Skip to main content

The Neuroscience and Art of Film Scores

If you’re looking around for something to watch this Sunday evening that complements the Oscars, the World Science Festival has a great video which features the Coen Brothers, film composer Carter Burwell, Alec Baldwin, and neuroscientist Aniruddh Patel discussing the emotional effects and role of music in film.

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


If you're looking around for something to watch this Sunday evening that complements the Oscars, the World Science Festival has a great video which features the Coen Brothers, film composer Carter Burwell, Alec Baldwin, and neuroscientist Aniruddh Patel discussing the emotional effects and role of music in film. The discussion is a great look into why music is such an essential part of films and the ways in which it affects our viewing experience.

Check out the video The Art of the Score: The Mind, Music, and Moving Images by the World Science Festival.

About Princess Ojiaku

Hey there! I'm a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin Madison in the Neuroscience and Public Policy program. I'm also a musician who played in two bands in North Carolina, one called Pink Flag and another called Deals. My personal passions are science, music, and cycling as transportation. I got into science as a kid while tagging along and watching my mom do experiments in her lab. I found that while I loved science, I didn't want to be alone in an ivory tower, crunching data that few others would understand. I also noticed that many other people thought science was this scary and incomprehensible entity of obscurity. When I realized that there were people working to make science fun and accessible to everyone, I knew that this was exactly what I wanted to do. The two things I find the most immensely interesting and continually impressing are music and neuroscience, so these are the topics that I'll focus on in my blog. Philosophy and politics are my second loves, so I might pop in an occasional post on these topics as well. Ultimately I am here to share things that give me wonder. I hope that reading Science with Moxie gives you a bit of that wonder too.

More by Princess Ojiaku