1. Charlie-RayMitchell Mediastudies 15/09/2015
Analysis of music in thriller films.
‘Vertigo’ ‘Psycho’
In the vertigointroductionyousee the musicchanges
at multiple points.Itcango from verysoftand
smoothand thenitcan go veryboldand loud.There
isalso a pointwhere the musichasa build-up.A way
inwhichit can be describedisbysayingit’slike you
are climbingupa ladderandthenyoulookdown(like
yougenerallyhave vertigo) then there ispoints
where a harpis introducedanditislike youare
feelingdizzy.Withthisyoucansee that the music
beingusedinthe introductionhasalot to relate to
the filmif youuse the title alsoas whatthe filmwill
consistof.
The psycho theme music is very effect for a thriller because
it consists of a steady build-up of a weird eerie screeching
noise and then a sudden deeper repetitive noise which
sounds like violin. The effect this has is it makes it seem like
whenever you hear that particular sound, it’s like that’s
when the woman is being stabbed. This in turn makes the
viewer’s feel uneasy. This particular sound has also been
used in multiple other T.Vshows meaning it is very familiar
and has a good use when it comes to thrillers involving
murder/ stabbing. The introduction music is also used in
the movie itself when a woman is being killed which tells us
that the repetition of this music will get it stuck in the
viewer’s head.
One majorcomparisonthat can be heard inbothsetsof musicishow they
change mood.By thisI meantheycan go from reasonablycalmandgentle
to thengoingveryloudandthe musicstarts to pickup a lotaftera little
while.Anothercomparisonthatyoucanhear isthat both musicfrom
‘vertigo’and‘psycho’seemtohave ameaningbehindthemforwhythey
soundso peculiar(e.g.‘psycho’makesitseemlikesomeone isbeingstabbed
an ‘vertigo’makesitseemsoundlikesomeone generallyhasafearof
heights.
Contrast
