The clip that I decided to analyze was “1.21 Gigawatts- Back to the Future (1985).” Overall, Back to the Future is about a teenage boy named Marty McFly, who is friends with a scientist named Doc. Doc invents a time machine and Marty is accidentally sent back to the past, and in order to eliminate the risk of messing with past events (and not existing during his time period), he needs to get back to the future. As seen in the clip, Marty and Doc realize that they need 1.21 gigawatts of power to power the time machine, but are unsure of where to get it. Eventually, they come to the realization that they can obtain that electrical power from a bolt of lightning that is set to occur the upcoming Saturday.
In this clip, some diegetic sounds (sounds that the characters themselves are aware of) include the sounds from the television (static, talking), the characters’ dialog, their loud footsteps, and the crickets outside. When Marty realizes that there will be a chance to get the 1.21 gigawatts of power from the upcoming lightning bolt, music begins playing (this music is the nondiegetic sound, since only the audience can hear it). It sounds like this music has a timbre based on brass instruments, string instruments, and maybe even some woodwinds. It also sounds like, when the music first begins playing, the range of the notes is disjunct and the tempo is slower. But as the music progresses, the notes are played in a faster and more shortlived (conjunct) manner.
The nondiegetic music changes as the situation in the clip changes. As mentioned before, the music begins playing when Marty sees an opportunity to get the needed power to return to his time. It sounds very triumphant with the brass instruments playing, which gives off a feeling of victory in the sense that Marty sees a solution to the problem that seemed unfixable. When Doc sees the newspaper article and starts putting the pieces together, the music becomes more conjunct and fast. With this, it feels like all of these ideas and realizations are coming to Doc quickly, allowing him to map out his plan to get Marty back to the future. Towards the end of the scene, Doc states “Next Saturday night, we are sending you back to the future!” As he says this, the music becomes more intense with the crescendo, giving the feeling of confidence and determination with the plan, as well as possible victory.
I picked the same scene too, I also noticed that once Marty became hopeful, that’s when the music started. I also like how you added other musical elements that you noticed within the background music too.