What creates most of the tension and fear in horror films is a suspenseful sound track to accompany the horrific visuals. One such example of a soundtrack that adds fear and suspense in a horror film is the main title soundtrack of Halloween.
Halloween has arguably one of the most iconic soundtracks in horror, with the melody instantly recognisable. The soundtrack builds tension by beginning with the rapid sound of chimes in a melody that creates a sense of suspense. Alongside this is a constant drumming noise, creating a rhythm that entices fear within the audience. This continues until eventually the intense sound of strings and piano builds to create a crescendo which builds tension. The intensity dies down slightly as the piano and strings ease off, but the chime melody continues throughout. More intensity is created as an organ is introduced which creates an authentically eerie sound.
TDAC have had much discussion about a certain part of our opening scene and the sound that goes with it. In our film there is a kidnap when the killer emerges from off screen and grabs the unsuspecting victim by covering her mouth. When editing this the footage didn't look quite right so we put the run up to the camera in normal time but then put the kidnap into slow-motion to make it more dramatic which it did, however it still didn't look quite right.
We then decided to play with the sound and put some music in the background. I firstly turned down the contrapuntal music track and then decided to slow it and put a 'large room' effect on which made the music sound eerie and distorted. I put a heavy breathing effect on and also some music which slowly gets louder but there was still something missing because the whole running scene had been building up to this pivotal moment and it didn't really amount to anything.
We tried finding some screams on Youtube that might work but the problem was that in filming, Dave grabbed Tia's mouth first so she wouldn't really have had time to gasp loudly and if she were to scream it would have to sound muffled. With no results in finding a muffled scream on the internet, the group decided to try and record our own using voice recorders on our phones. We tried many different methods to recreate the scream; I tried grabbing Tia's face so it sounded more realistic but it sounded unnatural. She tried screaming into a jumper to make the sound sound like she had a hand over her face but again it wasn't sounding how we wanted. Myself, Charley and Dave all had a go as well but recreating a scream which we weren't quite sure how it would have sounded like if Tia had actually been grabbed.
We decided to submit it as a first draft but the feedback that we got reflected our thoughts exactly. We further discussed sound effects for the kidnap scene but with the footage that we had and without refilming, it wouldn't have looked and sounded realistic and seamless so we opted to leave it as it was. If we were to improve though, we would have rerecorded the scene to make it look as if Tia was struggling a bit more and also would have got her to scream and then we could have used the actual diegetic scream.
These were some of the videos that we found on YT but didn't think quite worked for our opening:
Within the film industry, sound is vital for creating the theme or atmosphere that the film is trying to create. A soundtrack can make or break a film, so it is imperative that the right sound is created and put with the matching visuals so that the audience gain a greater insight into the genre of the film.
There are two types of sound: parallel and contrapuntal. Parallel sound is when the sound matches what's going on in the scene and contrapuntal is when the music juxtaposes the visuals, creating a contrast- this is commonly done with classical music.
For our film opening, the group discussed and then then decided that we were really going to focus on our sound because we believed that it was potentially the most important part to creating a horror opening. To get inspiration, I listened to some music from youtube.
This soundtrack by Charlie Clouser is from the film 'Dead Silence'. The beginning of the song starts with a lullaby-like tune being played; it's slow but the piano notes are also slightly off key, giving the music a chilling feel. Additionally, acciaccatura notes, or grace notes, are added which are very short notes played before a longer note- acciaccatura literally means crushed. This adds an echoey effect, implying that this melody is being played in a large, empty, isolated room. There is then a chorus of groaning, dead-sounding voices which get louder and smoothly leads into a much faster version of the lullaby music at the beginning.
The pace builds suspense and isn't as eerie as before but it's here that they start layering up different sounds creating a piece with extra dimensions and therefore adding more depth to the music. Lower, rumbling sounds juxtapose the supposed childlike and innocent tune that is the base layer in the track. This then continues for some time and then stops, almost too suddenly and we are left with crescendos of sound which the audience knows is deliberately building up to a big finale; the same notes are repeated over and over and the suspense becomes unbearable because the audience aren't sure when they're going to break out of this circle and what it will lead to.
