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The Effects Of Diegetic And Nondiegetic Music On Viewers’ Interpretations Of A Film Scene, Elizabeth M. Wakefield, Siu-Lan Tan, Matthew P. Spackman

Elizabeth Wakefield

Previous studies have shown that pairing a film excerpt with different musical soundtracks can change the audience’s interpretation of the scene. This study examined the effects of mixing the same piece of music at different levels of loudness in a film soundtrack to suggest diegetic music (“source music,” presented as if arising from within the fictional world of the film characters) or to suggest nondiegetic music (a “dramatic score” accompanying the scene but not originating from within the fictional world). Adjusting the level of loudness significantly altered viewers’ perceptions of many elements that are fundamental to the storyline, including inferences …