Roger Allersand and Rob Minkoff directed the animated Disney movie, The Lion King. The particular song I will be discussing, “Circle of Life,” composed by Elton John and scored by Hans Zimmer, plays at the very beginning of the movie and serves as the introduction of Simba to the animal kingdom as well as to the viewing audience. The scene starts out with a sunrise and then cuts to numerous different camera shots of animals from all over the animal kingdom including rhinos, meerkats, cheetahs and others. They appear as if they are all heading towards the same location, which is then shown as a plateau that is being over looked by a mountain ledge. The focus then moves to baby Simba who is being prepared for an introduction to the rest of the kingdom. Simba is then thrust towards the heavens, which leads to the other animals celebrating wildly, and then the scene ends. Throughout this paper, I will show that the texture of the music, through the use of different musical techniques, is essential in creating the particular setting and mood of this scene.
The first musical component I will talk about is the vocals heard in the song. In the beginning of this song, a rising sun is being shown on the image track. To give us hints as to where this is taking place, a form of verbal chanting is played in the beginning. This chanting has a tribal feeling to it, which tells us that we are looking at some rural area rather than a metropolitan area. This depicts to the audience the setting for the rest of the song along with the rest of the movie. The chanting is also in a call and response pattern, which can be heard when the other group of voices responds to the one voice. As the song progresses, an African choir can be heard, and when they ...
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... been brought out in this song by using many different aspects of music closely related to Africa including the African drumming and Zulu chanting. The song did well to connect the different parts of the animal society and I also feel that the choice of the Zulu language was a good one. This language has great rhythm when sung which creates a great mood of positive thoughts and hope.
Through the use of different musical techniques including dynamics, key choice, call and response pattern and rhythm, this song has been able to enhance the movie by establishing important aspects of this movie. This song does very well to create a mood and setting for this song and the movie that could not be created by images. The positive and uplifting mood of the song is very important as it helps to show the hope and inspiration that Simba brings to the rest of the animal kingdom.
... connection to the song. In conclusion, I think this has the potential of becoming a great piece if we can convey our emotions to the audience.
The Lives of Others experimented with the use of sound as an element to convey narrative structure and did so brilliantly. The use of music is an accomplishment which celebrates the arts as an essential part of our human condition. If our right to express ourselves freely is imposed upon, we can no longer communicate our deepest thoughts and no longer discover that we are all united by the same qualities. Our need for love and companionship transcends our political aspirations or ideological shortcomings. We are human and we need other human in order to give our lives a deeper and richer meaning than just the solitary musings or an ideal world. This film took these ideas and expressed them with a piece of music which was able to break down a wall around a human’s heart and function as a symbol for the greater global instance of the Berlin Wall’s demise.
Through dance and movement, the storyline were expanded with the assistance of choreographer, Garth Fagan. A well-renowned choreographer for his innovative choreography primarily for Garth Fagan dance, Fagan used his unique style of choreography to the Lion King by combining a variety of Ballet, Jazz, Modern Dance, African Dance and Balinese Dance to suggest representations of nature without making a replica itself and use dance to help tell the story (Exploring the Lion King, 2010). Taymor’s idea of expanding the film by adding in choreographic elements not only will set the overall concept, it would additionally guide the visual aesthetic by allowing dance as the main element that balances musical numbers in all categories: effects, music and so on into the choreography (Bluemental et al 210:1999). Both Fagan and Taymor gave major contributions to the different styles of dance and performance techniques from around the world creating the precision and versatility that is being portrayed in the musical. In order to create the ideal staging of the hunting lionesses, flying dancers in the aerial ballet to the takeover of the hyenas at Pridelands, the collaboration between Fagan and Taymor gave suggestions of how these movements being performed with grace and poise using different dance styles and are cultural based be the forefront of the production(Taymor 148:1997). By looking at three notable dances in the musical, this chapter will analyse the presence of dance and movement being portrayed in the musical and how are these dances create the drama, still giving the idea of moving in an African Savannah. Furthermore, this will give an insight to all challenges and pitfalls both Fagan and Taymor endured during the development of the...
