Research into Sound - Miss Miller

The sound featured in a film can be just as important as the images as it also creates several different effects and certain impacts on the viewer. Music used in the background of a scene could add rhythm and emotion while other sounds can manipulate the emotions and mood of the audience. For example, the sound of a wolf howling in the distance would create a dark and slightly scary effect or in a scene were a character wakes up, the first sound heard could alter how the viewer feels about the character. If we hear the eerie whistling of a train then the audience will believe they could be lonely or sad but if there is the sound of children laughing and playing from outside then we would believe that they are happy, carefree and relaxed. 

Sound in a film can also be used to create illusion.If someone is sitting in their living room, the viewer could be informed that somebody else has arrived before they walk through the door with the use of sound effects such as a car pulling up onto the driveway, the car door closing, keys in the front door and then the click of the door opening.

Reality is stimulated in a film with the use of sound. Fake weapons are used in films such as breakable and harmless glass bottles and guns with blank bullets in. The use of the weapons are made more realistic by adding a smash sound effect as the bottle is broken or the sound of a gun shot as the blank bullet is fired.

Many examples of sounds affect on viewers are found in thriller films, most commonly and iconically in screeching sounds that the viewer subconsciously associates with the sound of animals in distress or pain. Like the sound of animals in distress, the straining strings in Psycho (1960) imitate the noise of panic.

In The Godfather (1972) there is no music that is very reconisable in the iconic restaurant scene. Panic in the viewer is heightened by using the sound of a train screaming to a halt as Michael Corleone shoots his enemy. Similarly, there is no music used in Bullit's (1968) chase scene. Instead, sound effects such as twisting tyres and car engines create tension and excitement. A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 drama that features a full jazz soundtrack. However it was forced to be made more subtle. Taxi Driver (1976) was initially turned down by the composer before he was won over by the sound, featuring a "smooth saxophone sequence."                                                                         Jaws was the first film to gross more than $100 million. Part of this could be due to the theme music.

The two-note backing music was composed by John Williams to represent the great white shark in the film. The music's pace speeds up and becomes louder and faster at certain parts of the film. When the human characters are in the water, the music quietly starts to play and this lets the viewer know that the great white shark is coming closer. The music becomes louder and quicker representing the panic of the character and their heartbeat as it speeds due to fear. The fast pace represents both the shark and the end of the humans life coming closer and closer. 

 In this essay I will analyse the sound featured in a more modern thriller film and the effects it has on the viewer. I will identify and describe the uses of sound in a scene from The Shining before outlining the affect this has on the audience.

 
The Shining (1980)

