Sounds To Use

After further researching into legal free sounds, I found a website appropriate for what my group and I needed. The website I found is known as 'Incompetech', below is a step by step process of what I did in order to receive the ideal sound for my groups' opening.

I selected "Royalty-Free Music".

The website then gave me an option box which allowed me to select a genre - horror. The options also offered me certain "feel(s)" for my sound. I selected "dark, eerie, intense (and) suspenseful".

Here are the names of the sounds I received. "The House of Leaves " is the one I chose.

 

At 1.10s, the non-diegetic sound begins.

Evaluation:

• The sounds I found are more suitable with our opening. The sound my group and I used is effective in creating the suspenseful atmosphere we needed.

Sound Deconstruction of The Woman in Black

This sequence is taken from the 2012 horror film The Woman In Black directed by James Watkins. 

• The sequence starts with non-diegetic sound consisting of a high pitched whirling sound along with occasional, quieter low-pitched drum beats (from 0:00) which plays in the background. This high-pitched whirling sound creates an instant eerie tone and creates suspense for the audience. The low-pitched non-diegetic drum beats also build tension and suspense as they allude to the climax on-screen. The single and double drum beats also hold some connotations of a heart beat which adds to the tension being created by the other sounds being played over the visual. 

• The diegetic mechanical sound of several automatons being started also begins at the start of the sequence (also from 0:00). These raw, metallic sounds contrast audibly with the high-pitched non-diegetic whirling sounds although they also add to the eerie and quite sinister feeling created within the scene. Children's automatons are commonly used in horror films, especially those set in the Victorian Era, to create eeriness and the sound they make add to the ghostly and mysterious effect. Some of these automatons create a more melodic and peaceful sound (e.g. 0:15) which is contrapuntal to the scary nature of the scene however again create eeriness. 

• Arthur Kipps, the main character of the film, mutters the words "Come on" under his breath at 0:25. The way the character says these words makes the audience feel the same anticipation as he does in the scene which adds to the general suspense of the scene.

• The exaggerated diegetic sound of Arthur Kipps' foot steps (0:45), which is heard after the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds of the background music and that of the children's automatons has stopped, conveys to the audience his anxiety due to the situation he's in. It also adds to the build up of tension and suspense as this is the main sound the audience hears as they watch the events unfold on screen.

• The non-diegetic sound which starts at 0:54 is similar to the high-pitched whirling sound featured nearer the beginning of the clip. This is the height of the clip in terms of suspense and reaching a climax and this very mysterious and sinister sound adds a huge amount of tension to the audience, especially when the scary visual plot line of this scene is taken into account. The low-pitched drum beats are heard again, however this time they get louder and create a crescendo, and is parallel to the suspense being created on screen. 

Sounds to use in our Opening

Last Sunday we filmed the majority of our coursework film opening in my garage, our idea is about a possessed girl so we had to film a lot of scenes with my sister with her kicking and moving her body around a lot which we could then make look effective using editing techniques and adding in non-diegetic sounds. The type of sounds we are looking for are cracking and popping noises to make it seem as if bones are breaking, and be built up when the possession becomes more violent. I looked for these types of sounds I could use on the internet to see what we could possibly use.

I came across the website freeSFX.co.uk where they had a long list of different bone clicking, snapping, crunching and cracking available to download. I picked a few that I thought sounded the most effective and what I think we should use in our coursework.

 

 

These are the five best noises that I chose which I think we should use:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating Jumpy Sound

In my previous blog post, I researched examples of the common technique of a sudden appearance of the possessed character of the film before creating my short clip. During my research, I found that a sudden and loud piece of non-diegetic sound is often used to intensify and emphasise the abrupt appearance of the possessed character. The main example of a sudden appearance of a possessed character was from the 2012 horror film Sinister which can be viewed below. I extracted this clip from the official trailer for Sinister from YouTube.

After looking at the sound used in this clip, I realised that the sound was created using multiple instruments and sound effects and mixing them together to create a more abrupt sound, designed to scare and make the audience jump. Using this idea, I thought about what instruments and sound effects I could use to create my own sound which would accompany a sudden appearance of a possessed character. After experimenting with different instruments and materials to create sound, I concluded that the best sounds which would be most effective in order to create my desired sound are those which are harsh and unnatural. Sounds which I created and fit this criteria were created using an electric guitar to make different sounds such as harsh feedback and loud and abrupt strumming of the strings. Other sounds I made included me banging loudly on my desk or other surfaces to create harsh sounds and dropping objects on the microphone. Some of the raw, individual recordings can be listened to below.

Creating Possession Sounds

I based my work on a few different films and also 'real' exorcism clips from YouTube. I first researched the true case of Anneliese Michel, a German woman who underwent an exorcism and died. Many films, including The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem are based off of her story. However, in reality Anneliese was epileptic, depressed, suicidal and malnourished. Nevertheless, her story is interesting and tapes from the exorcism are fascinating and helped give me an idea for our own sounds.

