Lights of New York (1928) corruption around organized crime in America. The scene is Hawks Office in the Nightclub. In the scene Hawks meets with his accomplishes to discuss their criminal operations. The conversation is controlling and focused on the elimination of threats. The calmness of the setting suggests that crime and murder are part of their routine. Hawk is authoritative in the scene insinuating the decision on violence rests with him.

This artefact is a culmination of the original scene and 2 additional iterations using sound to influence the theming of the scene.

Original

In the original scene there is only dialogue. The speech dominates the setting creating a monophonic texture and the tone is restrained but tense. The audience is focused on the words and pause. The lack of music denies emotional guidance however the speech infers that violence is anticipated.  

Replaced Audio 1- Bach-Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

For the first iteration the scene is overlaid with Bach-Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Bach is commonly used in movies to invoke grandeur. There is clear congruence with this grandeur and the formal dress of the gangsters. The music transforms the texture from monophonic to polyphonic adding dense musical texture. The addition of Bach’s music insinuates psychological horror. The pipe organs low frequencies and sustained tones introduces darkness to the scene, the gangsters become more evil and death is suggested. The music is non-diegetic, there are no musicians present but it still feels emotionally connected to what is happening on screen. The music insists that something is wrong but there is no violence displayed to the audience. This creates strong intertextuality the black and white imagery, the dialogue around death and murders with the music’s long history of association with horror.

Through the use of music, the men become figures of menace. The calmness of the dialogue adds to the chilling expression and the room becomes a space of doom.

Replaced Audio 2- Scott Joplin- The Entertainer

For the second iteration the scene is layered with Scott Joplin- The Entertainer.

The addition of ragtime changes the scene from monophonic to polyphonic texture.  The music brings lightness and irony to the scene. The piano is light, fast tempo and rhythmic bringing a playful tempo to the scene. This reduces the threatening tone of the scene. The music is expressive, Hawk becomes less threatening and the gangsters become less frightening. The men become performers rather than villians.

Ragtime is associated with entertainment and performance. There is a lack of congruence between the visual, speech and music which creates synergy through contrast. The room becomes a theatrical environment rather than a space of doom.

The addition of music shows how sound can frame meaning, emotion and sound interpretation. The scene changes from crime as a routine to crime as a psychological horror to crime as a performance.