I choose “The Body” (Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body, 2001). As this is a long clip, I chose to do from the start to where Dawn sneaks in to see Joyce. I wanted to highlight the humanity and fragility in the scene.
[22033027-TimShepherd-BuffyScoreClip-v1 (sketch).mov OneDrive Link to Buffy Sketch]
I decided to score as if it had been scored by Thomas Wanker, who was the Buffy composer from 2000–2002 (IMDb, 2023). He used specific techniques in other episodes including solo violins playing high notes to create tension, and cellos for mark changes in feeling or scene. I’ve used both and the effect feels right for the visuals.
I did this in a minor key. I kept the pace slow, starting with sparse instrumentation. Strings, and a piano with a lot of reverb to invoke a reflective feel. I added a leitmotif with a B-Flat clarinet playing variations. The theme is played by a flute when Dawn walks towards Joyce. I striped back the instrumentation until just the piano is playing, this is to higher the feeling of isolation in the scene.
At the start of the leitmotif the B-Flat clarinet uses a staccato before swapping to a legato. I did this as this suited the timbre of the instrument and the feeling I was evoking. At the beginning of the piece there is a single note played on the violin. Played as legato, it didn’t have the impact that I was looking for, so I swapped to tremolo, the timbre of the instrument fits the emotional tone.
When the vampire wakes up, I use Linear Chromaticism to build even more tension before the scene cuts.
One other thing I wanted to highlight is that there are two main tempos used with a gradual shift between the two parts (Figure 1):
Overall, I’m very happy with how this turned out and believe that this is a good homage to Thomas Wanker.
References
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001) The WB Television Network, 27 February.
IMDb (2023) Thomas Wanker. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911173/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr17 (Accessed: 23 October 2023).