Emotional Effect Music Can Have on a Film - Essay Example

Emotional Effect Music Can Have on a Film On screen music, according to, film composer Bernard Herrmann; pursues and brings intensity to the internal thoughts of the characters; depending on the emotional context of a scene, it can bring about, misery, joy, terror among other emotions and it can accelerate or slow down the speed of the narrative (Fischoff 1). In a way, music seems to envelop all the experiences in the film and connect them with the audience in way that elicits and enhances the emotional response to the action on screen. From the beginning in motion pictures, music has been a key ingredient; originally, the practice was necessitated by the need to keep the audience from making noise as well as to counteract the loud noise produced by the humming of the early projectors. However, since then music has played a variety of roles in movies ranging from, being a part of the story in musicals, soundtracks or as it occurs within the story, ie when characters are listening to a radio or in a club, notably, the most common use is as background soundtracks used alongside, cartoons and action films and it is only heard by the audience not the characters. Contrary to popular assumption, a film is not a singularly visual experience, despite the fact that the greater part of the experience is visual, there is an equally significant audio experience and this is underscored by the variety of sound fidelity options availed to movie viewers today. For the emotional response of the film to be appreciated, it is important that one begins by recognizing that films are fundamentally fantasies. Thus for the audience to enjoy an experience that may defy the logic of their everyday thinking, music is often hardy to work on their subconscious and makes one susceptible to the illusion on screen. Therefore, through a non-intellectual communication, there is an emotional connection between the viewer’s subconscious and the experience on screen so that the viewer will be lulled into the mood of the film without knowing the music only knowing what it makes him feel. Music in the film can have the effect of convincing the audience to believe the actions or the mood portrayed by the character as opposed to simply accepting the scene and the overall mood. For example, when a ballad is played repeatedly every time an actor is onscreen, the audience will ultimately connect the mood of the music to the character (Tan et al139). An example of this is the haunting song by David Raskin which was used repeatedly in the film Laura which resulted in the film acquiring a deeper feel owing to the perceived depth of the score. Music is used to direct the sympathy or empathy of the audience towards the characters that the director wants to depict as good of evil respectively, as such, in a film, the sound track played when the villain is onscreen is likely to be eerie and designed to evoke apprehension tension or fear (Juslin and Sloboda 371). Nevertheless, when the protagonist is onscreen, the music played will be evocative of hope and in action scenes when the antagonist is winning cheerful hopeful music such as the “eye of the tiger” which is considered by many to be the anthem of motivation in modern film. Used effectively as a synthesia, music can create mood in which an audience will be subtly manipulated into associating a certain piece of music with a given mood, from a Gestalt perspective, one may even argue that some of the emotional evocations are innate. Films such as Phycho 1960 and the more recent horror series Saw, (2005) use a variety of musical devices such as pitch, tone and melodic line to create a classical conditioning that succeeds in making the audience nervous and even scared, which is the purpose of creating a horror film in the first place. When a file plays music from which an audience can make a direct connection to the based on the retrospective themes covered by the music, it has the distinct effect of bringing past emotional experiences into the current viewing experience. The music played in a film also serves to enhance suspense especially when the director foreshadows scenes through music, for instance, adding a few dissonance notes to an otherwise merry scene can create anticipation of danger. In addition, these techniques can be used playfully by directors to foreshadow false alarms and keep them on their toes, sometimes, “scary music will be played and each time the audience raises their guard in preparation for a scary scene they get an anti-climax in an innocent scene. When the audience relaxes and gains immunity to the connection between the sound and action, the real danger is presented suddenly and this makes their emotional response more acute due to the element of surprise making the movie unpredictable (Fischoff 15). The emotional perception and response to a film is enhanced through the accompaniment music which can be varied from scene to scene, unlike, foreshadow, it plays along with the scene not in advance of it. In a funeral scene, the director will likely cue a minor key to evoke sadness in the audience who will find it easier to relate to the acting on screen which may not look as authentic if it was depicted without the music. Contrary, a wedding scene would be accompanied by high key and festive music to bring out the atmosphere and draw the viewer into the happy events. The director may also choose to use contradiction of the music and the scene so as to create a sense of irony which increases cognitive dissonance and increases the adverse reaction to the action. An example of contrasting music and action can be seen in the film Clockwork Orange (1971) in which the cheerful “singing in the Rain” Lyrics are played alongside a scene where a man is beaten to death. Similarly, in Night and Fog where a Lengthy shot of dead bodies is accompanied by a festive 70s rock tunes the tune starkly contrasting with the images. In the 50’s there emerged a movement inclined towards realism that decided that music was not necessary in films, why they asked, should there be music in films reflecting life in which there are no soundtracks. While this was indeed a realistic point of view, the films that were made without music were not very successful and the movement died out eventually. This is because music plays a variety of covert roles that would not be appreciated unless one was to watch a film that did not use it, one of them is to enliven dead scripts if used carefully and to cover blanks in dialogue. In addition, it enhances the filming technique of continuity in which separately filmed or otherwise unrelated events are played back to back along with the same music creating an artificial continuity (Fischoff 17). However, the main reason the realistic approach towards music in film failed was because audiences do not watch movies so they may encounter reality. They do so to escape from the reality of life in a romantic fantasy world in which music plays a prominent role. Ultimately, music in film appeals to the viewer’s emotional side and thus makes them watch the film subjectively and appreciatively as opposed to objectively and critically, thus as they watch the Jake Sully in Avatar take to the skies on the back of an beast that does not exist, the music helps them appreciate the digitally created view not question the impossibility of the context. Works Cited Fischoff, Stuart. The Evolution of Music in Film and its Psychological Impact on Audiences. Castatela.edu. 2005. Web. 19 Sept 2013 Juslin, Patrik & Sloboda, John. Music and emotion: theory and research. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2001. Print. Tan, Siu-Lan, Matthew P. Spackman, and Matthew A. Bezdek. "Viewers' Interpretations Of Film Characters' Emotions: Effects Of Presenting Film Music Before Or After A Character Is Shown." Music Perception 25.2 (2007): 135-52.  Read More