Tag: #Emotional

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The Last of Us: Blend between Music and Screen

When I was younger, I remember the thrill of playing video games with my brother to see who would get the highest score, who could get the farthest, or who was just overall better at the game. Today, while these elements of competitive drive still resides within the medium, the evolution of the video game is astounding. Just a decade or more ago, video games used to be viewed through a very specific lens by the general public as being a type of “nerd culture” that possessed no grounded place in the entertainment market. However, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, video games have become accepted by the public and has transformed into a mainstream form of entertainment. Now, why is this?

The evolution and growing success of video games can be attributed to the sense of immersion one can receive. Image, sound, and most importantly music, come together to create a multisensory experience not easily attainable in other forms of entertainment. In 2013, American video game company Naughty Dog released the PlayStation 4 exclusive title, The Last of Us, which has been regarded by critics to be a masterpiece in the medium. The title’s intense action and survival horror elements created a beautifully executed atmosphere not seen in other titles but what elevated it further was the incredible compositional works by Gustavo Santaolalla.

One of the most incredible aspects of Santaolalla’s compositions is that even though they are categorized as “minimalist”, there’s an incredible amount of meaning put into each texture and note. During the production of the soundtrack, Santaolalla experimented with an incredible amount of different instruments to see which ones captured the atmosphere of the game and then recorded them to see how they blended with one another. Also by collaborating with Neil Druckmann, the game’s creative director, Santaolalla was able to create music with a great deal of creative freedom, allowing for a soundtrack that helped to further strengthen the connection between the player and game.

Santaolalla’s compositional style not only reflects the atmosphere present within the game, but is also able to invoke an incredible amount of emotion without any context but with it, a whole new level of immersion is introduced. In a documentary with Santaolalla concerning the game’s soundtrack he says,

“The most important thing that makes The Last of Us what it is, is that it’s a very different project than other projects with more emotional content, with more emotional connection between the players and the characters.”(3:22)

 

One scene to further strengthen Santaolalla’s point is the reaction of Druckmann, during a very particular moment in the prologue (47:26 in this documentary). In the scene, linked here, the player narrowly avoids the chaos of a viral outbreak all the while protecting the protagonist’s daughter from danger throughout the entire prologue. The player’s actions are for naught however and the daughter is shot, resulting in her death. It is important to note that the first connection the player receives in the game is the father-daughter bond that is established within the first few minutes of the prologue. Due to the authentic relationship between the two, the player has the desire to make sure that not only the protagonist survives but the daughter as well.  These string of events culminated an extremely powerful and effective emotional impact and with the soundtrack at the forefront, not even Druckmann himself was able to leave unscathed from the balance between scene and music. During the father’s lament at his daughter’s passing, the use of strings and solo cello was an excellent way for Santaolalla to convey the despair to the player and the transition to the main theme was a fantastic way to dense the texture to reflect the chaotic nature of the plot.

The Last of Us is a masterpiece of a game, telling a story through visceral gameplay and immersive soundtrack. The passion Naughty Dog placed into the game can be wholeheartedly felt and the care Gustavo Santaolalla placed into the music is astounding, even more so after learning his history in music. The combined efforts of creating an unforgettable piece of entertainment are certainly present and showcases just how far video games have come since the late 1900’s. To end, here are the words of Bruce Straley, the game’s director:

“We feel that the interactive medium has an untapped potential to touch the feelings of the player. You have that connectivity, the fact that I am actually in the world and participating in what’s happening on the screen in front of me gives us some sort of advantage to make you feel connected with what’s actually happening.”

                                             –Grounded: The making of The Last of Us (6:34)

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe

[2] https://www.naughtydog.com/company

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_Santaolalla

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejdjcun2Jo4

[5] https://youtu.be/R0l7LzC_h8I?t=2846

[6] https://youtu.be/s3_cP_jJ-9w?t=725

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The Power of Sight and Sound

Music has always been something that we, as humans, have listened to. Unless we were watching a live performance, music has solely been aural however within the past 40 years, artist have begun adding video performances to add a different artistic perspective to the song. Often, these videos have been used to show live performances of the band, or create an artistic vision of the song, however in recent years, these music videos also create a story for the song and expand on the lyrics even more which can evoke a large range of emotions in people.

