Film Score Analysis

Silent Hill - "Evil Lives" scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvu0wnD2xp8

This score occurs only once during the movie; in one of the final scenes where one of the main characters, Alessa, rises from the dead and kills the cultists in the church. This scene is where the main plot of the movie is resolved.

The instruments and production techniques used in this score are quite simple. The organ and piano sound as if they have been recorded especially for this movie while the rhythmic sounds are made up mostly of 5 different sounds that have been sampled repeatedly.

The score begins with the sound of a crowd of people talking, and some ambient wind noise. There is a very low frequency pulse that slowly fades out while strings slowly fade in, until a huge organ very suddenly starts playing and everything else disappears.

The main melody is delivered with the use of the organ that plays a combination of low chords and higher harmonies that sound very daunting but epic. The first few repetitions of the main chords are not accompanied by any rhythmic instruments which helps to engage the audience in a sense of surrealism; as if something crazy has just happened but the audience and the characters in the movie have to actually take some time to process what is going on.

The rhythm is quite slow; it is defined by some sort of war drums that have a very industrial sound which carry a consistent tempo throughout most of the score. The drums in the first half of the song sound very metallic; like some sort of steel machinery. Towards the end of the score, the drum hits change into a much more aggressive, smashing sound; it resembles something like a concrete or brick building being knocked down.

The timbre throughout this score is mostly quite harsh and unsettling; the drums are very aggressive and the organ sounds like an old pipe organ, which is quite typical in very intense scenes in horror movies.

At 1:12, the melody and feel of the score changes quite suddenly, employing some dissonant chords that sound evil and unsettling. A piano is present for a brief amount of time just before the organ begins playing dissonant sounding chords that ascend one semitone at a time, accompanied by what sounds like a huge group of voices that have been processed to sound unsettling and more industrial machinery sounds to suit the feel of this section. This particular section is a very tense build up, (all of the villains in the film are being killed) which leads to a plateau where the scene finishes and the main characters leave the setting where it takes place.

Jurassic Park - Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZh88vz8b8

The main theme that is present throughout the Jurassic Park movies is not what you'd expect when you imagine a story about a group of people trying to escape from an island where dinosaurs have escaped from confinement and are trying to eat them.

The instrumentation used in this score is pretty complex; a live orchestra was recorded performing the near-6-minute piece consisting of two main songs used throughout the movies. Instruments featured include strings, winds, brass horns, violas, cellos, violins, double bass and even a wordless choir.... Basically a very large professional orchestral band. The score was composed at Skywalker Ranch which has been home to many other well known soundtracks like Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Microphones are not visible in the video but I would assume that it was recorded using a Decca Tree technique and possibly boundary microphones around the space.

There is an absence of rhythmic instruments for the first minute and 43 seconds of the score and the drums in this orchestra aren't even really used in a rhythmic way, rather only on occasions to add emphasis to certain parts. The rhythm is kept consistent by the violins in the first song, with the help of the composition by John Williams. In the second theme song, the rhythmic defined by the brass horns and trombones when combined with drums in the choruses make for a very uplifting and energetic experience.

The main melodies in this score, present in the choruses of each song, are made apparent most noticeably with the use of the violins, trombones and trumpets, and are both really catchy and memorable; majority of people know and could hum or whistle the Jurassic Park theme. The instruments are playing in the scale of B flat major. Harmonies are used heavily in the score due to it being a live orchestra. The use of minor chords is not present at all, which gives a very warm and uplifting feeling (Richards, 2013). The score really works well with the film by engaging the audience into a sense of surrealism and disbelief, especially because it first appears in the movie when the main characters witness the brachiosaurus for the very first time.

The tone of the score is very much typical of a large orchestra; big and bold but very dynamic, with quiet soft sections that feel really relaxed and soothing, and huge, hard hitting sections where the whole band is playing.

The form of this score is made of two main choruses; one for each song. The first song uses the melody of the chorus throughout the intro, only played quieter and not playing al of the instruments. It slowly transitions into the huge chorus and has a short interlude before belting out into the chorus once more. The second song begins with a verse before breaking out into the chorus. After the chorus, it features a bridge, followed by the chorus once more, and then a big outro.

References:

Ball, P. (2012). Why dissonant music strikes the wrong chord in the brain. News. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11791

Haines, G. Microphones: The Decca tree technique. Retrieved June 9, 2016, from http://tapeop.com/tutorials/46/microphones-decca-tree-technique/

Lerner, N. (2009). Music in the horror film: Listening to fear. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.au/books?id=2d2OAgAAQBAJ&dq=pipe+organ+in+horror

Richards, M. (2013, March 30). John Williams themes, part 5 of 6: Theme from Jurassic park. Retrieved June 9, 2016, from http://www.filmmusicnotes.com/john-williams-themes-part-5-of-6-theme-from-jurassic-park/

Williams, J. (1993). “Theme from Jurassic park” from “Jurassic park” sheet music (piano solo) in Bb major (transposable) - Download & print. Retrieved June 9, 2016, from http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0075956

YouTube Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZh88vz8b8

YouTube Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvu0wnD2xp8&spfreload=1