Sound in Thrillers Notes

Sound in Thrillers Notes

 

Sound terms:

Sound bridge (A scene changes but the sound stays the same)

Voiceover (Voice edited on top of a moving image)

Ambient sound (Any sounds that create an atmosphere)

Incidental sound (Hearing something you can’t see, but reacting to it)

Diegetic (Natural sounds)

Non-Diegetic (Unnatural sounds)

Dialogue (When people are talking)

Asynchronous (Contradicts the event coming)

Soundtrack (Music edited in)

Diminuendo (Sounds gets quieter)

Crescendo (Sound gets louder)

Synchronous (Goes with the action and event occurring in the scene)

 

Soundtrack 1:

What do you notice about the sound?

-It rises, crescendo and lowers, diminuendo.
-It is a soundtrack, music that is edited in.
-Non-diegetic
-I can tell it is asynchronous as it foreshadows that a bad event is going to take place.

How should it make the audience feel?

-Scared
-Curious as to what’s happening
-Makes the audience feel tense

What sort of instruments are used?

-Piano
-Trumpets
-Flute
-Violin
-Orchestral instruments (Classic in Thrillers)

How does it give away the genre?

-High violin screeches in some areas, building tension and making the audience feel less at ease

Soundtrack 2: 28 Years Later

What do you notice about the sound?

-Slow paced at the beginning
-Soundtrack
-Audience knows something is going to happen as the music becomes faster

How should it make the audience feel?

-Hopeful at the beginning
-Turns to a more smooth rock tone which could make the audience feel happy and at ease
-At the end, going slow paced
-False sense of hope

What sort of instruments are used?

-Acoustic guitar
-Electric guitar
-Drums
-Out of tune piano

How does it give away the genre

-Slow, giving hope
-Fast, audience feels tense

Soundtrack 3: Twisted Nerve

What do you notice about the sound?

-Ambience of the water and tweeting of a bird

How should it make the audience feel?

-Creates happiness, no harsh tones from pianos or guitars
-An asynchronous sound, doesn’t match the theme as a murder had just taken place

What sort of instruments are used?

-Piano

What makes effective sound in thrillers?

-Violin screeches
-Slow whistling of wind, ambience
-Crescendo’s and diminuendo’s (Tense atmosphere)
-Harsh tones
-A blood curdling scream
-Contrasts between high and low pitches
-Orchestral music
-Further into the song add in instruments that are out of tune, e.g. Piano or guitar to give a sense of distortion
-Repetitive sound, loop hole to make the audience feel in the action.
-Strings, often high pitched
-In a minor key, spooky and emotional
-Heart beat
-Nursery rhymes sung buy a child, nerving
-No lyrics
-Synchronous and asynchronous sounds
-Increasing in speed and volume