In composing the score for the Citibank, I wanted to reflect the chaotic, light-hearted, and playful action of the scene while maintaining the intention of framing Citibank as the “hero”, demonstrating the benefits of getting an account with them.

I first started off with a simple C major chord progression, C F G, to ensure that the score had a strong basis in an uplifting and playful mood, helping make sure this mood was not overcome by the other more “chaotic” and dynamically moving parts that would follow. I added an energic beat with these piano chords from the get-go but decided to start them off with strong high and low pass filters to give the initial image of the girl walking a sense of intimateness before the scene expanded to show an entire restaurant. When this occurs, I decided to open up the music by removing the EQ and immediately mirroring the first expressions of upset, as the man seen on-screen pours his glass of wine on a lady, with a brash saxophone and guitar entrance.

These two instruments then continue with an ongoing, playful call and response motif with the piano, each bar slightly altered to reflect the people seen on-screen at the time. For example, when the table of drunk men is shown, a celebratory, ascending arpeggio is played on the saxophone and guitar, representing their “cheers”, along with a subtle “club-style” beat playing to represent their party spirit. As the elderly couple storm off, there is instead a descending motif to represent their discontent.

This parallelism style continues, for example when the children peep through the window, the piano plays in a higher register, with a dynamic playful style. This is immediately followed by a semitone motif following the chef with the fire extinguisher, alluding to a fire truck alarm. I followed this with a delicate, romantic piano arpeggiated style, along with a subtle flamenco addition to the beat, drawing focus to the scandalous nature of the flirting seen on-screen.

Another clear example of this musical parallelism is when the lonely man is served his birthday cake. Here, the guitar part alludes directly to the rhythms and to the pitch contour of the opening bar to the song “happy birthday” in a variation form, staying within the chord tones of the score.

As the scene begins to end, a saxophone solo plays a rising melodic motif, representing the growing tension between the couple seen on-screen as they dispute about the payment, which comes back down to the tonic as the lady gets her Citibank card out. Along with this, the heavy EQ filters return on the piano and beat, in a bookend style, creating a calm intimate mood as the camera zooms in on the card. This sense of calm and resolve contrasts the chaos of the rest of the score to emphasise Citibank’s role as the hero of the story, bringing resolve to the disorder. Finally, as the Citibank screen shows, a wide, grand, piano chord plays, emphasising this sense of resolve, a final contrast to the chaos.