To really get a message across and digested, the audience must be immersed. The more senses that can be involved, the more immersed the audience can be. This immersion has the potential to focus a person entirely on what is being communicated. It also has the potential to distract. It all depends on the relationship between the logical and emotional mediums involved.
Probably the most common form of multi-sensory media is cinema. Film. Television. The story line, plot and dialogue are the more logical elements; the sound, atmosphere, and music are more emotional. All of these work together, moving frame by frame, note by note – linearly through time.
Your brain processes things linearly in the left hemisphere, like a story line, but the right side processes in parallel – many things at once – creating associations. This is why, when you smell lavender, you may recall a particular chat with your grandmother. What’s more is that you might remember how you felt during that chat. The brain also associates emotions. This is why you may suddenly feel your heart racing at the sight of a pit bull if you’ve been attacked in the past. This example illustrates why emotions are important; they help us make decisions without really thinking. You see the pit bull, you know not to go pet it. Music in a film can (if done right) do the same thing for us.
Music can create an emotional connection between the audience and what’s happening on screen. We can understand something with less effort because music actually helps us to focus. Take for example, The Dark Knight. You may have noticed the reoccurrence of one held string note that bends slightly. That note smears over everything else that’s happening to let us know that there is danger. It easily provides and maintains a suspense. It helps us to join in. To be immersed.
