Lord of The Rings Sountrack Deconstruction

The score was used during the preparation for the battle scene to create tension, it starts of slow and unnerving but as the horses start running the instruments change to stringed instruments making the scene have a sadness to it as the audience know that they are running to there deaths. The sound of the instruments increase and become more intense as the danger gets closer, including loud drums beats.

The ADR was used when the leader of battle was giving a speech to the other warriors to make the sound a lot more clearer as there is a lot of open space that he was riding up and down on his horse which would have lost the sound.

The sound design was used for the troll and the dragon sounds to make them sound more realistic, with the trolls it sounds like they have used animal snorts such as pigs to make them seem disgusting and more fierce.

The foley was used to create the marching of the horses; the sound of the horses footsteps as they were coming over the hills was exaggerated to make the scene more intense and the warriors sound more important.

The ambiance was used to create the extra sounds in the background; for example the wind other than making the scene have a more realistic feeling it was used when the battlefeild went silent which gives the scene a discomforting and uneasy feel to it.

The Purpose Of The Soundtrack

From watching the fight scene we can see that there is a strong bond between the woman and the hobbit as she is seen to be comforting him before the battle takes place; we can tell that the hobbit is quite a nervous character which is shown by physical elements such as his facial expressions and his tensed body movements. Another element that is shown is through the soundtrack itself as when the scene cuts to him the background music completely comes to a haul; the silence is a metaphor for the way he is feeling and could even symbolize his heart stopping. Whereas when the scene is on the leader of the battle the soundtrack gives him a heroic and noble feeling with the use of steady brass instruments; which is used to create his Leitmotif.

As the scene changes from Gandalf to the battle scene the soundtrack dramatically changes from a faded mix of fast paced drum rhythms and strings, to a harsh set of pounding drums. The change of the soundtrack creates the right emotion towards the audience in the two scenes, for example in the first scene the fast paced drums are effective at reinforcing that one of the main characters is in danger as it creates the theme of distress and vulnerability. The fact that the music tells us that one of the main characters is in danger also makes us feel nervous for him. In a way the soundtrack also reminds me of an old fashioned death sentencing with the way that the person is standing over Gandalf with his sword in the air and in a way the drum beats are acting as a count down, and with this prolonging of the music it makes the audience have a feeling of certainty over the outcome of Gandalfs life.