Planning Sound - Miss Miller

The way sound is used in films can have a large impact on it's quality. It is used to make the film more engaging, emphasise key points and make it easier to understand what is happening. Good usage of sound in thriller films increases the suspense and tension. It is important to plan how you will use sound as this allows you to work out the different techniques you can use and the impact it has on the audience. You can then work out how you can bring all these techniques together to create an atmospheric and engaging sequence.

The first sound technique we decided to use was silence. We are going to use this after one of the girls separates from her friends and walks alone. There may be some quite sounds coming from the forest but all the characters will be silent. This is to enhance the sense of isolation and loneliness. The silence shows that Cathryn is completely isolated and alone and the audience infer from this that there is nobody around to help her so she is in more danger. The eerie silence also increases tension. The audience relate to her as they to are put on edge by the eerie silence so they share the same feelings as the victim. This is conventional as thriller films often have eerie silent parts that raise tension and builds up up to something sudden and dramatic.

We are also going to make use of off-screen sound. This will also be when Cathryn is alone walking through the forest. The sounds will be of leaves rustling and branches breaking. We won't see this on the screen therefore it's off screen sound. Neither the audience nor Cathryn know what is making these noises so they are both in the dark. Our usage of off screen sound will also make the audience more engaged as they will be focussing on the surroundings trying to see if they can spot anything suspicious. This is conventional as it creates a sense of enigma as the audience is wondering what could possibly be hiding in the forest. It is conventional for thrillers to use off screen sound to make the audience and characters feel uneasy as it gets the audience engaged in the film.

Non Diegetic sound is sound which is not part of the on screen story and is intended for the audience. Examples of this are soundtracks, narration and sound effects added for dramatic effect. We will include non-diegetic sound as we will have an eerie soundtrack playing throughout the scene. This increases tension as it suggest to the audience that the girls peace and happiness won't last long and that something bad will happen. We will also feature sudden dramatic sound effects when the antagonist is spotted to shock the audience and make them jump which is what many thrillers aim to do. During my research into sound I learned how important the soundtrack is for engrossing the audience and increasing tension. It's conventional for thrillers to feature eerie soundtracks as they usually suit the theme of the film.

Parallel sound is when the sound you hear matches what you see on the screen. We are going to use this after Cathryn panics when she sees a scary looking dark figure in the distance. As we see her panic the audience will be able to hear her sudden heavy breathing. This makes the scene more realistic and the audience worry for her as they see and hear how scared she is. This is conventional as the victims fear is always emphasized in thriller films as it makes the audience more sympathetic and it makes the antagonist appear more scary and threatening.

To conclude I think these techniques will make our film better as they all work together to make a more engrossing and engaging sequence. without these techniques our film wouldn't be as exciting and the audience would struggle to be engaged and care for any of the characters. The techniques we are using are conventional as thriller films often use eerie music and and off screen sound to increase tension which we are doing. Planning this out has helped as we now know exactly what sounds we need to record when we are out filming and what sounds we need to add in afterwards during the editing stage.