Workshop #5 : Music | English

Tempo - speed of the music - fast/slow/moderate

Dynamics - volume - how loud or quiet it is

Key - major - happy sound, minor - sad sound 

Rue's Death : How is music used to create an atmosphere - Depressing/Sad/Mournful

Minor, tempo - slow, dynamics - quiet, gets louder as Katniss raises her salute and District 11 riots. 

What happened?

    - Rue is killed, Katniss tries to give her body the closest to a burial that she can. 

Colour/Lightning 

    - white flowers (stands out) - innocent and pure (symbol) - Rue has never killed anyone, kind, compassionate, victim.

    -  natural lighting, greens. 

Shots/Angles 

    - medium close-up - Rue and Katniss - see their emotions and facial expressions - anguish 

    - high angle - weak and vulnerable - Rue is an innocent and blameless victim.

Effect of Viewer 

    - atmosphere of remorse/intense sadness, as the volume increases it builds the intensity of the emotions - we see emotions are contagious - hope. 

Directors Purpose 

    - feel Katniss's emotions at that moment - remorse, anger, helplessness, acceptance, rebellion 

    - Symbol of the 3 finger salute is a sign of defiance and anger towards the game makers. - you will not take my humanity, also a symbol of unification with those who have lost loved ones to the games.  

Paragraph: 

Music is used to create an atmosphere of sorrow and remorse in Rue's death scene. In this scene we see Katniss dealing with the slaughter of her young friend Rue. For example, the tempo is slow, the dynamics are quiet and the key is minor to reflect the emotional rollercoaster that Katniss is experiencing. Like the music, Katniss moves slowly and methodically to cover Rue's body in white flowers. As she finishes, the music builds in volume, showing the increasing intensity of her anger and grief towards the Capitol. This makes us understand the pain experienced by the families of the tributes when they are killed each year. This was done to enable the viewer to feel the characters' emotions. This worked well with the use of white flowers to symbolise Rue's innocence and purity and the high angle shot making her weak and vulnerable. Combined with other music we are shown that Rue is a victim of the cruelty of the Capitol.