Sound planning - Miss Miller

Sound refers to everything we hear in a movie such as; words, sound effects, and music. Sound is used in film to heighten a mood, provide us with information about the location of a scene, advance the plot, and tell us about the characters in the story.

Within our opening sequence many sound effects are used to change the atmosphere and connect the audience to the characters. Non-diegetic sound is the most common sound technique used throughout the clip, it is sound or music that is added in, during the editing stage. Non-diegetic sound is used when the victim is hiding behind the tree, heavy breathing and a heart beat noise is used. This technique is effective as it emphasises the fear the character is feeling, and the noises are relatable towards the audience as they can connect to her through the beat of her heart. Other non-diegetic sound that is used involves the sound track used as the victim is being chased. A fast paced, high pitched soundtrack is used to create suspense and excitement for the audience. These uses of non-diegetic sound are conventional to thrillers as they create an emotional response for the audience including suspense and tension.

 

Diegetic sound is music or sound that belongs within a frame, that is an natural part of the narrative, it is used in the opening sequence when the phone is ringing at the end. Within the whole opening sequence there is not much diegetic sound used, as we are creating effect using editing techniques and cinematography, however the sound used from the phone ringing being real highlights the importance of the scene. The phone ringing also signifies the death of the victim therefore needs to be emphasised. This is conventional to a thriller film as the representation of death is very common within thrillers.

 On screen sound is when you can see and hear where the sound is coming from within the film, it is used when the victim is running through the forest. As the victim is running leaves are being crunched on the floor, the setting of the forest is shown in the camera therefore the audience can see the sound coming from the leaves. This connects to the audience as they can hear the same noises they would if they was in the same situation. 

Silence is used within our opening sequence when the phone is laying on the ground at the end of the scene, this sound technique is used to represent the victims death. The silence represents her life being over, it also portrays the life coming out of her, however we do not confirm the death of her as we do not show her being murdered. We believe this is a very important sound technique to use in thrillers and it is conventions towards them as it normally represents the ending of an equillibrium or represents the begining of one.