Audio/Music from a scene: Watchmen

For this task, Alex and I were told to present a scene from a TV show/Film that uses music in a particular way (good or bad). One particular scene that stood out to me was the opening fight scene in Watchmen. Since the first time I saw this film, this scene has always stood out to me as the editor has shown the footage alongside a juxtaposed style of music; a relaxing song 'Unforgettable' by Nat King Cole.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLfTv42T8A


The opening of the scene begins with diegetic music from the television as The Comedian is switching through different programmes and eventually turns not a channel where the song 'Unforgettable' begins. As the audience watches him relax in his home to this programme, we see a mysterious character appear in the story by kicking down his door. As The Comedian stares at this character, the song quietens and we hear certain sounds emphasised and animated; such as the gloves tightening and The Comedian looking over at the gun. When he throws his glass at the character, the sound of it flying through the air is animated and references back to the original animated/comic book  version of this film. The emphasis also increases the impact of each action, with each punch and violent action made to appear a lot more powerful. The movements are also slowed down at certain points, for example when The Comedian throws his glass, it is slowed down a lot so that we fully notice it breaking against the wall with the emphasised sound. The scene is also sped up at certain points, such as the moment when The Comedian is holding his gun up looking for the character around the room quickly.


As the fight gets more violent, we hear the song that featured on the television become louder and turns from diegetic sound into non-diegetic sound. This song juxtaposes the situation as the violent fight occurring would suitably be edited with a fast paced soundtrack. However, the decision to place a softer, more relaxed song over the scenes is a clever and popular decision as it causes the audience to focus on the fighting, as they would not be used to seeing this behaviour normally in a film with that style of music. Also, it desensitises the violence in a way for the audience so that it feels easier for them to watch.

In the final part of the scene, The Comedian is thrown out of the window and when he smashes through the glass the audio at this point makes the glass pieces sound delicate and in a way 'crystal-like'. This also gives a lighthearted feel to the fight scene rather than any violence emphasised since we are already subjected watching the brutal fight scene. As he is falling out of the building, the song reaches the finale and ends perfectly in time as the camera slowly zooms in on the dead body and bright yellow smiley face badge.