Planning Sound

Planning Sound 

Sound is important in a thriller film because it helps to create different elements that are conventional to the thriller genre such as suspense, surprise, shock and tension. The sound helps to emphasise certain parts of a scene that are meant to scare the audience or create joy. There are different types of sound that is used in films, a few examples of this is non diegetic sound, diegetic sound, parallel sound and off screen sound. Sound is important as it helps to make a scene more exciting or interesting and helps to present the style and genre of the film to the audience.

The first sound technique my group planned to use is non diegetic sound. This is sound that is added into the scene and can't be heard by the actors on set. This includes sound effects. We have chosen to use this when I as the antagonist turn around in a close up shot to reveal I am the killer and a cannibal. We have decided that a loud screeching sound will be played as I turned around. This type of sound effect is used to show that I am clearly the antagonist and that I should be feared by the audience. This is conventional to the thriller genre as a loud sound is usually portrayed when the antagonist is revealed as it scares the audience and makes them jump.

The second sound technique we will be using is parallel sound. This is where sound that is used in a scene is sound that we would expect. For example children chanting "trick or treat" in a Halloween film, or a high pitched scream as the antagonist attacks a female victim. My group have planned to use parallel sound in our chase scene, the characters will be screaming as they are being chased and can't find the correct escape route. This is conventional as characters are usually distressed during the chase scene in thriller films as this is the part where the audience anticipate the verdict of the chase scene and are on the edge of their seats wondering whether the characters will survive or be the killers next victims. Another example of parallel sound that we will use is casual conversation between our characters. My group and I decided this would be a good sound technique to use because it makes our scene seem more realistic and will help the audience to relate to the characters and also build a relationship with them as they will be represented as normal people similar to the audience.

The third sound technique we will be using in our opening thriller sequence is off screen sound. This is natural sound that you can hear but can't see what is producing it on screen. We have decided to use this when one of the friends reveals me as the antagonist and also in the chase scene. The sounds that we will play will be footsteps, mumbling sounds and heavy breathing. We will also hear the character mumbling and questioning what is going on as they slowly walk up to me and Kane crouched on the floor before they realise what has happened and that I have killed Kane. The main purpose of this being to create tension and make the audience feel on the edge of their seats. This is conventional to the thriller genre as tension is usually created before a scary part in a scene to make the impact stronger and more scarier for the audience. The natural footsteps sound will also be effective as they can hear and understand what this type of sound is portraying however the cannot see where it is coming from which will leave them wondering and anticipating all the different characters they have built relationships with of their intentions and characteristics and whether they could be the antagonist.

The final sound technique we will use is diegetic/on screen sound. This is sound that the actors can hear whilst on set and also sound which we can see where it is coming from within the scene. My group have planned that we use this type of sound in conversation between characters and also natural sounds such as the crunching if the leaves as we walk on them. This type of sound is conventional to the thriller film as it represents a more natural atmosphere and makes it seem more realistic and relatable to the audience. They can imagine themselves in this situation as the majority of our audience would have probably been in the forest before and experienced the sound of crunching on leaves themselves. When the audience can imagine themselves in the situation it also helps them to build relationships with the characters, this is because they can relate to what is happening and therefore understand how the characters may be feeling. So when the characters start to experience fear and paranoia the audience can start to feel sympathy and fear for them.

 

In conclusion these techniques have made the sequence more conventional due to the different emotions they create for the audience such as shock, surprise, suspense and tension which are all key elements of the thriller genre. This post has helped me to get prepared for my own filming and production of our opening thriller sequence as there is some natural sounds that we may need to consider such as the mumbling, footsteps and the wind and also we may need to find a setting where it is quiet enough for us to make our own sounds which will work successfully within our opening thriller sequence.