After the film entered the second stage of production, I began to pay more attention to the structural changes within the music, not just the atmosphere itself. Because the whole film lacks traditional linear narrative, music needs to assume a certain degree of “structural guidance” function, so that the audience can perceive the changes in state, space and mode of existence.
There is a very critical scene in the film, which is the moment when the character “personality switch” occurs. This scene has also become the most important turning point in my music structure processing.
Before this scene, I used a relatively traditional instrumentation method as a whole, including: piano, string music and wind instruments.
But after the personality switching, the whole sound structure began to change significantly.
At this stage, I gradually removed most of the traditional instruments and began to make the music more composed of synthesizer, electronic texture and low-frequency sound. Compared with the sound with a sense of playing in the first half, the sound at this stage will be more mechanical, continuous and lack obvious human touch.
At the same time, I began to strengthen the existence of the low-frequency part and add some low-frequency pulses that emphasize the sense of rhythm. These rhythms are not drums in the traditional sense, but more like a continuous physical pressure.
I hope this change can make the audience feel that the status of the character has changed without a clear explanation.
This change is not only a change in musical style, but also a part of the change in the “state of existence” in the film.
If the music in the first half is still related to “human experience”, then the second half is closer to a non-human, unrealistic and even systematic state of perception. Therefore, music has also begun to shift from traditional orchestral texture to a more electronic and synthetic sound structure.
During the production process, I also try to make this conversion not “suddenly cut off” as much as possible. Because I don’t want personality switching to be just a clear event, but more like a process of gradual invasion and diffusion.
Therefore, before the switch takes place, I have begun to add some weak electronic textures and low-frequency layers to the traditional instrument, so that the synthesizer sound in the second half can penetrate into the front structure in advance.
This treatment made me realize that the “timbre” in music itself has a narrative function. Even if the audience does not realize the specific changes, they will perceive the transfer of a certain state of existence through the change of sound material.
At this stage, I gradually no longer understand music as “background soundtrack”, but more like a sound structure about identity, existence and perception changes.
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