On the Rhythmicity of Film Music: Overall Dramatic Construction, Characterisation and Story Metaphors

——Taking “Shadow” as an example

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-378-8_3How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Film Music; Rhythm; Wholeness; Musical Function; Zhang Yimou Films

Abstract

This paper uses the film “Shadow” as an example to explore the role of film music in the construction of overall dramatic structure, character shaping, and story metaphor. An analysis of the changes in musical melody and rhythm shows that music plays a crucial role in the construction of the film’s overall narrative. The emotional and rhythmic elements of the music are closely integrated with the film’s narrative, foreshadowing plot developments and enhancing the audience’s emotional engagement with the storyline. The paper points out that film music can shape the expression of characters’ emotions and the construction of their images. For instance, specific melodies can reflect a character’s inner emotions and outward appearance, thereby creating more nuanced and rich character portrayals. Additionally, the paper emphasizes the metaphorical function of film music, which uses recurring thematic melodies to foreshadow specific events and plot developments. This musical element connects the storyline and illustrates the dynamic changes in character relationships, enhancing the overall dramatic narrative.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Junyi Wang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/03/31
TI  - On the Rhythmicity of Film Music: Overall Dramatic Construction, Characterisation and Story Metaphors
BT  - Proceedings of the 2024 4th International Conference on Public Art and Human Development (ICPAHD 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 15
EP  - 24
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-378-8_3
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-378-8_3
ID  - Wang2025
ER  -