Sound Discussion - Miss Miller

Sound Discussion

Introduction

Sound within films is very important especially in the thriller genre. This is due to the fact that sound alone is what can make a sequence erie and disturbing. A simple sound of footsteps, heavy breathing or even a heartbeat can contribute into making a scene successfully disturbing. We plan to use very simple and quiet tones to create a conventional thriller. As well as Parallel music that will support the theme we have of creating a very unsettling scene.

Parallel 

Sound of a heartbeat is introduced when Cameron's mother is killed. When he violently makes impact with her and thumping sound of a heart will be present. This will emphasises the pain that is being inflicted on his mother. They will recognise the fact that this human life is coming to an end and the pain and suffering will conclude with a heart that stops beating. The audience will then become very fearful of Cameron and lose respect for his character after murdering his own mother and this sound will encourage this, as it demonstrates how innocent the mother is due to the fact that this murder is very physically brutal and she was not able to defend herself. The sound of the heartbeat may appear very unsettling to the audience as it is the main functioning muscle and when someone is scared or emotional it can get louder and more frequent which is what happens in this scene to display Cameron's mothers fear. Which ultimately causes the audience to fear him to. This is conventional to a thriller as it fits in within the disturbing character, the fact he is able to murder his innocent mother someone who you are extremely close to shows that in actual fact Cameron's character does not have a heart at all and is very cold. The sound of the heart is also conventional when making the attack a lot more personal. As it assembles the fact that the life is draining out of her.

Diegetic

In the beginning the character of Cameron will begin pulling a chair across the floor very slowly and steadily. This is to create a suspenseful atmosphere within the film and prolong the agonising realisation of what Cameron is about to do. The chair will be dragged with no emotion to make the audience sympathise with him. It will create the image that Cameron is being dragged under by his opposing side. His 'evil side', they will begin to build a relationship with this character through the slow paced, quiet sounds which symbolise how his life is coming to an end.This is conventional to a thriller as suicides and deaths are often very common at the opening of a thriller and the rest of the film is revolved around the murder, Suggesting why he was done it and what caused the horrific breakdown that results in suicide. The audience have no clue what has happened to Cameron. They can only suggest he has had a long and heavy weight on his shoulder due to the prolonged sound of the dragging chair the audience may also feel his ongoing depression.

Off screen

In our opening sequence we are going to use off-screen sounds. This is demonstrated in the scene where Harmony is walking home and gets a phone call from Cameron. His voice remains to be the off-screen noise we hear. The audience are able to hear reply but they will not see his face and know where he is or what his intentions now are. The use of the technique off-screen sound is very conventional to the thriller genre as it builds suspense due to the audience questioning where the sound is initially coming from. Most of the time in thrillers we are kept from a lot of information and lots of secrets are often present within a thriller. The use of Off screen sounds causes them to try and adapt the sound to where they think it is. This will result in them being very observant within the scene trying to see where they can identify the sound. This creates a fear full relationship with the character Harmony as the audience is unable to grantee her safety as they know Cameron's character could be hidden around the corner.

Non diegetic

In our thriller film, the song "tip-toe through the tulips" Will begin playing and then fade out at the end of our opening sequence. This non diegetic sound is very innocently portrayed which will also act as very disturbing sound to the audience as they will not be anticipating this type of music to be played at the end of a thriller just after a murder. This song is used to create a better understanding and relationship with Cameron's character. The use of this childlike piece of music resembles Cameron's 'evil side' by not really fitting in with normal society, just like how this song docent necessary fit in with the thriller genre, except when used for effect like this. In addition to being a very unusual piece of music that will be being played. It will cause the audience to feel very stressed and panicked as to why the music is so unexpected. After a murder a sad or aggressive piece of music is usually played but in this case it is not. This ultimately is conventional to a thriller as it supports the theme of a unsettling character which is present throughout our thriller opening.

Conclusion

This post has prepared me for filming as my opening thriller sequence as by planning ahead it gives me an idea in my head of where each of these sound effects will be placed. The fact that these techniques each fit the thriller genre in a unique way shows us already that our opening sequence is going to be successful when trying to portray a disturbed character and erie setting. All from just planning the sound effects that are going to present in our thriller opening.