Sound and Score: Fantasy Fantasy films present the viewer with an opportunity to explore other worlds, other times, and even other dimensions. We are transported as we witness fantastical images, epic vistas, and magical sights. The stories in fantasy films, their narrative, usually contain an ontological break. Sometimes that break is huge, taking us into a world very different from our own, like in the Lord of The Rings series. And sometimes that break is small like in the movie BIG with Tom Hanks. Big tells the story of a young boy experiencing the day in the body of a man. The narrative and visuals aren’t the only ways cinema transports us. We are also guided and transported by the score and sound of a film. Score and sound can be used to orient the viewer. For example, while viewing an establishing shot of the dessert we might hear the Oud. This particular instrument can be used to establish the cultural context of the shot as the Middle East which helps to ground our understanding of where the story is taking place. In mainstream Cinema, certain music and sounds can also be used to signify cultural difference. In the early 80s the Didgeridoo became the sound which signified the Aboriginal notion of the “Dreamtime.” The Right Stuff, produced in 1983, was a cinematic adaptation of the book written by Thomas Wolfe. It tells the story of seven military pilots who were selected to be astronauts on the first manned space flight. The film links the Aboriginal notion of spiritual astronauts to the literal portrayal of the characters in the film. This link is created and maintained by the sounds of the didgeridoo. After The Right Stuff the instrument’s use was quickly co-opted. The didgeridoo in American Cinema has been so consistent that Aboriginal identity in American Cinema has become inextricably linked to the instrument. IMAGE: From particular instruments to musical genres. In the 80s fantasy film scores made heavy use of Glam Rock. The band Queen was used to score the heroic fantasy film Flash Gordon. The film is a strange and adventurous fantasy following the exploits of Flash Gordon, an American football player forced to save the world. Glam Rock was also used in the score of Highlander. Highlander was a very different film from Flash Gordon but it could still be described as heroic fantasy. The atmospheric and synthesized cues in Glam Rock work nicely in evoking fantastic elements in the film. The large difference in the aesthetic and narrative of the two films serves to highlight how IMAGE: IMAGE: musical cues work at a subconscious level allowing different filmmakers with different films to orient the viewer using similar music. From Glam Rock to Electronica Tangerine Dream ushered in the age of Electronica for Fantasy films. Tapped at the last minute to produce the score for the high fantasy film Legend. Tangerine Dream went on to produce many more fil.

1. Sound and Score: Fantasy
Fantasy films present the viewer with an opportunity to explore
other worlds, other times,
and even other dimensions. We are transported as we witness
fantastical images, epic
vistas, and magical sights. The stories in fantasy films, their
narrative, usually contain an
ontological break. Sometimes that break is huge, taking us into
a world very different
from our own, like in the Lord of The Rings series. And
sometimes that break is small like
in the movie BIG with Tom Hanks. Big tells the story of a
young boy experiencing the day
in the body of a man.
The narrative and visuals aren’t the only ways cinema transports
us. We are also guided
and transported by the score and sound of a film.
Score and sound can be used to orient the viewer. For example,
while viewing an
establishing shot of the dessert we might hear the Oud. This
particular instrument can be
used to establish the cultural context of the shot as the Middle
East which helps to ground
our understanding of where the story is taking place.
In mainstream Cinema, certain music and sounds can also be
used to signify cultural
difference. In the early 80s the Didgeridoo became the sound
which signified the

2. Aboriginal notion of the “Dreamtime.”
The Right Stuff, produced in 1983, was a cinematic adaptation
of the book written by
Thomas Wolfe. It tells the story of seven military pilots who
were selected to be
astronauts on the first manned space flight. The film links the
Aboriginal notion of
spiritual astronauts to the literal portrayal of the characters in
the film. This link is
created and maintained by the sounds of the didgeridoo.
After The Right Stuff the instrument’s use was quickly co-
opted. The didgeridoo in
American Cinema has been so consistent that Aboriginal
identity in American Cinema has
become inextricably linked to the instrument.
IMAGE:
From particular instruments to musical genres. In the 80s
fantasy film scores made heavy
use of Glam Rock. The band Queen was used to score the
heroic fantasy film Flash
Gordon. The film is a strange and adventurous fantasy
following the exploits of Flash
Gordon, an American football player forced to save the world.
Glam Rock was also used in the score of Highlander.
Highlander was a very different film
from Flash Gordon but it could still be described as heroic
fantasy. The atmospheric and

3. synthesized cues in Glam Rock work nicely in evoking fantastic
elements in the film. The
large difference in the aesthetic and narrative of the two films
serves to highlight how
IMAGE:
IMAGE:
musical cues work at a subconscious level allowing different
filmmakers with different
films to orient the viewer using similar music.
From Glam Rock to Electronica
Tangerine Dream ushered in the age of Electronica for Fantasy
films. Tapped at the last
minute to produce the score for the high fantasy film Legend.
Tangerine Dream went on
to produce many more film scores through the decades. Once
again making use of
atmospheric and synthesized sounds to create otherworldly
cinematic experiences.
IMAGE:
Labyrinth

4. In 1986 Jim Henson and David Bowie collaborated on the
enduring score for the still
beloved film, Labyrinth. The songs in Labyrinth were in many
instances, diagetic. The
alternative rock score was produced and performed by David
Bowie. Bowie also played
the main character of the Goblin King in the film which allowed
him to perform many of
the songs onscreen.
Harry potter
In the current era we’ve moved on to massive orchestral scores.
In series like Harry Potter
the score establishes a relationship between non-diegetic music
and magic.
As the characters in Harry Potter move through their cinematic
worlds the score supports
the narrative elements by creating atmosphere and underscoring
different actions taken.
However, in scenes where the characters will be engaging in
magic or will encounter it in
some way the viewer is given musical cues that exist just for us.
Non-diagetic music is
music heard only by the viewer and not by the characters in the
cinematic world. These
IMAGE:
IMAGE:

5. non-diagetic cues tell us the use of magic is imminent. The
orchestral scores of the new
fantasy films work well with the movement toward a more epic
style of storytelling.
Fantasy films grant filmmakers a spectacular opportunity to
explore themes dealing with
fantastic worlds within worlds and grand adventures. The music
supporting the visuals and
narrative of a film can help the viewer get carried away by the
tale. Music and sound can
help orient the viewer as well as draw cultural distinctions.
Film scores are an enduring
part of the cinematic experience.