Sound in The Skins Extract

 

The music that accompanies the dance routine:

The music that accompanies the dance routine is fast paced and loud. There is also a strong beat to the music, which emphasise Maxxie’s and the other dancer’s strong physicality and their ability to keep up momentum and pace with the music. This however contrasts to Tony’s disability as Tony appears to be quite confused and therefore the pace of his speech is very slow and his ability to concentrate and keep up the pace of the music is lacking, an obvious result of his accident. The music also, provides Maxxie and the dancers with a vibrant and excited mood, one which is not evident in Tony. This is suggested when Maxxie approached Tony, who is situated in the dark part of the church. It seems like the darkness of the place where he is sitting, is cutting him off from the positive and energetic atmosphere that the music has created.

The music that runs from the end of scene 1, through scene 2 and into scene 3:

The music that runs from the end of scene 1, through scene 2 and into scene 3, is very sombre and suggests that Tony is in turmoil and is perhaps distressed. The instrumentation is quite sad and depressing in these scenes and it is apparent that the music represents Tony’s negative emotions and his loneliness. It is evident from the choice of music that Tony is seeking comfort and escapism from his hectic, confused mind. The slow tempo of the music accentuates Tony’s inert posture and stance. The sound bridge from the transition into the different scenes, also suggests the extended pain and discomfort that Tony has to endure and this is emphasised by the length of time that the sombre music is being played.

The sound of the bus passing close to Tony and Maxxie:

The sound of the bus passing close to Tony and Maxxie is used to create shock and distress in the scene for Tony. The noise used shows Tony’s sensitivity to loud noises and suggests his paranoia about buses and perhaps his worry about being hit by a bus. The editing in this scene shows the power and force of the bus, corroborated by the crescendo of the bus coming towards Tony and Maxxie. The sound causes Tony to jerk and jump up; suggesting Tony’s return to consciousness only occurs when there is a loud noise or a sudden shock, which disturbs his confused state of mind. His normal state of oblivion is traumatised by this use of an intense and powerful sound.

The music the runs from the end of scene 4 and into scene 5:

The music that runs from the end of scene 4 and into scene 5 is a very sad and depressing piece of music. The use of the musical equipment, a triangle, shows the fragility of Tony and his family in these scenes. The tune is repeated over and over, perhaps showing how Tony and his family are going to have to carry on with their everyday lives despite the fact that Tony has to continually endure the suffering caused by the accident. The repeated tune could also represent the forthcoming hardships within the family and the never ending torment of the outcome of the accident that Tony had.
 

Opening organ music:

 In the establishing shot, Maxxie is posing on top of the organ in front of the stained glass windows of the church, suggesting a Christ-like representation. The fact that the dance scene is set in a church, suggests that it is a hymn of physical perfection and creates imagery of Maxxie’s body being like the ‘body of a temple’. The juxtaposition between the organ music and suddenly into the dance music is emphatic and assertive and shows off Maxxie’s strong physicality. As Maxxie jumps down, key lighting is used to show Maxxie’s strength and the fast tempo of the music affirms this.

 

Following the definitions of sound, we then had to write about the music/sounds used in the Skin's extract, that we had previously analysed.