Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Opening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Analysis of 3 Significant Music/ Picture moments

Time ref: 01:00:23:22:07

At this point the camera shows the chimney of the factory in snow and foggy conditions. This makes it seem ominous and eerie which makes the viewer unsettled in their seat. During the marker the logo of the film appears on the screen in gold writing, which continous in the same style of writing a the actors names appear.

We can hear violins playing harmoniously at a steady speed in groups of threes making it sound similar to a galloping horse. The violins are also played with a soft but edgy timbre. Also to give the violins that racing pace they are playing the same notes like an attack.

Underneath all the main instrumentation there is a cello playing a low drone, this peddled note makes the section thick in texture and gives the sound that ominous feeling. This drone acts like a bass giving some density to the sound.  

Acting like a shaker, there is a metallic sound being played simultaneously, which sounds like rattling chains. This shows that the composer isn't afraid to experiment with different sounds. These rattling chains add to the low drone to make the listeners feel uncomfortable. The reason perhaps the metal chains have be used in the music could be to replicate the sound of the machines inside the factory to create some factory sounds to go with the image of a factory on the screen. But maybe the use of rattling chains could show that this is no ordinary factory.

Additionally the main section of tis marker feature the main melody theme being played the loudest on the french horn. The reason for choosing this instrument for the first time you hear the main theme is to show using a powerful brass instrument to show superior that it is the important part that you should remember and hear continuously through the film. Also the use of the french horn can be associated with heroism and bravery and with Charlie Bucket being the hero of the story it would seem a good choice to play Charlie's theme on the french horn. 

To add some realism there is the sound of a heavy snowstorm with raging winds because on the screen we can see there is some vicious weather so it would seem logically that we the viewers should hear some sort of weather like sounds. These snow sounds are created by using an FX machine and perhaps some Foley. 

The music supports the pictures here by giving the scene the anticipation of what is to come  on the screen by having an edgy section of music helps the pictures because the chimney looks scary and haunting. The music supports it by making it seem mysterious which adds to the haunting effect. Plus the fast movement of the camera panning around the factory gives it that running pace which helps the camera seem like its moving extremely fast. All the music is asynchronous because there is no sound effect or action to add music too. 



Time: 01:00:47:14.14
At this point the camera has zoomed into the chimney to reveal the title of the film in the same old writing as previous. At the same time there is chocolate spinning around like a drain. The camera moves towards the chocolate giving us the visual effect like we are about to go her first into the chocolate. 

When the chocolate disappears we hear a gulping sound that is synchronised with the action. 

The dynamics of the whole marker is suddenly louder because the writing on the screen is stating the reason for the music, which is to accompany the action on the screen of the film. To give the audience unsettled feelings, vocals have been introduced but the tone of the choirs vocals are out of the ordinary, they are squeaky and high in pitch and sound psychotic which gives this section it's unusual sound. The unnatural pitch to their voices sets the scene by being so strange. There are also very low in pitch voices making "Huh!" noises, this sound makes the piece have a tribal feeling to it because the low grunting noises sound like they should be made at a tribal gathering.

There are some drums being played like an aboriginal tribe would play around a fire. They are very harsh and dramatic making the sound loud and almost thunderous.. By their sound thick textured sound there is more then one drum playing the steady crotchet beats. Also there is a different drum playing the same rhythm of the pacing violins in the previous marker.

The music supports the pictures here by giving us the viewer an unsettled feeling because at the beginning of the marker 1 we see the chimney in the snow but now in marker 2 we are inside the chimney. Because we are hearing these sounds that are slightly native, the reason for this is to show that the film we are about to watch I very unpredictable and anything could happen. When we see the chocolate we known  it's a chocolate factory but because of the sounds of the music the audience knows that it isn't a ordinary chocolate factory.

Also I know from watching the film that the reason the composer has given this section of music a tribal feeling is because Willy Wonka's workers are a tribe of Oompah Loompah's and they are midgets so that would explain the high voices that they have used and also the use of the tribal drums. So the reason the composer has chosen the tribal sound is so that the sound itself is a theme that would represent the Oompah Loompah's so whenever we hear the tribal sound we know that the Ooompah Loompah's won't be far.


3) Time code ref: 01:03:27:10.46

At this point we see the delivery boxes of chocolate getting put into vans in order to be dispatched to shops. The camera is now on the exterior of the building so as before it is snowing. The vans then in an orderly military fashion drive like an army out of the steel gates.

We can hear a snare drum playing a military like marching beat. There are also effects used so that we can hear the sound of the lorries driving in the snow, these sounds were either filmed on set and made louder so that they can be heard over the music, or they were recreated in a Foley studio or they were created by an fx machine.

We can also hear the main Charlie theme above the snare drum but this time it is being played on a softer textured instrument that is the trombone.

Also in this marker we can still hear the same pacing violins that are in the beginning. The violins now keep the other instruments to play at the same racing pace. However this time the violins are being played more gentler which gives them a softer sound now. Also this time they are playing different notes as they are ascending up the scale to give us the audience an impression that something major is going to happen on the screen. Because of they're ascending they are building up to a climax. At the climax all the instruments are loud bold and united so they build that climax. However unlike the usual ending climax to a main piece of music, this piece doesn't end in a crescendo like most powerful pieces, this song ends with the climax dropping suddenly to only a single low note held in a drone that is used to create suspense.

The music supports the picture as the vans drive off in a military fashion and the snare drum supports by playing in a military march fashion. The reason the filmmakers chose to does this was so that the distribution of the chocolate containing the golden tickets is sent of to stores in a military style. In order to make the scene realistic we can hear natural car sounds that would have been inputted into the video by using an fx machine.

The use of having a softer instrument playing the main theme for this time is to make the theme sound heroic and like the under dog, instead of it being played on the French horn because the trombone is less integrating in texture. Using a softer instrument allows viewers to enjoy the piece of music and not be intimidated by the forceful French because the main theme for Charlie isn't suppose to be intimidating.