Planning Sound - Miss Miller

Sound is very important within any film as without the sound the audience would not know what characters would be saying or what kind of sounds would be playing in the background, or the music which plays which plays at certain times to create different effects for the audience.  If music would be playing from its soundtrack, then it may go with what the character is doing or how they character is feeling, by showing the images of what they're doing.

 

One sound technique, we will use is parallel sound.  Parallel sounds are sounds which fit the scene e.g. a happy scene would have happy music and laughter.  Parallel sound is what you would expect to hear along with what the audience will be able to see.  In the context of this thriller opening sequence, we will include the sounds of footsteps of the victim as she will be wearing heels and use music which is tense to add suspense for the audience, therefore making the audience build a relationship with the victim as they can hear what the victim is doing.  Another parallel sound we will be using is screaming, this would portray to the audience that the victim is fearful and wants somebody to notice.  This parallel sound will take place near the end of the sequence as this will create an enigma and the audience will not know what happened to her, if she has lived or died.  In terms of suspense, the screaming will add suspense because the audience do not know if she going to die or if the victim has died.  This could result in the audience feeling shocked or have a sense of fear for the victim because the scream would be unexpected and they don't know what really has happened if she is

 

A second sound technique, we plan to use is non diegetic sound.  Non diagetic sounds are sounds which the character/characters will not be able to hear and the audience will not be able to hear where the source of the sound is coming from e.g. background music or a narratives voice.  The non diegetic sound we will use is tense music, the music will take place when the victim see the killer and starts running, this will create suspense and keep the audience engaged in the film, making them keep watching as the audience will be left in suspense.  It could also indicate to the audience that something will happen to the victim.  Non diegetic sound such as the background music which will be selected will make the audience react in a way which they can feel the suspense through hearing the music as the tension builds throughout the film as they know that something could happen but they don't know when that event will happen.

Another sound technique we plan to use is diagetic sound.  Diegetic sounds are sounds which would be part of the film, meaning the sounds come from objects or people e.g. dialogue, radio or a kettle boiling.  We plan to use the sound of a car radio for diegetic sound as it adds reality to the scene.  This means the audience will be able to relate to the situation as they probably would be listening to the radio while in the car.  The sound of the car radio will be heard when a frame shows the car driving.  Other diegetic sounds which the audience will be able to hear are the car door opening and closing, the engine of the car, the bushes and leaves on the ground as the victim in running through the forest and breathing when the victim is running.  The diegetic sounds adds reality to the film.  The use of diegetic sound will ensure the audience reacts in a way which helps them relate to the situation and keep them engaged in the film.

We plan to use a range of on screen sounds, as these are sounds which the audience can see on the screen including the car radio, victims scream, the sound of footsteps. This will add reality to the opening sequence.  The sound of the car radio will be a frame of the point of view shot, of that the victim can see as she is driving.  The sound of footsteps will take place when the victim walks out of the car.  The scream will take place near the end when the screen black as something appears to go over the eyes.  The sound of the scream will also make the audience feel shocked as they don't know what happened to her as they can't see what happened.  The sound of footsteps will make the audience react in way which will make them wonder who it is and keep them engaged.  The sound of the radio will add normality to the scene and make the audience in a way that they can relate to the current situation.

We also plan to use off screen sound, this sound will take place when the car alarm has been set off, the audience will not know where the sound will be coming from meaning the sound will be off screen.  Off screen sound is conventional to the the thriller genre because the audience do not know where the intial sound is coming from creating mystery as they would want to know where the source is comming from.  The fact that the car alarm suddenly goes off unexpectantly means that the audience would act in a way which would make them feel shocked because the audience did not suspect that the car alarm would go off.

Overall, in terms of creating suspense, our thriller opening sequence, will be successful as it would include the generic conventions of thriller genre therefore creating a successful thriller sequence.  I believe our thriller be become more conventional through using these sounds because it will be able to add more of the mystery and suspenseful aspects of thriller therefore having a better effect on the audience.