Planning Sound - Miss Miller

The element of sound is one of the most important elements when creating a sequence, especially in the thriller genre because sound is the the main way that the audience feel the elements of shock, surprise, suspense and tension. Planning sound is important because there are a substantial amount of factors that myself and Krista, my partner, had't thought about. For example, we hadn't thought about where we would use the techniques within the sequence and how it would effect the audience. This is why planning is necessary. Also, writing all of our notes down allowed us to remember everything we needed to include. There are a variety of sound techniques some of which include; digetic sound, this is when the music or sound that belongs within the scene is considered a natural part of the story. E.g. a radio being played in the scene. There is also non digetic sound, this is when sound or music that is added on after in the editing stage. Parallel sound is when the sound and the images on the screen complement each other. Contrapuntal sound is when the sound and image do not complement each other, For example, when a sinister scene is on the screen and happy music is being played in the background. The voice over sound technique is when the dialogue is added to the film during the editing stage. Off screen sound is when you are able to hear the sound but cannot see where it originally comes from. The opposite to this technique is on screen sound and this is used when you can see and hear where the sound is coming from within the film.

As part of the task, we completed a spider diagram with our ideas of sound techniques that we will be using within our piece, stating exactly in which scene we would use them, how it was conventional and how it would make the audience feel. There are a variety of things we need to think about. We need to think about which sounds are mostly seen in thriller films, and the reactions that are created from the audience when they hear these sounds. We also need to consider which sounds techniques we think our target audience want to hear/encounter within our sequence.

The first technique we have decided to use within our thriller opening sequence is off screen sound, this is when you can hear music or sound, but you can't see where it is actually coming from. This is a good technique because it leaves the audience wondering what the source is, and sometimes wonder how it started playing. Not showing the source of the sound can connote to the audience that the person talking is unimportant, and if it is music playing that we cannot see, it often means that the viewers shouldn't be focusing on that and that something more important is coming up on the screen. The use of this technique helps to create suspense and tension for the viewers as something bad could happen on screen at anytime. Within our piece, it will be used to represent the sound of the female victim screaming as she is stabbed, the audience will not see her murder take place. This is because it creates mystery even though the viewers know what has happened. Her screaming but not being seen will portray her as being inferior to the hitman. The fact that she is not shown dying can also give the viewers the suspicion that she wasn't the woman that he was supposed to kill. This creates tension as the audience can't see her falling to her death, but they can imply that the murder has happened. This is conventional because they audience are unaware of what has happened, and this makes them want to watch more of the film. So, the elements of suspense, shock, surprise and tension are all present. The audience build a relationship with the female victim because her death was unnecessary and therefore leaves them feeling sympathetic towards her.

The second technique that we have decided that we will use within our sequence is silence. Silence is very useful within the thriller genre because although no one is saying or doing anything bad that we can see, it doesn't mean it isn't happening. So, with silence, the audience are left in the dark about what is happening as they can't hear anything suspicious. It will be used from the man walking into the house, to when the woman turns around. This is conventional because this creates tension within the audience as it is harder for them to predict what will happen next and the element of surprise is in motion as the viewers are given no warnings.

The third technique myself and Krista decided that we would use within our thriller opening sequence is parallel sound. As previously dictated, parallel sound is when the sounds and the image shown compliment each other. For example, when someone is talking and they show that person. Or it could be if they showed a gun going through something. The image and sound have to match each other. Krista and I decided that we would use this to show when the knife is going into the female victims body several times. This creates tension within the audience because although they cannot see the knife going into the woman's body, the sound of the stabbing can be heard so they are not left unaware. It also creates surprise and shock for the viewers because they didn't expect it to happen especially as it was the wrong woman. This is conventional because shock and tension will be felt during this scene. The audience create a bond with the woman because even though they didn't know her for very long, they know that she didn't deserve to be killed. Therefore, they feel sorry for her because her life shouldn't have been taken away from her. The viewers also create a relationship with the hitman because they feel that he didn't have to kill her and are confused as to why he did. We have seen that he would end somebody's life when given money, and this therefore shows that this man has no mercy, so, the audience are not sure what he is capable of.

The last technique we have decided that we will use within our sequence is non diegetic sound. As mentioned in the introduction, this is when the sound or music is added on during the editing stage. Myself and Krista have decided that it will be used to show the exchange of money taking place. The sinister music will be played at the beginning to connote that it the scene is sinister and evil. This creates enigma immediately because it suggests to the audience that something bad is going to happen during the sequence. This makes the audience prepared as they are given the hint of the sinister music. Although they know something is going to happen, they still feel surprised and shocked when they see what happens because the story line is original and unexpected. This technique is conventional because it keeps the tension built up and therefore means that it is a good thriller piece. This allows the audience to feel a bond and get to know the characters from the beginning as they are introduced.

In conclusion, i now believe that my opening thriller piece will be more effective in creating the right reactions and emotions because i have really thought about how the sounds we will be using for the sequence can be conventional. If they are conventional then that makes the audience more likely to enjoy them and therefore they will feel the right emotions and produce the correct reactions that are needed when viewing a thriller film. I found the planning helpful because it allowed us to really think about how good our ideas could be and it allowed us to go in depth with them.