The saying goes a picture says a thousand words, but when it comes to the moving image a picture without music is lifeless. Music can bring a story to life, add emotion and depth, and convey a lot through its intonation.

Music is something that is often underrated when it comes to film and video production. It is sometimes an afterthought for folks, or something that does not seem to garner as much attention as other aspects of a film. But music is itself a lifeline of a video. It is what helps shape and inform viewers perceptions of the actions they are witnessing. #MusicDirector Justin Freer writes on his blog,

“Without music it would be much more difficult to follow the emotional ups and downs of a film, much more difficult to experience the fear of the rider as he is chased on his horse riding through the dark.”

A lot of what it does for the viewer is unconscious and not overt. When it becomes overt, such as in the background in say a Bugs Bunny Cartoon, it becomes comical. That is perfectly fine if that is the desired effect one is going for, but more often than not, a musical composer will aim to have the music in a film or video be a great addition and provide supplementary details, while not distracting the viewer from the visuals.

On the composer Robert Hoffman’s website he lists the wide variety of functions for music in film. Everything from illustrating movement, creating plot relationships, creating atmospheres, to time period references, psychological conditioning, and creating alternate perceptions of time. Therefore it is evident that the function of it is vast when it comes to the moving picture, and therefore it is something that needs to be a calculated decision when deciding on what piece of music to use.