Sound in Thrillers: What makes effective sound in Thrillers?

What makes effective sound in Thrillers?

 

• Synchronous sound - goes with the action of the film
• Asynchronous sound - goes against the action of the film
• Diegetic sound - sound recorded in the scene, heard in the action
• Non-diegetic sound - sound edited in post-production

 

 

Analysis:

• What sounds are heard?
• Audience emotions, how will it make the audience feel?
• What instruments are used?

 

Sound 1

Orchestral music is used, and orchestral is very dramatic, it's all played loudly, in forte with accented notes, which is synchronous with the movie style itself and shows that it is clearly a tense Thriller. The high pitched notes, short and abrupt, played in a very staccato style show the intensity of the film.

 

Sound 2

Soft acoustic piano to begin with, and introduces more layers of instruments as it progresses, introducing the guitar making the music more tense as it crescendos louder introducing drums, backing choir and then the drums get louder. This progression in sound is relevant to the plot, where it starts off softly and then towards the end it begins amounting to the climax. This is known as the transition from equilibrium to disequilibrium. It goes with the action of the film, again, synchronous.

The piano track is distorted, and put out of tune to unnerve the audience, distorted tracks usually sound more sinister.

 

Sound 3

This is asynchronous to the plot of the film, the well known 'Kill Bill Whistle' along with the soft orchestral music in the background completely contradicts the plot, as it is non-stop action in the film. That is until they very end where it again shows the transition from equilibrium to disequilibrium when the tense orchestral music begins towards the end, though the music does create a very sinister contrast. The relaxed music makes it more unnerving and twisted for the audience, because it shows the antagonist is evil yet the relaxation in the music during their action is almost psychopathic.

 

Sound 4

Again, the music is asynchronous which also contradicts the plot since this relaxed, yet dismal music is played in the background of a war scene and it doesn't really represent the pandemonium of the scene. The sound doesn't even crescendo or show a shift in equilibrium, it fully contradicts the plot which also unsettles the audience however in this context it is less psychopathic and more sad and dismal. Even though this music isn't representative of the war scene, it does almost reflect the sadness of it even more.

 

Summary: What makes a good Thriller soundtrack?

• Climaxing music that crescendos is always effective to build up tension using the soundtrack.
• Music in minor key, the sad and low sounds make a more sinister feel to the film.
• High pitched strings further create that sinister feel
• Percussive heartbeat that can increase in speed as the tension builds
• In horror/thrillers, children's nursery rhymes create a nostalgic turning the innocence of children into something dark
• No lyrics, however they are effective in minor key
• Creating enigmas using the above techniques