FOUR ORIGINAL FILM SCORES
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Date
2025-02-24
Authors
Wang, Ziwei
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Film and sound have always been an inseparable topic. Since sound became widely used in films of the 20th century, music has become an important part of storytelling in the movies. This dissertation explores how film music may powerfully narrate the plot of a story, setting off the characters' emotions, and evoking the atmosphere of each scene in different kinds of films. I chose four different cinematic genres and wrote music for them: the comedy film Twisted, the drama film Plastic Fish, the science fiction film Irradiation, and the fantasy film Tale of the Deaf. Twisted (Australia, 2014) is a comedy film that takes place in a modern disco dance hall. I used instruments, melodies, and rhythms to express the characteristics of disco music. In this film, many individual sequences with unique scene designs occur in a very short time. A crucial aspect of this film is the way in which music is created for short episodes that are continually transforming within the plot. Plastic Fish (China, 2016) is a dramatic film that tells the story of a couple. In composing music for this film, I explored how it illuminates many aspects of the visual content: the psychology of the characters’ relationships; lighting design; and scene settings. Irradiation (Serbia, 2021) is a science fiction CGI animation film that features dramatic transitions and a very oppressive, dark atmosphere. In this film, I focused on how electronic music and electroacoustic music can be combined within sci-fi films. Tale of the Deaf (Russia, 2021) is a gothic horror film in which the characteristics of the time period are blurred between the two different visual contexts. In this film, I explored how various musical styles and genres can be layered and unified within the same movie.
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Keywords
Acoustic music composition, Electronic music composition, Film analysis, Film music, Original music composition, Sound Design