Making the Soundtrack (Rough Cut 5)

The soundtrack is a very important part of my film opening and I knew it was what was going to tie it all together. I looked at the sound from other crime thrillers and this was very varied, some, like 'The Snowtown Murders' used only diegetic sound whereas others, like 'Fargo' had a soundtrack. I want the opening of my film to be quite sad to immediately make the audience sympathise with my protagonist as this is exceptionally important for my film. I believed a soundtrack would be the most effective way to do this because music is very good at evoking emotions as it effects us on a different level to dialogue and diegetic sound. I took inspiration for my soundtrack from two crime thrillers - 'Gone Girl' and 'Fargo' - as I believed a combination of the style sound from these two films would be the best way to achieve my intention in my opening.
I really liked the sound of 'Gone Girl' because it was eerie and put the viewer on edge without following a specific rhythm or tune. When I listened to it it didn't sound like a specific instrument, it was just more a continual, fluctuating noise that became the backdrop for the voiceover. I thought this was really effective as it allowed the viewer to concentrate on the dialogue without being distracted by an overpowering soundtrack. I wanted to do something like this in my film opening and, when I looked at my rough cut, I saw that it would work really well in my very first scene as this is the only part of my sequence that contains dialogue. Therefore I created a similar style of sound for the first part of my soundtrack actually using violins. I have them build in volume and pitch as it goes on to create tension leading up to the gunshot. At first I was going to stop all sound at the gunshot to make it more abrupt and create contrasts however, after reviewing it the soundtrack as a whole, I thought it just disrupted the cohesion of the piece and made it feel clunky. Therefore I made the sound continue through the whole thing which I think works much better.
After I'd created the first part of the music I knew I wanted a piano line; 'Fargo's' soundtrack is very effective at setting a solemn mood and this is what I took inspiration from. When I listened to the sound in the 'Fargo' opening sequence I can hear that the Cohen Brothers used a whole orchestra to create the sound, with especial emphasis on string instruments such as the guitar and the violin. This works very well for this film as it fits in with the location and characters however, for my opening, I wanted to create a similar mood but, instead, using a piano riff as these, especially in a minor key, can sound very melancholy. This is the next thing I created in my music and is the second layer that's introduced.
After I'd decided on the piano I moved on to giving the music more depth. For this I turned back to the string instruments. These come in during the second flashback and I wanted them to really build tension and create a sense of threat as this is the part of the opening that introduces the plot - a serial killer in the town. To increase this feeling of unease I added a single drum beat. This starts to build up the pace and create tension.
In the third flashback I introduced a more aggressive drum beat as this is where she's running away from the murderer - the threat is no longer distant but imminent and I needed the music to reflect that. I'm not quite sure if the drum beat I've got so far is totally right, I need to review it again with fresh ears!
At the end I faded out the instruments bit by bit - first the strings then the drums and finally the piano. I did this because the drums at the end work really well in maintaining the tension so it's not all just immediately diffused and I wanted the piano to be the last thing left as this is the riff that will run through the whole film. If this was to be made into a full feature the leftover piano would act as an effective transition into the first proper scene of the film after the title.

Once I'd got this initial track I listened to it through and though certain bits needed building up. In the hospital scene where the first 'Gone Girl' inspired strings fade out I though the music went a bit flat so I put in some more violins, just a single, continuous note to make it more interesting and, again, build some tension. A few counts into this I also added a saxophone playing the same note because I just liked the slightly harsher edge it added.

I thought I needed a sound effect every time the scene transitioned into a flashback to help signify that there was a passing of time. To do this I used a synth keyboard to create a 'swoosh' sound which I layered into the track over each transition.
I am also experimenting with this to create an atmospheric, low tune that will just play through the flashbacks again to add a little more depth and create a really tense feel.

Overall this has been a challenge, I have very little experience with music and I have certainly never written any however, the guidance from the two film soundtracks I liked help me create a basis for what I wanted which made the whole thing a lot more manageable. I am very happy with how it's turning out and it's really exciting when I play it to my latest rough cut because I can see the vision I had for the film from the start actually coming together which makes me feel very proud!

This is Rough Cut 5 of my film opening: