Figure 3.11: “Master of Two Worlds” synthesis of textures.
“I Think We Took a Wrong Turn”: Space-Form, Gesture, and Action Williams often uses textural changes to heighten onscreen action. As Luke’s party sneaks through the Death Star’s hallways in stolen Stormtrooper gear, gestural-space scoring creates a claustrophobic feel. They enter a larger detention corridor to free Leia, and Williams crescendos into a larger ensemble space with horns and tremolo strings. We as viewers are unsure what kind of space the characters are about to enter, but Williams, through this vectorizing textural zoom, suggests that it might be quite large. Effects like this can create intense drama, even if the “payoff” revelation of the target visual space is underwhelming (as it is here). They can also make visuals seem larger or smaller than they appear to be onscreen — a request often lobbied at composers by nervous directors. A similar approach to texture adds a descriptive formal level to the sequence inside the Sandcrawler. C3PO and R2D2 have been captured by desert-dwelling Jawas and confined in a holding area within the giant vehicle. The editing jumps between close shots of several disheveled robots; viewed without music, the sequence is a jumble. Williams adds his own context to the space. He begins the sequence in the larger ensemble space of a 56
