I am so glad we have this topic on this week. Because I love watching movies, and making movies. My dream is to be a director. In every movie, Sound, a kind of expression form, compare to the video part ,sometimes plays a more important role. For example, if we turn off the voice when we watch horror films, then, we will definitely not feel any scares. Since in horror films, the director always put a very scare sound before something fearful is coming out. However, as audiences, we don’t know when is that thing coming out. Then we would be nervous.
After I watched the first episode of Vampire Slayer. I found that there is kind of sound that could make the contribution of horror films. At the beginning of the video, Buffy has a conversation about her dreams under a willow tree. and then, there is a noise like a girl sing a song about the box. After they packed, the noise is still there. This sound build in a movie predict that there will be some horrible things happened, and these diegetic sounds add aesthetic value of horror for this film.
I remember that when Buffy and her friend wake up in the morning, there is a slow and creep background music in this scene. These kinds of non-diegetic sound make viewer feel uneasy and haunted. Also the non-diegetic adds a dramatic effect in the horror movie and had a best use of aesthetic value of horror to appeal the audience’s mood.
In my opinion, the basic reason for horror films make us feel scared is that they make us think. During our thinking, there will be a thousand possibilities. Therefore, the main point is that we make ourselves scared. And what makes us think? It is sound.
Thank you for sharing your opinion with us, Houzhi. I like your comment. I think you listen the tape so carefully that you can think more deeply than what I thought. I saw you mentioned that “The basic reason for horror films make us feel scared is that they make us think. During our thinking, there will be a thousand possibilities. Therefore, the main point is that we make ourselves scared”. And this is what I thought too. Farthermore, I do consider there’s some relationship between people’s value and their reaction for the scared type. You said you like making movie, and how you choose the voice or music for your moving? Could you tell me what kinds of voice you consider is the most scared for you? Do you consider people’s personal experience will affect what their thought after they hear the scared voice?
Hi Yutao,
I am glad you read my reflection. Because I like making movie and making music, therefore I know how to make the sound suitable for the particular part of the movie. For example, as we all know, some comedies always have the bright music with them. However, if I put bright music in a scared movie, that would be more scared, because you will feel bad and think why bright music is there. Then you will think there might be something coming out. That’s how I make music in the movies.
You mentioned that do I consider people’s personal experience will affect what their thought after they hear the scared voice. Yes, of course, for example, my mother always sit on the sofa when there is a thunder. When I asked her the reason, she just said there was something really bad happened when she was a child, and meanwhile there was a thunder. I think this example could answer you.
-Houzhi
I think it was an interesting point you made that if the sound was turned off in a scary movie we would be less scared. I think it would be interesting to explore the question: Does this mean that sound is the element of a horror film that builds the most fear for the viewer? A horror film without creepy movie would definitely have a different feel than what we think of as horror films today. Personally, I think it is a combination of both and I agree that the monsters in the Buffy episode would be less scary if the music was not there, but I also think the make-up creates a scary image.
-Michelle
Hi,
Thank for reading my response. Indeed, for some movies, the sound is one of the vital part. Nowadays, people watch too many movies, thus, audiences are getting rigorous for evaluating a movie. Therefore, directors have to try their best to satisfy audiences. Therefore, background music is being treated more and more important. Sometimes, a movie makes you cry, it is not only because the dialogue, but also the background music.
-Houzhi Wu
I really like your opinion on the Buffy episode because I was very intrigued by the episode. I don’t know much about the sound effects in movies and the technical part they play in the overall experience. However, the Buffy episode really gave me an insight into how much the music plays into the emotions you feel. “A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy)” (Filmsound.org). I used to alwasy think that the music in movies always made the scene kind of cheesy because you would always know when something was coming. However, the Buffy episode used it to their advantage and really made use of the non-diegetic and diegetic sounds to set the scene without taking away the suspense.