◘ English ISU
MACBETH OST
000 Prelude
Source: Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Track Prelude to FINAL FANTASY XIII by Masashi Hamauzu
The introduction to Macbeth: The Film is a blank, black screen. The logo of the production company will slowly fade in, followed by the words Macbeth: The Film. During this time, the track 000 Prelude in the included disc will be playing. The track starts off slow and soft, and gradually builds up to an explosive ending filled with drums and percussions. The softness of the beginning fits the black screen well - it signifies the beginning of a story. The logo of the production company will fade in as the track gradually gets louder. The words Macbeth: The Film will come up at 43 seconds, after the explosive music. This stresses that the film is called Macbeth: The Film and that is an adaption of Shakespeare’s original Macbeth. Nearer to the end, the words will fade out, leaving the screen black for a few seconds before proceeding to the first scene of the movie.
001 Evil’s Personification
Source: Homestuck Vol 6: Heir Transparent, Track Blackest Heart by Mark Hadley and Toby “Radiation” Fox
Scene to be used in: Act 1, Scene 1
The first scene of the movie follows Act 1, Scene 1 of the play. The three witches are introduced in the scene. The entrance of the witches are marked with foreshadowing, which helps capture the audience’s attention and ensure that they are engrossed in the movie right from the start. For that purpose, a haunting music is needed. The original scene in the play is dark, filled with a thunder and lightning. This is the same for the movie. The track chosen for the scene is a haunting track intended to fit with the whole eeriness of the scene. It is a slow track, with deep chords and high notes scattered in between. The slowness of the track is helpful to the scene as there is not much action going on in the scene. The audience will be able to concentrate on the witches’ talk, for it is very important, instead of getting distracted by the background music.
002 Prince of Cumberland
Source: Homestuck Vol 4, Track Revelawesome by Malcolm Brown
Scene to be used in: Act 1, Scene 4
Act 1, Scene 4 from the play is an important scene as it marks the beginning of Macbeth’s plot to become King by overthrowing Duncan. In the scene, Duncan announces that he has chosen Malcolm to be the Prince of Cumberland. Macbeth becomes angry upon hearing the news, and plots to kill Duncan to become King. The track chosen for the scene starts off fast, but soft and then leads up to a climax with cymbals and drums and other instruments. The track will start playing just a few seconds before Duncan announces Malcolm as his heir. By the climax of the track, at 31 to 35 seconds, Malcolm would have been named the Prince of Cumberland. This revelation will be met with a brief period of shocked silence - by that time the track will be at 36 seconds, which basically marks the end of the track since there is nothing but silence after that. With its clashing cymbals and drums, the track signifies that something important has occurred - which is Malcolm being named heir.
003 Dagger Soliloquy
Source: Inception: Music from the Motion Picture, Track 528491 by Hans Zimmer
Scene to be used in: Act 2, Scene 1
Act 2, Scene 1 contains Macbeth’s famous Dagger Soliloquy, which shows Macbeth hallucinating and turning mad. The track chosen for Macbeth’s Dagger Soliloquy starts of slow and soft, and gradually picks up speed and volume. Throughout the track, Macbeth is talking to himself while looking at a floating dagger that only he can see. At the end of the track, Macbeth sets off for Duncan’s chamber. The last few seconds of the track is very loud, and fast, with a lot of drum beats and strings which helps signify that Macbeth has finally made up his mind - he is going to kill Duncan. The track slowly leads up to a final climax, and this fits the scene as in the scene, Macbeth is still hesitating at first, but he makes up his mind throughout his soliloquy, and finally, exits the scene to look for Duncan and do his deed.
004 Banquo’s Ghost
Source: Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Track Sinful Hope by Masashi Hamauzu
Scene to be used in: Act 3, Scene 4
During the banquet in Act 3, Scene 4, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost and freaks out. The ghost is a supernatural element in the play, and its appearance is very shocking to Macbeth, as well as the audience, if they have not already read the play beforehand. Going with that in mind, the track chosen for Macbeth’s seeing of the ghost starts off loud right at the beginning with cymbals and drums. This brings to the audiences’ attention that something big has happened - Macbeth now starts seeing ghosts, which no one else can see. The cymbals’ reverberation creates a mysterious feel to the track, which helps in the scene as the ghost is something supernatural and therefore mysterious.
