Importance Of Background Score In Movies

The Importance of Background Scores in Movies

Background scores are the lifeblood of a great film that most viewers tend to overlook. They know that the film makes them feel good while enjoying themselves but never really process the importance of what they hear. Therefore, getting the perfect background score with the right pitch using premium instruments played by professional musicians are all essential to delivering the physical actions behind emotions, such as knee-jerk movements during a tense horror scene, expected from viewers in theatres or at home that most producers or directors want to harness. Understand that the song of a film tells a story, a very important one, essential to furthering a theme, storyline, or helping to build

To Create a Certain Atmosphere - A score could be used to create a certain atmosphere which could be dark or light, or a dramatization or realization for a character. In the movie Fear of Loathing in Las Vegas the main character was rambling at the mouth about random stuff so much while high on illegal narcotics, mixed with wacky background music, it made the viewers feel high as well.

5. Portraying Certain Emotions - A score is used to get emotions across or to evoke emotions in the audience. When you see best friend build a relationship in the movie and one of them dies later, that could make the audience cry, especially if they feel connected with that character. Additionally, more serious subjects, such as race or sexuality, might be presented in a film to bring out certain emotions as well.

6. Social/Cultural/Geographic References - The background music could change according to the places the character is going or has gone. In the movie Nothing to Lose, Nick Beam became depressed about his wife cheating on him and took a random drive down the Los Angeles freeway at 13 miles per hour (represented how many years they was married), causing other drivers to honk their horns at him in disappointment. During this scene a sad score was playing. However, when he ends up in downtown near Skid Row, the music changed to a more uptempo 'Hip' score where he got robbed. Another example is the Back of the Future movie when Marty McFly traveled from 1985 to 1965 and the background

Connecting Scenes Together - Music is used to bridge certain scenes together. One of the greatest movie soundtracks in the world with the best scores is the Wizard of Oz. There is an infamous score played during the movie when Miss Glutch was riding her bike in a hurry to go and see Dorothy. This scores has a 'troubling' feel that puts you in the mindset that something serious was about to happen in the next scene.

9. To Manipulate - If something seems confusing, certain music is played to get the storyline back on track. You will often see this when a character pulls a gun on another character while there is a deep, serious score playing in the background and then relaxes and smiles to show the that threat was a joke. An example of this is when the James Carter character in the Rush Hour movie pulled a weapon on his cousin, only to put it down and laugh when his partner Inspector Lee leaves the room.

10. Alternate Perception of Time - This score is used during a chase or waiting scene. An interesting example is the Hangover film when the main characters got ready to consume their drinks for the evening that was laced with drugs making them blackout and forget everything. The time-lapse from late at night to early in the morning where the audience sees the aftermath of what happened the previous