The music for The Perils of Patricide is influenced by a range of composers. The music is a combination of dark ambient and fantasy elements.

I will be doing semiotic analysis of my influences based on Ferdinand de Saussure’s model of the sign. In semiotics for beginners David Chandler explains Saussure’s model of the sign in two components when he points out ‘a ‘signifier’ (signifiant) – the form which the sign takes; and the ‘signified’ (signifié) – the concept it represents.’ (Chandler, 2001)

I will explain the signified AKA connotations of my influences and how this will be incorporated in the music for The Perils of Patricide.

Jed Kurzel is an Australian film composer and musician best known for his scores for ‘Macbeth’, ‘The Babadook’ and ‘Snowtown’. ‘The Webb’ layers Atmospheric synths whilst a constant lo-fi piano key plays on top. The connotations of this piece are dreary, mysterious and sombre. For the tension building scenes in the manor house where nothing too dramatic happens I will incorporate atmospheric synths to create a dreary vibe.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner are film composers who collaborated in producing the score for ‘The Revenant’. ‘Killing Hawk’ layers very spacious atmospheric synths with violins in short chord patterns. In addition the violins are harshly played at some parts in the song. The connotations of this piece are dread, anxiety and madness. I’ve adopted the same approach of combining both electronic and orchestral instruments, in my case, orchestral VSTis. I plan to utilize virtual orchestral instruments such as violins and percussion. Combining both electronic and orchestral elements in this way will support creating a sense of anxiety and madness particularly towards the ending scene of the film.

Trent Reznor is a singer-songwriter, record producer, and film score composer who frequently collaborates with fellow composer Atticus Ross when producing film scores. ‘The Way He Looks at me’ consists of a constant unsettling beat, keyboard notes and a range of textures and effects which take up a wide range of the stereo field. The connotations of this piece are eeriness, unease and irritating. I will utilize this composition style of incorporating a range of textures and effects across the stereo field. For example with scenes involving ‘the creature’ I will utilize relevant textures and effects which add to the eeriness of ‘the creature’ character.

Sources

Chandler, D. (2001) Semiotics for beginners. [Online] Available from: http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem02.html [Accessed 18th February 2016].