Mood technique
In addition to the leitmotif technique and underscoring, the mood technique is one of the three composition techniques used in film music . Relatively independent of the concrete events in the picture, the moods (Engl. Mood ) of the individual scenes and the internal situation of the film protagonists and their feelings underlined musically. Mood technology in a broader sense is also the underlay of the film with suitable songs, as in Easy Rider (1969). Nowadays the mood technique is used very often in contrast to underscoring and leitmotif technique.
Origin and characteristics
The mood technique has its origin in the teachings of affect in the baroque era: the emotions and passions were represented by the type of instruments, pitches, keys and dynamics. The musicologist Wolfgang Thiel defines the mood technique today as “a dramaturgical method of associating music with an image. It illustrates […] the psychological impulses and reactions of the screen heroes ”. Depending on the instrument and use, certain feelings can be conveyed:
| Instruments | High tone range | Medium tone range | Low tone range |
|---|---|---|---|
| flute | bright and friendly | romantic, sensitive | mysterious, subliminal |
| bassoon | thin, plaintive | powerful, mysterious | dramatic, moody |
| horn | confident, powerful | warm, urgent | exciting and intense |
| Trumpet | heroic, affirmative | melodious, powerful | dramatic, wistful |
| trombone | melodious, clumsy | strong, dramatic | dark, melodramatic |
| Violins | shiny, melodious, reserved | warm, romantic, passionate | dark, dramatic, sorrowful |
The mood technique can be divided into two types:
- Expressive film music: expressing the mood of the film protagonists ( The fabulous world of Amélie )
- Sensory film music: Expression of a certain atmosphere ( Citizen Kane , Psycho )
literature
- Claudia Bullerjahn: Basics of the effect of film music . Wissner, Augsburg 2001. ISBN 3-89639-230-1 .
Web link
- “Underscoring in contrast to mood and leitmotif technique using the example of the film 'Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade'” - Jessen Mordhorst, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg , Institute for Media, Communication & Sport, December 2004.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Filmmusiktechniken ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Colloquium "Film Analysis" at the University of Potsdam , 2004.
- ↑ Wolfgang Thiel, Film Music in Past and Present, Berlin: Henschel 1981, p. 433
- ↑ Bullerjahn, 2001.