005 Painful Revelations
Source: NieR Gestalt & Replicant Original Soundtrack, Track Yonah/Piano Ver. by Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi and Takafumi Nishimura
Scene to be used in: Act 4, Scene 3
Near the end of Act 4, Scene 3, after Malcolm tells Macduff of the plans, Ross enters bringing bad news. Macduff’s family had been killed a couple of scenes ago, and Ross now faces the inevitable - he has to tell Macduff about it. It is a sad, heartbreaking scene, and naturally, the music has to bring about a sense of sadness. For this scene, a piano track was chosen. The slow tune of the track, along with the haunting sound of the piano allows the track to bring out a feeling of loss in the listeners.
006 (Mental) Disturbance
Source: Assassin’s Creed II Complete Soundtrack, Track Approaching Target 1 by Jesper Kyd
Scene to be used in: Act 5, Scene 1
Act 5, Scene 1 deals with Lady Macbeth and her troubles. Lady Macbeth feels guilty about her crimes, and sleep-walks and -talks. While still being asleep, she tries to wash her hands to get rid of the blood from Duncan’s murder, and she also talks about the crimes that the couple had committed. The track chosen for the scene is soft and long, drawn out notes. The drawn out notes in the first half of the track makes it feel very suspenseful, and therefore, it is suitable for the first part of the scene when the Doctor and the Gentlewoman is waiting for Lady Macbeth to appear. Later on, the notes become lower, and this makes the track feel much darker. This works well when Lady Macbeth is talking about the crimes that she and Macbeth committed. The dark nature of the track adds to the seriousness of the scene.
007 March
Source: Homestuck Vol 5, Track Valhalla by Robert Blaker
Scene to be used in: Act 5, Scene 4
In Act 5, Scene 4, Malcolm tells the army to hide themselves with branches of Birnam wood. Then, they march onwards to Dunsinane Castle. The piece of music that was chosen for the scene is a relatively energetic piece (when compared to the rest of the tracks). It has very distinct drum beats and repeated chords which makes it suitable for a marching scene. The track lets the audience know that the army is finally making their move, and that Macbeth will finally be overthrown. It also signifies the start of a major battle between the two forces.
008 Downfall
Source: NieR Gestalt & Replicant Original Soundtrack, Track The Dark Colossus Destroys All by Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi and Takafumi Nishimura
Scene to be used in: Act 5, Scene 8
Act 5, Scene 8, being the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff - who seeks revenge from the massacre of his family members will have to be very dramatic. The music chosen for the scene follows the rule of being dramatic - it is loud, with a lot of cymbal clashes, and is the only piece of vocal music in the whole soundtrack. The whole explosiveness of the track makes it fitting to be playing in the final battle. Since the scene is a battle scene, there will not be much talk, and for the talk that does take place, the characters would be shouting at each other anyway, so the vocals in the track would not be that distracting. The energy that is within the track helps bring out the energy on screen where Macduff and Macbeth are fighting, and it also signifies the last and final battle.
An interesting thing to note is that the words in the track are not actual languages. Emi Evans (the vocalist) took existing languages and changed them around to make up a language that she thinks might be in use 1000 years in the future.
009 Finale
Source: Trusty Bell ~Chopin’s Dream~ Original Score, Track Reflect the Sky, Bloom the Life by Motoi Sakuraba
The track that was chosen for the ending credits is a calm sounding track with just a hint of melancholy. A gentler, sadder sounding track was chosen instead of a faster, happier sounding one because the film is, in the end, still a tragedy. Having a sadder sounding track would also help in the catharsis of emotions.
