The Necessity of a Good Soundtrack, as Shown by the TV Series Arcane
3,158 Words
When people engage in art, they want it to make them feel something. They may just want entertainment, or they might want something they can connect with on a deeper level that portrays their own life or struggles they are facing. As a form of art, films are no exception. Music is the most important tool in film for portraying emotion and forming a connection with the viewer. From subtle background tracks, to the music that grabs the audience's attention and lets them know something big is about to happen, films utilize soundtracks in countless ways, all with their own effects. The tone, placement, and volume of a soundtrack all play a role in using music to properly shape the audience's interpretation of a film and to add depth and meaning to the work for the viewer to appreciate.
Film began with “Silent Movies,” which had no audible dialogue or sound effects, but still allowed viewers to watch a scene play out in real time. Most would add in small snippets of text to tell the audience what the characters were saying in between scenes. In his book A History of Film Music, Cooke suggests that “Music may initially have been supplied at film screenings simply because it has always been an inevitable adjunct to almost all forms of popular entertainment.” (6). While this was likely the case, it is also true that the use of music in film had developed alongside film itself. These musical accompaniments would often be a mix of improvised parts to match the tone of a scene, along with full pieces either chosen from an existing library, or composed especially for the film. These first soundtracks were not as robust as they are today, but they were still an important part of the viewing experience.
A more recent revolution in film soundtrack and sound effect design was Dolby stereo, which provided an “...improved definition and fidelity…” to sound design. Importantly, “The surround [sound] fields could also be collapsed or eliminated relatively easily when remixing into mono for television.” (Buhler, 377). This new technology, along with the ease at which it could be adapted for airing on television or release on VHS, allowed soundtracks and sound design as a whole to take on a larger and more important role within a film. Music had of course been developing alongside the film industry since the beginning, but this marked a new era for soundtracks, which would soon become integral to a movie's production.
Many aspects go into properly portraying emotion on the screen, but some pull more weight than others. The obvious argument would be that it is the actor's performance that best portrays the character's emotions to the viewer, as humans are able to understand minute changes in facial expressions and body language. While this may be true, simply recognizing an expression or emotion does not necessarily make the viewer sympathetic to the character, or experience that emotion themself. Humans know that smiling means someone is happy, and crying means they are sad. However, it gets quite difficult to properly portray a character's internal feelings or mental state through actions and facial expressions alone once the situations get more complex. Maybe a character is sad but still smiling to keep their family from worrying, or angry but doing their best to remain calm so as to not escalate the situation. This type of situation is far more common in real life than those where emotions are black and white. These are the instances where music is needed to properly portray those emotions to the audience and make them understand what the character is experiencing.
Nowadays, with the advent of streaming services and overall rising popularity of digital media, television shows are rivaling the production value of feature films. In terms of soundtracks, this means more and more TV shows are following the blueprint of film when it comes to scoring their works. The adult animated Netflix Original Series Arcane is the perfect example of a modern show that follows many of the principles of film music, while also addings its own personal flare. Arcane makes use of traditional, sweeping scores to backdrop tense or emotional moments, but it also makes room for music video style sequences set to singles from current artists, many of which were written specifically for the show. With both the writers from Riot and the animation studio Fortiche coming from a background of creating animated music videos together, it makes sense that that style would be a big influence on their first full length project. The combination of new and old techniques gives Arcane a unique voice while also putting to good use the tried and true traditional film scoring methods most viewers are accustomed to. Still, like any other film or show, music is still what makes it successful in conveying its message and getting the audience invested in the characters and story.
Arcane takes place in a fantasy setting, with non-human characters, magic, and advancing technology. It follows a handful of characters from different walks of life, living in the twin cities Piltover and Zaun, as a single catastrophic event causes their lives to intertwine more and more as the two cities clash and devolve further towards civil war. However, the events mainly revolve around the two sisters Vi and Powder (who later renames herself Jinx), and how they struggle to survive in Zaun, the poorer of the two cities. At the center of Arcane is a story about the bond between two sisters, and the importance of family, whether it be blood or not.
In regard to music and its importance to film, a 2007 study of scenes where music was played both before and after found that “...after viewing a scene with ‘fear’ music, participants indicated the characters were experiencing fear. However, when the same scene was shown with ‘happiness’ music, participants tended to attribute happiness…” (Tan, et al. 146). The scenes shown in the study were fairly mundane shots with little emotion behind the acting, as to focus the attention solely on the soundtracks. The study assessed the effect of music played before or after a scene, and found that no matter when music was present, it would always alter or enhance viewers' perceptions of the emotions depicted within the scene. Without any noticeable queues from the actors, participants repeatedly indicated different moods of the characters based solely on the type of music played.
The most prevalent example of this in Arcane is the distinction between the types of music that accompany characters in Piltover versus characters in Zaun. The visual aesthetics of Piltover are grand, with large towering buildings and a lot of white and gold coloring. The music associated with it follows a similar theme. It is grand and dramatic, closer to what might be thought of as traditional film scores; often with string instruments and classical sounding melodies to imply greatness and wealth. On the other hand, Zaun, Piltover's underbelly, is dark and dirty. It is full of bright neon signs that pierce through the gloom of the alleyways and underground city streets, with harsh, energetic music to match its inhabitants. This constant distinction throughout the entire series helps to further emphasize the differences between the two cities and their populations.
