HOW MUCH DOES MUSIC MATTER?

We've all heard that sound can make as much as 50% of the movie, and Jurassic Park is a wonderful example of that principal in action, but how much of that can be true of music? Well, last night I watched the visual FX laden Chinese fantasy flick A Chinese Tall Story (I assume they meant tall tale), and I found out just how important music can be. Overall the movie was enjoyable, but it is just plain weird. Many things come out of left field, make absolutely no sense, and the film barely holds itself together. The one thing that keeps raising the movie to a very high level, despite its many flaws, is the score.

The score for this film is done by none other than Joe Hisaishi, famous for putting the tunes to every Hayao Miyazaki film out there. This score has amazing melodies on par with anything in Mononoke Hime or Nausica. Just when the movie seems like it might come apart at the seams, the score is there to say, "No. You are watching a real, high quality movie."


Moreover, this movie is, at its core, a strange love story. This is where the music truly shines. It lends real emotion to the scenes that express those feelings. Some scenes become so powerful, as a result, such as to lead the viewer to real emotion as well.

So, as you craft your next indie piece, consider, where are you getting your music? Perhaps royalty free sample libraries won't cut it if you want to move an audience to tears. Maybe you need a real master at the helm to bring your project to the level it deserves.