The use of sound in any film is important as it helps to tell the story by defining an image more clearly and also helps to provoke a response from the audience. In thriller films, sound is used to build tension and suspense in order to engage the audience in the scene and make them feel something. We needed to plan the sound we wanted to use to enable us to complete our thriller opening within the deadline. Sound is what makes a thriller film scary or 'jumpy' and so will play an important part in the making of our thriller opening.We needed to make sure that we matched the sounds used with the images on screen, and as we had already planned the cinematography my group wanted to use, it was a little bit easier to plan the sound.
Parallel Sound/ On-screen sound
Parallel sound is when the sound and the images on a screen complement eachother. We have decided to use parallel sound at the beginning of our thriller opening; when the little sister is walking, we will hear the sound of leaves crunching beneath her feet. This sound will match with the non-diegetic music that will be playing. We decided to use this as it allows the scene to start straight away, as the audience focus on the girl walking, and nothing else. This is conventional to thrillers as everything the audience hears, will make them feel nervous and think something bad is going to happen, which is typical in thriller films. It will help viewers connect to the little girl and will also draw the audiences attention on the girl and since she is portrayed as being innocent, they may feel nervous for her as they are scared something will happen to her, which is enforced from the parallel sound that they hear.
Silence
Silence is frequently used in thrillers as it helps to build tension which is very conventional. I thought it would be good to incorporate silence into our thriller clip because of this reason. We therefore decided to have periods of silence straight after the underwater fight scene which is where we see the extreme close-up of the girls eyes from the flashback into reality. This would be effective, as it would contrast from the loud tension building sounds played in the fight scene, into the immediate silence that would show the girls shock having remembered this flashback. I hope by having this period silence here in our opening, it will overwhelm the audience as they begin to reflect on what has just happened, which should make them feel nervous and create a tense atmosphere for the rest of the clip. Not only is this atmosphere created conventional, but it will also allow viewers to connect with the girl as they begin to worry about her well-being.
Non-diegetic Sound
Non diegetic sound is any music or sound that is added on after, such as in the editing stage. Before the water scene, we needed to explain to our viewers how the little girl got in the water. We therefore chose to use a blackout, which would be accompanied by a crescendo of sound effects. Firstly, you would hear the sound of running footsteps, with the sound of heavy breathing playing over the top. This would end with the sound of a girl screaming, ending with the splash of water, ready for the underwater scene. By adding in the sound in this way, it would manipulate the audiences senses as they can only imagine what is happening through the sounds, as they cannot see anything. This will make them feel nervous. By layering the sounds in a crescendo format, it will add a bigger layer of suspense each time a new sound is added, which will create a very strong tense atmosphere for the underwater scene, consequently heightening the audiences emotions. This is conventional as it will mean the audience experience the full effect of the thriller, and will be more shocked at how it ends. The reason for adding the crescendo before the fight scene, was to create an enigma as to what is going to happen to the little girl. The audience connect to the little girl more deeply here, allowing them to sympathise and worry for her.
Having planned the sound we are going to use and getting inspirations from Freesound.org , I have found the planning helpful in preparation for the filming. We now have a good idea as to how the cinematography and sound will match, meaning once the footage is filmed, we can solely focus on editing. This should mean that the emotions and the atmosphere created will make our thriller even more conventional and will build tension as it will be in sync.The sounds we want to use are conventional, as when matched with the images, will create tension, and once everything is finished, with the editing etc, the sound will be the main thing that builds suspense and makes the audience feel something.
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