Research into sound- Miss Miller

Sound

I will be analysing sound in a clip I have chosen from a thriller film. The film I have chosen is "Seven". The clip is the part where the man finds out his wife had been killed and that her head is in the box. I have chosen this clip because it shows basic sound techniques that are very clear. Sounds are used in films to create an understanding for the audience and to create more meaning about the characters and their emotions. Sound is also used to create a response from the audience and engage them in what they are watching.

The first sound I noticed in the clip was the knife cutting through the box. This sound was heard only 6 seconds into the scene. This is diegetic sound because its sound which is part of the film. This sound is showing the audience clearly what the man is doing. It also makes the audience feel like they are really there because the sound is so clear to them. This in turn makes the audience really involved in the scene and it also makes them very curious about what is in the box. It also builds a relationship with the characters involved because the audience will understand how they are feeling. Diegetic sound is commonly used in thriller films because it creates suspense and tension. Making the audience feel like they are involved in the film is a really conventional thriller technique because it makes the audience sympathise with the characters because the audience know exactly how they are feeling.

The second sound I heard was sound being played in the background. I first heard this sound 42 seconds into the sequence. This sound was non diegetic sound because the sound isn't part of the film. It was like a soundtrack, used to create tension on the audience. The sound is played when the man (Morgan Freeman) opens the box and looks up to his partner ( Brad Pitt). The sound is dramatic and is used to show that what is in the box is going to have a real effect on Brad Pitt. This right away drags the audience into the film because they want to know what is in the box and they want to know what relevance the object in the box has on Brad. This sound technique is commonly used in jump scenes and tension scenes to really engage the audience into what they are watching. Non diegetic sound is conventional to the thriller genre because it is a easy way to build tension on the audience and it can also cover up a jump scare that could be slowly approaching. This technique is also a easy way to make the audience think about what could happen next and what characters life could be under threat. This builds a relationship with the audience and the characters because the audience are trying to suss out which character could be affected by the next action in the film.

In one part of the clip I notice two sound techniques. The first one is on screen sound when the man shoots the convict and the second one is off screen sound which is the buzzing noise of the helicopter constantly in the background. the fist sound was heard 4 minutes into the scene and the second sound was heard just after 4 minutes. On screen sound is sound you can see and off screen sound is sound you cant see but you can still hear. Both of these sounds are used to create tension and to emphasis on the sound itself. The on screen sound (the gun shot) shows that the man has had enough of the pain and his final option was to shoot the convict. You can see the relief on Brad Pitts face as he shoots again and again. The gun shot sound is used to represent Brads anger and despair. The off screen sound (the helicopter) is representing a constant buzzing sound in Brads head. This shows that he is thinking about so many things and this is represented as a buzz. The only way to stop the buzz is to kill the killer himself. Both of these techniques are used together to make the audience feel like they are in that situation and that they have to make the final decision.

Sound is important in thrillers because it drags the audience into the films and creates suspense. Without sound, jumpy scenes wouldn't be scary and thriller films wouldn't be as popular. By looking at these different techniques it has given me ideas for when my group make a thriller sequence. We could use some of these sounds to create suspense and to engage the audience into our thriller clip. These inspirations will help enhance our film and it will help make our sound more realistic.  This will overall improve the quality of our thriller sequence.