Musical Motifs, Heartbeats, and Gunshots
The Big Idea: A motif is a recurring piece of music associated with a specific idea. The most famous is the 'Marilyn Monroe' melody.
A recurring melody played on a synthesizer or guitar. It starts upbeat when Mrs Johnstone is young, but shifts into a minor key (slower, darker) as Mickey's life unravels and the pills take over.
A low, rhythmic, non-diegetic bass thump mimicking a heartbeat. It fades in during high-stress scenes (like Mrs Lyons discovering the locket) to physically raise the audience's heart rate.
A massive, high-volume diegetic SFX. It must be deafening, echoing across the auditorium with heavy reverb, instantly cutting off all other music to leave a chilling silence.
Sound the characters can hear. E.g., The school bell ringing, or Mickey dropping the gun.
Sound only the audience can hear. E.g., The ominous synthesizer chords played when the Narrator enters.
A sound effect or piece of music that gradually gets louder. Essential for building tension in the heartbeat soundscape.
Using 1980s keyboards grounds the musical in the era it was written, giving it a gritty, slightly unnatural, industrial feel.
Edexcel Students: Fill out a table exactly like this in your exam.
AQA/WJEC Students: Use this structure to write perfect paragraphs (Point ➔ Effect ➔ Terminology).
| Element / Effect | How would it enhance the extract for the audience? | Technical language you could use |
|---|---|---|
| Click 'Generate Example' to see a top-band answer... |