EMORSION: Examining the Impact of Audio Parameters on Emotional Responses and Immersion in Film
For film sound designers and researchers, this establishes a feasible protocol to study how specific audio parameters shape audience experience, but findings are preliminary and based on small-scale data.
This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that systematic manipulation of audio parameters (frequency, dynamics, directionality) in film scenes measurably affects audience emotion and immersion, with unconventional mixes increasing variability in interpretation and conventional mixes increasing cross-audience agreement.
EMORSION is an exploratory proof-of-concept study examining how film audio design shapes audience emotion and immersion in acinema setting. Four film scenes were selected across the horror (2) and drama (2) genres, balanced between mainstream and independent productions. For each scene, multiple alternative audio mixes were created by systematically manipulating three core aspects of audio design, frequency (pitch), dynamics (loudness), and directionality (spatial placement). Three audience groups viewed the scenes, with each group exposed to one manipulated mix alongside a control mix for each scene. Audience responses were assessed through a triangulated multimodal framework combining self-reported emotion and immersion via a questionnaire, physiological measures including heart rate monitoring, and video-based motion tracking. The protocol successfully captured measurable, interpretable differences across audio conditions, indicating that even subtle changes in audio design can shape emotional perception and immersion. Unconventional mixes tended to produce greater variability in audience interpretation, while conventional immersive mixes were associated with stronger cross-audience agreement. These findings establish the feasibility of the EMORSION protocol and motivate larger-scale studies to characterise the role of specific audio parameters in shaping audience experience.