Note From Tongal: “4 Key Things to Consider When Choosing Background Music” is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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Background music refers to the various styles of music or soundscapes primarily intended to be passively listened to. It is not meant to be the main focus of an audience, but rather it supplements that which is meant to be focused upon.
Background Music, otherwise known as BGM or a score, is a key factor in communicating to audiences and viewers through film, TV shows and commercials. However, picking the right BGM can be a challenge for animators and filmmakers, and in some cases, a choice is made without proper consideration as to whether it’s a perfect match for the project at hand.
Although the BGM is not the center of focus in a video, it is capable of shifting the audience’s emotional and mental state and creating an immersive environment that helps them relate more to what they are seeing on screen.
There are quite a number of factors that should be considered when choosing BGM for a movie, documentary, or promos and adverts, but here are the four key things to keep in mind:
1. The mood/intensity of the scene
For every scene, there is a mood, and for every mood, there is a sound that amplifies the action, emotions, tragedy, intensity or suspense that is to be portrayed to the audience.
Let’s take for instance this battle scene culled from the Avengers: Infinity War movie:
The music is quite sad and ominous which clues viewers into the fact that something is likely to go wrong. This supports the action on screen as watching Scarlet Witch take the life of her lover is quite a heavy sight.
This next clip is a fight scene from the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service that is underscored by Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird.".
It would make absolutely no sense to put “Free Bird” in the Avengers scene as shown above. Both clips feature plenty of action, but the music choice is entirely different due to how the characters in the scene are feeling and how they relate to the action taking place. If the scores were switched, both movies would earn a laughably bad rating from critics.
2. The genre of the production / the music
The world over, there are at least 50 major music genres and subgenres. The same categorical breakdown applies to movies and visuals. For each genre in music, you can find a counterpart on film.
Although film genres may relate to their accompanying genres of music, sometimes a director purposefully chooses BGM that contrasts the genre through sarcasm or reverse psychology.
Let’s take this clip from the movie Meet the Spartans, a parody of the movie 300:
I want to believe that your expectations were knocked off a cliff by that clip, and that it surely got you laughing because that was not your idea of a typical marching spartan army.
This was probably what you had in mind or expected to see:
3. The message that is to be communicated
Choosing background music is largely dependent on the content of the script and the target audience. For example, when trying to reach a business or corporate audience, you’ll probably find the right tone if you can convey a feeling of reassurance and calm.
For instance:
This ad has very soothing BGM that allows you to clearly hear every word pronounced by the narrator while giving the video the upscale feel that it needs.
The above clip is a showreel. Notice how the song starts slow, as the car speeds by and the music suddenly gets heavy as it progresses. The animator knows that in order to capture the minds of his audience he needs a slight feeling of suspense and a huge dose of energy.
Or even still, let’s say you are working on two different ads -- one that is to appeal to kids ranging from 6 to 10 years old and another ad for teenagers ranging from 15 to 20 years of age. You are certainly not going to appeal much to the teens if you use the same soundtrack that you used in the ad for the kids.
4. The tempo of the music
Consider how well the speed of the edit and the song correlate. Is it a slow-paced or fast-paced scene?
Let’s look at this scene from the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past:
The movie is rooted in a sci-fi story but has touches of humor, emotion, and action, and similarly, the music nods to an eclectic style. This particular scene is one to be remembered for its perfect blend, but do take note of the way the BGM switches from one heavy and intense state to a rather slow and calm song that blends in to the scene.
If you are a producer, game developer, editor or animator, then the importance of using the perfect BGM cannot be overemphasized. It can act as a link to the human soul, so you’d be wise to use it to your advantage.
