Mise-en-scene consists of details such as color, lighting, actors’ performance, position of camera (camera angle) and framing, production designs, and diegetic sound. One example I found was when the camera was filming the town clock from the bottom of the clock tower. The details of the scene such as, pitch-black night with some clouds in the sky, absence of lights on the street, and the big antique-looking clock tower worked as components to amplifying the aesthetic of this horror film.
Diegetic sound is any voice or sound effect presented as coming from the original source within the film. One example I found from the movie was when people just found out that they lost their voice. There was silence everywhere, including the hallway. As a girl walked in, a guy accidentally dropped his mug, and the mug shattered on the ground. The actual sound made from the shattering glasses in the scene amplified the seriousness of the event of the movie. It also gave a hint that something had gone seriously wrong.
Any sound effect made from outside of the source, or “reality” in the film is non-diegetic. One example I found was the background music/sound effect after the “laryngitis breakout” happened and everyone lost their voices. The background music which sounded very similar to the one from the movie ‘Jaws’, amplified the scariness and its dramatic effect. The sound effect which does not exist in the “reality” or the inside the movie increases the nervousness and the anxiety of wondering what is happening. Thus it adds the aesthetic of horror film very well.
Before doing this assignment, I never thought about the sound effect of the horror genre. Carroll says, “The horror genre gives every evidence of being pleasurable to its audience, but it does so by means of trafficking in the very sorts of things that cause disquiet, distress, and displeasure”. I believe that the sound contributes to the effect of the horror films, and because of a variety of sounds, it makes the film has its own genre.
Hello, Jane. I agree with most of your point of view, however, I also have some different views with you because everyone is not the same for the feeling of terror. For the diegetic sound, your example shows that a guy accidentally broke a glass in the dorm lobby after people loss their voice. That glass broke the quiet surroundings and I just feel people are very strange but I did not feel the atmosphere of terror. Of course, everyone’s feelings are different for the same scene.
I felt that you did a good job examining this episode. I didn’t actually catch the dropping of the mug being a diegetic sound. In horror films, one of the most important ways they instill fear is by the sounds they use, even when audiences know where it is coming from and I feel you did a good job picking good scenes and diagnosing them as a horror.
After reading through your blog I think you did a good job describing the different diegetic, non-diegetic, and mise-en-scene sounds and affects for the Buffy episode. You made some observations from the episode that I completely missed, but make complete sense. I think in horror movies and TV show one of the main reasons why people enjoy watching them is the suspense and unknown factor. I felt like I got the same feeling as I was listening to the Buffy episode. I think you did a good job understand the concepts for this week’s assignment.