Non- diegetic sound is sound which is not part of the films plot. It is always off screen as it cannot be seen, for example: music or sound effects. The screeching and animal-like sound at the beginning of the clip is not part of the storyline and the characters  would not hear it, therefore it is non-diegetic. The noise increases anxiety and tension in the audience as it represents the killer who is looking for the hiding protagonist. The sound gets quieter as the antagonist gets closer.This induces suspense in the audience who watch as he gets closer to finding the victim. The nervous and apprehensive feeling that the audience experiences is similar to what they belive the protagonist to be feeling as she hides from the killer. Because of this the audience puts themselves in the protagonists point of view and feel as though they are also hiding from him. This helps them build a realtionship with both the characters. They are fearful and intimidated by the killer, like the protagonists, and they relate to and understand the feelings of the victim.
At certain parts of the scene the screeching sound is higher pitched than it is in other parts. This is because it represents the level of panic of the protagonist and the audience. The higher the sound the more panicked the woman is feeling and the faster her heart rate. This is why the pitch of the sound increases as the killer gets closer to the room she is in before fading to quiet. The element of fear and panic is projected onto the audience who are also growing more nervous as the antagonist becomes closer and closer to breaking in through the door. Again the audience shares the nervous and fearful emotions of the protagonist so this also contributes to them building a relationship with her.
There is a consistent low-frequency vibration sound throughout parts of this scene. This has been proved to provoke fear, anxiety, sadness, heart palpitations and shivering in the audience who are not even fully aware of the sound (bass waves or vibrations usually) because their ears have adjusted to it and it is constant in the background. This increases the tension and suspense when the sound suddenly stops because everything is quiet. Because the sound is constant and sometimes unoticable to the audience, the viewer may feel as though they are actually there in the scene. Certain responses that this sound creates: shivering, increase in heart rate and anxiety, etc. increase the audiences emotional involvement in the story line because they are emotionally and physically experiencing similiar reactions to the antagonist that the protagonist is. This intensifies the audiences relationship with both the antagonist and protagonist.
The near silence when the man stands outside the door increases the feeling of tension because the audience is left anxiously waiting for his next action. This is conventional of a thriller film because the audience is usually made to wait anxiously for something to happen as it creates suspense, tension and nervous apprehension. by putting themselves in the protagonists perspective, the audience may feel that the man is waiting outside for them.
Diegetic sound is the opposite to non-diegetic sound, this means that it is part of the storyline. An example of this in The Shining is the sound of the killers axe banging the door down. The antagonist is waiting outside the bathroom door while his wife hides inside. After a few seconds he lifts the axe in his hand and swings it at the door several times, each time making a loud bang. This may make the viewer jump at first because it is sudden. Loud bangs are typical in a thriller film because they break up the eerie music and sound effects in the same way the antagonist is disrupting the setting. It also highlights to the viewer that there is a threat. In The Shining, some viewers may have been unaware of the axe in his hand so this way they are introduced quickly and shocked by it. The sound produces the same response in the viewer and protagonist because they are both taking by surprise by the loud bang and shocked by the sudden introduction of the axe. Then they may both experience a feeling of dread because they are fearful of what will happen next s the man is not getting closer and closer to the woman.


 Diegetic sounds can be on screen or off screen sounds. If a sound is on screen you can see where it is coming from. In The Shining this would be the dialogue of the antagonist. When he is outside of the bathroom door he begins to speak through the door to the protagonist. "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in. Not by the hair on your chinny chin chin. Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in." This shows us that the man is disturbed and not remorseful for his actions. It appears he is saying what he is in order to tease the woman behind the door. He is using an old children's story to let the woman know that he is about to break in, in order to make her fearful. This has the same effect on the audience because they have built a relationship with the woman and don't want her to get hurt.
The man teases the protagonist several times in the scene, showing further more his disturbed nature and  creating dark humour as he makes strange facial expressions and gestures. The diegetic sound of him knocking on the door and him saying "come out, come out, wherever you are" earlier in in the scene also taunts the woman and provokes fear in the audience.
Throughout most parts of the scene the woman is screaming, both on and off screen. The man taunts her in return and ignores her begs by persisting to break down the door. This shows us the relationship between the two. They are not the typical husband and wife because the woman is clearly fearful of him and he acts aggressively towards both her and their son. This is typical of a thriller film because it is unexpected. We do not expect a man to act this way towards his family and it therefore shocks the audience.
A sound is parallel when it is what is expected regarding what you see in the film. An example of parallel sound within the clip I have chosen is the stabbing sound effect when the protagonist cuts the killers hand with a knife. The stabbing sound is the expected sound even if it is edited in (non-diegetic) and not completely natural, much like the sound of the blade when the woman first picks up the knife.
When sound does not match the expectations it is called contrapuntal sound. The only contrapuntal sound in this The Shining scene is the dialogue of the antagonist when he is twisting children story's the frighten the woman because the words he speaks are not what you would expect to hear in a typical thriller film.

Sounds in The Shining 

Diegetic	Non-Diegetic	On Screen	Off Screen
Axe banging down door	Music builds up	Window opening	Protagonist screaming
Protagonist Screaming	Screeching sound	Protagonist screaming	Knocking on door
Dialogue - Antagonist talking	Low-frequency vibrations	Axe banging down door	Axe banging down door
Dialogue - Protagonists speaking amongst themselves	Knife sound effect	Antagonist shouts in pain
Window opening		Boy gasps
Knocking on door