform in its own right, having its own conventions and functions to convey a message and evoke emotion. […]
I will be utilising the theorisations and opinions of Claudia Gorbman in her book Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music (1987) to investigate diegesis, specifically musical diegesis. I will be discussing how Gorbman reiterates and develops Gérard Genette and Étienne Souriau’s insightful definitions of diegesis and filmic diegesis. Further into the dissertation, I will be delving into the meanings of affect, feelings and emotions, utilising the opinions and viewpoints of Eric Shouse to lead into how emotion and film music connect. However, my main perspectives will emerge from my primary source, Edgar Wright. Edgar Wright is an English director, screenwriter and producer. He is highly regarded for his fast-paced and expressive editing style, and well-thought-out use of music. Wright began directing at a young age. He made his feature film debut at 20-years old with A Fistful of Fingers (1995), a spoof western. Wright is best known for what is comically referred to as The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. He has continued to create celebrated cult classic films.
After detailed research – watching and reading interviews, reading industry articles, studying his films and listening to his soundtracks – I can confidently state; it is well documented that Wright is passionate about the use of music in his films. “The association between music and images, is always something that’s very strong for me” (Wright, 2017). “One of the great things about being a music aficionado who also makes movies is that you can use songs to almost say thank you to the artists who have inspired you” (Wright, 2017). I have chosen to utilise three of Wright’s films to enhance my study. The three films I have chosen to utilise as examples are the 2017 action/thriller Baby Driver, the 2010 action/romance Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the 2004 comedy/horror Shaun of the Dead. I have chosen these three films as they all offer something different musically. Wright conjured up the idea for Baby Driver at 21-years old. The film includes music that Wright had been thinking about for years, having visualised the scenes in his head after listening to the music. “I think it came from literally visualizing the action while listening to songs” (Wright, 2017). “The songs inspired the movie and some entire scenes are completely dictated by the music” (Wright, 2017).
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim created by Canadian author and illustrator Bryan Lee O’Malley. The music utilised is incredibly fitting to the theme of the film. “If the script outlines the realities of the late-’00s music world, then the soundtrack colors it in. Handpicked with care by Wright and O’Malley to emphasize their respective senses of humor and encyclopedic knowledge, the songs don’t just fit the mood of the scene or the character’s personality; they’re tongue-in-cheek jokes for any viewer who’s a fellow musical Rolodex” (Corcoran, 2020).
Wright sometimes shoots scenes with the chosen popular music playing in the background to allow the actors to fully immerse themselves within the feel and mood of the scene. This method was first brought to light in a scene in Shaun of the Dead, where the actors take down the zombies in sync to the music. “A bar fight scene in Shaun of the Dead was the first time Wright had music for a scene playing on-set during shooting so actors could understand the aesthetic he was trying to evoke in a certain scene. Using Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ Wright used the song’s bouncy imagery to capture the film’s comedic horror genre” (Philips, 2017).
Throughout Chapter 1, I will explore the use of diegesis in film. More specifically, I will be delving into film music diegesis through the eyes of Claudia Gorbman and Edgar Wright. I will explore diegetic and non-diegetic sound and music. I will be discussing the academic and industry terminology, and how Wright utilises musical diegesis to enhance his films. This helps to further the notion of why a director would choose popular music and/or original music for a film. Chapter 2 will explore the relationship between film music and emotion. This will be conducted by defining the key, fundamental terms – affect, feelings and emotion, – followed by researching film genres. Research conducted into film genres will include their musical traditions and how they can be used to target specific age and cultural demographics, and finally, how musical tropes can enhance and portray the meaning within a scene.
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