One aspect of filmmaking that I think gets overlooked too often is the soundtrack or score. I’m disappointed as a film student and an audience member when a movie has a forgettable soundtrack. So many of my favorite movie moments are tied to the score playing alongside the imagery. It really is incredible how much more dramatic a movie-moment can be when it’s paired with the right song. Normal moments become dramatic, and dramatic moments take on even more importance with good music.
Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, and Trent Reznor are some of my favorite composers.
Some of my favorite movies are high on my list (partially) because the music was so memorable: movies like James Bond films, the Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones, the Godfather and Lord of the Rings.
I read an article recently that discussed the dwindling respect for movie soundtracks:
“The problem isn’t with the quality of output today but with the perception of importance that the score provides to the film. There are several major factors that are contributing to this trend:
1) The music, simply put, is often buried. How is the audience supposed to feel the music when their ears are trying to navigate through the excruciatingly loud sound design?
2) Music as sound design. Take any number of network television shows or action movies. One of the current musical trends is to compose patches of background sound which is a far cry from the age old practice of using themes and motivic reference to communicate with the audience. Patches of sound desensitizes the ear because it often contains so much of the same frequencies over and over. This desensitization gives the ear an almost white noise sensation as the score competes with the surrounding noise environment.
3) An overall lack of respect for what music can do for a film. If only DVD’s allowed the audience to select ‘play with no music.’ My guess is almost everyone watching (without music) the opening of Star Wars, the hijacking scene from Airforce One or the finale to E.T. would turn the movie off within minutes if not sooner.
Music soothes the soul. If we are, as a society, to hold a higher importance of music in film, we must respect it as both a legitimate and necessary art form while always being aware of the emotional guidance it performs for us.”
(Source: http://losangelesbrass.com/the-importance-of-music-in-film/)
