retired_steevo93

I've been asked to do some soundtrack work for a film company, for which I will first need to produce something of a showreel. This will entail getting some fragments of films and setting them to music composed and arranged by moi.

I'm quite confident in my ability to compose suitable music, but film is full of cliches and conventions, and it's worth making yourself aware of as many as possible for this kind of work. You all probably watch more films than I do, so can anyone think of a particularly memorable:

- Childhood flashback scene, perhaps a traumatic one
- Scene of desolate isolation, such as Staggered with Martin Clunes, except obviously not that one
- Any scenes with particularly powerful music that stick in your mind, such as the soft music set to horrifying violence in the Battleship Potemkin. Except obviously not that one.
- Surreal capers
- Ratcheting up tension, such as before a big race or some other climactic event.

I've just thought of "Sleepers" as a potential candidate for "traumatic childhood flashback". That's a good one.

retired_traci29

there's a reason why i have a completely non-creative job.

retired_jessicadon

Mysterious Skin for the child flashback. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for the surreal capers. Calvaire for the desolate isolation.

retired_ecmoore

what about something like 'touching the void' for desolation?

swapnil

I'll have a longer think and probably come back with alternatives, but for now:

Childhood: Mysterious Skin
Isolation: Solyaris
Powerful Music: The Goodfellas scene set to Clapton.
Tension: The build up to the shootout in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

Fairly standard.

retired_ecmoore

something from 'delicatessen' for surreal?

retired_ecmoore

oh, and can we see the outcome of this ceefax?

retired_germancat

"A Clockwork Orange" for the music and "The City of Lost Children" for the surrealist scenes (or anything from Buñuel)

swapnil

Matter of fact, change my music suggestion to the end sequence of Requiem For A Dream.

retired_jessicadon

Eraserhead for the surrealist capers? You'll be fired but i'll be fun.

Requiem a good shout.