(Originally Published February 17, 2017)

As I have mentioned no more than one occasion, non-diegetic sound - music in particular - is a challenge to analyze. This is not because we have difficulty in the interpretation, but because we tend toward interpretation so easily that it can be hard to describe the actual qualities of the music; most of us lack the vocabulary or even the ear to identify different qualities of sound.

I was recently revisiting the videos of Jack Nugent - the creator of the Now You See It series on YouTube - and I found again the video on the role of a film's score plays in the manipulation of the audience's emotions. It is filled with insights and clear discussion on music, and so I wanted to share it with you.

I should, however, provide a brief...

WARNING: This video essay includes a curse word 

Lovely. While the video is rather excellent, it does include a word that may be considered inappropriate. If you are uncomfortable with the use of this swear word, skip the first 30 seconds of the video and you should be just fine.

If you want to further explore the shower murder scene from Hitchcock's Psycho, I encourage you to visit this shot by shot breakdown at the Hitchcock Zone website: CLICKY!