What i want to know is if the tracks make sense with the scenes, and if my explanations can be improved upon or not. Please help? ;_;
000 Prelude
Source: Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Track Prelude to FINAL FANTASY XIII by Masashi Hamauzu
The introduction to Macbeth: The Film is a blank, black screen. The logo of the production company will slowly fade in, followed by the words Macbeth: The Film. During this time, the track 000 Prelude in the included disc will be playing. The track starts off slow and soft, and gradually builds up to an explosive ending filled with drums and percussions. The softness of the beginning fits the black screen well - it signifies the beginning of a story. The logo of the production company will fade in as the track gradually gets louder. The words Macbeth: The Film will come up at 43 seconds, after the explosive music. This stresses that the film is called Macbeth: The Film and that is an adaption of Shakespeare’s original Macbeth. Nearer to the end, the words will fade out, leaving the screen black for a few seconds before proceeding to the first scene of the movie.
001 Evil’s Personification
Source: Homestuck Vol 6: Heir Transparent, Track Blackest Heart by Mark Hadley and Toby “Radiation” Fox
Scene to be used in: Act 1, Scene 1
The first scene of the movie follows Act 1, Scene 1 of the play. The three witches are introduced in the scene. The entrance of the witches are marked with foreshadowing, which helps capture the audience’s attention and ensure that they are engrossed in the movie right from the start. For that purpose, a haunting music is needed. The original scene in the play is dark, filled with a thunder and lightning. This is the same for the movie. The track chosen for the scene is a haunting track intended to fit with the whole eeriness of the scene. It is a slow track, with deep chords and high notes scattered in between. The slowness of the track is helpful to the scene as there is not much action going on in the scene. The audience will be able to concentrate on the witches’ talk, for it is very important, instead of getting distracted by the background music.
002 Prince of Cumberland
Source: Homestuck Vol 4, Track Revelawesome by Malcolm Brown
Scene to be used in: Act 1, Scene 4
Act 1, Scene 4 from the play is an important scene as it marks the beginning of Macbeth’s plot to become King by overthrowing Duncan. In the scene, Duncan announces that he has chosen Malcolm to be the Prince of Cumberland. Macbeth becomes angry upon hearing the news, and plots to kill Duncan to become King. The track chosen for the scene starts off fast, but soft and then leads up to a climax with cymbals and drums and other instruments. The track will start playing just a few seconds before Duncan announces Malcolm as his heir. By the climax of the track, at 31 to 35 seconds, Malcolm would have been named the Prince of Cumberland. This revelation will be met with a brief period of shocked silence - by that time the track will be at 36 seconds, which basically marks the end of the track since there is nothing but silence after that. With its clashing cymbals and drums, the track signifies that something important has occurred - which is Malcolm being named heir.
003 Dagger Soliloquy
Source: Inception: Music from the Motion Picture, Track 528491 by Hans Zimmer
Scene to be used in: Act 2, Scene 1
Act 2, Scene 1 contains Macbeth’s famous Dagger Soliloquy, which shows Macbeth hallucinating and turning mad. The track chosen for Macbeth’s Dagger Soliloquy starts of slow and soft, and gradually picks up speed and volume. Throughout the track, Macbeth is talking to himself while looking at a floating dagger that only he can see. At the end of the track, Macbeth sets off for Duncan’s chamber. The last few seconds of the track is very loud, and fast, with a lot of drum beats and strings which helps signify that Macbeth has finally made up his mind - he is going to kill Duncan. The track slowly leads up to a final climax, and this fits the scene as in the scene, Macbeth is still hesitating at first, but he makes up his mind throughout his soliloquy, and finally, exits the scene to look for Duncan and do his deed.
004 Banquo’s Ghost
Source: Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Track Sinful Hope by Masashi Hamauzu
Scene to be used in: Act 3, Scene 4
During the banquet in Act 3, Scene 4, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost and freaks out. The ghost is a supernatural element in the play, and its appearance is very shocking to Macbeth, as well as the audience, if they have not already read the play beforehand. Going with that in mind, the track chosen for Macbeth’s seeing of the ghost starts off loud right at the beginning with cymbals and drums. This brings to the audiences’ attention that something big has happened - Macbeth now starts seeing ghosts, which no one else can see. The cymbals’ reverberation creates a mysterious feel to the track, which helps in the scene as the ghost is something supernatural and therefore mysterious.
