Jenna Robinson
Emotion Portrayed Through
Music in Animated Films
​For my ArtsFest final project from the Music in Film Workshop, we were challenged to choose a theme and create original compositions to accompany movie scenes or videos. For my project, I decided to focus on the way that compositions in film, specifically animated films, influence our emotional response to specific scenes. I know that in my personal experience, I am always significantly more impacted by films that can make me feel the emotion being portrayed in them. I chose scenes from some of my favorite animated movies, which included The Little Mermaid, Tangled, and Peter Pan and created original compositions using the sound editing software Soundtrap, which was very user friendly for beginners like myself who have very little knowledge on music theory. The goal of my project was not only to encompass what I have learned about creating film scores throughout the workshop, but also demonstrate just how vital music is the emotional response we have to films. My project aimed to display to the audience the emotions in my chosen scenes through my compositions and hopefully be able to help others feel the impactful emotions that I do when watching movies.
The Little Mermaid
​In this scene from The Little Mermaid accompanied by my original composition, the emotion I aimed to portray was joy and the feeling of momentous change in one's life. I tried to convey this emotion through my composition by using a major scale, as we learned in class that the major scale is often representative of a happy tone in a scene. Additionally, in order to show the momentous and dramatic change in Ariel's life, I used drums as a representation of something dramatic or unanticipated happening. Although this scene was definitely happy, it was also quite chaotic, and in order to portray this through my compositions I tried to vary the music depending on which part of the scene was playing. I was able to use what I have learned in my workshop to create this piece, as in class we learned how specific instruments can help to convey bigger and more important parts of a scene. In my composition, I used drums and brass instruments often in order to create a more dramatic effect. I really enjoyed creating this piece as I think I was able to effectively convey the emotion and I had a really fun time exploring different instruments and effects to create something original for a movie I have seen so many times.
Clements, Ron, and John Musker. The Little Mermaid. Buena Vista Pictures, 1989.
Tangled
​For my next video, I chose to use this scene from the movie Tangled as my next video for this project. This scene is a very dramatic and intense scene in the movie. The cutting of Rapunzel’s hair, which occurs in this portion of the movie, is a very shocking moment in the movie and brings up a lot of negative and stressful emotions for multiple characters in the scene including Rapunzel and the audience. In order to convey the emotions of the characters throughout the scene, I put into action the things that I have learned about more dramatic and solemn music composition in the workshop. I composed the piece in the minor scale and used loud instruments like drums and more melancholy instruments like the piano in order to convey these emotions as I know from the workshop that these are great tools for creating more dramatic and sad compositions. I think that by utilizing harsh sound effects during dramatic points of the scene like when Mother Gothic falls out of the tower, I was able to more effectively enhance the video with my composition. Overall, I really enjoyed creating this piece and getting to bring to life the emotion from one of my favorite Disney movies!
Greno, Nathan, and Byron Howard. Tangled. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2010.
Peter Pan
In this scene from the movie Peter Pan, the mood was very whimsical, light, and playful. In this class, we have been able to learn more about instruments that we feel can convey specific emotions. For this scene, I looked for instruments to compose my piece that were connoted with happy and light emotions. I felt like strings would be a good addition to the music as they begin to fly after Tinkerbell comes into the scene as it adds to the light and airy feeling of her flying. I chose to utilize a gradual build up in the music as I felt this would fit the scene well, as they begin to fly faster and farther as the scene continues. I wanted to really touch on the excitement and build up of each kid flying, and thought that some guitar could add to the playful mood of the scene. I have also learned about the importance of using the correct scale for portraying specific emotions. In this scene, I used the major scale as I felt it would fit the happy feeling of the scene and characters that I chose. Overall, this project represents the way that specific choices in composing music were able to help me convey the whimsical tone of the scene and add to the emotion of the animated movie.
Barrie, J. M. Peter Pan. Puffin, 2014.
