The Gold Rush Orchestra Analysis

Based on the evolution of film at the turn of the century, different audience groups, and different film venues, the clip of The Gold Rush featuring an orchestra would be more effective. The primary reason for this is because of the upper-class being associated with the orchestra. Because the middle class desired to be like the upper-class, they would be attracted to watching the film with an orchestral accompaniment since it would be the version the upper-class would watch. Because an orchestra was more expensive than a pianist, the lower class traditionally did not view films with an orchestra, meaning the middle class would further separate themselves from the lower class simply by watching the same film with an orchestral accompaniment. This increases the commercial effectiveness of the film because the middle

Because the orchestra uses an array of instruments, a stark contrast is able to be created between the moments when Chaplin is dancing and when he is not. During the dancing the violins play higher notes, similar to how the piano does; however, the violin is also accompanied by bells, adding to the joyous instrumentation. During the preceding and following moments when Chaplin is not dancing, the violins play lower notes and without the accompaniment of loud bells. The addition of the bells causes the soundtrack to be significantly different than the non-dancing scenes. An additional effect of creating a unique sounding soundtrack is it makes the music appear to be almost diegetic. Because the music is playing while Chaplin is dancing, and in many cases matches his movements, it appears as if Chaplin was dancing to the music rather than the music simply being an addition to the film. This causes the film to seem as if it was produced using advanced technology or with a high production quality, both of which are effective to generating the interest of the