In our most recent concept, we have included shots where the victim is listening to music through headphones. For this we need a song that is not copyrighted and is legal for us to use. Click on this link to see my blog on copyright laws.
Following on from my Music Research blog, I have narrowed down some songs that would be ideal for our opening scene. Overall, I decided that the most suitable song was called 'My Muse' by Dropout.
Here is the video:
I have chosen this song because it starts of with slow piano music, which sounds chilling and creates tension. This is also conforms to our genre. The song still has the piano softly playing in the background, however, more synthetic and computerised sounds begin to play which makes the song seem more modern and more suited for teenagers (as our victim is aged around 15-17).
On top of these sounds is some dialogue when the singer starts to sing. The artist has a raspy and quiet voice so this also makes the music sound chilling and more creepy. Some of the lyrics in this song that work really well with our concept are:
"I hear that you've been missing"- this represents that the victim will go missing and will be unseen for a while or will be gone forever.
"Countless you're still mine"- indicating that the killer is dominant and has full power and control over the situation. This also represents the fact that he has been stalking and following the victim.
"You've been bound to me"- this also indicates the dominance of the killer and the 'no escape' for the victim.
"The one who's always going to crave you"- also linking in with killing and stalking the victim. This also indicates that he could do the same thing to another victim.
"You're my muse"- this shows that the victim/dead body is the killer's property and therefore conforms to common conventions of women being weak and vulnerable and men being aggressive and dominant.
Overall, I believe that this song work well for our coursework as it relates to our concept and we can manipulate the song to sound chilling and the victim can also sing the song on her own which will sound scary and chilling with the lyrics in this song.
We were given the task of deconstructing the sound of a film opening.
Wrong Turn
Overview Of Opening Scene:
College students Rich Stoker and Halley Smith were rock climbing deep in a remote forest of West Virginia. When Rich reaches the top, he prepares to help Halley up, but is suddenly murdered. Someone then begins to yank Halley up the cliff so she cuts the rope and falls to the ground before attempting to escape but before she rushes to the car, she trips over a piece of barbed wire and then gets pulled back into the woods, screaming.
Sound;
00:15 - 00:48
The music used in the opening scene of Wrong Turn, is very orchestral to start off with, whilst being highly conventional of horror movies in general, this conforms to the common conventions of slasher films as having what seems to be serene like music and changing the effect of the music from serene to suspenseful to make and emphasise the dramatics of the scene. This music is for the majority played on strings which add an eerie effect to the opening establishing and aerial shot of the woodland setting. The music starts off at a low pitch followed by drums which conventionally are associated with tribes who were predominantly primal and predatorial making this link to the sub genre of slasher as the killers are usually hunting people making the link between the two clear and instant, this gives the initial connotations of a slasher film as it links heavily to the idea of primitive and primal hunters as the drums are seen as a ritual instrument that would have often been used as an instrument at a sacrificial gathering nor other tribal custom of the sort. This is seen as a heavy influencer in this subgenre as the majority of the killers are behaving in a similar fashion to those of a primeval era.