I also looked at The Exorcism of Emily Rose as a source of inspiration as there is a famous scene which uses some of the techniques I wanted to try:

I found that some conventions of possessed sounds are:

• Speaking in tongues / other languages
• Speaking backwards
• Speaking in Latin
• Saying Biblical things / referring to Demons
• Hissing, spitting, biting, growling
• Unnatural sounding, completely the opposite to whoever the possessed person is

Here is what I did and some attempts:

I used Audacity, as I did last time. This is one of the tutorials I followed and some early attempts:

These screencaps just show the program and how it looks whilst I was using it. It is a fairly simple software to use and I have used it before to create supernatural sounds.

Then I recorded somebody else speaking Latin and fiddled with the effects, adding in some growling sounds...

Evaluation:
It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be and so the results weren't really what I was looking for. I like the growling that I managed to implement in some of the sounds but it was hard to get backwards talking to sound legible. I think that if I were to try this again, I'd find a great audio clip of someone speaking in tongues and edit from there, as it was hard trying to find a good basis to edit from. 

Making Supernatural Like Sounds

Through my research into supernatural horror films, I have certainly noted how sound is a key factor in contributing to frightening atmosphere.

After watching Paranormal Activity 2 and 3, I noted that the back break sound is quite horrible and off putting to listen to. For my film opening I found easy ways in which this sound could be achieved. I simply used an empty plastic bottle, and crunched it.

One common convention audience expect to hear and see in a supernatural horror, is the usual door creek. This sound can be easily achieved through the use of door, one which is able to make a creek.

Another door movement, is the door slam. This is easy, as you can record and quickly shut a door. The shut has to be sudden and loud.

A door being repeatedly shut back and forth is also another common sound we sometimes expect to hear.

To help build a spooky atmosphere, I found that the sound of a tap dripping can be quite useful. To create the sound, I slightly turned the tap, allowing some water to fall out. Below the tap, I placed a bowl of water. This effectively built the 'dripping' type sound.

After watching the Grudge, I found that the supernatural character's croaky sound was rather daunting. I figured that it can be made through the use of one's throat. I tried forming the sound by my throat and managed to produce something very similar.

Some supernatural horror films such as Paranormal Activity tend to not reveal the ghost, but allow their sounds to be heard. We often hear a deep, ghastly breathing sound. I created this sound by gradually reaching the recorder, whilst breathing through my mouth. In order to build the ghostly sound, I put my lips out and had them fairly close together, increasing the volume as I got closer to the recorder.

 

Evaluation

Overall, I found this task quite simple. After watching several supernatural horror films, I figured that common sounds such as door creeks and door slams can be made easily, even without the use of Photoshop. One sound however, which was difficult to create at times, was the bone breaking. This is because the bottle would produce an unnecessary sound when returning back to it's original shape. In order to minimise this issue, I made sure that the sound was sharp and on point, by crunching the bottle quickly and moving it away from the recorder when returning to its original form.



'Ghost Ship' Deconstruction- Typography and Sound

The opening sequence of 'Ghost Ship' begins with a display of the title of the film (right) in a calligraphic font, made to look hand written, in a pink colour as the shot tilts upwards from the sea to bring the ship into view. The fact that the title of the film is visually presented in a positive and vibrant manner contrasts greatly to the negative and bleak connotations and horror elements which the title of the film, 'Ghost Ship', holds. While the visual title of the film is displayed on-screen, a jolly and upbeat almost Christmas-like diegetic music plays in the background (later on in the sequence, the audience is made aware that this opening background music is being played by a mini orchestra on the ship accompanied by a female singer). Although this background music is parallel with the positive visual of the nicely-lit and inviting ship, where a formal party or similar festive event is taking place, it, like the vibrant typography, seems contrapuntal to the connotations that the title of the film holds.

Later in the sequence, the same typography is again displayed in the centre of the screen, displaying the names of various cast and crew members. This shot shows the ballroom of the Italian ship, or ocean liner, (the Antonia Graza) with the names of the producers of the film displayed in the centre of the shot. Part of the credits later on in the sequence, like this example, use different types/fonts of typography. Part of the credit uses the same calligraphic font as seen at the beginning of the sequence which is parallel to the formal and wealthy setting of the ocean liner. The typography in this shot is also slightly different as the text of "Produced by" is displayed in a computer typed font. The same diegetic sound continues to play with the band, along with the singer (singing Senza Fine) visible in the background. Both the music and the typography create a very relaxing and inviting atmosphere which is emphasised by the grand and formal setting of both the exterior and interior of the ship.

