COURTESY OF CBC
ENHANCING
THE ONSCREEN
EXPERIENCE
CBC’s Diggstown &
How Music Affects
Visual Media
By Andrew King
Motion
pictures. The big and silver
screens. Show-stopping scenes. So
much of the vocabulary surrounding
film and television relates to its visual elements, and yet so
much of any given production’s power and impact comes from the
audio side.
A simple but surprising thought experiment: imagine watching
a movie or show with the volume muted. Now, imagine watching
the same thing with your eyes closed. Which makes the story
easier to follow? Which is the more rewarding experience?
Diggstown follows Marcie Diggs, a corporate lawyer who begins
to reconsider her priorities after a tragedy in her family due to
a malicious prosecution. In season two, which premiered in March
2020, Marcie and her fellow crusaders at legal aid continue their
fight against a criminal justice system that shows no mercy to our
most at-risk citizens.
We recently caught up with Floyd Kane, the creator, executive
producer, and showrunner of the CBC drama, for a fun and interesting
chat about the use of music as a storytelling and emotional
device in TV, how and when music comes into the writing process,
how songs are chosen, and
some of the great independent
Canadian artists whose music
is featured.
CM: At what point in your
learning and development
as a writer did you realize
the importance of music in
visual media as a storytelling
and emotional signaling
device?
Floyd Kane: Honestly, I’m a
soundtrack guy. I grew up in
that era of great soundtracks
– you know, 9 to 5, Flashdance,
Footloose... That’s my era. As a
writer, I write to music. One of
my favourite films is The Fabulous
Baker Boys. I could listen
to that soundtrack forever
because it evokes all of the
melancholy and sorrow of the
characters and the lives they’re
leading, and there’s this ache in
the music.
I can’t overstate how important
music is. My approach
to music is probably different
from people in the music
industry, but I think about it as
being subjective in the same
way I think about art. When
I go to a gallery and look at
VINESSA ANTOINE AS MARCIE DIGGS
paintings, I don’t look at the
technical [aspects] because,
honestly, I don’t care about
that part. I care about whether
the music moves me or makes
me feel something, so for me,
the seminal thing about realizing
the importance of music
in film and television was
listening to soundtracks for The
Fabulous Baker Boys, Romeo Is
Bleeding, The Russia House…
Those soundtracks outside of
the movies are just phenomenally
powerful pieces.
CM: Say you’re putting
together an episode of
Diggstown. At what point
in the process does the
music come into it? Is there
placeholder music that’s
there until you get the
songs cleared that you want
to use?
Kane: Yes. That’s exactly right.
CM: So what is that placeholder
music? I guess
because it’s not actually
going to be broadcast,
clearance isn’t important at
that point, so what music
are you using?
44 CANADIAN MUSICIAN