Research into sound - Miss Miller

Research into sound 

Sound is a noise used to create a suspense for the audience and engage them in what they are watching. Its also used in films to help the audience understand what is happening and create more of a meaning about the characters and their emotions. The film i have chosen to analyse is The Conjuring. I am analysing this film as it has many different sounds that engage the audience and helps them understand the film more.

The film started off with an off-screen sound. This was when it was pitch black however you could hear wind blowing but could not see the weather outside. The wind sound showed the audience the type of weather that was outside and engaged them as it was the first sound they heard. The fact that the film started off like this sets up a spooky setting. This means that the audience can build a relationship with the characters as they would feel scared themselves which means they would understand more and know how the character feels in that specific time. This is conventional to a thriller as it engages the audience and sets up a element of suspense ready for them to get frightened. It benefits the audience and helps them think of the film more as a spooky thriller than just an average film. This part of the clip was during 0:00-0:06. 

Silence was also used in this scene. The point of using silence was to create suspense and tension to entice the audience. This was when it was just dark and showing around the room. The silence was used to build up tension for the audience as the scene was just beginning and started off with a spooky sound. The silence also creates anticipation  as the audience are waiting for something to jump out. This builds a relationship with the audience and the character as they both feel the same emotions and both are scared at the same things. The sound of silence is conventional to a thriller film as it intrigues the audience and builds up a suspense for the rest of the scene that will be set in the film. The suspense the silence builds engages the audience more and keeps them on the edge of their seats waiting for something thrilling to happen. This part of the clip was during 0:27-0:34.

A diegetic sound was also used. The diegetic sound was a dialogue. This was when the little girl got scared and got out of her bed to go get her parents. The dialogue shows the audience that the child is scared and needs comfort as she is calling for her "mummy" and "daddy" in the film.  This builds a relationship between the character and the audience as they know that when a child is looking for their parents or calling for them they feel very unsafe and scared and this makes the audience feel more upset and sympathetic for the little scared girl. A dialogue is conventional to a thriller as it gives the audience a small and clearer understanding of what is going to happen and helps them predict the timing of the scares from listening to what is being said in dialogue. A diegetic sound, and in this case, a dialogue engages the audience more and makes them want to know what happens more as the words said by the characters intrigue them. This part of the clip was during 0:58-1:01. 

Another sound terminology used was parallel sound. This was when the little innocent girl went through the dark creepy corridor and opened the door slowly. The parallel sound was expected as the door looked old and people knew it would of made a creepy creaking noise. This builds a relationship and links the audience and the character as it makes them feel like something is going to jump out and danger the girl and feel scared for her as the sound is a creepy one and makes the audience think that something bad and dangerous is going to happen. However this was conventional to a thriller as it made the audience frightened because the sound was high pitched and made them expect and stay on the edge of their seats for a jump scare. This part of the clip was during 1:15-1:19.

My research into sound has taught me many different types of sound terminologies and what they can do to the audience. For example, certain sounds such as silence can be used to interest the audience more, building on the elements of suspense, surprise and shock, to make them enjoy watching the film more. Sound can also be used to set the mood of the audience for a certain part of the film. For example; high pitched sounds can be used to make it more thrilling and scary for the audience as they will think something bad and scary is about to happen. Films all use different sounds to entice the audience but thriller films always use them to engage the audience by building more suspense and scare them when they least expect it. In my own film i am going to include a variety of sound terminologies i have learnt about especially; silence, parallel sound and non-diegetic sound as i believe they are the most effective in a thriller film and makes the audience have a bigger reaction after watching the thriller. I will use silence to create tension to the audience as it would become silent making the audience on edge again waiting for the jump scare to occur or something to come out and harm the victim. I will also use parallel sound as it makes the audience think that something is going to happen leaving them in suspense waiting for something to happen which makes their experience of watching a thriller film more joyful and thrilling. Lastly, I will be using non diegetic sound to create a sinister atmosphere as it would build suspense for the audience engaging them and keeping them on edge waiting for a scare to occur.