Research into Sound - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Research into Sound

Introduction:

Sound is used within films to create an understanding for the audience and to create more meaning about the characters and emotions. If sound was not used within films then it would not keep the audiences attention and they would probably get very bored of the film. The story of a thriller film with the conventions such as victim and villains as well as weapons and darkness would not be easy to understand without sound. Even dialogue counts as sound and without this the idea of the film would not be easy to keep up with and the audience would not understand the overall story line. Sound is used to create a response from the audience and engage them in what they are watching in order to help them understand the film well and want to continue watching it.

Chosen Film Scene - Scream 2

Diegetic Sound 

   

There is Diegetic sound numerous times within the film scene. Diegetic sound is the sound that is part of the film e.g. dialogue, music from the radio or explosions normally. There is Diegetic sound at the beginning of the scene where she is shouting at the man. This shows the state of panic that she is in and the fact that she is socked and upset that this has happened makes the audience think and feel the same thing. This is conventional to a thriller film because there is a female victim who is the one that is shouting and screaming which leads the audience to believe that she is the main victim of the scene. The sound of the shouting makes the audience feel sorry for the character because she is stressed and afraid that he is going to do something stupid.
  
There is also Diegetic sound when she is being followed around the room and this shows again that she is in a state of panic and needs help. The audience may feel panicked for her because the sound of rushed breathing can make the audience feel bad for her having to run and be chased. There is only the sound of her breathing that can be heard as she is moving around the room running away from the masked man, this creates tension for the audience as they want to know if she will survive or not. This is again conventional to a thriller film because again there is the female victim that is being followed and chased not the man and the masked man has a knife which is conventional to a thriller representing the fact that someone within the scene is probably going to die.

 Another example of diegetic sound within this scene is the use of the man running up the stairs. This creates the effect of panic and rush for the audience and they have a hope that he will be okay. The idea of him running up the stairs shows that he is trying to run from the masked man. It is conventional to a thriller film because the masked man has a knife (weapon) which signifies that someone is going to die and when he runs up the stairs it is dark and looks abandoned therefore this is conventional to a thriller however the fact that the victim that is being chased is a man and normally conventional to a thriller it is a female victim being chased. At this moment it then may cause the audience to be confused and they may not feel as sorry for a man that is being chased or followed because they are not as vulnerable. This scene is also conventional to a thriller because thriller generally have a 'good guy' and a 'bad guy' which shows that there is a victim and a villain in this scene the victim is the man and gale and the villain is the masked man.

Non - Diegetic Sound

  
 An example of non-diegetic sound within this scene is the backing tracks and tense music that is put into the film within the editing stage. Within the scene the tense music when gales was running up the corridor was non-diegetic sound because it would not have been part of the scene. When the scene is filmed she would have run up the corridor and there would have been no tension created for the audience or for the rest of the scene. The music gets faster and paces quicker, the faster she is running the quicker the music goes which creates tension and suspense for the audience as the audience feel sorry for her running and wouldn't want to be in her position as she is running fast and trying to get away from the masked man. This is conventional to a thriller film because again she is the female victim that the scene is concentrating on being chased and there is the typical villain and victim but there is also the fact that within the setting it is an abandoned corridor and seems to be an abandoned building which creates suspense for the audience because they know that nobody is going to come out and help her and that she is on her own being chased so it gets rid of any hope that the audience may have that she is going to be helped.

On Screen Sound  

There is on screen sound used within this scene when they are in the cinema room because there is sound coming from the television. This is on screen sound within the scene because it is sound coming from somewhere else in the same room that can be seen. This has effect on the audience because they know that it is on the screen and can actually hear where it is coming from whilst it still makes sense to the scene. This is conventional to a thriller film because the cinema is that they are in and where the TV that is playing is abandoned and they are the only two in there. This first of all raises suspicion for the audience as they are the only two people in there and the audience wonders why they are in there and secondly the fact that they are the only two in the room watching this TV creates tension as it is aimed at them.

Another example of on screen sound is when the masked man is slicing the knife through the air in an attempt to stab Gale because the audience can hear the slice of the knife and can see where the sound is coming from, and it fits within the scene. This could also be Diegetic sound because the knife sound is in the scene. This is conventional to a thriller film because there is always a weapon used in a thriller film. This can make the audience feel tense and make them feel sorry for Gale as she is trying to escape the man in the mask.

Silence

There is Silence used within this scene of the film before the man gets stabbed as she is in a sound proof room and the man is being stabbed by the masked man. This silence creates effect for the audience because they feel like the moment may be over briefly for only 5 seconds or so and so the audience feels a slight twinge of relief and then something bad obviously happens and so he gets stabbed. This is conventional to a thriller film because there is a female victim that  was chased however in this case it is a man that is stabbed which is not typically conventional to a thriller.  

Conclusion 
  
In conclusion there is a variety of sound options that are needed within a thriller film in order to make them interesting and inviting and to make the audience want to continue or actually want to watch the film. This research into sound has helped me to understand that if there was no sound in a film then it wouldn't work very well and it would be very difficult to follow or understand a film as well as the fact that certain parts of a film wouldn't be understandable. The sound is the part of a film that creates most of the shock, suspense and surprise, if there is no sound then you may not feel surprise or shock and there would probably not be any tension for the audience. Occasionally within a film they may not be a some sound at all there may just be literal silence which in this instance can create tension when sandwiched in between loud sounds. These silences are more like a pause and generally don't last any more than 20 seconds.  This research has helped me to understand what sounds to use within my own thriller sequence to make it as effective as possible. For example within my own thriller sequence I will most likely use Diegetic sound as this is sound that is part of the scene most commonly dialogue and what the characters are talking about. Also I am most likely to use non-diegetic sound of adding in some tense music in the background because this makes the scenes more tense for the audience and helps them to engage with the film. Other sounds that I would like to use is silence because this can create some really good effect because silence creates tension which can draw in an audience and let them know whats happening.