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Opening music set the tone and identity of a movie...


timbox129

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Hi again!

So, I was surfing the internet this morning, when I stumbled upon this quote from an Animated Views interview with composer Frode Fjellheim on Disney's Frozen's native spirit (I am not talking about the spiritual beliefs of Native Americans or the more popular song "Let It Go" sung by the character of Queen Elsa in Disney's Frozen, but rather the "Vuelie" that opens the movie.):

Any composer would tell you this: the first notes you hear in a movie are certainly the most important ones in order to set the tone and the musical identity of the film.

Is that true?

After all, do you remember the opening sound of Lebo M’s African/Zulu chant during the opening Lion King sunrise? Or the native chant at the beginning of Disney’s Brother Bear?

tumblr_n6e00eHPDX1rcktu3o1_500.jpg

Any example(s) of music that not only opens a movie, but also set the genuine musical tone and identity of that movie?

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Irconically, the opening cue of Frozen didn't seem to set the tone for the rest of the music at all, at least based on what I saw when my niece was watching it.

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Irconically, the opening cue of Frozen didn't seem to set the tone for the rest of the music at all, at least based on what I saw when my niece was watching it.

Exactly, it was just a cheap gimmick.

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Who beat me to it.

He did. The guy right before you. (Duh!) :rolleyes:

I don't know if I agree with the Fjellheim quote. The first notes you hear don't necessarily set the tone or establish the "musical identity" for the entire film (though sometimes they do, as in the mentioned examples of Superman or Fellowship of the Ring, the latter of which is like nothing more than the opening of a massive, old book). Often times the point is to set the tone only for the opening scene of the film. Raiders is a fine example of that. You couldn't guess the musical "identity" of the rest of the score by listening to the Peruvian Jungle sequence; it bears no resemblance to anything else in the picture. The music's purpose at that point is to suspend your initial disbelief and place you at the start of the story, nothing more.

Same thing with the initial bars of E.T. (I'm talking about the credits sequence, not the opening forest shot), which I've always found haunting almost to the point of being frightening—but which do a phenomenal job of taking you out of reality and putting you squarely in an emotional state of mystery and uncertainty. It's like nothing else in the movie, so it can't be said to reflect the "identity" of the score as a whole. It inserts you where you need to be to get going, and leaves the rest of the story and score to establish itself.

So really you have a choice: would the opening bars better serve the story if they set the mood for the story as a whole (as in The Lion King)? Or would it be better to focus only on the opening scene in order to draw the viewer, then let the score evolve in a totally different direction after that?

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ET is kinda the opposite. It sets up the mood well, but it doesn't represent the rest of the score very well (which is not what it tries to do)

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Spielberg obviously wanted to pull a Close Encounters to a certain degree with E.T. It starts off kind of ominous/suspenseful until E.T. finally emerges from the darkness, mystery's up and we learn he's benevolent. However, this process is repeated (or continued) for the government agents.

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What's that thud? Some type of drum?

010_R1_PA_Opening_Titles_page_001.jpg

ET is kinda the opposite. It sets up the mood well, but it doesn't represent the rest of the score very well (which is not what it tries to do)

It fits in pretty well with the underscore for Elliot's first encounters with E.T. and the arrival of the Keys's team.

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people tend to underappreciate that score even though it's simply THE most recognizable of all of them.

Jaws and Superman TM don't get nearly enough love on the forum!

AMEN!!!

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Hi again!

So, I was surfing the internet this morning, when I stumbled upon this quote from an Animated Views interview with composer Frode Fjellheim on Disney's Frozen's native spirit (I am not talking about the spiritual beliefs of Native Americans or the more popular song "Let It Go" sung by the character of Queen Elsa in Disney's Frozen, but rather the "Vuelie" that opens the movie.):

Any composer would tell you this: the first notes you hear in a movie are certainly the most important ones in order to set the tone and the musical identity of the film.

Is that true?

After all, do you remember the opening sound of Lebo M’s African/Zulu chant during the opening Lion King sunrise? Or the native chant at the beginning of Disney’s Brother Bear?

tumblr_n6e00eHPDX1rcktu3o1_500.jpg

Any example(s) of music that not only opens a movie, but also set the genuine musical tone and identity of that movie?

Usually, when the audience is not present, it's called "playing it safe". The first notes have to assure the audience. They payed for a horror movie, let's quickly tell them that they are sitting in the right theater. Give the audience what they expect!

Alex

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