The end of the song then fades down again as the adrenaline slows down and the audience are then left again with the eerie lullaby tune that we began with- a cyclic song.
After listening to the 'Dead Silence' theme song, I thought that it may also be useful to look at an opening scene with the music and see how they complement each other. The Ghost Ship is a slasher/supernatural film. In the beginning on the cruise ship, there are a lot of upper class people dancing with their husbands and wives. They are all dressed up in their best clothes and the lighting is warm and soft; purely through the visuals, the producers have created a 'happy' scene.
The music is diegetic and it's a woman singing classical italian smooth jazz; it is seductive and sexy. It is also gentle and slow, creating calm and peace on board for evening's entertainment. To begin with, the music is parallel as it corresponds to the peaceful ambiance on the ship however, when the wire begins to turn and tighten and we are in a different location (outside of the main ballroom) then the woman's voice becomes quieter and more muffled and echoey, which would firstly show that the preparation of the wire and pulling the lever to release the wire is outside of the main event quite a distance away, but it also creates a ghostly feel because its like the scene has gone into slow motion which gives it a supernatural sheen and it also intensifies the prospects of what's about to happen to the people in the next room. As the wire begins to kill the victims, the music turns into contrapuntal sound because the relaxing jazz doesn't fit in with the massacre that is currently occurring.
Both of these are examples of music tracks that work effectively within their genre and help to convey common conventions- for our slasher opening, we will take a similar approach to The Ghost Ship and use a contrapuntal, slightly muffled track with chilling diegetic noises over the top of it.
For my sound deconstruction, I wanted to look at the opening sequence of a film within our genre, so I chose to look at Samara's Song - the opening song in The Ring. I firstly looked at the lyrics of the song:
Round we go
The world is spinning
When it stops
It's just beginning
Sun comes up
We live and we cry
Sun goes down
And then we all die
Clearly, the lyrics highlight the genre of the film, as they have dark connotations such as 'die' and 'cry', which juxtapose with 'sun' and 'live'. This enables the audience to form an immediate presentation of what the film is going to be like, and sets the tone for the remainder of the film. There are also very few words in the lyrics, and are very simple to follow. This is effective as it means that the audience can focus on what is being sung, without losing focus on the visuals. The verses of the song are also sung repeatedly, which could suggest repetition within the narrative. The format of the song is in the style of a nursery rhyme, with a young girl singing. The use of a young girl enables a contrast between innocence and purity with the themes of the film being death. The juxtaposition of the singer and the lyrics is effective, as it makes it sound eerier. The pace also adds to the effectiveness of the soundtrack, as it is sung slowly, enabling the audience to understand the lyrics. This also emphasises the nursery rhyme style of the song, which are traditionally slow paced. The pitch of the song varies throughout, the instrument used being an metal xylophone, which enables a variety of pitches and crisp sounds to be produced.
Although the creepy and eerie soundtrack works effectively for The Ring, it wouldn't suit our opening sequence, and therefore isn't what we are planning to use. As our opening has two elements to it, the initial castle scene and also the kidnapping scene in the forest, we wanted two separate soundtracks, but wanted to ensure that they worked together and flowed. To add suspense, we decided that we didn't want any lyrics for the castle scene, as this could potentially take the focus away from the visuals. For the second section, we wanted a juxtaposition of sound, using a more upbeat pop song rather than a dark song and lyrics. This would be effective as the contrast would aid the visuals as the girl is unexpectedly kidnapped. Over the song, we would layer an eerie soundtrack to add suspense.
For this practical task, I took a piece which my dad composed a few years ago for his mum. To record it, the base tune is played with two hands with chords and are played in the same sequence thrice through. Because I have a keyboard at home I was able to change the sound that the keys produce but for the base track I kept it with a classical piano sound. For the tune that comes in on the second play through the repeating base tune, just one has is used to play these notes and I played it with a mixture of 'Vocal' and 'Strings' which gave it a more dramatic sound and it was more powerful, like a choir. The tune builds when the main tune comes in and then repeats two more times and ends with a harmonising elongated chord. So to record both parts with the two separate sounds, I had to record the base tune on the keyboards record function and then I was able to play along to the recording with the main tune and record the whole thing on Voicenotes on my iPhone.
