The Importance of Music and Sound Effects in Horror Movies 👻
When searching for the perfect music for your project, there are quite a number of things you need to consider. Whether you’re a blogger, an editor, a professional, or amateur, you shouldn’t just pick any random song if you are striving to create a coherent, well-rounded video. You need to focus on every aspect of the project and one of the most important is, in fact, the music.
Music is the key when it comes to creating the right mood for your video, therefore, with the right audio, you can be sure that the end result will be great.
But how do you choose the perfect music for your video?
Easy, just keep reading.
Know what your intentions are
Even if it sounds obvious to you, the first thing you should ask yourself is: ‘Who is your audience?’ What do you want to communicate? Genre, instrumentation, and the mood of the track are the main aspects of the music that need to be in line with the visuals. The message would be totally different if you swap the genre of the music. This is why this first step is the key because it can either make your intended message to be comprehended perfectly by your audience or have the exact opposite effect. Every person who consumes your content sees things from a different perspective, and that’s why you need to be aware of how you are communicating something while making sure that everyone identifies with the content.
What’s your video about?
The genre of music you select should be in line with the theme of the video. Strengthening the coherence of the audio and the visuals will make sure your message conveys in a straight and powerful way. This is the stage where you analyze your options and narrow them down, depending on the length of the video and how many tracks you want to end up using.
Remember that what we see on the screen gets the foundation down in the first line, and what we hear mostly affects how we feel about it. And that’s why selecting the right audio is so crucial. If you’re having trouble with it, don’t worry! That’s why we’ve created this article.
The mood
Which mood do you want to create? What are you talking about? How are you talking? Are you even talking, or is it just about the visuals? You’ll need to be clear about these core questions, since it’s not the same to add music to a video with someone talking to the viewers and a video with only having music on top of images that are supposed to speak for themselves.
If it’s a voice-over or someone talking directly, you may consider pure instrumental, non-distracting music which is low in volume to create a straight, mood-setting soundscape for your talking.
The mood you have chosen for the visuals should be constant as long as you use the same music. If it changes, we recommend re-matching the music as well to maintain the effectiveness of your message.
The genre
Defining the mood will narrow down the spectrum of possible music choices and help you filter it down to the perfect track.
Our individual intuition lets us draw connection lines between different genres and moods. Having a library where the products are organized in sections depending on the aspects which sets them apart from each other (i.e: a quiet track will most likely be tagged as “soft” or “minimalistic” whereas a fast track with a strong bass could be tagged as “energetic”).
The options are endless. The key is that you can view them in a way that helps you to go down the path of the genre you’re looking for.
How to choose the right track?
Once you’re already down to the tracks from one category, of which could nicely strengthen the message of your video, it’s up to you to decide which one reaches your audience best. Remember that you always want to engage them by creating connections, while making sure the end product is coherent.
Try to make your content memorable! Listen to all the tracks you have available and pick the one that speaks the same language as your video.
Still, need some help?
We know that this may not be easy and that some people struggle more or less when making this kind of decision, so here at HookSounds, we are always happy to lend a hand and help as many of you as we can. For this, we have a specialized team dedicated to providing you with the best tips and advice 24/7, via email, chat, or directly through via phone.
Don’t be afraid and let us help you to push your project to the next level!
Last but not least: Don’t steal the music!
The music industry is crazy, even when regulated. Now imagine tons and tons of artists that are trying to make a living off of their art every day, and they are continuously being bogged down by people using their tracks for free without their consent. This should definitely not happen. A musician’s hard work is as valuable as any other and shouldn’t be taken for granted.
With that being said, we also live in a world where we have tons of songs available in every streaming platform out there, but this doesn’t mean that you can use whichever song you like. You have to do it legally. Since the authors own their songs, you need their permission if you want to use it, and if you are looking forward to using a very well known chart song, you’ll need to be clear on the fact that this will be everything but cheap.
Royalty-free music does not necessarily mean “free”, which is a common misconception. It is free from royalties per use, meaning you only pay once for it and then you’re free to use it.
We at HookSounds offer tons of royalty-free music tracks, with the best quality, high curatorial standards, and pure exclusivity. You won’t find our tracks anywhere else but our own website. We are also featuring original tracks produced by our internal team of talented artists, and there is also the possibility to request a custom track from us that suits your needs perfectly. Have in mind that most of the royalty-free music sites out there act as a “middle-man” between the artist who composed the track and the consumer. The platform acts in between and request permission to have its clients using the tracks. It sounds quite complicated, doesn’t it?
We hope this was helpful, and if you have any doubts or need help with this, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
