The terms 'congruence' and 'incongruence' recur throughout a body of experiments designed to investigate the perception of film music. These studies suggest that congruent film-music relationships result in joint encoding of auditory and visual information. Conversely, incongruent relationships can result in independent encoding processes which direct attention to the component parts of a scene: this may influence the perception of meaning and emotional response. Accordingly, certain incongruent film music combinations can be highly emotive and memorable whilst others may be significantly less so. However, the terms are not explicitly defined within the literature and whilst congruence implies fit, incongruence can connote inappropriate or misfitting elements within a relationship. Similarities can be identified with terms used to describe the film -music relationship, such as 'parallel' and 'counterpoint', which have also become dichotomies that do not reflect the levels on which such combinations can be judged: in reality, these judgements are multidimensional, context-dependent and highly subjective. Multi- and interdisciplinary study provides an effective approach which can facilitate greater understanding of the potential impact of film-music (in)congruence. This thesis seeks to reconcile information that can be obtained when incongruence is studied on perceptual and analytical levels. It is suggested that incongruence can be more holistically represented when (re)defined as 'a lack of shared dimensions' and when the various contextual influences and dimensions on which this audiovisual difference can be judged are considered from a psycho-semiotic perspective. This perspective incorporates: experimental work; analytical case-studies; and conceptual study which draws upon poststructuralist philosophy, semiotic approaches, and the history and aesthetics of film music. The incongruent perspective demonstrates how various methodologies can contextualise and complement each other to provide insight into subjective judgements, exposjng dichotomies and hegemonic influences, in order to reflect the various contextual and subjective influences which can affect a perceiver's interactions with film
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:590475 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Ireland, David Ian |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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