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While music is rightly regarded as an essential aspect of most films, nevertheless it has always

een considered susidiary to the visual aspects! "owever music also has the aility to convey

narration and invo#e an emotional response, e$emplified in the two clips from %asalanca!

&he first clip prominently features diagetic music as a group of 'erman soldiers, led y

(trasser, egin singing an anthem loudly in a clu! ) point of view shot through which we see

the 'erman soldiers proudly singing immerses us riefly in the scene, with the music

synchronous and empathetic towards the soldiers* patriotism! While the music continues, the

camera cuts to a two shot of +ic# and ictor evidently displeased! %ontrastingly, the music is

now asynchronous with the shot although still empathetic towards their displeasure!

)s +ic# and ictor instruct the and to play -a .arseillaise, the ma/ority rench crowd /oin in

to easily drown out the soldiers! )s they finish singing the crowd applauds and celerates

emotionally, illustrating the use of music as symolism for the overall narrative of the film!

urthermore it highlights the aility of music to evo#e an emotional response used with and

independently of the visual aspects!

$tradiagetic music also features as loud, threatening music parallels (trasser resentfully

leaving his seat! )s the camera pans to follow him, the music increases in intensity and

foreshadowing his response as he orders the clu to e closed down!

&he clip also utilises anempathetic music as ominous music accompanies a rief shot of some

rench, raising their glasses in celeration! )gain the music foreshadows the narrative as it is

aruptly cut off y the sound of a whistle! &his transition from underscore to diagetic parallels

the editing as the shot cuts from the rench to %aptain +enault, aout to order everyone to

leave! %onsidering this clip, we can see that the music is an essential element as it not only

evo#es an emotional response in parallel with the visual elements ut is used asynchronously

and independently to convey the narrative!While the second clip similarly utilises music to e$press emotion, it does not feature diagetic

music! $tradiagetic music is used prominently though as +ic# is parting with lsa and ictor!

(oft, uplifting music can arely e heard eneath the dialogue, however as the plane starts up,

the music ta#es on a dominant tone and increases in intensity, as the visual and aural elements

oth signal their departure! )s the camera shifts ac# to the characters, the music drops in

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intensity ut with intermittent accents which parallel the continuity editing and

cinematography! )s they e$change glances, the camera uic#ly /umps from closeups of one to

the other, synchronous with the loud accents in the music! &his utilisation of music in parallel

with the visual elements enriches our emotional e$perience as we feel, see and hear the tension

till lsa and ictor eing wal#ing away! (ynchronously the music rises and changes to a

eautiful ut doleful classical tune, empathetic to the ittersweet nature of the departure!

)nother interesting manner in which a single rass note is used in parallel with (trasser eing

shot! &he sudden, discordant note is held as he falls, followed y a single eat! &his further

highlights the aility of sound, not /ust musical score, to represent narrative elements whether

used in parallel or independently of the visual! "owever while the first clip used music

asynchronously and anempathetically, this clip primarily features music that is synchronous

and empathetic! &he final scene involves +enault and +ic# wal#ing as the camera trac#s them

from ehind! 5nderneath the dialogue an uplifting melody plays efore gradually rising as the

dialogue stops! n the final high angle shot, the two wal# away from the camera into a fog as

the music uilds and finishes in a grandiose manner as the screen fades!

&hus, y considering these two clips from %asalanca we can see contrasting yet eually

effective creative e$pressions, made possile y the interplay of visual and aural aspects of

film! While the first clip highlights how music can symolise and represent the story

independently of film through the use of asynchronous and anempathetic music, the second

e$emplifies the aility of music to accentuate the effect of the visual elements and evo#e

emotion in it*s own right!