THE TWO COMBINATION

What do you feel when you hear the sound of waves? Does it make you imagine a blue sea or maybe an ocean? What do you think of when someone says mountains? Do you visualise the serene greenery?

That's the ability to see visuals of sound as angulating colours. And is apparently called Chromesthesia or sound-to-colour synesthesia. Studies say that we all are born with this ability. But about 1 in 3000 will retain the synesthete ability.

​ In simpler words, Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which heard sounds automatically and involuntarily evoke an experience of colour.

Colour Psychology

Colours impact us psychologically, without us even noticing it. It’s a powerful tool to express emotions and syncing colours with music can enhance the message being depicted. For instance, fast food chains prefer a play of bright colours that adds a sense of playfulness to the interiors. Dine-in restaurants like to keep it subtle to give it a sense of calmness and richness.

Music is used as an expression of emotions through harmonic frequencies. Music puts sounds together in a way that is appealing to the ears. The musical instruments such as the piano, guitar, drums or violin. Most people get sad, happy, anxious, patriotic and even pumped up when they hear to different genres of music.

How can Music and Colour create an extraordinary impact?

Both Colours and Music are emotional response stimulators. These reactions are the basis of how we react to a particular video. To emphasize on the dark and unscrupulous drama in a video, cold blue, black and dark grey can be incorporated to give the video a realistic feel. A high pitched and strong rhythm music can complement the colours and tonality of the video.

​To give the video a positive vibe, light and vibrant colours could be used in the video, Bright objects in the background can also add a sense of peace. And when it comes to you, you feel light at heart. In such videos, lightness in the textual sounds is maintained to keep balance with the colours and message of the video.

Colour theory in music is highly subjective. And it’s true that individuals may have different colour associations. Some may take red as a sign of danger, some feel red is the colour of love. But if you hear calming music in the video where red is used with other vibrant colours, you may not feel afraid. That’s the power of music and colours combined. One must observe the tonality of the message being conveyed using apt music and colours to give a powerful impact and leave a sense of recall for the video.

DIVYA TONDON
Creative Associate
ROS