This work was created and designed by M.

Andrews

The Function of music in films

Music is used so widely in films that it is difficult to find a movie that does not use music.
Music in films serves many functions and purposes. Work through the activities below to
learn about the functions of music in films.

Representation of location – The missing letters are jumbled in brackets

Music is used to a___________ (stocaise) the a___________ (dnieeuc) to a particular
place or historical l_____________ (coiaont).
▪ Name a movie (and the place) where you remember this type of music being used.
___________________________________________________________________

Expression of actor's emotions – The missing words are provided in the boxes
This is ___________ by using music to ______________ what characters played on
screen are supposed to be _____________, e.g. a neutral shot of a hero or
____________ reading a letter with ________ music as underscore telling the audience
he/she is ____________ by such terrible news.
communicat heroine horror achieved shocked feeling
e
▪ Describe 2 other situations in which this music could be used
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Anticipation of action – Complete the incomplete words using the first letter as a guide
The music sta______ to sound nasty while the pic_____ is still quite inn________,
presenting a mo____ of thre____ just before the visuals go ugly with a su______ cut to
something scary.
▪ List 3 different film genres where you would expect this type of music to be used
_____________________ _____________________ _____________________

Underscore – Define the following words used in the text

The word underscore generally means background or incidental music written to accompany
any visual sequence. Most underscore is not used to help tell the story.
▪ What does the word ‘accompany’ mean? ____________________________________
▪ Define the word ‘Sequence’ _____________________________________________
▪ What is meant by the word ‘incidental’? ____________________________________

Pre-existent recordings –Have a guess as to what you think this means then read through
the definition below.
Guess: ______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
 This work was created and designed by M. Andrews

Putting It All Together

Now that you are familiar with some of the functions of music
used in movies you are going to identify the different functions of
music in a scene from a movie.

You should watch the following scene from ‘A Bug’s Life’ twice to
complete this activity.

Under each heading describe what is happening in the movie when

the following types of music are used. Also, write a short
description of the sound of the music in the scene. Mention things
like pitch, tempo, texture, volume changes, mood etc…

Underscore
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Presentation of location
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Anticipation of action
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Expression of actor's emotions

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
 This work was created and designed by M. Andrews
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