Class 4

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Universality of Emotions:

Likely four basic emotions:

happy, sad, anger/disgust, fear

dialect theory of emotion

Cross-culturally, different cultural rules

TMWKTM clip:

music and PoV especially well done

(Jo's) doris' voice is almost instrument-like, requiring no score at the same time.

Clip 2: In the concert theater where dialogue is overshadowed (muted completely) by the score, showing that dialogue is not necessary to convey the necessary information

doris uses voice as weapon against the gun.

Jo's music lyrics contrasts Jo's emotional state.

Film Music:

Major Theorist: Claudia Gorbman, Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music (1987)

"The mood of any music on the soundtrack, be it diegetic or nondiegetic, music will be felt in association with the diegesis."

Choices re Film Music:

Commentary on narrative events

-SK thinks of music as the "voice of the cinematic narrator"

->Note that the commentary can be reinforcing or contradictory/ironic

Provide us priveleged information about a character's emotions

-in which case the cinematic narrator is being both knowledgeable and communicative

a diegetic narrative event in its own right,

Silence

-only b/c we generally have musical scoring does silence become so potent

or... music overtaking diegetic sound

- clip in TMWKTM overtaking dialogue with film score.

MUSIC...

What the heck is a schema?

Schema: Cognitive network of associations about a person, idea, or object that guides our attention and serves as an interpretive filter for subsequent judgments.

ex. what comes to mind when you think of clown?

What do schemas have to do with music?

-functions as interpretive filter

jeff Smith on Moving Music:

spectators process music both cognitively and emotionally.

- emotions and understanding aren't disparate, but interdependent.

we work with the narrative context to further refine what the music conveys to us emotionally: is sadness "grief" melancholy or despair? (this is similar to the way point/object shots define/anchor what the point/glance shot leaves rather vague)

According to our own personal schemas, we may or may not experience the emotion conveyed by the music, which may or may not be the emotion felt by the characters.

there may be universal but also specific schemas affecting individual emotional/cognitive schemas.

Debra granek thought that using emotional music was taking advantage of the audience. she uses music subtlety.

Actors don't act: it's all in the editing (hitchcock)

Music and characters?

Hoeckner et al. (2011) STUDY:

Likeability of characters influenced by different genre music (thriller vs. melodramatic vs no music at all)

IMPORTANT: USED FOLK UNDERSTANDINGS OF FILM GENRE MUSIC. this highlights the fact that there is confusion in interdisciplinary research b/w film and psychology.

But at the same time, folk definitions of film genre music aren't necessarily inappropriate when testing people who also attend to the same folk definitions. but it's understandable that such a use can be seen as problematic.

Know character thoughts:

more uncertainty in thriller music vs melodramatic

SLIDE HERE ON HOECKNER.

Musical enhancement

Baumgartner et al., 2005