Scoring for Film

This is a basic summary of our group presentation for Scoring for Film. The task was to do a group analysis of a brief clip from a film and present our findings of the group as a presentation.

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The Godfather.
(The hospital scene 1.01.25 - 1.09.56)

The extract we are examining is 1.06.42 - 1.08.12

The music (non-diagetic) is introduced at the start of the scene, and is used as the theme as the main entering the hospital. The strings are sustained pad for the piano chords. the piano dictates harmonic pace, using rubato to enhance suspense. This rubato is then continually stretched up untill the moment when the car stops, creating the illusion of time slowing as the tension in the characters increases.

There is a delay of around 2 seconds between the visual relief of the characters and said relief being portrayed through the soundtrack.

When the music changes at 1.07.45, we hear an instrumental change wherein piano becoming a woodwind (clarinet), the strings more active and lower register strings are introduced (double bass and cello). the sirens are accentuated by muted trumpets. the music is representative of both characters emotions. In that it shows both the relief of Michael and the fear of Enzo (the baker)

The harmony (phrygian dominant mode?) utilizes the b2nd chord at edits of tension. for instance, a close up of the man and when the car stops. the chord major 3rd chord is used for comforting or relieving moments, such as when the Michaels places a reassuring hand on Enzo and when the car leaves.

The original soundtrack was mono, however the remastered version is in stereo in 1991 when converted for compact disc, assuming that the orchestra was recorded as a whole, as would have been typical, we can assume it impossible to seperate the various instruments in a stereo field and therefore even in this remasered stereo version of the film the music would still have been mono.

The relevant extract in this video is from 5.20 - 6.45.