Essay
Introduction to my Final Major Project:
I decided to complete my Final Major Project, inspired by, “Film Composition,” as I have always been intrigued by the music seen within films. More recently, I have taken an interest in the emotions that the music portrays, and the ways in which it can affect the outcome of the scene. My passion for this, enabled my determination to learn more on this topic, becoming my inspiration for my Final Major Project. Through this, I decided to create my own original piece, that took inspiration from a specific scene from a film. Alongside this, I also decided to input my research in the form of an Annotated Bibliography, with my secondary research being in the form of a survey for multiple people to complete. To allow me to document my weekly progress, I decided to create a Project Log, that contained a detailed description of the successful and unsuccessful events from that week, including evidence in the form of screenshots, alongside consistent discussions with my teacher.
Primary Research:
My Primary Research consisted of a survey that detailed the emotions throughout multiple scenes within the films, “The Hunger Games,” and, “Star Wars: A New Hope.” I used this information to help me decide which clip would be most suitable for my project, alongside the emotions that I need to highlight throughout. 100% of people agreed that the “Obi Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader,” scene was highly emotional and contained dramatic impact throughout various points in the clip, which resulted in me choosing scene to be that of my final product. One person stated that the lack of music in the fight scene pushed the tension forwards, while others disagreed, stating that the scene would benefit from music. I ultimately used this as inspiration, as this persuaded me to add music into this section of the clip, whereas the original contains very little music at the start. I feel this increased the overall success rate of my composition, as it allowed me to truly highlight the tension that is illustrated throughout the scene.
Secondary Research:
My Secondary Research consisted of a detailed Annotated Bibliography, that highlighted ten sources based on my chosen topic, “Film Music.” I selected a variety of websites and videos to help me discover useful information that I may require throughout my project. Some examples of these sources include: tutorials on how to make a successful film composition, composers that changed the world of music in films and the production of the music for, “Star Wars.” I used this information to help me create a clear plan for my composition, such as the emotions I will aim to portray throughout my piece, a suitable key, alongside instruments that will highlight my emotional objective. I also used this knowledge to help me make my piece more atmospheric, as I learned a variety of techniques on how to make a piece more cinematic.
My Composition:
For my composition, I decided to write a piece that related to a specific scene in, “Star Wars: A New Hope.” As previously mentioned, I selected this particular scene, as it gained positive attention from those I asked in the survey. I used a variety of instruments to portray the tension that is highlighted throughout the scene. I specifically used orchestral instruments, such as: a French horn, solo violin, violas, timpani's and many more, to relate to the original soundtrack, as John Williams used these instruments within the franchises’ soundtracks. My piece also features a wide range of dynamics throughout, but is mainly seen in the introduction and the climax, as these are the main sections that heavily portray emotion. These features overall helped to push the tension forwards in the clip, leading to a highly successful outcome.
Problems that occurred:
Throughout this project, I faced a variety of issues, specifically in the planning stages of my composition. I was determined to find a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that would be compatible with adding visual clips, but this proved to be more difficult than anticipated. My aim was to avoid “BandLab for Education,” as this proved to cause complication within my previous project. After discussing this with my teacher, they, alongside the colleges’ sound technician, recommended, “DaVinci Resolve,” which I thought would work for my project. However, this was later proved to be an unsuitable software for my project, as it can only be used for editing videos, unlike my original objective. I continued to discuss this issue with my teachers, as this problem was becoming increasingly more stressful, as the deadline was nearing. At this point in my project, I also had a large amount of my Annotated Bibliography to complete, decreasing the time I could spend on my composition, as I also faced other priorities.
Shortly after starting my composition, I found occasional issues with my chosen software, “BandLab for Education.” As highlighted throughout my Project Log, the software would alter some aspects of my work, such as: the length and placement of some notes and that it would delete some sections. This was a massive concern of mine before starting my composition, as I had already faced this issue in the previous project, “Genres.” I feel that if I did not face the original software related issues, I may have been able to find a different software, but due to the lack of time, I had to persist with this decision.
My original aim was to complete two compositions, based on, “The Final Fight,” scene, from The Hunger Games, 2012, alongside, “Obi Wan Kenobi vs Dath Vader,” scene, from, Star Wars – A New Hope, 1977. However, due to the lack of time that I had left, I felt that I was unable to complete two compositions for the deadline. This ultimately caused a lot of stress for me, as I started to regret my choices in choosing two compositions, for my project, instead of only one.
Solutions:
To solve the various problems that I faced throughout the project, I decided to use a software that I was already familiar with, due to the previously mentioned, timing issues. This would prevent me from spending a lot of time figuring out and navigating around the software. Instead, I was able to have a swift start into my composition, using, “BandLab for Education.” Once finished my composition, I inputted it into the recommended, “DaVinci Resolve,” where I was able to combine my audio, alongside the visuals, which completed my original objective.
To solve the alteration issues in, “BandLab for Education,” I decided to save my work very frequently, to ensure that any changes will not majorly affect my work. The changes that did occur, were shortly resolved, as I was able to ‘undo’ my work, without deleting anything too major. This happened to be a useful tactic, as I did not have to restart sections, similar to what I did in the previous project. I felt that learning from my past mistakes ultimately helped to guide me through improving my project.
To solve the issue with my compositions, I had a lengthy discussion with my teacher, where we agreed that it would be helpful to only complete one high quality piece, that could highlight my composing abilities, instead of rushing two, that may not sound as professional. This allowed me to focus and dedicate my full attention to just one composition, which I found was ultimately helpful, as I was then able to concentrate on other aspects of my project alongside this.
What Went Well:
The biggest success within my project, was through my Secondary Research, as I did not struggle when completing each source within my Annotated Bibliography. Due to the copious amounts of relevant sources available, I was able to swiftly continue with each section. Through this, I was able to promptly increase my knowledge on my chosen topic, giving me the correct information to help me with various aspects within my project, particularly my composition.
Areas for Development:
The main aspect that required development within my project, was through my time management skills, as mentioned throughout my Project Logs. I found that there were various points throughout my project, where this was visible, starting with the laptop situation, where it took a while for IT to arrange a laptop that contained, “DaVinci Resolve.” This, alongside the issues with discovering a suitable software, were the ultimate reasons for my project falling behind from my timetable. Due to the amount of time these aspects took, I was left with less time to complete further sections within my project. This made it harder to manage my time within the majority of areas, specifically my project log and my composition.
What I have Learned:
Throughout my Final Major Project, I feel I have learned a lot, specifically in the theory aspect of music, as I have clearly memorised a variety of scales through researching film composition. Alongside this, I have also learned a selection of useful techniques that I can use when composing, specifically within film music, for example, harmonization is a main aspect that is featured within my piece, as the rhythm uses a variety of octaves. Through research, I have been able to understand how to execute this to become more cinematic, which is successfully portrayed throughout my piece. I have also gained a better understanding on how to highlight emotion through different areas within the music: For example, the dynamics, instrumentation, alongside the scale, can all affect the audiences view of the scene. Overall, I find that I have increased my knowledge and understanding of this topic, which will help me with future projects.