Every soundtrack has a visual and every visual needs a great soundtrack. And the more I’ve thought about it, there isn’t only an ART to sound, but it can be a very visual medium.
Think about it, in almost every second of film there is some sort of noise, and even when there isn’t noise, the mere absence of it builds tension and unease (causing an emotional connection with the visual). I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen the process of a soundtrack being composed, but it’s quite fascinating.
A composer will watch the film without any audio and let the visuals, the story and the desired emotion write the melody and the notes.
Music moves us, and in moving us it brings about an emotional/psychological response. It’s one of the reasons we can feel anger and joy in the same orchestral movement. But it’s also because I think music beckons a visual.
A visual that causes us to imagine, dream and explore the depths of our deepest internal wonder. The right soundtrack will help you feel the love between a couple, the tension in a good fight scene or the mystery in a suspense film. Yes, the writing matters; Yes the acting is an important piece of any good story. However, it’s the soundtrack that connects the story to our psyche and it’s the soundtrack that marry’s the visuals with the emotion!
Soundtracks set the visual stage. It primes the pump for the visual story to be cast.
What soundtrack are you using? Maybe it’s walk in to an event, maybe it’s the background of a testimonial video or a song in your worship service…. Regardless there’s always a soundtrack and when there isn’t it’s still communicating something.
