Research: sound- Ms Begum

Sound- Sound's are normally used in a film to allow the audience to have a better understanding of the scene as it sets the mood of a scene. Thriller films include sounds and soundtracks into their films in order to build the audiences understanding of what is happening in the film. The sounds are used to represent the characters feelings and emotions in order to influence the audience/ get a certain response from the audience. Sounds used are also able to symbolize both the protagonists and the antagonists movements or feelings in a scene. By using a well thought sound it will create a conventional atmosphere in context to the thriller genre. There are many different sound techniques that directors use within a scene, examples of these would be on- screen/ off-screen sounds etc.

Different types of sound

Diegetic Sound

- This is basically sound which is part of the film world, for example; the dialogue within the film, music from a radio or TV  The sound heard doesn't have to be on screen as it could be laughter heard from a scene with people playing on a beach, whether we see the person laughing or not we still hear it. What we hear allows the audience to understand what is going on in the scene clearer; as it is based upon realistic sounds it makes the scene a lot more intriguing for the audience to watch. Furthermore, Diegetic sounds enable the audience to understand the film/narrative easier, this is due to the fact that the sounds heard add to the atmosphere and mood of the scene. In turn these sounds can cause the audience to emphasize with the scene and the characters within it due to the audience being able to understand the scene.

                                                   

Non-Diegetic Sound

- This sound is when the sound is part of the film and/or visible on screen as it could be a soundtrack, sound effect or voice over etc. These sounds are edited in after the film is created. Furthermore these sounds such as voice-overs can also be used to explain an event within the scene that wasn't shown to the audience this in turn gives the audience a better understanding of what happened/ what is happening. Also it helps to create a suspense filled feeling as the audience are then able to determine what will happen next in the scene e.g. someone is going to die etc. 

                                                                      


On Screen Sound
- On screen sounds are able to be seen by the audience, for example a car alarm going off and the audience being able to actually see the car. Due to the audience being able to hear the whole conversation, they are able to understand the narrative better. Also it has a better effect on the audience as if they could only hear the girl talking (in scream) the conversation wouldn't have a good enough impact. Also it may confuse the audience and cause them to lose interest. Furthermore, on screen sounds help the audience to understand what is happening in the scene easier as they know exactly where the sound is coming from and why they are making that specific sound, in turn on screen sounds allow the audience to feel a sense of understanding.

                                                              
 Off screen sound
- Off screen sounds are sounds that can be heard but not seen by the audience, E.g. Traffic Sounds, a Police siren, someone coughing etc. Off screen sounds can also be used within a thriller film in order to build suspense and tension e.g creaking floor boards or a window smashing etc. due to them being able to build suspense and tension, it also allows the audience to empathize with the atmosphere and mood of the scenes containing off screen sounds.

                                       

Parallel Sound

-  A Parallel sound is a sound that is expected to be heard by the audience for example if we see a window break the audience will expect to hear a crack or smash; similar to the setting being in a traffic jam, we expect to hear horns and shouts of people getting frustrated etc. Parallel sounds are conventional as the audience expect to hear some kind of parallel sound in any film they watch. This creates a sense of reality within a film as the audience understand what is going on in the film and it helps to build and create a humanized atmosphere.

                                                   

Contrapuntal Sound

- A contrapuntal sound is when the sound heard does not match the on-screen performance for example in the film "Jaws" the scenes of the beach are accompanied by the contrapuntal theme song "dur dur dur", this sound does not match with the happy images which confuses the audience and also builds up tension and suspense as they get disconnected from the film so they are not able to interpret what will happen next. Contrapuntal sounds help a lot when it comes to building suspense within a scene.


                                           

Conclusion:
Conclusively; studying the different types of sound has helped me to think about my own thriller film and what sounds i will decide to use. I have been able to identify sounds that are conventional to a thriller such as a soundtrack within the opening scene. I have warmed to the effect of Contrapuntal sound simply because I wish to confuse the audience in order to build up tension, this in turn will prevent the audience from determining what will happen next. Also i feel as though it will make the audience feel a sense of reality within the film.