The intention of this article is to present an analysis of a scene from the subject feature film and to discuss the thought process behind the rescoring (musical score of an existing cinematic cue) for the scene. The analysis, observations are personal interpretations and the following compositional discussion are intended to journal the compositional approach for the scene.
The 1998 feature film Saving Private Ryan directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat is widely considered among the best war movies produced across world cinema. The story follows the journey of a group of U.S soldiers who are assigned a mission to retrieve a paratrooper Ryan from behind enemy lines. Winning the Academy Awards for the categories including Direction, Sound, Cinematography, Editing and Sound Effects; the movie provides a cinematic experience of the invasion of Normandy during World War II. The sound design (Gary Rydstorm, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Ron Judkins) combined with the cinematography (Janusz Kaminski) elevate the intensity of the war sequences delivering an impactful and invested viewing experience. The very first scene (Omaha Beach sequence) presents a frantic, gritty and immensely intense nature of battle that is still widely revered to be among the best battle sequence shot. The dynamic detail of the bombs, bullets and other ammunition along with the first person perspective cinematography of the multiple battle sequences set the tone for the rest of the film. An unusually minimal score by John Williams accompanying the sound design allows for a realistic and immersive audio-visual experience.
Sniper Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTOTyWit8yA
The scene chosen to rescore can be found in its original film edit in the link provided above. The cue titled "Sniper", follows the interaction between the primary group of U.S soldiers and a hidden sniper soldier. The character Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel) is seen to be retrieving a child who is separated from her family in a village that is currently a war zone. The private is shot by an unidentified sniper and the rest of the platoon take cover to find the location of the sniper. One of the many intense sequences in the film, this scene portrays the sudden dynamic shift experienced in war. The scene follows the group now split while taking cover and the wounded Private requesting his fellow soldiers to take his letter that he has written for his father. The sequence provides equal footage to the wounded soldier, the friend of the wounded, the general, the child separated from the family, the enemy sniper and the U.S sniper who eventually goes on to eliminate the enemy sniper. The scene ends with the platoon assessing the location for other threats, the death of Private Caparzo and the reunion of the child with her parents.
The original cue does not include a musical score and is completely supported by location sound/foley (footsteps, rifles, rain, gunshots). One sound effect that stands out is in this particular sequence is that of the piano when Private Caparzo is shot and falls on the broken piano before falling to the ground. An interesting distinction between other foley sounds and this piano sound is that the piano is given a spatial treatment of reverb that creates an unrealistic heightened sound when compared to the other sounds. The dissonant piano chord although intended to be a response to his fall creates a sense of being a staged sound effect. The piano sound returns again briefly before he falls to the ground, this time not as loud as the previous instance. The sound in this sequence and for most part of the film are diegetic (source of the sound visible in the frame) in nature and this can be witnessed when the frame shifts between the enemy sniper (audio goes quiet reflecting the hidden environment) and the rest of the platoon (outdoor with rain and movement sounds). Another noteworthy mention of the sound design is when the enemy sniper is shot. The sound from the distant shot (witnessed by enemy sniper is quiet) quickly becomes loud when the enemy sniper is hit inside his eye socket (the glass in the sniper rifle, the loud bullet falling to the ground), but the detail in sound design is witnessed when the frame goes to Captain Miller's face and you can hear the audio tail of shot fading away. Detailing such as this could easily be missed by the average viewer, but it's these moments that prove the authenticity of the sound design, the role it plays in a cinematic experience and the worthiness of the Academy Award for the category.
Rescore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vbvua_R7sQ
Composed by Kishan Kumar & Hariprasad Mahakali
The purpose of the score is to augment the visual narrative and provide a sonic identity that reflects the intensity of the scene. The score begins with the first gunshot attacking Private Caparzo with a synth single note drone (0:08) to define the palpable tension in the environment. It is followed by a sub-bass pulsating pad (quarter note repetitions beginning from 0:18) that aims to reflect the tension among the characters. The shrill string synth note begins with the tracking shot that follows the soldier (0:50) with the aim to build the established tension of the environment following the fading of the drone. The score tries to follow the soldier attempting to find the enemy sniper through an introduction of a soundscape pad evolving over time in the arpeggiated pattern of E minor (E-G-B-E-G-B-E). This layered sequence maintains the pre-defined drone ambience and travels through the sequence to match the tension of characters stranded across the area shown one after the other. The arpeggiated sequence is broken with the introduction of the string note and mallet tremolo (2:28) when the enemy sniper is trying to locate the soldiers. The sequence is followed by a loud string riser (3:00) that foreshadows the tense duel between the rival snipers before the enemy sniper is shot. The riser intentionally ends a second earlier (3:10) to hand over the tension back to location sound that details the shot, recoil, shattering of sniper glass and audio tail of the gunshot. The interplay between score and sound effects is deemed necessary to accentuate the reality of the sequence that is provided by the sound effects, whereas the score delivers the underlying emotional direction for the scene.
The final sequence before the scene ends showcases the death of the soldier, the regrouping of the soldiers, the reunion of the child with her parents. This sequence is aided a haunting female vocal melody to reflect the sombre mood of the entire scene. The purpose of a vocal melody here is twofold; one to emote the death the U.S soldier mourned by his friends and the reunion of the child with her parents highlighting the brief but impactful separation. The melody can then be summarised as an effective tool to convey subtext representing the theme of the sequence.
The compositional process is observed to be interesting to journal and review. Interesting for the fact that the analysis of the scene largely remains the same but the scoring perspective to reflect the emotions of the characters, the sequence as a whole is very malleable in nature. The ability to convey emotions with music without distracting the viewer from the scene or dialogue is a process that can go wrong with one wrong note or a choice of instrumentation. The journaling process and reviewing the score helps to analyse compositional structures, creative decisions and generate templates to score future projects of similar nature.
Instruments used:
Opening Drone : VST - Heavyocity - Gravity, Pads - Murky Aggression
Tense String Note: VST - Native Instruments Thrill
Soundscape Pad: Alchemy - Logic Pro X
Riser : VST : Heavyocity - Gravity, Riser
Distorted Strings : VST : Output Analog Strings, Ethnic Heaven
Female Vocals: Heavyocity - Gravity Vocalise
Written by
Hariprasad Mahakali
Original Rescore composed along with Kishan Kumar
Kishan Kumar is a Film Music Composer with a Professional Certificate in Indian Film Music Composition from the Chennai based School Of Indian Film Music. He has scored multiple short films, virtual reality videos and original soundtracks.
