Week 6: Horror Discussion

The non-diegetic sound could be a narrators’ commentary, sound effects and mood music. In the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when the boy kisses the girl (01:38), there is a short music creates a miserable mood. I can hear the sound of wind and thunder. It is non-diegetic sound because the music and the sound of wind and thunder are not from the actual stage. When I heart the sound, I thought something strange and horrible would happen later. I think sometimes the non-diegetic sound implies what will happen next and create a sense of mood to the audience.

Based on the course materials, the diegetic sound is “whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film. In 02:29, there is a little girl singing a song. Her singing is diegetic sound. Because of her singing, the female character is curious about the voice, and she asks, “Do you hear that?” The little girl’s voice is clean but unpredictable. She repeats the lyrics again and again. It sounds weird and horrible. Her singing definitely brings up some questions to the audience. Who is she? What is she singing?

One example of mise en scène is the lighting in the beginning of the episode. When the students sit in the classroom, the light is natural. It indicates that they live in a real world. After the boy kisses the girl, the light turns dark. It creates a strange environment and an anxious feeling. The dark light and the empty classroom show us they are in an unreal world like a dream or an imagination.