Background music

Give every cue a narrative job. Silence is part of the arrangement, and dialogue remains the anchor whenever it is present.

Build the cue map

Listen to the cut as a sequence of ideas and energy changes. Mark the hook, first explanation, chapter turns, demonstrations, montage, emotional pivot, conclusion, and call to action. For each region decide whether music should lead, support, recede, or disappear.

Choose a mode from the material rather than habit:

• Minimal: interviews, intimate stories, sensitive subjects, and naturalistic scenes. Reserve music for framing, transitions, or a genuine emotional turn.
• Balanced: most educational, documentary, product, and creator videos. Use a small family of cues with clear rises and releases.
• Music-driven: trailers, ads, montages, and rhythmic short-form. Let phrases and accents influence the picture without cutting on every beat.

Do not add a new cue for every section. Change music when the story's emotion, environment, time, or energy actually changes.

Choose the track

Define the cue's emotional meaning, energy, vocal tolerance, useful duration, density around speech, and preferred ending before searching. Read references/asset-selection.md when selecting supplied or locally licensed music.