They are both ways to tell you how you should feel about what is happening onscreen instead of letting the movie/show itself do so
They are both ways to tell you how you should feel about what is happening onscreen instead of letting the movie/show itself do so
I do not agree. If you film something to imitate life, you need to show the character’s clothing, facial expressions, backgrounds, etc. Yes, you can strategically choose what to show and how to show it to help influence the audience, but at the end of the day, something has to be there.
On the other hand, in real life, there isn’t mood music following you around. Sure, if you film a character driving a car or even just walking around a grocery store, it makes perfect sense to have a bit of background music, because that is how those environments are in reality. But having intense music playing from nowhere during a chase scene or whimsical music behind a happy character skipping through an empty meadow is just as realistic as a bunch of disembodied laughs in the background every time a character makes a joke.
But not all shows or movies are 100% realistic. That’s not how art works. It’s supposed to evoke certain emotions, by design. Not everything you watch is intended to be a documentary.
The examples you’ve described are sound design done poorly, which is the opposite of what I referred to.
Do you have an example of a film score used to do more than just provide the mood?