Music in films can appear in several distinct forms, as background music, songs that are either performed or mimed, or as a natural sound.
There are several ways that music is presented in musical films. Background music is often used to convey emotions or dictate the pace of the film from the mournful, thoughtful cello used in Mike Leigh's Secret and Lies (1996) to the somewhat louder, dramatic orchestration and drums on action films like The Avengers (2012). There are also several terms that can be applied to the use of music in film.
There can be obvious examples where music is clearly performed on screen, or less obvious choices where the music enters from a place other than the world depicted on screen. The former is sometimes referred to as diegetic sound (which derives from the Greek word 'diegesis' meaning recounted story) and the latter is sometimes called non-diegetic sound. They are carefully planned to enhance the viewer's perception of the film.
Title Music – James Bond movies
Music that appears over the film's opening or closing credits that sets the tone of the film (usually in the form of non-diegetic music) is a common powerful way of introducing the audience to the theme of the film. The most obvious example of title music comes courtesy of the James Bond films. Traditionally, part of the expectation is who will sing the theme tune (with an impressive roll-call featuring notable talent such as Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney and Wings, Duran Duran, Carly Simon to Jack White and Alicia Keys) and the opening credit sequence fulfils an important bridge between the now, familiar pre-credits sequence and the rest of the film
Bursting into song – 'I'm singin' in the rain'
In film musicals the most familiar musical form is the one where a character or characters within the film suddenly burst into song (sometimes accompanied by a dance routine). A good example of this is in Singin' in the Rain (1952) where Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) says goodnight to Kathy Selden on her doorstep. She tells him to take care because of the heavy rain shower, but he claims not to notice the rain. This then sets up his famous rendition of the title song. The music enters the scene in from nowhere and Gene Kelly merrily splashes his way through an iconic routine. Normally, as in this case, his vocal is carefully overdubbed to synchronise with the sound (sometimes referred to lip-synch). This is where cinema differs from musical theatre where not only is the source of the music present, but the performers are required to give a live performance.
The live performance – A Hard Day's Night
In films with bands, orchestras or singers, music is performed realistically with the source of the music clearly visible. This can range from Sam (Dooley Wilson) playing 'As time goes by' in Casablanca (1942) to the Beatles concert in front of their screaming fans in A Hard Day's Night (1964). Although the Beatles are overdubbed (in an effort to save time) the performance is in real time. Director Richard Lester used up to six cameras to shoot the sequence simultaneously for speed and the hope of landing dynamic shots of the actual live performance. This technique became the benchmark for future directors in capturing live pop performances, and naturally this transferred to documentary films, most notably Martin Scorsese's multi-camera approach on The Last Waltz (1978).
Non-diegetic music - the pop video
Talking about the production of A Hard Day's Night, on the special edition DVD Richard Lester claims that MTV proclaimed him "putative father of MTV" to which he cheekily requested to have a blood-test. Nevertheless, Lester again pioneered the use of non-diegetic music (music that appears from nowhere - like background music) to capture the Beatles in sequences such as 'Can't Buy Me Love' from A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Ticket to Ride from Help! (1965). Again Lester used as many tricks of the trade as he could think of – speeded up and slowed down film, helicopter shots, use of physical surroundings – to put together a sequence that was visually arresting while arrangements. With videos now part of an artists packaging it is understandable why MTV should want to bestow such an award.
Away from pop musical films non-diegetic music is sometimes referred to as mood music for obvious reasons. In it characters are often seen travelling from one place to another. Anne Dudley won an Academy Award in 1997 for Best Original Music Score (Musical or Comedy) for the Full Monty (1997). Her mood music is particular apt as it creates a listless mood of alienation with a hint of hope as the characters search for their novel way out of unemployment.
Ambient diegetic music – The Full Monty
The Full Monty also offers a good contrast to Dudley's use of mood music with an array of music that comes from a source that is naturally occurring within the world of the film. The dole queue dance to the tune of Hot Stuff, is perhaps the most memorable scene where music played in the dole office inspires spontaneous dance steps from the hapless members Gaz's (Robert Carlyle) dancers.
Other films using dancing in disco competitions, where the music comes from a sound system, such as Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Dirty Dancing (1987) rely on the ambient diegetic musical mode. Elsewhere the source of music might simply come from a radio or a television screen.
Let there be music
Music in films has always been there to enhance our enjoyment of the film. This goes back to the silent era when some films were accompanied by a pianist who would play to suit the mood of the film – happy, sad, in pursuit, in love. Music in films serves that same function today as audiences' emotions are still guided by music. At best they form part of the experience of the story, at worst they can ruin an atmosphere in a film.
Musical films offer additional ingredients to this established mix. The bursting into song approach, while sometimes appearing a bit awkward, has transferred well from musical theatre to musical films, while the performance mode has informed film-makers (particularly working within the pop musical sub-genre) about the possibilities of making songs and performance come to life on the screen.
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