Film Soundtrack Analysis Paper Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
Your paper will analyze a movie soundtrack. The following guiding questions are meant to help you in approaching writing about your experience. Your paper will not address these questions specifically, but your consideration of these questions as you listen to your selected soundtrack will guide you in putting together an insightful analysis of your experience.
a) In what ways do the works embody (or reject) the predominant characteristics of the genre?
b) Are the works a creation of the performance artist?
c) If not, how does the performance artist interpret the works?
d) What is the significance of the works within the context of the film?
Guidelines
You may choose any film with a soundtrack, but only by the following composers:
• John Williams
• James Horner
• Hans Zimmer
• Rachel Portman
You may choose any film by the above-listed composers except for animated features. You will strategically organize your paper to put together an analysis of your movie soundtrack experience and present:
A Concise Introduction
This introduction will identify the movie soundtrack, composer, and specific titles of two specific selections or pieces from the soundtrack that you will discuss in depth, as well as stating the importance of the pieces in moving the story forward or whether they functioned as "background" music. Your introduction should cover whether the instruments and musical style used were specific to the particular historical period in the movie or whether modern instruments or musical styles were employed.
An Organized Body
The body of your paper will follow the introduction with a discussion of music from the two specific scenes you selected. You may discuss additional selections, but your two primary selections should include the most relevant music to the film. Your body paragraphs will specifically explore and explain elements of the music and how these elements are collectively used to express the main ideas or emotions associated with the works.
Some issues to consider in analyzing each selection:
• Does the individual selection serve to move the story forward, or does it function simply as "background" music?
• How is music used to achieve a particular emotion, action, or energy within a particular scene (instrumentation, tempo, dynamics, etc.)?
• Is there music associated with a certain character? How can this music enrich the narrative even when the character is not on-screen?
• Are there actual performances of music within the film itself? How do they function within the context of the film?
A Unifying Conclusion
This is where you pull it all together. Your conclusion should identify whether you personally found the soundtrack experience enjoyable (explaining why or why not). Include whether how the context of the film itself enhanced or detracted from your musical experience.