First, it contributes to a greater sense of realism in the viewer. Sound originating from a source within the world of the scene does not indicate does as certainly as music from a non-diegetic source.
Secondly, it can indicate information to the viewer. As the source of the music comes from within the universe of the characters, the music’s presence can be related to things within that universe, very relevantly to the characters themselves. In the same way that knowledge of someone’s musical tastes indicates things about the person, that same intuition largely extends to the viewer’s experience with the character. For example, if a character were to have Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ as his alarm sound, this may communicate to the viewer that character’s yearning for something ‘better’ than what he has then.
There are as many ways that something within the diegesis can communicate something to the viewer as there are ways that the present can be shaped by the past, and therefore the ways are innumerable.
However, one of the most significant ways that …show more content…
However, by far the more common method of utilizing music to film effect is with a film score, expressly devised for use in that film. Despite this, there are examples of very excellent films that have relied equally or even primarily on established songs from the canon of popular music to great effect, a notable one is Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mafia film Goodfellas.
Goodfellas is a period film that follows the rise and fall of mobster Henry Hill from his youth to his fifties, tracing his path through his rise in the mafia through to his becoming a rat and entering the Witness Protection Program. Through the depiction of Hill’s ups and downs, popular songs are chosen as a part of the film’s score to effect, capitalizing on the advantages that the utilization of established popular songs have in achieving
Secondly, it can indicate information to the viewer. As the source of the music comes from within the universe of the characters, the music’s presence can be related to things within that universe, very relevantly to the characters themselves. In the same way that knowledge of someone’s musical tastes indicates things about the person, that same intuition largely extends to the viewer’s experience with the character. For example, if a character were to have Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ as his alarm sound, this may communicate to the viewer that character’s yearning for something ‘better’ than what he has then.
There are as many ways that something within the diegesis can communicate something to the viewer as there are ways that the present can be shaped by the past, and therefore the ways are innumerable.
However, one of the most significant ways that …show more content…
However, by far the more common method of utilizing music to film effect is with a film score, expressly devised for use in that film. Despite this, there are examples of very excellent films that have relied equally or even primarily on established songs from the canon of popular music to great effect, a notable one is Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mafia film Goodfellas.
Goodfellas is a period film that follows the rise and fall of mobster Henry Hill from his youth to his fifties, tracing his path through his rise in the mafia through to his becoming a rat and entering the Witness Protection Program. Through the depiction of Hill’s ups and downs, popular songs are chosen as a part of the film’s score to effect, capitalizing on the advantages that the utilization of established popular songs have in achieving