Ominous Soundtrack
I recently watched a movie on Netflix and had to turn on the audio subtitles due to the varying sound quality. Whenever a suspenseful scene came up the subtitles would flash, “Ominous soundtrack”. It got me thinking about the role that music plays in movies and TV shows and wondering if it’s sometimes used as a crutch for poor storytelling. Shouldn’t it be obvious to the viewer that the characters are in some kind of danger without the music leading us by the hand and telling us so? Do we need a sudden loud bang on the piano keys making us jump when the serial killer suddenly comes back from the dead to attempt one last try to throttle our plucky protagonist? Movies are a different animal than novels or comics. Writers just have to tell the story and if they are good the reader is right alongside them enveloped in the story, while movie makers must try different techniques to keep people engrossed in their product. I’m not knocking the music of the movies; I listen to the soundtrack to Raiders of the Lost Ark and From Russia With Love quite often…for inspiration and enjoyment. But it does reiterate the fact that whether it’s a movie, novel or comicbook, that the story should be first and foremost. Anything above and beyond that is just icing on the cake.
See you right here next week folks!
(queue exit music)
It appears someone is not merely a wielder of blades but versed in the dark arts as well…
…and I suspect that her sense of sisterly love is sorely lacking!
Videogames are another medium that rely heavily on music. Take a look at HALO: Combat Evolved. As a game it was alright. The engine and mechanics were average, not falling flat, but not excelling either. The maps were large and well thought out, but hardly the biggest or most complex of it’s time. The graphics got the job done. The story was good, with reasonably tight writing, and was long enough for people to feel they got their money’s worth out of it. Where it excelled, and rose head and shoulders above everything else, however, was in it’s soundtrack. Even today, the opening vocals are iconic, and used in some form in each subsequent game. It was on the strength of it’s musical score that an entire franchise was launched, and the soundtracks to the HALO games continue to impress. One of my favorite is to the often forgotten HALO: ODST. Moody and lonely for most of the time and at others, rising into a roar of driving rock and roll, inspiring action, and more importantly, hope. I highly recommend looking it up and giving it a listen.
The point I’m trying to make here, is that quite often, the soundtrack can make or break a movie, show, or game. Yes, story should be first and formost, and all too often, music is used as a crutch, but usually we don’t remember those movies/shows/games anyway. But think back on some of the classic games like Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and far, far more. Often the first thing to jump to mind is the music that went with them. Now ask yourself this: would these have been nearly as enjoyable if there was no music, only sound effects? In my opinion, no.
Music is used as a crutch because of it’s power over us, because it works. It gives the mediocre a chance at greatness, and the great to become legendary. Music sticks in our minds, and while a work can stand on it’s own without music, it’s somewhat like having a comic without colour. Still worth checking out, but so much more when it’s there.
Here is a little experiment to try: the next time you post a comic, throw up a link to a peice of music that you think captures the feel of that particular strip. The next week, go back and read it twice a with a few minutes between each reading. The first time, just read it as it is, and the second time, read it with the music you picked out playing, and note the difference. It might suprise you.
I’m not knocking movie music at all, but as you said the music should work with what’s going on in the movie and not be glaringly inappropriate as to take you out of the story. It can be used as a framing device, set a mood, negotiate a transition of scene, etc. When its done well, it makes the movie work as a whole and is seemless, but when its bad…hooboy!
For videogame soundtracks, one of the best I’ve encountered is the music from Red Dead Redemption. Just great work by all invoved and did a great job at setting the tone of the classic Western. Another one where everything meshed nicely would have been the music from The Last of Us. Worth checking out.