005 Painful Revelations
Source: NieR Gestalt & Replicant Original Soundtrack, Track Yonah/Piano Ver. by Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi and Takafumi Nishimura
Scene to be used in: Act 4, Scene 3
Near the end of Act 4, Scene 3, after Malcolm tells Macduff of the plans, Ross enters bringing bad news. Macduff’s family had been killed a couple of scenes ago, and Ross now faces the inevitable - he has to tell Macduff about it. It is a sad, heartbreaking scene, and naturally, the music has to bring about a sense of sadness. For this scene, a piano track was chosen. The slow tune of the track, along with the haunting sound of the piano allows the track to bring out a feeling of loss in the listeners.
006 (Mental) Disturbance
Source: Assassin’s Creed II Complete Soundtrack, Track Approaching Target 1 by Jesper Kyd
Scene to be used in: Act 5, Scene 1
Act 5, Scene 1 deals with Lady Macbeth and her troubles. Lady Macbeth feels guilty about her crimes, and sleep-walks and -talks. While still being asleep, she tries to wash her hands to get rid of the blood from Duncan’s murder, and she also talks about the crimes that the couple had committed. The track chosen for the scene is soft and long, drawn out notes. The drawn out notes in the first half of the track makes it feel very suspenseful, and therefore, it is suitable for the first part of the scene when the Doctor and the Gentlewoman is waiting for Lady Macbeth to appear. Later on, the notes become lower, and this makes the track feel much darker. This works well when Lady Macbeth is talking about the crimes that she and Macbeth committed. The dark nature of the track adds to the seriousness of the scene.
007 March
Source: Homestuck Vol 5, Track Valhalla by Robert Blaker
Scene to be used in: Act 5, Scene 4
In Act 5, Scene 4, Malcolm tells the army to hide themselves with branches of Birnam wood. Then, they march onwards to Dunsinane Castle. The piece of music that was chosen for the scene is a relatively energetic piece (when compared to the rest of the tracks). It has very distinct drum beats and repeated chords which makes it suitable for a marching scene. The track lets the audience know that the army is finally making their move, and that Macbeth will finally be overthrown. It also signifies the start of a major battle between the two forces.
008 Downfall
Source: NieR Gestalt & Replicant Original Soundtrack, Track The Dark Colossus Destroys All by Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi and Takafumi Nishimura
Scene to be used in: Act 5, Scene 8
Act 5, Scene 8, being the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff - who seeks revenge from the massacre of his family members will have to be very dramatic. The music chosen for the scene follows the rule of being dramatic - it is loud, with a lot of cymbal clashes, and is the only piece of vocal music in the whole soundtrack. The whole explosiveness of the track makes it fitting to be playing in the final battle. Since the scene is a battle scene, there will not be much talk, and for the talk that does take place, the characters would be shouting at each other anyway, so the vocals in the track would not be that distracting. The energy that is within the track helps bring out the energy on screen where Macduff and Macbeth are fighting, and it also signifies the last and final battle.
An interesting thing to note is that the words in the track are not actual languages. Emi Evans (the vocalist) took existing languages and changed them around to make up a language that she thinks might be in use 1000 years in the future.
009 Finale
Source: Trusty Bell ~Chopin’s Dream~ Original Score, Track Reflect the Sky, Bloom the Life by Motoi Sakuraba
The track that was chosen for the ending credits is a calm sounding track with just a hint of melancholy. A gentler, sadder sounding track was chosen instead of a faster, happier sounding one because the film is, in the end, still a tragedy. Having a sadder sounding track would also help in the catharsis of emotions.
What i want to know is if the tracks make sense with the scenes, and if my explanations can be improved upon or not. Please help? ;_;