The affect of the details: The effects of sound-tracks' modified intonation on audience's emotional reaction to films

Abstract

Music has always had an important role in cinema, giving films an additional dimension, while being indispensable for the film’s emotional character. However, in what ways can music express emotion? Several researchers have investigated the relationship between musical elements, such as tempo, rhythm, melody, harmony, etc., and emotions. One of the less investigated musical elements is intonation, something considered fundamental for emotional expression. This study aims to explore what effects different intonation choices for a soundtrack may have on audience’s emotional reactions to a film. To do so, extensive literature on the topics of film music, music and emotions, and intonation was reviewed, and an experiment was conducted where participants reported their emotional reactions to film clips. The results show that music enhances and directs the scene’s emotional meaning, with some intonation choices supporting this role more than others do. Just Intonation seemed to be preferred for calmer scenes, while unconventional intonation seems more appropriate for horror scenes. The findings of these trends in this study may help fill the gap between the topics aforementioned and inspire film composers to utilize different methods to express emotions.