Music videos began growing in popularity in 1981 after the opening of MTV which aired new and popular videos on a weekly TV show. Although MTV was not super successful to start out, it grew in fame after many of Michael Jackson’s songs were aired on the show. One of the first music videos that really stood out to producers and fans and helped propel the music video business forward was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. The actual song starts about 4 and a half minutes into the video, and everything before then paints a small scene to make almost a miniature movie out of this hit song. After this video came it, it began to change the way artists viewed their own songs and how they wished to portray the thoughts and emotions they were feeling while performing. Other artists began using MTV as a way to increase their recognition as an artist, which worked for many of them. Madonna took this approach as well as Duran Duran and Peter Gabriel, all of which are big household names to this day.

This remained a way for artists to both release their music to a wider audience while also adding a new artistic outlook to their songs for a while, however as MTV began to decline, the internet began to grow and a little thing called YouTube emerged, which became a new medium for artists to create and share music videos on.

YouTube ironically began as a website where the creators had hoped people could post videos of themselves and meet others, almost as a dating website. However, this was not favored by many people so the three creators took their idea and decided to keep the foundation, but change the videos from ones of a dating profile to funny TV or news clips people were always searching for: the idea was a hit and the website took off. Although YouTube began as a platform for people to post dumb videos, artists began to use it as a way to post their music videos in hopes that if enough people saw it, their career could take off. Other artists posted their videos there so that it could reach a broader range of people. No matter their reasoning however, YouTube became a very prominent place to succeed as an artist and has only grown as such in recent years.

One of the newer musicians these days who uses YouTube as a means to spread their music and music videos is the rapper Lil’ Dicky. He is known for his songs “$ave Dat Money” and “Lemme Freak,” however his song “Molly” which features Brendon Urie (the lead singer of the band Panic! At the Disco) is emotionally haunting and these emotions are highlighted in his music video.

Born David Andrew Burd, this rapper claims he was extremely awkward in high school (weren’t we all though?) and didn’t even get into rap until his later years. He gained popularity because he chooses not to rap about the typical “rap topics,” but instead about his own life, even going as far to make fun of himself on a regular basis. This is why is song “Molly” is so hauntingly depressing.

After listening to the song, yeah, it’s upsetting, but once you watch the music video, the tears will start flowing. The song is about how Lil’ Dicky was dating a girl named Molly, but she became fed up with his constant need to put rap above her, so they broke up and now, years later, he’s at her wedding watching her marry a different man even though he still loves her. In the song, he basically says he regrets everything he ever did to her but knows that she deserves someone better.

Obviously, anyone with a heart will sob watching it. Although the song itself is sad, the music video adds a second layer of emotions and deepens the understanding we have of the situation. The video is similar to Jackson’s “Thriller” as it begins with an opening scene which then leads to the music and creates a small movie out of this one song. The trick to this video however is that in the opening scene, the viewers expect that Lil’ Dicky is the one getting married, and it isn’t until the chorus of the song enters for the first time that we are all sorely disappointed. Had the chorus and the images not lined up at that exact time, the video may not have had the same effect. Everything in this song lines up with a scene in the video that helps portray the lyrics in a more expressive manner. This allows the true emotions of the song to emerge in a way where it is very obvious to viewers and affects them in a strong way.

Now, without looking at the comments, I could assume that I am the only person who had such a strong reaction to this video, however many people did comment and it is very obvious everyone had a similar, heartbreaking reaction. One person commented “Didn’t expect such emotional music from Dicky.” Another person commented “God damn this got me good…” and someone else said “Damn Dave… This shit is deep, has me all up in the feels. Much respect homie.” Although not all of the comments have to do about the emotions of the music, those that don’t are really only talking about the featured artists in the video. Virtually everyone who commented on here said something about how deep this song is and how the video is very misleading, which only makes it more emotional in the end. One reactor made note of how they felt fine watching the video until 1:50 into it, and thats when they were dumbfounded and began to cry.

Although the song on its own is fantastic, the music video for “Molly” just adds many extra layers to it helping portray the emotions Lil’ Dicky hoped to express. The video with this music creates a story and a powerful image for viewers which evokes a lot of strong reactions out of people. The addition of this music video allows viewers to not only experience Lil’ Dicky’s emotions aurally, but also visually, and usually people are more keen to grow attached to something while both viewing and listening. The video for this song, and many others, adds another dimension and allows the artists to be creative and even more expressive than if they were to just record audio which is why music videos have stuck around and are still spreading artist’s songs across the world to a large base of people.