00:48 - 02:46
Next in the opening scene there is some sound effects of birds tweeting whilst the two character are positioned on a rock, this signifies the isolation that the two have from civilisation as the bird sounds help emphasise the small population of humans in that area and help to remind us of the environment they are in as everything is silent except for the noises of nature. This is conventional of slasher films to have such an isolated environment in regards to sound as they are in unfamiliar territory with not much open landscape or other people to witness the murders of the two. this is common as the killer is conventionally not seen for the majority of the film and usually has some form of lair or a place of refuge where he or she kills their victims so that no one finds out unless they survive an encounter with them. This helps to add a sense of vulnerability to the scene as firstly the two characters are placed on a rock in a jungle like environment and the addition of just natural sounds makes the idea of vulnerability more apparent as they are physically vulnerable because they are positioned on a rock and anyone could come and cut their rope at anytime and the atmosphere created from the tweeting of the birds is very vulnerable as everything seems to be fine however the tone of vulnerability is underlying through the use of this off screen non diegetic sound effect. After this the music is still apparent yet it is at a lower volume then before however it is almost like it is brewing up and gradually finding its volume. After the use of birds tweeting there are a series of sound effects used to help signify the death of Rich Stoker, firstly there is the grunting noise of him assumingly being stabbed or hit as the shock like reaction that he has whilst off screen leads to him subsequently bleeding and dying. This noise is a conventional off screen diegetic sound effect to subtly hint at the idea of someone being killed. This is to conform to the notion of not showing the killer or the murder to create a more suspenseful narrative and to keep it more of a mystery so that the film doesn't become too predictable so that the film becomes monotonous and un appealing. Secondly the sound of blood dripping onto Halley's face as a result of him being killed and hanging over the edge of the cliff shows the imminent danger that Halley is now in and adds to the vulnerability of the scene as she was dependent on Rich to pull her up and no that she has nothing to depend on she becomes more vulnerable and more threatened by the presence of the killer. The music plays very softly and as the events of the first killing arise it becomes significantly louder and faster in pace, as the girl climbing on the rocks falls down after her partner has been killed the music reaches an anti climactic crescendo and a silence proceeds afterwards to hear the breath and shock of the girl after she has fallen right next to the corpse of her partner off of the rocks. This is equally met by a shocked noise created by the strings in an intake of breath-like fashion to signify the recognition in the death of her partner and the further problem of the killer being a threat to her existence arises through this as the sound dictates that the killer knows that they are in the are and will primitively hunt her down and kill her so that there are no witnesses to the death of her partner as in the context of the situation it is used as a tool to show the shock of Halley and to indicate the future actions that are about to unfold.
02:47 - 02:51
Following the shocked noise that is implemented the hysterical laughter of the killer is heard off screen which is accompanied with the noise of branches and leaves being rustled and moved out of the way as the killer proceeds to seek Halley to essentially kill her. This is conventional as it links heavily with the previous primitive nature of killers in slasher movies. This shows the extent that the killer is going to keep the murder a secret which is seen as a common thing within the genre of horror and signifies the stalking nature that killers have as the killer still to this point remains unseen we only hear of him. The apparent hysterical laughter of the killer also sounds like a tribal cry which adds to the primitive nature of the killer as the murder of Halley becomes more of a hunt and less of a killing which portrays the killer in a more animalistic which helps in establishing the level of empathy that the audience feel towards the killer as he does this through a sense of duty that he has to fulfil to remain the way that he is.
00:15 - 03:11
The constant use of small sound effects such as;
Metal clinking that is holding their ropes in place
The noise of rope being pulled and moved
The movement of feet on the rocks
The sudden drop of the rope
Screams and exertions of distress
help to portray the moment of torment and affliction that is caused by the killer through the small details that cause more and more panic. The sounds listed above contribute to the element of panic as they are small and minute but they are placed very compactly together throughout the opening scene to extenuate the idea of trepidation. The element of confusion and dismay are very conventional n portraying characters as vulnerable in horror films as they show that in the moment there is the need for sanction which is unavailable due to their vulnerability in their environment such as the jungle/ forest type setting that both Rich and Halley are situated.
03:04 - 03:11
At the closing stages of the opening scene Halley is retreating to her car to seek salvation as she does so the sound of barbed wire being caught and tightening is heard as an on screen sound effect. This helps to signify the fact that death at this point is seemingly imminent and inescapable. The music reaches a crescendo which is typical of most deaths in film in general although even more so in horror films and especially in slasher films. The crescendo is anti climactic in the sense that after it stops nothing really happens however it is climactic as there is purposeful silence that has been incorporated so that the audience can hear the death of Halley. After being dragged off screen there is a repeat of the same 'death off screen' notion to keep the identity of the killer a mystery and the way of killing a mystery. As Halley is now assumingly killed as we hear a wet bludgeon noise as if someone was to hit someone over the head with a mace or something that would completely disfigure anything it collides with.