For this essay I will be looking at the work of Hans Zimmer to discuss how music in film engages the viewer and evokes emotion and pulls the viewer toward the film. Hans Zimmer is a German born music composer. Hans Zimmer’s love of music stems from his childhood when he learned how to play various instruments. Before Zimmer began composing music for films he was in a well-known band. The band was called The Buggles whom were famous for their song Video Killed the Radio Star. After the Buggles Zimmer played in other bands but never had another hit. As Zimmer has progressed as a film composer so has his list of nominations and awards. Zimmer has won 4 Grammy Awards and 2 Golden Globes and many more for his outstanding film scores. The reason I chose to write this essay on Zimmer was that his genres and music score are extremely versatile ranging from animations to comedy to dark thrillers. This is important to highlight as it shows Zimmer can create almost any atmosphere with his music whether it be sad or creating tension that all cause us to engage with the film. Zimmer's use of themes and introduction of different instruments allowed him to create these wonderful engaging film score. In this essay I will look at three films by Hans Zimmer these are The Holiday Rush and Rain Man.
Music is an art and a wonderful gift to human race. It soothes, stimulates and makes us feel happy. It affects our moods in many different ways from lullaby to war cry for changes in the society. Music is actually distinct to different people. Above all, it has a transformational importance that is captured in its art and nature. Music draws our emotions and it has an impact of bridging different cultures across the continents. Slave songs were very vital channels through which all kind of information was conveyed both positive and negative.
Singing was also very important in the play. Most often, the songs that were sung in the play were used in conjuction with lighting to create the mood. Deep, slow songs indicated that times were changing from good to bad, or from bad to worse. High, fast songs introduced happy scenes. Scenes were also changed according to song, such as the jail scene. The cast began to sing a song about freedom and the jail bars disappeared, indicating through song that the men had been freed. Also, song was important in the play because the songs were specific to the african american culture.
Due to the fact of how relevant and how it shares significance today, in a world filled with instant communication and social African American Forced Migrations and the Start of Spiritual Music
Music plays a critical role in the narrative films as it is important technique that filmmakers use to support the narrative and influence the way that the viewer interacts, responds and interprets the events as they unfold. The godfather, which is one of all time Hollywood movies, represents a good use of music that succeeded in supporting the dramatic events that take place in the movie. Moreover, both diegetic and non-diegetic music in the godfather movie are used to achieve the overall purpose by using the different principles and functions of film music that range from setting the mood of the viewer to providing continuity within the movie. In this essay, we will take part of the godfather movie in which we can observe and analyse the role of the music in the film (00:30:52- 00:35:52)
Music can decipher a narrative event by indicating a perspective. To unify a set of diverse images and provide rhythmic and formal continuity and momentum, a film’s structure is more often than not, directly articulated by a musical structure. Music can assist the dialogue and visuals of film and often is inaudible (e.g. music is meant to be heard unconsciously, not consciously). Music has been used by directors to reinforce or strengthen certain weak scenes in film and then on the other hand when music is not needed to reinforce a scene
This song contains many different types of language features which help communicate the writes perspectives so you can
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
This world is a big place. It is very diverse, in culture, beliefs, traditions, and even music. Music is an important part of this world; not just pop music and what many first world countries are used to, but music of the world as well, such as melodies in Cuba or Africa. These two countries share many characteristics in their music, despite being two very different places. From the melody, to the rhythm, and even the instruments and cultural practices, the countries of Cuba and Africa have both very similar traits in their music.
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...
Music follows us everywhere we go. It’s a big part of our lives and it is now significantly used in films. Before the 1930’s, films have started out completely silent. But after that period of time music began to infuse in the world of films and it played a big role in it. According to Fischoff, a media psychologist and a professor in music studies on films explains how we do not just experience films visually, but we actually experience the film through our ears. Music plays upon the audience feelings and it communicates the scenes to them, it makes us feel the events and the atmosphere that is happening in the film. Fischoff says that people remember memorable films from their break out hit, he gives an example of the song “My