Overused music in scores

[Guy Rowland]

I heard today a very interesting film review of Hamnet. The score to Hamnet is by Max Richter, but in the climactic scene it is replaced by On The Nature of Daylight, also written by Max Richter but used copiously in other films and shows.



This was prominently featured in Arrival, The Last Of Us, The Handmaid's Tale and many others.

It's a simple, effective and emotive track that seems to contain irreplaceable magic for filmmakers. Jessie Buckley apparently suggested its use in Hamnet and Chloe Zhao played it in on set to set the vibe. Max was visiting that day and apparently he was somewhat concerned - even though it was his music he knew it was getting over-used.

Mark Kermode presents a show on film music and has recently written a book on it, so he's extremely well versed. The Kermode and Mayo discussion on its use is here at approx 7.20 (it should jump to the right point)



It was Simon's point here that familiar use causes an audience to be taken out of the film. I experienced this strongly in Paul Greengrass' otherwise excellent Captain Philips, where he lifts the end cue of his previous film United 93 for the ending. In United 93 it was so brilliantly tense and effective, on a first watch I didn't even realise music was playing at all I was totally immersed in the film. Music was doing what it was supposed to do. But it Captain Philips it was the complete opposite, I was taken out of the story completely because I tripped at something that was, by then, very familiar to me. I thought "why has he ripped off his own film? Could no composer write something more fitting for this one? What discussions were had with the composer etc etc".

This phenomenon is a particular form of temp love it seems to me. It's one thing if the temp score is not especially well known, but quite another if the audience is taken out of the film.

Now, most won't know United 93. And I think On The Nature Of Daylight doesn't have the level of fame enjoyed by, say, Barber's Adagio For Strings. That one that just cannot be used any more outside satire.

As a bunch of composers, we're likely far more attuned to this than others, and as a real connoisseur Mark Kermode is the same. Do particular pieces of music take you out of a film or show due to overuse? And does any of this really matter to the general public?

[Tanuj Tiku]

I seriously doubt that it matters to the general public. In most cases it is insecurity due to enormous pressure on films to deliver and many times the director just not able to emotionally accept that something else could be more appropriate. To be fair, some of this can happen to any one of us but directors have the final word so.....

The other effect that is common I have found is that people can loose objectivity in film and create their own bubbles. Even film composers are not immune to it if they have been working on something for a while.

This is why I emotionally protect my first one or two screenings of the film before I start working. I must always remember what I felt emotionally when I watched the film the first time and discussed everything with the director. This is very important and precious because we can loose objectivity or somewhat forget what we set out to do and yet we must also remain somewhat flexible. It is a bit of push and pull but with some center of gravity.

There is also another effect that is very pronounced. Sometimes the filmmakers can get lost in the emotional feeling they were trying to extract in a scene in their head but what has actually ended up on screen is different. Sometimes they are not able to reconcile this conflict which can lead to these problems.

I think as long as people are aware that these things can happen, remain flexible and trust their collaborators, it can take the film to a creatively satisfying place.

[Lawrence]

A singular instance of this might be the use of Clair de Lune in various films. Maybe it should, but it never takes me out of a film because I enjoy hearing its beauty in all contexts.

[Guy Rowland]

A singular instance of this might be the use of Clair de Lune in various films. Maybe it should, but it never takes me out of a film because I enjoy hearing its beauty in all contexts.

I know what you mean. Somehow classical is a bit different though, it works like a pop song where it's it's own thing and can be re-used, at least to a point. Adagio For Strings crossed a line somewhere, it became cliche even though it's brilliant, whereas I agree somehow Clair de Lune doesn't.

Tanuj, you're probably right but I wonder if there's a limit for normal people! You couldn't use, say, Chariots Of Fire in a non-satirical context, it is SO synonymous with slow motion running it would take everyone out of the film. But I don't think On The Nature Of Daylight or The End by John Powell hits that level of familiarity. Time by Hans Zimmer... maybe?

[Tanuj Tiku]

A singular instance of this might be the use of Clair de Lune in various films. Maybe it should, but it never takes me out of a film because I enjoy hearing its beauty in all contexts.

I know what you mean. Somehow classical is a bit different though, it works like a pop song where it's it's own thing and can be re-used, at least to a point. Adagio For Strings crossed a line somewhere, it became cliche even though it's brilliant, whereas I agree somehow Clair de Lune doesn't.

Tanuj, you're probably right but I wonder if there's a limit for normal people! You couldn't use, say, Chariots Of Fire in a non-satirical context, it is SO synonymous with slow motion running it would take everyone out of the film. But I don't think On The Nature Of Daylight or The End by John Powell hits that level of familiarity. Time by Hans Zimmer... maybe?

I agree there is a threshold somewhere but where there isn't a threshold sometimes is in the director's mind. They get so married to the temp that they don't emotionally care.

I totally get it. Time compounds the effect. I worked on one film score for a year and did nothing else in 2022. That effect of working on one thing with a singular vision really gets extremely strong and in the case of directors it can be years. Maybe, if film composers are involved early on it can help.

When I was working on the Forrest Gump remake, it would have been terrible to hear it temped with Alan Silvestri's magnificent score only because Alan is a hero of mine and I love the original film. It was a source of huge insecurity for me, knowing that Alan (primarily), Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis might watch the film at some point in the future. I have since seen an interview where Tom Hanks said that he loved the film so there is some relief as far as that goes. It would have been very easy for the filmmakers to temp the film with the original and there would be almost no way for me to escape that. Thankfully they did not and otherwise did not care much at all about the temp that was in place.

It is very difficult to emotionally distance from anything that has a very strong association on a personal level and is really well done.

[Erik]

It sometime happens on radio broadcasting, background music to a documentary, whatever. I focus on the music, trying to find what it is or, worse, singing it - even if its an instrumental track - and I lose the speak entirely.