In the same study, it was also observed that “...the emotions were generally perceived to be more intense when the music was presented before the scene rather than after the scene.” (146). Scenes with music playing before were often categorized by the participants as having more intense emotion expressed by the characters than that of scenes with music played after. This is due to the pre-scene music acting as a primer for the viewer, telling them what is to come and what to expect before the scene has even begun. Placing the music before, during, or after a scene all have their unique use cases, as changing the placement can be used to invoke different emotions and interpretations.
Even if placement before a scene causes interpretations of emotion to be more intense, that does not mean it should always be placed before. More is not always better, and no matter the placement, soundtracks still change interpretations of the scene they are associated with; placement just plays a part in fine tuning that interpretation. Action music that starts before a fight scene will fill the audience with anticipation, while action music played during a large battle helps the audience feel the adrenaline rush the characters on screen are experiencing. A score that begins as a scene concludes has its uses as well. Having a slow, sad song fading in at the end of a scene gives a feeling of finality that would not be achieved if it had been accompanying the entire scene from start to finish. It is important to have these options when utilizing soundtracks to be able to portray the exact meaning and emotional reaction necessary for the scene; allowing the viewer to feel what the character is experiencing and further connecting them to the story.
Besides the placement of music, another study on music's function in film found “...that varying the loudness of the music track (to signal diegetic or nondiegetic music) produced significantly different readings of a scene…with respect to perceptions about the relationship, motivations, and emotions of the characters and degree of overall tension” (Tan, Spackman 617). The study found that not only did the type of music matter to the scene –as many other studies agree– but that volume mattered just as much. However, it is not the volume itself which changes the interpretation, but rather that an increased volume suggests a non-diegetic score, while a lower volume suggests it to be diegetic. The distinction between diegetic versus non-diegetic is that it shifts the music from something that is playing within the world of the film and being heard by the characters (diegetic), to something that is playing only for the audience (non-diegetic), informing what is happening in the scene while still separate from it.
In what is functionally the viewer's introduction to the modern day Zaun, the camera follows a character bursting through the door of a club on the way to meet her boss upstairs. As the front door flies open, the viewer is blasted with loud, upbeat music that is playing inside the club. Once the scene eventually cuts to their meeting upstairs, the music changes as well. The same song continues to play, but quieter and slightly muffled to sound as if it is seeping up through the floorboards from the party downstairs. Using music in this way allows the audience to be more immersed in the world that the characters occupy, therefore strengthening the connection the viewers feel with what is taking place on screen.
While not used in the same way as Arcane, pop music has been seeping its way into television (and as a result, more recently into film as well) since the late 20th century, along with the rise in popularity of television series’ as a whole. “In the early 1980s, Miami Vice (1984-9, Universal TV) set a precedent of having stylish visuals accompanied by contemporary pop music, and it succeeded in [re]moving pop music from a television ghetto of its own making.” (Donnelly, 137). Even though pop music is a much different style than that of traditional soundtracks, it does the job all the same.
The reasoning for the influx of pop music on television was likely a way to appeal to the audiences of the times in an attempt to get more viewers and ratings, but no matter the reason, it was there to stay. For a television series, pop music all but replaced traditional scoring that was common in feature films, but it still served the same purpose of accompanying scenes, and highlighting key moments and emotions for the viewer. As TV grew more popular, and the technology advanced, so did the time and money put into producing a series for television and streaming services. Currently, film and television are more or less on the same level when it comes to production and the use of soundtracks, and music is now a necessary and expected part of both forms of media.
As previously shown, certain pieces of music produce certain emotional responses from a listener. Music can be sad, angry, happy, and any and all other emotions in between. All of it humans can pick up on. In the context of movies and TV, this is one of the most common ways music is used to directly affect the viewers interpretation of the scene playing out. Play sad music for a sad scene or happy music for a happy scene, and suddenly the viewer is emotionally invested in the characters and their journey. However, playing music that goes against the visual emotional tone of the scene is just as important. “Jean Cocteau wrote that…he would take George Auric’s music, carefully written for particular scenes in his film, and deliberately apply the ‘wrong’ music to the wrong scenes. […]And whether a certain [combination] of elements is intended or not, their corroboration will generate meanings.” (Gorbman, 190).
Arcane plays a lot with intentionally incongruent music, either to suggest a character's confusing or declining mental state, or to emphasize the true emotion of a scene by selecting a song that might usually suggest the opposite and therefore highlighting it. In a climactic moment, Powder/Jinx faces off against Ekko, a childhood friend who is now opposing her due to the different paths the two have taken. An upbeat rap track plays for a moment as Ekko approaches her, the visuals resembling the two of them as kids, playing a game they used to love. But as those visuals end and the song continues, the audience sees how far they have come from being children as Ekko swings at Jinx and blood flies. The music, a nod to simpler, more innocent times, accentuates the violence that is their current reality.
