> Emotion and Film Scores > Studies > Study 14

Film Music / Study 14

Compare the emotional difference between naturally occurring films containing dialogue only, music only, and both music and dialogue.

In these cases, no adjustment to or editing of the stimuli is necessary. Between 1929-1939, there were one-hundred percent talkies, with no music at all. Contrast this with a silent film (scores have been added to these films) and a current film (which contains both dialogue and music).

Is the merge of music and talking the most emotionally evocative? Has there been an evolution in cinema? Researchers especially interested in this question may wish to expand their studies to include live performance by analyzing straight plays (all dialogue), musicals (dialogue and music), and opera (all music).

>> next