Press release: Discover the fantastical gap: How sound and music transcend the screen

Journalists sitting and writing in notepads

7 Jan 2024

Professor Milton Mermikides to present lecture for Gresham College on Thursday, 16 January 2025, at Rich Mix, London 

Humans have always been storytellers, gathering around fires to share tales that cross the boundary between imagination and reality.  

The cinema screen – now joined by the monitor and mobile device – is the latest in these storytelling inventions, a boundary that invites us into new worlds while keeping us grounded in our own.  

Sound and music are integral to this immersive experience, and hold a unique and enigmatic role in film, TV, and video games.  

Not only do they guide our emotions and enhance storytelling, but they also inhabit distinct realms: the world of the audience and the world of the characters.  

Sometimes, music crosses these boundaries, breaking the fourth wall and creating what has been called the “fantastical gap”. This phenomenon blurs the lines between fiction and reality, leading to profound and often transformative effects on the audience. 

In this engaging lecture, Gresham Professor of Music Milton Mermikides delves into the paradoxical role of sound and music in screen media.  

Taking place at Rich Mix, an independent cinema and arts venue in central London, on Thursday, January 16, 2025, the lecture offers a unique experience: an exploration of the narrative effects of screen music, presented within the very environment it seeks to analyze – a cinema.  

Through a range of examples spanning cinematic history, the lecture examines how sound design and music can transgress conventional boundaries, transforming narrative and emotional experience. 

“Sound and music are crucial yet often invisible elements of our favorite screen stories,” says Professor Mermikides.  

“Through carefully selected film clips and in-depth analysis, we’ll uncover how breaking the fourth wall can reshape our relationship with the screen. Whether it’s through playful irony or deeply emotional moments, this fantastical gap offers a powerful lens on the art of storytelling.” 

The lecture will showcase films projected on the big screen, immersing attendees in the audiovisual magic of cinema while revealing the layers of sound and music often taken for granted.  

By bridging academic insight and audience enjoyment, Professor Mermikides promises an evening that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. 

Gresham College has been delivering free, high-quality public lectures for more than 425 years, featuring luminaries from Christopher Wren to Sir Roger Penrose. This tradition continues with Professor Mermikides’ exploration of the intricate relationship between music, sound, and storytelling. 

ENDS 

Notes to Editors  

Images available on request

For more information about this story or to arrange an interview with a Gresham Professor please contact: Phil Creighton press@gresham.ac.uk   

About Gresham College  
Gresham College has been providing free, educational lectures - at the university level - since 1597 when Sir Thomas Gresham founded the college to bring Renaissance Learning to Londoners. Our history includes some of the luminaries of the scientific revolution including Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren and connects us to the founding of the Royal Society.  

Today we carry on Sir Thomas's vision. The College aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to champion academic rigour, professional expertise and freedom of expression. www.gresham.ac.uk  

Gresham College is a registered charity number 1039962 and relies on donations to help us encourage people's love of learning for many years to come. For more details or to make a gift, visit our website.

About the Worlds of Music series  
This series explores a selection of wonders of the musical world: artists, pieces and genres of particular invention, revolution and cultural collision.  

From African drumming to Arvo Pärt, from Bach to The Beatles, these lectures shine a light on moments which have shaped and enriched our musical landscape, demonstrating the endless diversity and expressive potential of music.