Sound are used in films to create meaning for the audience and to create more understanding to the character and their feelings or emotions. Sound can also have a huge impact towards the audience as it can make them have a physiological or psychological reaction. There are several techniques that films used which are:
Diegetic sound - diegetic sound are part of the film world, it can be on or off screen sound.
Non - Diegetic sound - non - diegetic sound is all the sound which are not part of the film world such as soundtrack or voice of the narrator. A classic example is that you will hear an eerie and dark soundtrack which builds anxiety and adreanline to the audience.
Parallel sound - parallel sound is when the sound you hear is what you expect, for example in the movie 'Paranormal Activity' where supernatural action take place, you will hear the doors closing by them self.
Contrapuntal sound - contrapuntal sound is when the sound does not match the scene which confuse or make the scene more relaxed to the audience. An example is evident in the film 'Jaws'. In a particular scene we can see people playing on the beach having good times but the sound we ears is dur, dur, dur, which help emphasis that something dangerous will occur.
Scream analysis:
From this scene we can see that digetic and on screen sound is used when we see the character screaming with an echo sound and the footstep of the female in distress running away. This makes the audience witness that the character is kidnapped or that she is asking for help which is conventional to a thriller genre as as the theme of chasing or kidnapped is present in the scene. Moreover, we can hear that non - digetic sound of a soundtrack is used.The sound is creepy and mysterious which makes the viewers assume that something threatening will happen. As the antagonist is introduced, the sound becomes louder and dark, which makes the spectators infer that the antagonist is going to kill the victim in a brutal way which conventional to a thriller genre as it creates a sense of suspense which excite the audience.
The Loved Ones analysis:
From this trailer we can hear parallel sound such as the bell ringing and the crowd chatting in the corridor. The audience response is that they hear what they expect to see which makes them feel comfortable as the scene looks natural and enjoyable. Furthermore we can hear the non- diegetic sound used in the trailer. The soundtrack firstly sound pleasant and relaxing making the audience feels joyful and secure, but as the scene develops, the sound becomes sinister and dark which build the audience to have a feeling of tension as something brutal and dangerous will occur. Lastly, we can hear the digetic and on-screen sound of the cars driving to catch the victim from escaping the house. The sound we hear is the car driving really fast which create a feeling of suspense and tension to the audience which is conventional to a thriller movie as the themes of kidnap, chasing, and torture is shown.
Face Off analysis:
From this scene the main sound we hear is the contrapuntal sound of a relaxing tune. This does not match the scene of people shooting each other, as the audience will expect to hear people screaming in pain and shotguns, so they will feel sorry for them and create adrenaline. However, we can still hear the parallel sound of shotgun. The two sound techniques contradicts each other, yet is still work in this scene, which makes the audience feels confused as they don't know what is real and unreal in the scene. Lastly, we can hear the on-screen sound of an explosion. This makes the audience feel excited and thrilled as the conventional action of explosion and shooting is presented in the scenario.
- On screen sound is when you can see where the sound is coming from. For example, in a Thriller movie you will see victim screaming in pain.
- Off screen sound is when you can hear the sound but you can' t see where the sound is coming from however it makes sense in the scene. An example could be that you hear the sound of a shotgun but you can't see where is coming from which build the audience have a feeling of suspense.
Non - Diegetic sound - non - diegetic sound is all the sound which are not part of the film world such as soundtrack or voice of the narrator. A classic example is that you will hear an eerie and dark soundtrack which builds anxiety and adreanline to the audience.
Parallel sound - parallel sound is when the sound you hear is what you expect, for example in the movie 'Paranormal Activity' where supernatural action take place, you will hear the doors closing by them self.
Contrapuntal sound - contrapuntal sound is when the sound does not match the scene which confuse or make the scene more relaxed to the audience. An example is evident in the film 'Jaws'. In a particular scene we can see people playing on the beach having good times but the sound we ears is dur, dur, dur, which help emphasis that something dangerous will occur.
From this scene we can see that digetic and on screen sound is used when we see the character screaming with an echo sound and the footstep of the female in distress running away. This makes the audience witness that the character is kidnapped or that she is asking for help which is conventional to a thriller genre as as the theme of chasing or kidnapped is present in the scene. Moreover, we can hear that non - digetic sound of a soundtrack is used.The sound is creepy and mysterious which makes the viewers assume that something threatening will happen. As the antagonist is introduced, the sound becomes louder and dark, which makes the spectators infer that the antagonist is going to kill the victim in a brutal way which conventional to a thriller genre as it creates a sense of suspense which excite the audience.
The Loved Ones analysis:
From this trailer we can hear parallel sound such as the bell ringing and the crowd chatting in the corridor. The audience response is that they hear what they expect to see which makes them feel comfortable as the scene looks natural and enjoyable. Furthermore we can hear the non- diegetic sound used in the trailer. The soundtrack firstly sound pleasant and relaxing making the audience feels joyful and secure, but as the scene develops, the sound becomes sinister and dark which build the audience to have a feeling of tension as something brutal and dangerous will occur. Lastly, we can hear the digetic and on-screen sound of the cars driving to catch the victim from escaping the house. The sound we hear is the car driving really fast which create a feeling of suspense and tension to the audience which is conventional to a thriller movie as the themes of kidnap, chasing, and torture is shown.
Face Off analysis:
From this scene the main sound we hear is the contrapuntal sound of a relaxing tune. This does not match the scene of people shooting each other, as the audience will expect to hear people screaming in pain and shotguns, so they will feel sorry for them and create adrenaline. However, we can still hear the parallel sound of shotgun. The two sound techniques contradicts each other, yet is still work in this scene, which makes the audience feels confused as they don't know what is real and unreal in the scene. Lastly, we can hear the on-screen sound of an explosion. This makes the audience feel excited and thrilled as the conventional action of explosion and shooting is presented in the scenario.
Conclusion:
In resolution from this research, which was beneficial to my knowledge, I am more comfortable to make a thriller opening using different techniques of sound.The sound that I intend to use, which will be conventional to a thriller genre, are eerie soundtrack of dark music, also diegetic sound of people having a conversation and off-screen sound of a girl screaming which will create a feeling of mystery to make the audience feels frustrated and anxious as they will not see who is screaming and in need of help. These sound that I intend to use are conventional to the thriller genre as it creates thrill and suspense to the audience.
Sound techniques and their effect on the audience has been discussed in a detailed way. Good range of thriller examples used.
ReplyDelete- Explain more clearly the effect sound techniques can have on the audience.
- Link each sound technique definition to a specific thriller example.
- For Scream, explain the effect on the audience in more detail.
- For The Loved Ones, provide two more sound technique examples and how they effect audience.
- For Face Off, explain the effect on the audience in a clearer manner.
- Think about how you can explain your conclusion in a clearer way.
Hi Miss, thank you for the feedback. I have improved the post like you have asked, I have explained clearly the effect sound techniques have on the audience. I also linked each sound techniques to a specific thriller scenario, and explained my thriller example in more details.
DeleteA highly proficient post. Well done.
ReplyDelete