I was watching a new television show the other day, Human Target, because it stars Mark Valley (Keen Eddie) a mostly under-the-radar actor that I happen to find imminently watchable (really, am I wrong on either account?). The show seemed decent, almost a throwback to the glut of action-oriented shows I was weened on back in the '80s.
A sharp tongued protagonist battles fearsome foes and saves the beautiful dame from distress. It was a little rote, but a fun time nonetheless. The one thing that really stuck out about the episode was the music though. It was this grand orchestral sweep, when a more low key techno score would have served the show better. More jarring was the use of the music - during a fight scene towards the end of the movie, the hollow orchestrations swelled up bringing to mind the Titanic surging towards its inevitable rendezvous on the rocks; or maybe even Peter O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia riding in silhouette along a distant dune, the sun setting in a fiery glaze of pinkish orange behind him. What the music did not communicate was the very scene playing out beneath it. It was a huge disconnect and the entire scene suffered, all because of one inappropriate music cue.
Music plays a vital role in building your scene and your world. Imagine Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Superman without John Williams, or the works of Tim Burton without the whimsical bombast of Danny Elfman.
Now imagine scoring a fight scene to Moonlight Sonata? It probably could be done, but it would be done to create a dramatic parallel in the scene, not just to accompany two tough guys pummeling each other. Music sets the mood. Keep that in mind, and to see what I am talking about when I say that music can break a scene as easily as it can make one, check your local listings for Human Target... A potentially decent show, lost in really bad use of music.
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