Research Into Sound - Miss Miller

I have decided to research into the sound part of thriller films. Sound is one of the main factors of thriller movies because it gives the audience a different reaction in comparison to what you would hear if you were to see a silent thriller. Silence is an important part of the sound topic in movies because t creates tension and as we know, tension is one of the main things the audience we feel when watching a thriller. I have chosen to use a clip from 'The Strangers' in order to complete this post. I believe that this scene has a lot of the main sounds that the viewers see in the majority of thriller films. Some of these sounds include, digetic sound, which is when the music within a frame is considered to be part of the main narrative. However it is not always visible on screen. For example, when we hear the radio of a car being played. This is the opposite to non - digetic sound, which is when no sound is actually part of the film, but is adding on afterwards with editing. Sound is important to thriller films because without it, we wouldn't hear any of the sinister music playing in the background, and without that it doesn't create tension, suspense, shock or surprise. Sound is also used to show the audience the emotions that  the characters are feeling, it creates more meaning and this helps to understand the story and characters better. The audience engage more with them because sound creates a response and it makes the viewers feel a certain way. For example, if the thriller has sinister music, they can connote that they are supposed to be scared or there is a scary scene coming up. 

I have decided to use a clip from the film 'The strangers''. The first sound device that is used is non -digetic sound. This is when sound or music is added on afterwards, such as in the editing stage. This is heard when the sinister music plays in the background. This is played from the beginning of the scene where it is quiet and gradually gets louder as the clip goes on. The low volume of the music can connote that the antagonist is not yet close enough to the girl, when it gets louder, it can suggest that the villain is getting nearer to the girl. The sinister music makes the audience scared and allows them to think something bad will happen to the girl. Sinister music is conventional within the thriller genre because it shows the audience that an important scene is coming up. The loud music can show just how powerful the villain is compared to the girl. I believe it warns the viewers that the villain is coming closer, and it can also signify death. As the clip gets closer to the end, the audience can see that the girl didn't die, however, i believe it was a warning from the villain to the character that she will die soon. This creates suspense as the viewers want to see what happens to the woman but must wait to hear the whole story as it unfolds. When music like this is played, it can mean that it is an important scene so they are highlighting it with sinister music to make the audience remember it. It also allows emotions to be reflected onto the screen. (Music starts at 0:01, and changes at 0:16. The music gradually gets louder till the end of the scene.)

The next sound device that is used within this clip is digetic sound, this is when the music or sound that is played in the scene is considered a natural part of the narrative, it doesn't have to be visible on screen. An example of this is a car radio playing. In the clip, i can see that digetic sound is used when the record player starts to play an old song as the girl tries to hide from the antagonist. As the record player started playing on it's own, this can show the audience that the villain is very powerful compared to the young woman. The tune makes the audience feel scared and worried about what will happen next. I believe that it heightens the emotions of the audience as well as the character because she is wondering how the music started playing and how she will get away from the antagonist. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her because they want her to be safe. However, this is a thriller, and it is unlikely that she will be safe anytime soon. (The song on the player starts from 0:15 and ends at 2:37.)

The device that is shown next in this scene is off screen sound, this is when you can hear the sound but cannot actually see where the source of the noise is. I can see this sound device being used when i hear the noise of glass being smashed. This is off screen because i cannot actually see where it is coming from. All i can see is that the sound is coming from outside, possibly by the antagonist. In my opinion, it is a warning to the character as well as the viewers that something is coming and it can also mean that the glass is a symbol that represents the girl, and that she will be broken when the villain gets their hands on her. This leaves the audience unaware of what will happen, it leaves them in the dark as they can't see where the source of the sound is coming from. (The sound can be heard from 0:08 and continues throughout the clip.)

The last device is contrapuntal sound, this is when the sound and image do not complement each other, for example, happy music played over something sad happening on the screen. This is used within the scene when the music on the record player is playing whilst the girl is hiding from the antagonist. This makes the audience feel scared because they have two things to worry about so they feel worried for the girl. The girl is stressed out because she doesn't know where to hide but also how and why the sound is playing. This makes the audience feel more than one emotion and the fact that there are different sounds playing with different images on the screen, the audience are left feeling overwhelmed because they have to concentrate on what is happening on the screen as well as what is being heard in the background.

To conclude, this post has taught me about the various ways i can include sound into my thriller piece. This keeps the scenes interesting and keeps the viewers engaged at all times. I now know i must include a wide range of the techniques in order to receive good feedback from the people who watch the sequence i will make. Sound is the main way of creating tension for the audience because in thrillers, the sound is normally very slow then gradually builds up, so, this builds up the suspense as the audience want to see what happens next. At the end of the music, it is normally very loud and dramatic, so this creates the element of shock and surprise. From this clip, i have taken many inspirations such as as the fact that i would like to use sinister music, because that is very conventional within a thriller, it allows the audience to feel suspense and tension as they wait for the bad things to happen, this is because sinister music is an indication of an evil/demonic presence. Therefore, it will hint to the audience when something that will fear them is about to appear.