Katherine Morris
Showing Emotions Through
Music in Disney Scenes
My project is all about different Disney scenes and how the background music can display different emotions. Throughout my childhood, like many others, I was constantly watching Disney movies. Whether they were brand new or decades old, I loved them. Disney was a really important part of my childhood so I wanted my project to capture the emotions I felt while watching these movies. In my first piece, I used a clip from Moana to show the emotion of "courageous". My second piece displays the emotion of "motivating" via a clip from Mulan. For both of the pieces, I tried to ensure that the music captured the emotion and was able to stand on its own even without the video supplementing it. In both scenes, the main character is acting very heroically and I think that came across in the music I created as well. This workshop was an amazing experience and I am extremely proud of all the work I created during it. As someone who had never made my own music before, it was enlightening to see how easy the process can be if you put your mind to it.
Moana
I used the music to convey the emotion of "courageous" for this scene from Moana. In this clip, Moana is making her way toward Te Fiti to return her heart and save the world. I thought that was extremely brave and wanted to make sure that came across in the piece I created. We learned in class about having the music follow the emotion of the scene so I tried to ensure that my piece adapted as the scene's mood changed. I started the scene off with some almost melancholy piano tracks and then incorporated strings when Moana started walking across the ocean floor towards Te Fiti. I also utilized some silence in this piece when Moana actually Te Fiti's heart back in her chest. This is a technique that we learned about in class. By this point all the previous music had stopped and to symbolize Moana's success, I added some guitar in a major key to give the scene a more upbeat feel. Then, when Te Fiti regrew all the nature and greenery, I added a voice track to give the scene a more magical and whimsical feel. Overall, I enjoyed making this piece and it is definitely my favorite one that I have made so far.
"Restoring the Heart of Te Fiti - Moana Movie Scene". Youtube, 29 Mar. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FIg6Zr0dg.
Mulan
The emotion for this scene is "motivating". Throughout this scene, Mulan is proving how work ethic and effort are more important than experience. I thought that this showed the emotion of "motivating". I used a motif throughout the entire piece to show that while Mulan has worked to achieve her goals, she is still worth as much as she was at the beginning of the scene. At the very end, I also had all the music except one track phase-out. Having just this one track helped emphasize Mulan's achievements. We learned a lot about motifs in class which helped me when creating this piece. We also learned how repetition can be very helpful in creating continuity throughout our pieces. This is something that I utilized in this piece. When starting this piece, I knew I wanted to include strings in it. This is a very different sound from the original music that goes with the scene so I thought it would be really interesting. I ended up liking it and added some bass to deepen the sound. Then, I added a drum beat to add more depth to the piece. During the creation of this piece and in the class in general, I have enjoyed playing around with what instruments sound good together and what fits each scene the best. Overall, I like this piece and how different it is from the scene's original music.
"Mulan- I'll Make A Man Out of You (FULL HD)". Youtube, uploaded by wowitsfeffy, 31 Aug. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MfuWSQoWc.
Roz's Theme
This was a piece that two of my peers and I created during a class activity. We had all seen the movie, Monsters Inc., and were able to describe Roz as grouchy, off-putting, and easily annoyed. We knew we wanted to make a motif that reflected these characteristics. We started by looking at different types of brass and ended up choosing a trombone to create a low crescendo-type sound in the background of the track. We then added some bass to the type of the track. This gave a humming feel to the piece and we thought it emulated Roz's essence. At this point, the music was giving Roz but still needed a little something else. We ended up putting a sci-fi-ish track on top to give a more monstrous and fantasy feel to the piece. After this, we added a cymbal crash periodically throughout the piece to make it more interesting. The reason for doing this activity was to give us a better understanding of how to create motifs and truly capture a character's essence within a motif. This activity gave me a much better understanding of how important motifs are. Overall, this was a really fun activity and I loved collaborating with my peers.
Disney+. Photograph of Disney's Roz from Monster's Inc. “In 'Monsters at Work,' a Roz by Another Name Is Just as Sour” by Sarah Bahr,
28 Jul. 2021. The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/arts/television/monsters-at-work-roze-bob-peterson.html