The consumption of media penetrates through our everyday
life. We live in a world where screens are the medium through which we see most
of life. Music is something that is incorporated into our media and it sneakily
places itself in our midst. Music is used in nearly every form of media. It is
heard in the background of commercials, movies, television shows, and most
obviously, music is a big medium in itself.
Music can easily manipulate a person’s mood or mindset and
this is why so many in the industry of media find it to be an imperative tool.
The vibe that a song can give off sends emotions, feelings, and thoughts to the
person receiving it. Depending on the thought or emotion received, this can
motivate the person to do certain things, associate a product to certain goals,
or associate a film scene to a certain genre. Because of music’s ability to
influence a person’s thoughts, it is very important in the film industry.
Take for example the trailer for inception.
At certain
moments of the sneak peek, we hear certain notes being strung along to create
an intensity that could not be achieve through any other means or any other
note, for that matter. Having the suspenseful track underneath the serious
voice of Leonardo Di Caprio, one is thrusted into a mood of curiosity. In the
same manipulative way, the music in the Juicy Fruit commercial united the
product of gum with happiness through its hypnotic jingle. The notes heard produce a silly and somewhat annoyingly repetitive tune that refuses to leave your mind once it has entered.
Now watch this video for Obama’s 2012 election campaign.
The triumphant, simple, and easy melody that is being played
behind the backdrop of the seemingly intelligent voice of the narrator gives
the viewer a feel that Obama is definitely a worthy candidate to at least
consider if not all out vote for. Now, in your mind, imagine the exact same
video and swap Obama’s music with Juicy fruit jingle or even with Inception’s
trailer track. I wouldn’t be surprised if you started laughing. The Juicy Fruit
jingle would make Obama’s video seem like a joke, even if it were just an
instrumental. Americans would not take him seriously for a minute if his
campaign managers had thrown in just any happy-go-lucky tune. Now put Inception’s
trailer track as the music for Obama’s video. With a tune of such intensity,
the viewers of the video may find that he is trying too hard to present himself
in a serious light. As a matter of fact, swap any of the background music for any
of the videos above with one another and I guarantee you that the effects would
not be the same. Even though only one of the elements had changed, the effect
of the presentation is greatly affected.
Music can be a great tool to modify a person’s view of
something. Music is quite a stealthy tool to persuade people’s mindset and
thus, it is a tool of great power. The ability to yield music properly is
necessary for its proper and effective use but once a person has mastered that
part, the minds of the majority of the population is virtually is his or her
hands.
0 comments:
Post a Comment