Why Music and Sound Design Is Critical for Filmmakers

Music has the power to elevate a story beyond words and images, making it a vital component of filmmaking and video content creation.

A well-crafted score can intensify suspense, emphasize vital moments, and heighten the emotional impact of a narrative. The right music should elevate the audience's experience and leave a lasting impression, whether in a blockbuster film or a personal video project.

If you're interested in heightening a movie scene, need a background song for a client's project, or simply hope to avoid the copyright strike on Youtube‚ you need a solid library of royalty-free tunes. Sorry, no Taylor Swift's billboard hits! Unless you know her personally and are shooting a music video for her latest single. In that case, major props to you.

Fortunately, with the rise of online music libraries, finding high-quality, royalty-free music for your video projects has never been easier. Platforms like Artlist offer a vast selection of music tracks and sound effects, carefully curated and easily searchable by genre, mood, and instrument. With their annual subscription, content creators and filmmaking enthusiasts can access unlimited downloads and use the music in perpetuity without worrying about additional licensing fees.

That's a win, win.

Why The RIGHT Music Is So Important

One prime example is the 1940 classic Fantasia, a masterpiece of animation and melody. It's one of my favorite animated childhood films, starstudded and memorable for a good reason. With a near perfectly orchestrated score featuring cellos, violins, piano, and woodwinds — Fantasia is the quintessential demonstration of how harmony can enhance a visual narrative by captivating audiences and creating a lasting emotional connection.

In the film's famous anthological scene, Sorcerer's Apprentice, the music crescendos seamlessly with the visuals, interweaving jarring bursts of violins with added delicate notes of a romantic piano. The music bridges the tension of the scene's climax and the following resolution, creating a masterful blend of sight and sound.

Beyond Emotion, a Good Soundtrack Is Also Practical

By providing emotional cues and establishing the pacing and tone of a story, music guides viewers through the plot points and helps to reinforce the overall message.

Using Fantasia as an example, the film's rhythmic crescendos created a sense of continuity throughout the story that kept the audience engaged and helped them understand its overall thesis. Moreover, proper background sound effects or stems can create a relaxed or tense atmosphere, making viewers more receptive to the story's message. It gives us a sense of ownership as a viewer over the narrative and sucks us in even more.

The Same Location, Different Scores

Would you place Fergie's famous Fergalicious over an action sequence in Mission Impossible? Most likely not. But if you do, I'd pay to see it.

The point is — different songs offer different vibes. The choice behind choosing a particular sound effect or composition holds high pressure to deliver the exact tone at a visual level.

Moment's in-house filmmakers, Mike and Mia, went head-to-head to create two short films using Artlist's music catalog in under 8 hours. Working with such a challenging time crunch, they had no choice but to create two entirely different narratives in the exact location; some creepy-looking dirtball apartment in Downtown Los Angeles.

Mike, a filmmaker known for softer, more cinematic montages, chose an instrumental piece with slow pacing and lightfooted notes to depict a scene more ominous and Sci-Fi-esque.

“I love the ability to search for instrumental songs; it doesn't take the focus off the visuals, only helps elevate the story and put the viewer into a certain feeling and mood. In this case, I listened to a handful of songs based on the genre and mood I wanted I found a song fairly quickly that I thought could help tell the story I had envisioned.”

Mia, alternatively, digs the chaos and loud spunk. She chose a song with high vocals and created a music video inside the apartment's living room, equipped with bright blue balloons and textured clothing.

"Making music videos is about capturing the song's essence and bringing it to life through visuals. It's about finding the right moments to hit certain beats and experimenting with the camera to create a unique and captivating experience. The editing process is just as crucial as crafting a new world that complements the music and transforms it into something worth watching. Before shooting, it's important to envision the video and time out the shots to ensure the momentum flows smoothly. One of the most important lessons when shooting music videos is to have the artist sing live during filming. This helps capture the emotion and authenticity of the performance and allows the director to see which lyrics resonate most with the artist."

See? Two entirely different vibes; which do you resonate with the most?

Final Thoughts

From cinematic orchestral scores to contemporary pop tracks and everything in between — the right music can help elevate your video projects and give them a professional edge.

So, whether you're a seasoned filmmaker or a beginner video content creator, consider using a reputable online music library like Artilist to take your projects to the next level.