ABSTRACT

For many years, research has been conducted on film music in general and on its potential to convey meaning in particular. Surprisingly, some fundamental research gaps have remained. Does unknown film music express and induce emotions and convey meaning in a way that is equally distinct and predictable, compared with well-known music? Does the same music simultaneously influence more than one of the (as yet mostly individually tested) aspects through which music can convey meaning? This study, with 139 participants and a 2×2 between-subjects design, manipulated the emotional connotation and level of familiarity of an ambiguous film scene’s background music. The results provide an empirical basis for the practical knowledge that carefully selected and edited film music can communicate specific emotions, thereby inducing predictable emotions in the recipients. As an instrument of nonverbal communication, a music track influences several aspects through which music can convey meaning: the attributed film genre, the perception of the general film atmosphere, and the protagonists’ emotions, social behaviors, and relationships to each other. The genre associated with film music and the music’s expressed emotions have a significant impact, whereas whether the music is well-known or unknown to the audience is not crucial, as predicted.

摘要

多年来，人们一直在研究电影音乐，尤其是它传达意义的潜力。令人惊讶的是，一些基础研究空白仍然存在。与众所周知的音乐相比，未知的电影音乐是否以同样独特和可预测的方式表达和诱发情感并传达意义？相同的音乐是否同时影响了音乐可以传达意义的多个方面（但大多数是单独测试的）？这项研究有 139 名参与者和 2×2 受试者间设计，操纵了模糊电影场景背景音乐的情感内涵和熟悉程度。结果为实践知识提供了经验基础，即精心挑选和编辑的电影音乐可以传达特定的情感，从而在接受者中诱发可预测的情绪。作为一种非语言交流的工具，音乐曲目会影响音乐传达意义的几个方面：归属的电影类型、对一般电影氛围的感知，以及主角的情绪、社会行为和彼此之间的关系。与电影音乐相关的流派和音乐所表达的情感具有重大影响，而正如预测的那样，音乐对观众来说是众所周知的还是不为人知的并不重要。