Imagine This on Mute: The Invisible Power of the Soundtrack

Try Watching this on Mute…

Imagine scrolling TikTok on mute forever… How many videos would you actually watch? Imagine your favourite movie started to sound like a dull conversation. It’s abundantly clear music isn’t just pleasant (or occasionally unpleasant) background noise. It gravitates us to the story, the mood and the emotional connection we feel to what we’re watching. It’s why the right soundtrack can make a scene iconic and timeless, while the wrong one can make it seem cheap, forgettable, or even a bit cheesy.

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Whether you’ve worked on ad campaigns or, like me, you get your kicks from imagining what song would have fit better with an advert, you’ve probably noticed how hard it is to get music to fit the mood and narrative of the visuals, which are usually chosen and licensed after the fact. However, when music is considered early on, just like the visuals, it can properly become the storyteller in its own right.

A shallow example of this, I concede, especially when there are some really strong, award-winning examples of sync in adverts, is the Jet2Holidays campaign. It’s truly the music and sound that does all the heavy lifting. Now, when you hear that song, it’s no longer just the humble 2015 Jess Glynne banger, but an instant ticket to a childhood sun soaked summer dream, with the word ‘BARGAIN!’ echoing around your head.

Take Clarkson’s Farm, too. It blends classic 70s rock tunes like ‘Long Cool Woman’ by The Hollies and ‘Baba O’Riley’ by The Who, adding a ton of energy to those otherwise repetitive shots of tractors and fields. I absolutely adore Clarkson’s Farm, and just listening to those songs again while I’m writing this makes me feel desperate to hop on a combine and embrace farm life. I can feel the excitement of watching the show, seeing the whole cast’s faces, the deer galloping through the barley fields, and the sunrise over the hills of Chipping Norton. Again, music can instantaneously influence our memories of something we’ve seen, and can even stop us from forgetting something that would probably otherwise be a bit dull.

These both prove that when the music and sound are really thoughtfully woven in, it not only complements the visuals, but even defines the emotion and therefore memory of the viewing experience. If you’re creating an advert, a show, or you’re thinking about audio and music to pair with a brand you might be working with, let sound be at the forefront of your mind from the beginning.

Of course, it’s not always easy. Music often gets sidelined in these processes as a result of practical hurdles like budget constraints, last-minute decisions, and trouble getting licensing through. It’s exhausting, but it’s also why we do what we do at Synchtank, because when music is an afterthought, that harmonious and memorable moment can slip through the cracks. The right song might never get heard, and the whole thing could fall flat on its face.

The irony is, this is usually the moment where the emotional weight of the work is either won or lost. The story is there, the edit is locked in, but the sound hasn’t been given the same space to breathe. And so the final result can feel pretty… alright, polished, technically strong, but missing that intangible pull.

So, sound isn’t something you can add at the end. It’s the thing that stops you scrolling; the thing that makes a movie moment; the thing that brings memories rushing back the moment we hear it again, years later. When you next have the chance to think about music and sound, don’t just leave it until the end, let it guide you from the beginning. Because when it works, you feel it and remember it.