Research into sound - Miss Miller

Sounds

Sound is an important part of the filmmaking process, needed in order to bring the narrative to life by giving the characters their own thoughts and feelings, and giving their emotions more meaning, who can then use their dialogue to tell a story. The background music is often used to add tone to a film or even foreshadow a change within the mood of the narrative. The clip that I have chosen to analyse comes from the thriller film Psycho, and is arguably one of the most famous scenes from an Alfred Hitchcock film as it shows the brutal stabbing of the female lead, Marion.


The first example of a sound that can heard within a film is parallel, which is when the sound that the audience can hear is what they expect to. An example of a parallel sound that occurs in the clip from Psycho happens when Marion is being stabbed to death (1.42). The killer pulls the shower curtain back and reveals that he is holding a knife, which causes Marion to scream. The audience expect this reaction from her due to the fact that she had believed that she was alone in the bathroom, therefore she would have been shocked and frightened by the silent arrival of another character. This parallel sound is conventional to the thriller genre as it emphasises the fear that she is feeling and makes the scene look and sound more realistic. The audience will feel sympathetic towards Marion due to the fact that she is in pain and defenceless which ultimately suggests that she is going to die.

An example of a non diegetic sound is the two beat, high pitched noise that begins to sound when the killer pulls back the shower curtain with the knife held high in the air (1.37). This sound, along with the dramatic actions that the killer performs creates shock for both the character and the audience. The killer is purposely quiet as he enters the bathroom, which results in Marion being unaware that she is not alone until she is being stabbed, at which point there is nothing she can do to avoid her inevitable death. For the audience, the scene before the killer enters the room is calm and natural, and so the sound causes them to suddenly feel on edge. The audience will sympathise with Marion who was completely unaware of what was going to happen to her. They will also want for the killer to be caught at some point in the film before he has the chance to kill another, which therefore creates suspense as the audience do not know if he will or not. The sound itself is played at a painfully loud volume and pitch, which arguably mirrors the pain that Marion is feeling due to the fact that she is being killed. The sound begins when the killer first makes himself noticeable to Marion, and then finishes when she is finally dead, implying that the sound is a signal for danger and will occur when one of the characters is going to die.

Diegetic sound is when the sound that the audience can hear is part of the film, for example, in the sequence from Psycho, a diegetic sound is the sound that the water makes as it pours down from the shower after Marion has been killed (2.38). The audience focus on the water that is washing away the blood, emphasising the fact that she is dead. This creates an enigma due to the audience not knowing who the killer was or why she was killed; the element of hidden identity is conventional to the thriller genre. The fact that Marion is dead but the audience do not know who the killer is will build suspense within the sequence due to the possibility that someone else may be killed further on in the film, therefore none of the characters are safe. The sound of the water washing away the blood implies that the evidence of her death is being washed away also, which emphasises the enigma of the audience not knowing who the killer is. The audience will feel sympathetic towards Marion who was innocent and had no way of stopping the killer.
 

Another type of sound that occurs in the sequence from Psycho is silence (1.24), used in thriller films to create suspense and shock. This lack of sound begins when Marion is in the shower and the audience, who are facing the door during the sequence, can see the shadow of the door being opened, but due to the positioning of the character, Marion cannot. This creates suspense as the audience are aware that she is no longer the only character in the scene or what is going to happen to her character. The suspense in the sequence is what leads to the creation of shock, firstly from Marion, due to her not knowing that there was another person in the bathroom with her, but also at the sight of a knife being held towards her. The audience will be shocked by the high pitch sound that breaks the silence in the sequence (1.37), the silence now seen as 'the quiet before the storm'. The silence will cause the audience to view the killer as creepy and slightly mentally unstable. They will sympathise with Marion who was completely oblivious to the killer being there and gave him no reason to kill her.

In conclusion, researching the different types of sounds that can be used in a film has given me a better understanding of what each sound means. An on screen sound is when the audience can see exactly where the sound is coming from within the frame, for example, music from a radio. I now know that the six main types of sounds in films are on screen, off screen, diegetic, non diegetic, parallel and contrapuntal, and the definition of each. I now understand that sound can be used to help the audience understand how a character is feeling or what their emotions are. For example, dialogue is an obvious way for a character to express their emotions. It is likely that if they are angry their voice will be harsh and loud, whereas if the character is sad their voice will be quiet, or they will be crying. It is important to use sound correctly when creating our thriller sequence as we want to create suspense, shock and tension in order to make the audience feel a certain way. For example, contrapuntal sounds, which are sounds that are not what the audience expect to hear, could potentially be mistaken as humorous if used wrong which defeats the purpose of a thriller film.