Sound in Thrillers
Sound in thrillers is a key point into making the right
atmosphere. All genres of film have different types of atmosphere so need
specific sounds and scores to make the film more entertaining to watch. When
creating a score for a film it’s important to make sure that it matches the
tone of the film, having a successful score makes the film more effective. In
this blog post I will look at several films which all use sound successfully in
different ways.
In the film ‘Psycho’ a piece of music is used which was so
successful that it is still famous today. The key idea of this score was to
create tension and a build-up which lead usually to a confrontation between the
antagonist and a protagonist. One of the most famous examples of the violin screech
was the infamous shower murder scene. At the beginning of the scene there is no
music at all, simply the sound effects of Marion Crane tuning on the shower.
This earie silence is unsettling and already leads us to believe that something
untoward is going to occur. This use of silence continues throughout the scene
as Crane steps into the shower. Each movement, whether it be opening the shower
curtain or turning the shower on, seems to be empathised more making it seem a
lot louder.
As the character begins to shower, we slowly see a figure make itself more visible by moving closer towards the shower. As they come closer and closer we begin to fear the worst. Once the tension has built all the way to its peak, the figure rips the shower certain open, cueing the horrendous scratching violins. This deafening noise combined with the violence on screen provides a chilling and terrifying scene to watch. The camera then rapidly changes to different angles of Norman Bates stabbing his victim. The close up of her face shows the terror that she is experiencing which when added with the violin screech only makes it harder for us to watch the scene.
The loud violins continue for
what feels like an hour and as they begin to soften, Bates runs away leaving us
to watch Crane slowly die. This is accompanied by the same violins, but with a
much slower pace.
The music eventually stops dead as the victim dies. The score matches well with most of the scene. The high pitch violins creating tension and horror when the victim is being stabbed. The violins then getting slower and slower to show that Crane is dying and then again back to the sound which was at the start of the scene, silence. We hear the shower running again and see blood going down the drain which then concludes this gruesome scene. This simple idea of just screeching violins proved to work very well. The music in itself made psycho very popular and the score is still extremely famous today. This shows how effective a score can be, as this scene went down as one of the most famous in film history.
As the character begins to shower, we slowly see a figure make itself more visible by moving closer towards the shower. As they come closer and closer we begin to fear the worst. Once the tension has built all the way to its peak, the figure rips the shower certain open, cueing the horrendous scratching violins. This deafening noise combined with the violence on screen provides a chilling and terrifying scene to watch. The camera then rapidly changes to different angles of Norman Bates stabbing his victim. The close up of her face shows the terror that she is experiencing which when added with the violin screech only makes it harder for us to watch the scene.
The music eventually stops dead as the victim dies. The score matches well with most of the scene. The high pitch violins creating tension and horror when the victim is being stabbed. The violins then getting slower and slower to show that Crane is dying and then again back to the sound which was at the start of the scene, silence. We hear the shower running again and see blood going down the drain which then concludes this gruesome scene. This simple idea of just screeching violins proved to work very well. The music in itself made psycho very popular and the score is still extremely famous today. This shows how effective a score can be, as this scene went down as one of the most famous in film history.
In this next film, the use of sound is extremely different
to the use of sound in Psycho. The film ‘Sixth Sense’ the final scene has
proven to show one of the best plot twists in film history. But this scene would
have not been anywhere as near as effective without the use of a clever and
well thought out score.
The scene begins with dialogue between Malcom Crowe and his wife Anna Crowe. It starts with no score or backing music as the main focus is the conversation in which they’re having. This is significant as the conversation is the reason that Malcom Crowe finds out the tragic truth. Having no backing track at this point meant that when Malcom’s ring rolled across the ground, the sound almost seemed deafening.
Once Crowe lifts his hand up and realises that the ring is his, the score begins. The score is accompanied by the little boy Cole voice as the scene in which we establish the child can see dead people repeats itself. The music is crushing and almost sinister as we as the audience start to get ideas into what is happening. The film then cycles through many scenes which points towards the ultimate truth. The music continues to play and at certain points heightening to make it more dramatic. The music then takes a sinister turn as Crowe starts to stubble up the stairs with his eyes fixed in the cupboard underneath them. The music the builds again as Crowe comes to a stop with his back against the wall.
The truth has now definitely been revealed and he is trying to come to terms with it. The score is incredibly dramatic and emotionally which is very effective for the audience as we also begin to realise what is happening. The music then stops and we hear a gunshot, this almost confirms our fears as the camera pans out and reveals Crowe lying on the bed in pain. Dialogue then takes over before the gun wound is revealed and the music starts again. This begins to pull at the audience’s heart strings.
As the music fades away again, the close up of Bruce Willis’ (Malcom Crowe) face paints the picture as his death is now inevitable. The final piece of the score used is now used to send the audience into tears as the orchestra plays a dramatic and sad final section as Malcom Crowe fades away from his wife. The use of the orchestra in this scene was very successful in making the audience feel emotional. But it also accompanies the huge plot twist in which the audience would have just witnessed making the scene even more dramatic to watch. Again, this scene in the movie is now still very famous as the music is the main thing that makes the audience upset. Without the score to play over the scene it would have been completely different and may have not been as successful as it was.
The scene begins with dialogue between Malcom Crowe and his wife Anna Crowe. It starts with no score or backing music as the main focus is the conversation in which they’re having. This is significant as the conversation is the reason that Malcom Crowe finds out the tragic truth. Having no backing track at this point meant that when Malcom’s ring rolled across the ground, the sound almost seemed deafening.
Once Crowe lifts his hand up and realises that the ring is his, the score begins. The score is accompanied by the little boy Cole voice as the scene in which we establish the child can see dead people repeats itself. The music is crushing and almost sinister as we as the audience start to get ideas into what is happening. The film then cycles through many scenes which points towards the ultimate truth. The music continues to play and at certain points heightening to make it more dramatic. The music then takes a sinister turn as Crowe starts to stubble up the stairs with his eyes fixed in the cupboard underneath them. The music the builds again as Crowe comes to a stop with his back against the wall.
The truth has now definitely been revealed and he is trying to come to terms with it. The score is incredibly dramatic and emotionally which is very effective for the audience as we also begin to realise what is happening. The music then stops and we hear a gunshot, this almost confirms our fears as the camera pans out and reveals Crowe lying on the bed in pain. Dialogue then takes over before the gun wound is revealed and the music starts again. This begins to pull at the audience’s heart strings.
As the music fades away again, the close up of Bruce Willis’ (Malcom Crowe) face paints the picture as his death is now inevitable. The final piece of the score used is now used to send the audience into tears as the orchestra plays a dramatic and sad final section as Malcom Crowe fades away from his wife. The use of the orchestra in this scene was very successful in making the audience feel emotional. But it also accompanies the huge plot twist in which the audience would have just witnessed making the scene even more dramatic to watch. Again, this scene in the movie is now still very famous as the music is the main thing that makes the audience upset. Without the score to play over the scene it would have been completely different and may have not been as successful as it was.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete