1. The Body and Soul of Film
A look at how sound has revolutionized and emotionally
charged theatrical motion pictures.
By Jared Bergknoff
To understand this piece you must be willing to look at film from a different
perspective. Unlearn what you know about the cinema and approach film as
more than just moving pictures and cheap entertainment. Film is, like you or I, a
living and breathing creature. It has the ability to tell us a story, keep us
entertained, teach us valuable lessons, and evoke an emotional attachment that
can tap in to a viewer’s heart. If a picture says a thousand words, what do twenty
thousand moving pictures say?
When motion pictures were first created, they told simple stories or no
story at all. They merely proved that it was possible to capture images in a
sequential linear format and that they could be replayed for viewers easily and
inexpensively. However, as motion pictures became more advanced the means
of presenting them did as well.
The next step in the exhibition of film became the synchronization of
picture with sound. Upon entering the 20th century, when film was still in its
infancy, a live musician would play an accompanied soundtrack during every
presentation. This was the first effort at creating emotion in film; it gave a viewer
more of a sensory experience while watching. Instead of relying solely on visuals
to convey its message, film began using auditory techniques to bring audience
members deeper into the story. The film then became the body of the art while
the soundtrack became the soul.
Have you ever cried during a film? Even the roughest, toughest men have
cried one time or another. If you’re shaking your head in the negative, you’re
lying to yourself. Now think back to these moments when you cried, besides a
sad image what do you hear? Perhaps we heard the sound of a downbeat
instrumental piece of music playing? For most readers let us choose something
that almost anyone can remember. In Disney’s The Lion King, when Mufasa dies
– minor spoiler - and Simba is approached by his uncle Scar, we hear a slow
paced piece of dramatic music. The piece heightens our emotional level and
when combined with the visuals of Mufasa’s body, tears fall faster than water
over Niagara. But will the audience feel the same way if you remove the sound?
Now here’s a fun idea that everyone should try. Next time you’re watching
a movie at home, turn the film on mute for one to five minutes. During that time
make notes on what you see or how you feel. Did you get bored? Did you get
distracted? Well, besides not being able to hear the dialogue you didn’t hear the
film’s score either. The images become bland and uneventful as though they just

2. occupy color on a screen with no meaning. Now reverse things. Leave the
sound on but close your eyes. It would be best to finish reading this article
before continuing; however, you may throw caution to the wind and continue at
your own risk. Do the same as before. Take notes on what you hear and how
you feel. Keep your eyes closed the entire time and no peeking – you know who
you are.
What happened? Did you notice a difference? If nothing changed then
check your pulse and consult a doctor, you may be broken or dead! Your mind
should have created an image of what the film should look like. And depending
on what type of film it was, the score should have created an emotional response
as well. This test proves that without sound, films are just thousands of still
images that deceptively move.
Examining most horror films, if not all horror films, we can clearly see this
process in action. When the killer is on the loose or something intense is about
to happen the dialogue usually fades and the score becomes louder. You feel
your pulse start to rise and your nerves tighten up. You eagerly anticipate
something terrible happening and then the cat appears from behind a door. You
want to kill the stupid cat as the music fades away and you’ve jumped out of your
skin. Then the killer shows up behind the victim – the music intensifies – and
blood splatters everywhere with the death of yet another person. You jump again
and all the while it has been music not words that caused you to jump. Watch
the scene again with no sound. It just doesn’t have the same effect anymore.
Just like a person, a film cannot survive with little emotion and if it did it would be
extremely boring.
Besides its ability to carry the emotion of a movie, a film score can also be
a memorable and everlasting part. For instance, someone is in a pool or the
ocean and another person quickly says “duh-nah, duh-nah”. Your mind races to
an image of a great white shark on the prowl. Obviously there isn’t a shark
around and, if there were, I hope someone would say more than “duh-nah” to get
them out of the water. But the whole film of Jaws can be remembered and
recalled from two little words. A villain became immortalized in cinematic history
through these two little words. In fact, they’re not even words, they’re
grammatical depictions of sound. One would have to admit that being
memorable for so little seems to be quite an impressive feat.
Film is truly one of the most versatile mediums in modern society and with
recent advances in technology it is one of the fastest changing forms of artistic
creativity. As an audience, we are able to be taken to far off lands, to be scared
stiff, to be tickled pink, to be swelled with tears, to be enraged with anger, to be
filled with love and shown every facet of human existence; however, without the
music behind the imagery all of these are merely pictures with no heart. And the
film that they comprise is simply a body with no soul.