Charlotte Cozza

Lang Arts Senior Work

Sound and Music in Films
Set in Outer Space

I have become especially fascinated with outer space, sound and music, and specifically how we have fabricated what we think space would sound like. Outer space is silent, at least to the human ear, so we don’t really have an idea of what space might sound like. Because of this lack of knowledge we have created our own music and sounds to represent outer space. This is most notably seen in films set in outer space. In these films, specific sounds and music have been paired with scenes of outer space and extraterrestrial life. Because of this, we have conditioned ourselves to associate certain sounds and music with outer space.

Through my accompanying paper, I have discussed why our brains create such strong connections between sound and image and also the history of how film has been a driving force in these associations between sound and outer space. For my creative project I have chosen three scenes, each from different films set in outer space: A Trip to the Moon (1902), Alien (1979), and Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out (1989). I have rescored these scenes to reflect the sounds and music I feel represent outer space, which has been largely influenced by the sci-fi films I've seen. One of the goals of this project was to create a feeling of silence, distance and solitude in my rescorings because I think these feelings are what truly reflect outer space. By the end of this project, I came to the conclusion that the sounds and music within sci-fi films set in outer space are products of our collective imaginations as humans over time.

A Grand Day Out Final Rescore.mp4

A Grand Day Out Final Rescore

Wallace & Gromit A Grand Day Out_Original Scene.mp4

A Grand Day Out Original Scene

A Trip to the Moon Final Rescore .mp4

A Trip to the Moon Final Rescore

A Trip to the Moon_Original Scene (1902 silent film).mp4

A Trip to the Moon Original Scene

Alien Final Rescore.mp4

Alien Rescore

Alien_Original Scene.mp4

Alien Original Scene

Videos Used:

LoveBerryTV. Wallace and Gromit in A Grand Day Out - 동영상 Dailymotion. Dailymotion, Dailymotion, 4 May 2014, www.dailymotion.com/video/x1szwpt.

Movieclips. Alien (1979) - Ripley's Last Stand Scene (5/5) | Movieclips. YouTube, YouTube, 15 May 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-mmbStFrAA.

Open Culture. A Trip to the Moon - the 1902 Science Fiction Film by Georges Méliès. YouTube, YouTube, 27 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLVChRVfZ74&t=524s.

thesis paper - Charlotte Cozza.pdf