Structuring your composition to fit the trailer.
Watch the film trailer, and write a timeline to help you plan the structure for your composition. The video is 57 seconds long, so draw a line across the page, and write '0 seconds' on the left end, and 0'57 on the right end of the line. In between, mark the specific timings of the events you want to illustrate with your music (these are called hit points) - for example, at 0'21 the glass in the picture frames explodes - you might write 'crash sound effect, suspense theme, loud dynamics, in cellos and trumpets').
- Decide where your suspense theme will go (you can copy and paste it so it can happen more than once)
- Decide where your flying theme go (you can copy and paste it so it can happen more than once)
- Decide where your atmosphere theme go (you can copy and paste it so it can happen more than once)
- where do you need sound fx? there are explosions, crackles, swooshes, etc.
** WATCH THE TRAILER WITH THE SOUND ON 'MUTE' SO THAT YOU CAN CONCENTRATE ON HOW YOUR OWN MUSIC WILL FIT WITH THE ACTION! **
See the information below to remind you of the musical features of your themes.
Don't forget to bring your folder to next lesson if you took it home!
- Decide where your suspense theme will go (you can copy and paste it so it can happen more than once)
- Decide where your flying theme go (you can copy and paste it so it can happen more than once)
- Decide where your atmosphere theme go (you can copy and paste it so it can happen more than once)
- where do you need sound fx? there are explosions, crackles, swooshes, etc.
** WATCH THE TRAILER WITH THE SOUND ON 'MUTE' SO THAT YOU CAN CONCENTRATE ON HOW YOUR OWN MUSIC WILL FIT WITH THE ACTION! **
See the information below to remind you of the musical features of your themes.
Don't forget to bring your folder to next lesson if you took it home!
SUSPENSE THEME:
we listened to the music from 'Jaws' and wrote similar themes. It has 2 notes which are close together on the keyboard; the note lengths start long and get progressively shorter and shorter. This creates tension and the impression that someone is chasing you! |
FLYING THEME:
We listened to the music from 'E.T.' and wrote a similar theme. It uses 3-4 notes in quavers (short note lengths), is at a high pitch and repeats this pattern a lot. . This creates the impression of someone flying through the air. |
ATMOSPHERE THEME:
We listened to the opening of the 'Alien' soundtrack. We wrote a similar theme, using 3 notes (a chord). The first note was a very low pitch, the second one in the middle, and the 3rd one very high. They came in gradually, building up the texture. . This creates a sense of anticipation and tension. We used dissonance to create more tension |