As for the purely musical side of things, film and television will often establish a simple melody, called a leitmotif, that appears multiple times throughout the work. “In order to establish the leitmotif with the object of its identification, the leitmotif is usually repeated a few times to firmly engrain its essence with the audience. …composers repeat the same or slightly altered themes, which the audience learns to associate with characters, places, or emotions.” (Green, 87). These associations can be simple, such as a familiar tune that plays when a character is feeling down, or more complex, and meant to signify an overarching theme within the work.
In the opening scene of Arcane, we see sisters Vi and Powder moving hesitantly through what seems to be a violent conflict between Piltover and Zaun. Powder, the younger of the two sisters, is trying to look away as her sister guides her through the bodies. Softly, she is singing a song akin to a nursery rhyme, or some type of song you would sing to a child to calm them down. The simple melody follows the sisters from within the soundtrack throughout the entire series, coming in to remind the audience of not only this moment in specific, but of the relationship the two sisters once had that has been lost to circumstance. It helps viewers to subconsciously connect these ideas in the background, while still being able to focus on the current scene unfolding in front of them, no matter what it may be.
Since sound design goes hand in hand with modern day film and television, the absence of the sounds a viewer might expect is yet another way directors are able to play with soundtracks to produce a specific effect. “For instance, a method that has become popular in non-mainstream films for depicting a state of shock is to wipe out all diegetic noises, but instead of absolute silence there is always a layer of…music or a low-level noise in those scenes, standing for the silence.” (Kulezic-Wilson, 2). Producers cannot simply remove all sound entirely from a film, that true silence is disconcerting and likely to pull the audience out of the moment and away from what they are supposed to be paying attention to. Instead, light static, ambient tones, or ringing or buzzing noises are implemented, which convey the idea of there being silence to the viewer, while not actually cutting the audio track.
A common use of ‘artificial’ silence in film is depicting a character after a sudden, loud noise (most often an explosion). In this case, Arcane is no exception. The series makes great use of short bouts of silence accompanied only by a distant ringing when focusing on characters caught too close to explosions or other loud noises. This use of silence is more focused on sound design rather than music, but it is still able to make the viewer feel a connection with the character on screen, by representing, even for a moment, what they are currently experiencing. Other less dramatic examples include cutting on or off the soundtrack to signify an important moment or change. As soon as Vi is released from prison, she wants nothing more than to track down Powder. An emotional soundtrack plays as the scene cuts back and forth between the two of them, prior to meeting again. At just the right moment the song abruptly fades out, just as Vi lays eyes on her sister for the first time in years. The noticeable switch to silence accentuates the importance of the scene to the audience, as well as depicting what Vi might have been feeling in that moment; a soaring, anxious hope that it really is her sister, followed by an instant wave of calming relief as she finally sees her up close.
Arcane plays with music in a lot of uncommon ways, but it plays just as important a role as in any other film or TV series. Music is the most important aspect when it comes to portraying emotions in film, and allowing the audience to connect with the characters. Picking the right tone, placement, and even volume of music is essential. Even during the dawn of film, filmmakers were using music that fit the mood of each scene to accompany their films and add to the immersion. Eventually, advances in sound technology lead to soundtracks (and more in depth sound design in general) becoming an expected major part of any film, and later of TV series as well. If a soundtrack is carefully thought out and intentional in its use and placement, it will have the audience on the edge of their seats at every tense moment, and crying with the characters on screen as they navigate hardship. The soundtrack is what holds a film together, and without one, no film would truly succeed in entertaining and connecting with an audience.
Works Cited
Buhler, James, and David Neumeyer. Hearing the Movies: Music and Sound in Film History. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Cooke, Mervyn. A History of Film Music. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Donnelly, Kevin J. The Spectre of Sound: Music in Film and Television. British Film Institute, 2005.
Gorbman, Claudia. “Narrative Film Music.” Yale French Studies, no. 60, 1980, pp. 183–203, https://doi.org/10.2307/2930011.
Green, Jessica. “Understanding the Score: Film Music Communicating to and Influencing the Audience.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 44, no. 4, 2010, pp. 81–94,
Kulezic-Wilson, Danijela. “The Music of Film Silence.” Music and the Moving Image, vol. 2, no. 3, 2009, pp. 1–10, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/musimoviimag.2.3.0001.
Linke, Christian, and Alex Yee. Arcane, Fortiche Productions, 2021-2024, Netflix.
Tan, Siu-Lan, et al. “Viewers’ Interpretations of Film Characters’ Emotions: Effects of Presenting Film Music Before or After a Character is Shown.” Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 25, no. 2, 2007, pp. 135–152, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mp.2007.25.2.135.
Tan, Siu-Lan, Matthew P. Spackman, and Elizabeth M. Wakefield. “The Effects of Diegetic and Nondiegetic Music on Viewers’ Interpretations of a Film Scene.” Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 34, no. 5, 2017, pp. 605–623, https://www-jstor-org/stable/26417372.