Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Non-diagetic Sound: The example I chose for non-diagetic sound is the background music that was playing while the town people’s voices were being stolen. This is non-diagetic sound because the source of the music is not visible to the viewer. This is important because the background music that was being played was a key part in making the scene creepy and chilling. Just like in a typical horror film, the music is a big part in creating suspense and building anticipation of what’s to come.
Diagetic Sound: The clip that I chose for diagetic sound is when Buffy is in class and the professor is trying to talk to Buffy and her friends. This scene is important because it when essentially when Buffy and her friends realize what they need to do in order to save the town. This is an example of diagetic sound because it is visible because of the projector and the slides although the professor did not express it through his words. The sound definitely contributes to making this part of the horror genre because they were not able to communicate with one another while they were discovering who the monster was.
Mise-en-scene: The clip I chose for mise-en-scene was when the monster was initially revealed inside the clock. By showing the monster, it creates anticipation for the viewer of the possibilities of what is to come. This is an example of mise-en-scene because the element of the set design completely contributes to creating a component of horror in this scene by using specific costumes and props to make the monster look scary. In any monster horror show or film, paying great attention to detail to make the monster or villain look as creepy as possible is a main priority. The production design, coloring, lighting and the actors’ performance all contribute to the mise-en-scene.
I like the example you used for non-diagetic sound because I related to that same scene by being scared and confused to what was going to happen next because the music was not visible to the audience. It did feel like something bad was going to occur but we didn’t know what or when. In the Carroll reading it stated, “I think that it is fair to say that in our culture, horror thrives above all as narrative form.” ( p.278) I challenge you to think about why Carroll makes that statement? We both think that the music not being visible was a big part in creating suspense, but according to Carroll she relates it to the narrative part. Why do you think that she argues that a great deal of the horror genre is narrative?
Rachel, I can relate to your example of mise-en-scene as I wrote something similar in my own blog post. The production design, coloring, lighting, and the actor’s performance most certainly was a big contributor to the over mise-en-scene. All these elements enhance the film, helping to make it appear scarier to increase the overall horror. In Noel Carroll’s article, Why Horror? He raises the following questions: “Why are horror audiences attracted by what, typically (in everyday life), should (and would) repel them? How can horror audiences find pleasure in what by nature is distressful and unpleasant?” (Carroll, 1). I challenge you to analyze these questions about why we like horror, and how mise-en-scene contributes to our fascination with the feeling of being scared. Does digetic sound and non-digetic sound play a role as well? Also, I am interested to know whether or not you enjoy the phenomenon that horror films create.
For your example of mise-en-scene, you talked about the moment that one of The Gentlemen were revealed. You said, “by showing the monster, it creates anticipation for the viewer of the possibilities of what is to come.” You’re totally right, this scene was an effective example of mise-en-scene, but what elements of this scene could be elaborated on? What specific filming techniques could be examined as contributors to the build of anticipation in this scene?
Hi Rachel,
I agree with you that the non-diegetic sound plays an such important role to make people feel horror and afraid! I chose the video of the girl who is looking at the painting while the music start to play. What the music shows is the sound of the war and make me feel like that it is really happened. Anyway, the non-diegestic sound is the key part to build the movie. considering the mise-en-scene, it is really important to pay attention for those things for the film makes. It is also an very important part to attract the consumers as it shows the situation and can present the atmosphere.