Research into sound- Miss Miller

The film i will be researching into is Silence of the lambs.Sound is a key a element in thriller genres. Different sound techniques give off different effects on the audience. For example Parallel sound is where the image and sound on the screen complements each other to make the audience aware of whats going on. I chose this particular clip as it has many different sound techniques included in the clip.

At the beginning of the clip a slow paced sound of a piano is played from a radio cassette for a couple of minutes until the attack occurs. Its quite a happy sound and quite cheerful which doesn't suit what will happen later in the clip so its Contrapuntal sound. Contrapuntal sound is where the sound and image do not complement each other. Even though the happy sound isn't being played over something sad its still contrapuntal sound as after the sound is played the mentalist murders the two policeman. The sound misleads the audience into thinking that the scene would be a happy scene where as its the opposite so when the murder does take place the audience are more unaware which creates a tense atmosphere. Contrapuntal sound is also used at the end of the scene after the murder takes place. It proves that the person that killed the policeman is mental or has issues. It makes the audience aware that the killer isn't right in the head which creates a tense atmosphere especially as it lasted for 2 minutes and 25 seconds. The audience may feel more awkward afterwards and uncomfortable. Contrapuntal sound is conventional to a thriller as it creates tension for the audience which is key in thrillers.

In the clip the two guards/policeman footsteps are made very clear and quite loud which shows that there alone. This is called on screen sound as the audience can see where the sound is coming from. The reason that the footsteps are made quite loud to prove that there alone is to create suspense for the audience as they may feel something bad will happen to them. The audience also sympathies for the policeman as they know they might get killed which builds a relationship between them. Its conventional to a thriller as it successfully builds suspense and tension for the audience. The sound is in the middle of the clip.

Non digetic sound is sound or music that is added on after in the editing stage. Non digetic sound is used just before the attack of the mentalist, a loud weary sound is played to build tension and to make the audience feel more uncomfortable. Without this sound being added in the effect of the murder wouldn't be as exciting and interesting for the audience. Non digetic sound in this scene is used to build tension for the audience as the loud music creates a tense atmosphere. The Non digetic sound is played after the contrapuntal sound which makes them realise something bad is going to happen which create suspense, also by playing a loud non digetic sound after contrapuntal sound creates more tension as it misleads the audience. Its conventional to a thriller as it builds tension successfully which is key in thrillers. The sound is towards the end of the clip.

Parallel sound is when the sound and the image on the screen complements each other. In the scene parallel sound is used when the mentalist is stabbing the policemen for a minute, the sound of stabbing and the policeman screaming is parallel sound as you expect that noise to occur. The sound of screaming shows that the policeman is in pain which allows the audience to sympathise for him therefore building a relationship between the audience and the character. It also just makes the audience aware that hes in pain which creates suspense of what is to come next. The sound of stabbing builds tension for the audience which is key in thrillers. Without parallel sound the scene wouldn't be as interesting and the audience wouldn't be able to build a relationship with the characters. The parallel sound is at the end of the scene.

In my opinion sound is important in thriller films as they create successful different effects on the audience. In my opening thriller I will use different sound techniques to interest my audience and build relationships between the audience and characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3nIw30hn4U