Batman vs The Circus

Structure

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• Through Composed - The structure of the music is deternined by the narrative of the film - ET: Flying Theme by John Williams & POTA: The hunt by Goldsmith

Tonality

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E minor, C minor, B minor, E minor - Dark menacing keys (Typical of Elfman’s style). Unrelated modulations = Tense. Some tertiary modulations (Typical of film writing) - Dark tonality typical of Elfman’s stye e.g. Corpse Brider, Charlie & The chocolate factory. Tertiary mod in Titanic: Take her to Sea Mr Murdoch by Horner

Harmony

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• B pedal at the start - Creates tension as the Bat signal is lit - POTC: Dead Man’s Chest by badelt

• Diminished 7th Chord - Represents the chaos on the street - Psycho: The Cellar by Herrmann

• Whole tone scale in harp - Blurs tonality (sounds fantasy like) - ET: Flying Theme be J Williams

• Cue ends on an E (no chord) - Ambiguous ending (the fight isn’t over…)

• Fast pace of harmonic change - Represents the pace of the action on screen

Melody

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• Batman motif played at the start by brass, then low wind, then horns (repetition) - Builds up excitement as Bruce Wayne stands in front of Bat signal

• New ‘oom pah’ motif repeated throughout the cue - Represents the Circus Gang / sounds comical - Gremlins by Goldsmith has oom-pah motif for mischief feel

• Whole tone scale in harp - Sounds magical / fantasy like - ET: Flying Theme by J Williams

• Fragments of Batman leitmotif - When Batman appears on the screen during the conflict - POTA: The Hunt by Goldsmith

• New descending four note motif - Provides suspense

• Augmentation of Batman leitmotif - Dramatic varied repetition

Rhythm, Tempo & Metre

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• Cross rhythms

• Frequent metre changes

• Syncopation

• Lots of rests - fragment ideas

• Rhythmic displacement

• Irregular time signatures e.g. 5/4

• Irregular note groupings e.g. triplets, sextuplets

Represents the chaos caused by the ‘Circus Gang’. Creates Tension / suspense / uncertainty

Gremlins by Goldsmith has most of theese rhythmic features to represent chaos / mischief & The Chase from POTA by Goldsmith uses these features for a tense chase scene

Texture

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• Full tutti chord - Bruce stands in front of the Bat signal (lots of emphasis)

• Ostinati - Provides unity within the cue and the whole film score - POTA: The Hunt by Goldsmith:

  • Ostinato of ‘oom-pah’ circus motif - Gremlins by Goldsmith has similar oom-pah ostinato

  • Quaver ostinato in octaves in piano

  • New four notes ostinato

• Countermelody in the xylophone - Mimics a sense of conflict - Psycho: The Cellar by Herrmann

• Contrary motion - Sounds chaotic / conflictin

Sonority

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• High violin glissando

• Mute trumpe

• Snare drum rolls

• Stopped horns

• Temple blocks

• Harp glissando

• Extreme oboe vibrato

• Fairground steam organ

Epic, large orchestra with unusual additional instruments for extra drama and to enhance the stroy telling (applies to all cues).

Different techniques used to help create sound effects that represent what is happening on screen, particularly comical sounds in this scene

Similar overall orchestration to Edward Scissorhands and The Corpse Bride by Elfman

Lots of highly contrasting dynamics, extremes of dynamics, and detailed instruction (also applies to the other cues but probably most relevant to this cue). - Enhances the drama / storytelling