Music in Video Games

Music in video games is used for a very similar purpose as the music in film. However, there are differences due to the linearity and predetermined nature of film, whereas video games are user controlled, therefore, the music must be composed in a way that it can be seamlessly looped for an undetermined period of time.

My first example of music composed for a game is from Bioware's "Mass Effect" which is a Role-Playing game for the PC and Xbox 360. The game is based in futuristic, space environments, and the music greatly accentuates this feel and establishes a brilliant atmosphere. As mentioned earlier, music in video games must be  be composed in a way that can be played over an undetermined length of time.

Notice the simple structure of the songs in these two clips (notably the background music of the map screen in the beginning of the first clip). They follow a very simple 4/4 structure and keep a similar tone continuously, rather than beginning with a build up or something that a regular song may contain. This creates ease when creating a seamless loop in the music.

If the music in an area is ever calm, it will blend into a more appropriate score when the player is faced with combat. Listen to the music in this next clip and notice the louder and more dramatic score whist the player is in battle, as opposed to the more subtle and ambient music in the examples I provided earlier.

My next example is from Konami's "Metal Gear Solid 4" for the Playstation 3. The Metal Gear Solid series is a widely renowned game and is very well established as being extremely similar to a film, with the fourth instalment containing cutscenes of up to 90 minutes. The following clip is taken from the end of the game and displays the main protagonist in an extremely tense situation of walking through a microwaved hall.

As you'll notice, it is split into two sections throughout this segment of the game and plays out like an interactive cutscene with you controlling the bottom half, whilst the top half shows what is happening outside of the hallway. The music is extremely dramatic and is very similar to that of a movie score. This can actually be done here due to the timed nature of the gameplay in this particular section of the game. If the character doesn't get through the hallway in a specific amount of time (after which the song would end) then he will die and the chapter will start again.

The next clip is from the very end of the game and utilises an extremely brilliant use of music. It should be noted that Metal Gear Solid 4 is the final game in the series, and during the lengthy final battle, the main themes of the previous three games are played chronologically in the background.

The reason I find the use of all the main themes from the previous games is because I am a huge fan of the series, and the themes are instantly recognisable to me and other fans of the games. Implementing this at the very end of the final game is also like a retrospective on the past 10 years of the series' existence and creates a feeling of nostalgia for the player.

Another game with excellent use of music is United Game Artist's "Rez". The entire game is built around music and rhythm whilst combining exceptionally elaborate visuals. The game is notable for replacing the typical sound effects found in most rail shooter games with electronic, using sounds and visuals when the player destroys a target.

My fourth and final example is from Harmonix's "Rock Band". Rock Band is a rhythm based game soley focusing on using instrument controllers to play the notes or sing in tune with what is being shown on screen.

The top lane is the vocal track, the left lane is the guitar track, the middle lane is the drum track and the right lane is the bass track. All of the notes coming down the track need to be played using the specially dedicated controllers in order to play the song. If the player misses then the song will cut out for a short period of time. This is an extremely popular franchise and shows the use of music in video games in an extremely different light.

Non-Pitched Sound in Film

Non-pitched atmospheric sounds are used in film making to create a similar feeling to what the score tries to establish, but in a more subtle fashion. They aren't usually very noticable unless you're looking for them, but will still have the effect regardless of if you're aware of a sound being played.

A brilliant example of the effectiveness of atmospheric sounds is Orin Peli's "Paranormal Activity". Often throughout the film, when there is a silence, an extremely low rumble is used to create subtle suspense and a feeling of uneasiness in the viewer.

Note how the extremely low frequency sound stops as soon as the door slams shut. The sound is used to build suspense, to make the viewer aware that something is going to happen. This is very effective on high end sound systems such as those in cinemas where the subwoofers can produce extremely low sounds. Found footage movies like this generally have no score or non-diegetic sounds, so these techniques are usually relied on to keep it subtle and make it feel more realistic than high-budget blockbuster.