We were given the task of deconstructing the sound in a film from our chosen genre - I chose the opening scene of Saw I.
The clip begins with diegetic water sounds of gurgling and splashing, as well as diegetic coughing and banging from the victim. There is then a shot of a glowing item disappearing down the drain with a non-diegetic synthesised loud uncomfortable sound which builds tension for the audience and highlights the importance of this shot.
When he falls out of the bath, there is diegetic groaning, banging, water dripping and chains clanking, also accompanied by underlying non-diegetic low, slow synthesised sounds which agains builds tension and suspense at the situation for the audience. Following this is diegetic dialogue of "Help! Someone help me" and then there is a quiet non-diegetic crash of instruments along with a diegetic crash of someone moving around in the room. After this there is the non-diegetic low, slow synthesised sounds again underneath the diegetic dialogue and chains clanking of the scene.
The volume of the underlying non-diegetic sounds slightly increases and decreases randomly, creating a sinister and creepy atmosphere. When the lights are turned on, there are very loud diegetic crackling sounds which makes the audience jump. There are then diegetic creaking/groaning sounds from the pipes in the room, and a constant crackling/buzzing. The non-diegetic low, slow sounds then are added back in as well as the diegetic water sounds. An echo effect is then added onto the non-diegetic sounds which creates tension and shows the type of room the characters are in, as well as reminding the audience of water.
When the other character comes onto the screen, these sounds fade out and are replaced by diegetic breathing and chains clanking quietly. There is then a sudden non-diegetic loud rush of synthetic swooping with a scream and high screeching sounds, then with a few more sudden rushes matching the shots on the screen. The characters then have diegetic dialogue, chains clanking and coughing/gagging, with the non-diegetic low slow synthetic sounds quietly in the background. This builds tension and makes the audience jump, which also interests them and makes them want to watch on to see what happens. The non-diegetic musical sounds then gradually get louder and more intense, finally ending with the character grabbing his chains and screaming. Overall this is a sinister, adrenaline filled opening with lots of suspense and tension and makes the audience want to watch on.
In the film 'You're Next' a family are celebrating a wedding anniversary, when their house comes under attack. Some of the family members are murdered, leaving only a few left to fight and kill the murderers. This film is a 'Slasher Horror' which is the same genre that we have chosen for our film opening so this will be a good source to get inspiration on which sounds we should include.
The first thing we hear in this clip is diegetic breathing. From what we can hear, the woman who is breathing sounds like she is struggling to breathe. This implies that the character has been in a fight or has had a major injury. This therefore conforms to the common conventions of the genre as there has been a home invasion and violence which has resulted in injury.
We then hear and see the character picking up a knife implying that she is going to try and kill/injure someone which will cause a bloody scene.
For a few seconds all we hear is the diegetic sound of crickets. This creates tension and suspense as the audience believes that something is going to happen.
Then the silence breaks by some glass breaking. This raises the adrenaline levels of the audience gradually as we wait for a 'big jump' to happen.
Next the audience hears some diegetic dialogue "I hit her didn't I?". This implies that the character who broke the glass was trying to kill the woman character, which would therefore cause blood. This therefore conforms to common conventions of the genre as violence has been attempted and there is a home invasion.
One of the 'invaders' then opens up a knife and a swooshing sound is heard as he reveals the blade. This makes the knife sound sharp, making the scene seem more dramatic. This also shows that he intends to cause harm to the woman character.
Next, there is a shot of the woman 'intruder' searching for the woman inside the house. At first it is silent but then we a hear non-diegetic, parallel soundtrack of a slow paced, low drum. This builds up tension and implies that something is about to happen, which also raises the adrenaline levels of the audience. Along with the drums, we hear slow, high pitched strings which increase in pace quickly. This also implies that something is about to happen.
All of a sudden, the gun that the woman 'intruder' was holding is kicked out of her hands by the other woman. The diegetic dialogue of groaning is then heard as the two women fight.
At this point the drums have stopped but the non-diegetic sound of the high pitched strings are still heard above the diegetic dialogue of the groans and 'struggling' of the two women fighting.