Listening to it back, I would have liked to have used a microphone or a better quality sound recording device because you can hear quite a lot of background sound so it's not as crisp as I would have liked it to have been. Also, this tune probably would be more suited to a teen drama or a romcom rather than a horror as it's quite slow and dramatic but it's not staccato because the damper pedal is being used to make the piece sing more and be more expressive. Therefore we probably won't use this because we will want a piece of music that is more jumpy, less legato and builds tension.
For my sound creation, I decided to experiment with Garageband to create a creepy soundtrack or sound clip. I decided to initially search on YouTube for a tutorial on how to do this as well as inspiration for what I could attempt to create. Unfortunately this was unsuccessful as all the tutorials were either for the old version of Garageband or created on an iPad, but as I was using my mac the layout was completely different and confusing, so I decided to experiment and attempt to create an effective piece of sound. The layout of Garageband was initially very daunting, as I was unsure how to navigate around the complex app. After taking some time to attempt to understand the program, I worked out how to add different instruments.
I then used the keyboard on my laptop to create the sound patterns. Again, I had to experiment by pressing different key combinations and listening to it repeatedly to decide which combination was the most effective.
The list of instrument options is below, and as I was unsure which sounds I wanted to use, I had to try each one out in different pitches and octaves to find which sounds worked well together.
I then had to play a sound and record it using the software. This then inserted it as a green bar (seen below) and then I was able to crop and adjust the positioning of it. Again, I had to keep listening to it in order to ensure it was in the correct place and sounded effective for our genre.
Although the sound clip is only 7 seconds long, it took me more than two hours to create it, partly because I was unfamiliar with the software and unsure of how I wanted it to sound. My final sound piece is attached below. If I were to do it again, I would try to make a longer soundtrack and ensured that all the different instruments flowed well together.
Initially, I looked to the internet to find inspiration for ways of making sound effects with everyday items. I found a website, http://www.epicsound.com/sfx/, which lists various sounds and how to make them. On the list were helpful sound effects that would be useful for the horror genre, such as stab and punch noises. There were also more general sound effects, such as walking on snow and fire crackling. I also found several videos that showed ways of making general foley sounds.
From the website and these videos I found the easiest way to create the sound effects of a person being attacked was to use vegetables. Having found this information, I bought various vegetables and found some objects around the house that I could use to make some foley sounds.
List of items used:
Knife
Knife sharpener
Lettuce
Celery
Bell pepper
Black pepper
Eggs
Breadsticks
Carrots
Plastic packaging
I then recorded the sounds the objects made, whilst filming what I was doing to make the sounds. I then edited this footage together to make a short video.
One of the sounds that I think worked well was the carrot snapping and the crinkling of the plastic packaging combined to make the sound effect of a fire. These two sounds were easy to make and sounded really effective. This could be used in final production piece if we were to do a psychological horror, as fire could be used in a sequence of burning various significant items, like a shrine.
Another successful sound was the bell pepper that sounded like a victim being punched. This sound effect could be used in many genres, any that include fight scenes or violence as a common convention. This could include teen drama, urban drama or any type of horror.
One of the less successful sound effects was the lettuce being chopped. Many of the sources found suggested a lettuce being cut creates a sound that can be used for someone being stabbed. However, I found that the knife went through the lettuce too easily, meaning the only sound that could really be heard was the knife hitting the counter. If I were to try to recreate this sound, I would use a harder fruit or vegetable, such as a watermelon. This would allow the knife to sink into the fruit better instead of passing straight through it, allowing for a better sound.
Another aspect of the sounds that would need to be revised should I recreate the sound effects is crushing the egg. In past experience, it has been hard to crush an egg, however when creating the sound effects the egg cracked very easily. If I were to create the puddle sound effect again, I would be sure to cover the area I would be recording in newspaper or another protective material to prevent the egg from going everywhere. However, to achieve the sound of stamping in a puddle in the future, it would be easier to just create a puddle and record the sound of stamping in it.