Another great use of non-pitched sounds is found in Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream". This scene depicts two friends who are in a prison cell and one of them has an extremely infected arm due to heroin abuse.

The sounds in this scene seem to be some kind of highly distorted screeching, and are used in direct conjuction with the video (heavily shaking image) to create the feeling of overwhelming desperation among the two characters. Notice how the sounds get louder and the image shakes more violently as the characters get louder and more desperate for help.

My third and final example is from Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" which is a true story of a man named Aron Ralston who is trapped in a narrow canyon due a small boulder being wedged on his arm. After spending around five days in the canyon, he decides that he must amputate his arm in order to be freed, which is recreated in this scene.

The most obvious and effective sounds in this particular scene are the stinging screech sounds which are heard whenever he touches the nerve in his arm. These give us a feeling of something that is extremely unpleasant, and the noise is akin to that of nails on a blackboard which is known to make a person cringe, much like the thought of doing what he is doing to himself in this scene.

Music in Film

A "musical score" is the audio composed to accompany moving images (movies, TV shows, short films for example). The score is an extremely integral part of the film medium and can greatly enhance the feel of what the image is trying to establish, or completely change its feeling altogether. Most films would not be viewed upon the same way without their music. Due to music being proven to alter a person's mood and emotions, it serves as an excellent method of excentuating story telling by involving the viewer further than what images alone could.

The following clip is taken from Frank Darabont's "The Green Mile" in which a man, whom we've come to grow compassionate for, is excuted for a crime we as an audience know he did not commit.

This scene contains extremely melancholic subject matter, and is reflected in the music which is a slow orchestral piece that ascends and grows more emotional as the character is getting closer and closer to death.

Another example of a film's score being used in an effective way is in the opening title sequence of  Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can". The movie is about a con artist who is being trailed by the FBI for cheque forgery amongst other things.

This theme was composed by the legendary John Williams. As you can see, the music is composed in way which is reminiscent of slapstick style espionage, whilst also fitting extremely well with the era in which the movie is set (around the 1960s). The images on screen are of animated cartoon silhouettes with a very distinguished art style, which again, is very slapstick in it's feel. It personally reminds me of the Pink Pather theme, and sets the tone of the film exceptionally well.

An example of how the music can change the feeling of a scene is this clip from Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs". The scene involves a psychopath who tortures a police officer for no reason other than to torture him (boldly established earlier in the scene).

This is an example of a song which wasn't directly composed for the movie. The song playing in the scene is called "Stuck in the Middle with You" by Stealers Wheel, which is upbeat and is of a completely different nature to what is being shown on screen. The use of this music could  be viewed as a double entendre due to it changing the tone of the scene to something much less horrific, but it makes the character seem even more psychotic in the way that he dance to the music can nonchalantly torture a person. This is an iconic scene from the movie, in large part due to the music.

Another example of musical scores is taken from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". The following clip is one of the most famous scenes in the history of film making for a number of reasons, and the movie itself was a genre defining classic.

 

 

I was lucky enough to find a clip of the famous shower scene with and without it's score. The composition has clearly been created specifically for this scene due to the high pitched, staccato orchestra stings which are very much like the sharp and stabbing knife in the scene. This method of composition creates an atmosphere of panic, and is then immediately switched to low pitched droning after the woman has been killed, symbolic of her life draining away. This video shows that the effectiveness of this scene is utterly dependent on the score due to it being signficantly dulled and less efficacious to the viewer, with all due respect.

My final example of music in film is taken from "Drive". It is an extremely stylish movie without a massive amount of dialogue, so the non-diegetic sounds like the ambient music are relied upon to carry scenes, and is exceptionally effective and sometimes almost surreal. There is also a lot of retro-esque music in the film, which when combined with subtle things such as the bright pink font of the titles, really give off a 1980s Miami feel, whilst still sporting a stylish modern day vibe.