Next, the man intruder comes running in and we hear the sound of his footsteps. The first woman grabs hold of a saucepan filled with oil and throws it over the male 'intruder'. We then hear the diegetic dialogue "It's not even hot you dumb bitch". This therefore indicates that the woman wanted to cause harm to the man which would result in graphic burns.
The next diegetic sound is of the woman 'intruder' biting the other woman's hand. This is a graphic and loud sound so emphasis is put on this sound to make it more dramatic.
This is then followed by the diegetic dialogue of the woman screaming. She then gets the saucepan and smashes it against the other woman's head. This creates a loud bang and some more screaming is heard.
The first woman then kicks the door in the male 'intruder's' face. This creates a smashing sound and causing him to groan in pain.
Next, the male 'intruder' stabs a knife into the first woman's back. There is then a diegetic sound of flesh being cut and blood oozing out, followed by the woman screaming. This conforms the common conventions of the genre as there is blood and gore involved in the shot.
The first woman then smashes a glass blender onto the man's head creating a diegetic sound of glass smashing.
She then smashes the blades on the blender onto his head, resulting in a diegetic squelching sound of the blades going into his head. This also conforms to common conventions as there is an element of gore.
The woman then turns on the blender and we hear diegetic squelching of flesh and blood dripping and pouring everywhere. We also hear diegetic dialogue of screaming, groaning and yelling from all three characters.
Again we hear the non-diegetic, parallel sound of the high pitched, fast paced stings. At this point, this is the only sound we hear which creates tension and implies that something is about to happen.
Next, the first woman reaches over her shoulder onto her back and pulls out the knife. This creates a diegetic squelching sound as the knife is pulled out of her flesh.
She then stabs the female 'intruder' in the head which again creates a squelching sound as the blade goes through her head.
Next we hear non-diegetic, synthetic sounds of rattling, which sound like a cartoon snake effect. This gives a menacing effect and creates anticipation because the audience do not know what is going to happen next. It also breaks up the dialogue of groaning and heavy breathing to keep the audience interested. During this we also hear the diegetic sound of blood dripping. This is to emphasize the gore in the scene to make it seem more dramatic and to highlight the genre of the film.
After the rattling dies down, the first woman is left breathing heavily. This is the only sound tht we hear and this shows that she is worn out and shaken up by the events. She then falls to the floor but lands on the male 'intruder's' leg, creating a squelching sound.
Thursday, 3 November 2016
Sound deconstruction of Ghost Ship
At the beginning of the opening scene the sound begins with contrapuntal music of someone singing, whilst there are people dancing on the deck of the boat. You can also hear a piano and string instruments. This is diegetic sound as we see a woman performing the music on a stage and a pianist. You can also hear the sound of people talking in the background and you can hear the sound of waves in the sea. This is all diegetic sound as we can hear it actually happening in the scene.
The next sound that you hear is diegetic sound of the leaver being pulled down and the wheel turning. This is followed by the sound of a swish as the camera is panning to the left and tracking the wheel as it begins to turn around. The music then turns eerie and ghostly and is echoing to make the scene be portrayed as more sinister and creepy.
The next sound that you hear is diegetic sound of the cord snapping and it breaking and slicing lamps, pushing over tables and slicing into people. You also hear people gasping and screaming at the shock of what has happened and the pain of them being sliced.
You then hear the twang of the wire as it bounces back after slicing and breaking objects and people. This is followed by the grinding and scraping of metal and an eerie echoing noise.
These next two shots show the champagne glass splitting in two and smashing to the floor, and the diegetic sound of blood pooling to the floor. Then there are diegetic sounds of body parts dropping to the floor and gasps from people as the body parts fall. There is an eerie echo in the background to create an eerie and sinister atmosphere.
The next two shots show a girl screaming and then the camera zooms out and tilts down under the water as you can hear the sound of the sea and the swishes from the quick movement of the camera. This is all diegetic sound that is used in the opening scene.
