The Role of Music in Documentaries

Music is a crucial device in documentary making that allows you to mirror the overall mood of your content, signpost a shift in the narrative arc, and reflect the feelings of those in front of the camera in any one scene. It even allows documentary makers to create a sonic identity for their particular body of work.

The options for documentary music are almost limitless. It can be profound, suspenseful, thrilling - anything that echoes, amplifies - or even comedically opposes - the action, mood or message of the content.

Learn how your music choices can shape and elevate your documentary footage and the resulting impact on the viewer.

 

Establishing emotion and mood

You'll often find the opening credits to a crime documentary will feature suspenseful strings or tense pulses of electronic sound to create a sense of discomfort. The musical score is designed to echo the darkness or depravity of the crime, or create tension at a point in the narrative when the plot thickens, the stakes heighten or the true nature of the crimes is about to become apparent.

But not all crime documentaries need a nerve-shredding soundtrack. Crimes closer to a scam or scandal, for example, might opt for something entirely different.

Ethereal music opens the famous Tinder Swindler documentary, as interview subjects establish the underlying tragedy of the piece - the far-reaching manipulation of those who were simply looking for love.

The background music then shifts abruptly to a darker, more urgent tempo that foreshadows the documentary's ever more explosive revelations of deception, exploitation and theft.

 

Establishing time period or location

Music has an almost unmatched ability to immediately transport listeners and viewers back to a particular moment in time or a place.

Just a few notes of Spanish guitar will evoke images of South America, for example, while tracks featuring a wah-wah guitar pedal or Hammond organ sound will transport you back to the 1960s.

Some artists epitomise an entire era, such as the Beatles, Wham or Oasis, which can be useful for establishing a time period. Some are also strongly associated with a social or political movement - perfect for documentaries touching upon similar issues.

 

Complementing filming style or shot type

There are certain musical genres that pair well with particular shot types in film.

Cinematic music works well for sweeping vistas, while energetic, driving tracks are better for anything "on-the-move" such as footage of a car chase or manhunt.

The more cinematic moments from the surf documentary 100 Foot Wave are underpinned by delicate, undulating piano music that mirrors both the beauty and majesty of Nazaré’s waters and the poise and concentration required to surf one of the world's most magnificent and dangerous wave environments. Marc Singer's Dark Days is a tender portrayal of the "mole" people - a homeless community living a subterranean life in the tunnels under LA in the 1990s. The soundtrack, which features music made for the documentary by artist DJ Shadow, perfectly captures the essence of the cinematography. Improvised lighting techniques within the tunnels and the grainy warmth of shooting in 16mm, together with the deeply human story, are perfectly complemented by the dark, sometimes eerie and yet uplifting tone of DJ Shadow's music.

 

Signposting narrative position

Documentaries of certain genres often have the same narrative elements, which abide by age-old traditions of storytelling. There are certain formulas, but many involve a dilemma, a reveal, and a moment of retribution or restitution. For those on a journey, it could be a moment of greatest struggle, or simply a long-awaited return.

Choosing music that aligns with the most impactful or profound moments of a narrative can be a great way to elevate them and heighten their emotive quality for the viewer.

In the documentary Long Shot, where the odds, which are heavily stacked against a man wrongly accused of a crime, suddenly change and his innocence is proven in an inconceivable twist of fate, the relief is palpable.

This is portrayed masterfully in the musical score. All other sound falls away, and soft, ethereal chimes fill the sound space. Their delicate lightness and mystical, otherworldly quality aptly represent the spellbinding disbelief of the revelation and the incredible lightness of relief.

These music choices work so effectively because they become an essential part of the story's architecture, guiding viewers through emotional peaks and valleys in the narrative.

 

Underscoring the message

Music is also incredibly powerful at furthering the core message of a documentary.

Hail Satan? is a documentary aimed at highlighting the hypocrisy of Christian bias within American democracy, which is built on a First Amendment principle of separation of church and state.

However, it achieves this largely by trolling the Conservative Christian church through demonstrating what equal representation of Christianity and Satanism in the corridors of power would look like. At one point, a bronze statue of the goat-headed figure Baphomet is installed on government grounds, not far from another statue of the Ten Commandments.

These sublimely ridiculous acts are captured musically in Brian McOmber's score, which utilises Dracula-esque organ music and other themes from Hammer Horror to draw attention to the gasp-inducing stunts of the "Satanic Temple", which were designed to provoke maximum outrage. The sluggish horns and loose-and-lazy jazz trumpet melody of the documentary's carnival parade-esque track "Hail Rick Scott!"; also reflects the outrageously silly and parodic nature of the film.

The soundtrack to the 2021 documentary series Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami makes an even more literal statement about the film's subject. 'For the Love of the Blood Sport' by artist Pitbull is the thumping hype song which opens the documentary. This track perfectly reflects the murder, violence, intimidation and bloodthirsty ambition driving the drug trade that wreaked havoc across Miami.

 

Documentary sounds from Universal Production Music

Landing on just the right music to complement your documentary can be as inspiring and revelatory as producing the footage itself. Start your journey of discovery with the documentary music selection available at Universal Production Music.