In the latter part of the sequence when the horrific and gruesome part of the scene takes place, many uses of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used. This scene takes place after the typography is finished being displayed on screen. The mysterious character pushes a lever in the Bridge of the ocean liner (the operating room of the ship) to unravel wires which will ultimately cause horrific fatalities of most on the outdoor deck of the ship. As the mysterious individual does this, the diegetic sound of the lever being pushed is emphasised which causes the audience to realise that this act will have negative outcomes. The diegetic sound of the wires unraveling as a result of the lever being pushed also emphasises the fact that something mysteriously unusual is being alluded to. The diegetic background music which continues to be played by the on-board band and singer is muffled and a high pitched non-diegetic drone is played over the background music. This high pitched drone is an audible technique commonly used in horror films to build tension of what is about to happen on-screen. This non-diegetic sound becomes the dominant sound over the background music which is parallel to the almost sinister visuals of the wires unraveling on-screen and draws the audience's attention to the unusual and sinister visuals of this part of the sequence. As the visuals of the wires and parts of the boat quickens to outline and emphasise the mysterious upcoming events, unnatural sped-up, non-diegetic sounds are used to accompany these quickened visuals to make the mysterious events and the anticipation the audience feels in those moments more effective.

Again, the non-diegetic high pitched droning sound is used to emphasise the anticipation and mystery of certain objects which come into view which are obviously key to the upcoming horrific events such as a lethal-looking long cable. As the wires/cables unravel at an increasing and alarming pace, the diegetic sounds of these are made louder to keep the audience's attention and anticipation and also to build suspense. These alarming diegetic sounds are parallel to the similarly alarming visuals of the wires unraveling at a frightening pace. The diegetic sound of the single horizontal wire as it sweeps the deck and cuts almost everyone on board in half (and subsequently kills them) is made the primary sound to accompany the primary visual. As the wire comes to an abrupt halt and a close-up shot reveals the blood it has collected, diegetic sound of the wire vibrating can be heard and creates an eerie audible effect which reverberates in a sinister fashion to connote a strong sense of horror. Other high pitched diegetic sounds such as the wires scraping and squeaking as they slowly scrape on metal in the otherwise strong silence adds to the eerie effect caught both audibly and visually within the scene. Emphasised diegetic sounds of the bodies of the passengers aboard the ship gruesomely falling to the ground can be heard along with a similar non-diegetic sinister drone. These sounds, especially when combined, create an ominous atmosphere and feeling within the scene which are parallel to the gruesome visuals of the sequence. Diegetic human sounds after the passengers have been lethally cut by the wire, such as gasping for air, also add to the creepy and eerie atmosphere of the scene. Lastly, the piercing diegetic sound of the scream of the little girl draws an end to the opening sequence in a very hostile and eerie manner to lead on to the main part of the film.

The opening sequence of 'Ghost Ship' can be viewed below

 

Creating Sound

Firstly I decided to do some research on sound within supernatural horrors. I looked at demon/possession sequences as well as paranormal sounds including door slams, scratches etc. I also looked at how sound can create such an eerie atmosphere by itself, even if nothing scary is going on on-screen, for example, in the Shining. Some of my sources of inspiration:

Here, non-diegetic sound is used frequently to add suspense and build tension, which is important in supernatural horrors as you are scared of what you can't see. Furthermore, you don't actually 'see' so much scary stuff in this film but the sound really gets to the audience and has them on the edge of their seat.

The Shining is a classic example of where sound is used to create an eerie atmosphere, like in this famous scene where Danny comes across the two dead girls. This film is quite old now but is still thought to be one of the scariest films ever made and I believe this is because of the use of non-diegetic sound.

As well as this I looked at tutorials and other peoples work on sound and tried to recreate some of the sounds they made as well as trying to come up with my own. After watching a few videos on YouTube I decided to download a software and try and create sounds completely from scratch. For example:

How I did it

• I used the program "Audacity" which I downloaded for free on the Internet
• I used a tutorial (seen below) to create my sound
• I got an old guitar in my house and strummed the strings a few times whilst recording
• I then slowed the track to make it creepier
• Then I played around with some of the effects and managed to make it louder, almost double the volume it was before. This gave it a deeper bass and as a result made it creepier
• I then played around a bit more and reversed the track.
• To me, it sounds like at the end of the build up it would go silent for a second then a blood-curdling scream would come.

Tutorial:

Here are the sounds (FOR BEST QUALITY, USE SPEAKERS WITH BASS/TREBLE)

I then tried again using my own voice and piano notes from an old out of tune piano in my house. I did similar things in the editing, just playing around with the tools on the software. Here are the results...

Evaluation of my sounds

I think for a first attempt my sounds are quite good and with more practice and knowledge of the software I can produce pretty scary sounds. Also, perhaps experimenting with other software and downloaded sounds could be useful. On a whole I think I made a good first attempt at trying to create sounds from scratch and tried to approach it in a different way by attempting to use a software I have never used before.