Research Into Sound- Miss Miller

For this post I will be researching the sound from a scene of the thriller film 'Sinister.' I have chosen this clip due to such dramatic tension it portrays for the couple of minutes it shows in which thrill the audience wanting to see what happens next. Sound is important for thriller films in general as it gives the illusion towards the audience that a particular scene is scarier than it would have been without any non-diegetic sound. By having sound makes a film more effective as it can create a bond with the characters and the audience through the sound of dialogue. This way; the audience can see emotions certain characters are feeling and relate to it in a way to whether they have been in a similar, emotional situation. 

Sound techniques

Non-diegetic sound - throughout this scene, there is a constant background sound called non-diegetic sound. This makes the scene seem more scary, making it effective. The sound gets louder as the scary children get closer to the main character, showing that he is about to be in danger. This builds tension towards the audience. After the next child comes, the non-diegetic sound is very faint and then gets louder as they get closer with more music and volume being added. This is suppose to represent the thrill the audience feels at that moment This is effective as it helps to make a scene seem more mysterious and thrilling. This builds a connection with the audience as they are worried towards what is going to happen to the character of the victim. The audience sympathise for them and almost feel the experience with the character within the scene as they are watching it as if they are involved, making it an effective scene.

On-screen sound - this is where you can see and hear where the sound is coming from within the film. The sound and visual image of video player equipment going round in circles as it is playing. This allows the character to come back into reality as he goes to turn the video off, letting him forget about his paranoia. The audience is put more under the influence towards the realism of this scene as there are normal, day-to-day things going on and surrounding the character (set in a normal family house.) You can see the video player as the character turns it of and the sound of it stops, making it an on-screen sound. This is a useful technique as the audience can be more familar with the surrounding of the characters, making it seem more realistic and effective. By having sounds from the scene where the audience can clearly see, allows the audience to relate to a thrilling experience they have experienced if its in the same scenario, for example; in a dark setting of an unwelcoming house. If the audience can make a scene relatable, can be extremely effective as the audience are creating a stronger bond with the particular characters. 2:16

On-screen sound - as the door squeaks because the father has opened it to see if his children are ok. His daughters door squeaks but the sons bedroom door does not. This builds suspense as the audience question if she is asleep or not as she moves around. The sound of the creepy, loud door makes this particular scene effective as it makes the girl ghost who is in the daughters room more scary and the audience sympathise for the frightened, innocent daughter. This sound is on-screen sound as you can see the father open the door as it creeks. 2:40

Silence - as there is non-diegetic sound is at the scariest part of the scene, the father carries on walking, there is a glimpse of silence before the non-diegetic music starts again to create more thrill. By having silence created tension as the audience does not know what to expect. There is silence as he eagerly checks for the safety of his children, this creates tension upon the audience as you want to see if they are safe, spshwoing the bond the audience make with the characters. 2:35

Dialogue - only form of communication throughout whole scene when the ghost child whispers "shh" to the daughter, by only having this as dialogue makes it more effective as it could interpret to the audience that they are too scared to talk, they do not know what's going on, so therefore they cannot make communication. There should not be any dialogue in this scene as it is meant to be night time, so children and parents should be asleep, ready for their routine of the next day. This shows so etching abnormal is going on as the father is walking around cautiously in his own house carrying a baseball batamd the daughter is staring at something she does not understand, as she is only a child she would not understand the full concept of paranormal activity, which would frighten her even more.  2:60

I think this research has taught me that sound is very important in any genre of film. I always knew sound played a role in creating tension towards the audience but I never knew the importance of it until I watched the 'Sinister' scene without any sound and all the difference it makes. Without sound, scenes from films are not as effective or creative, does not involve the audience and makes it confusing, does not not grab the audiences attention the same way as sound techniques which are used like diegetic/non-diegetic sound, on/off screen sound, parrallel sound, contrapuntal sound, voice over/narrative sound, silence or sound bridge.