Analysis of Sound in Films

Sound

In thriller genre films, the choice of sounds are usually dark and mysterious, to build up tension for the audience, as well as to create a feeling of nerve and fear towards certain characters. For example, when a villain or a darker character comes onto the scene, the music usually darkens and becomes slower and more tense to build up this sense of fear and tension towards the film.

The use of darker sound is also useful for the audience as it makes it more clear who the villain is meant to be in the film or scene, depending on how many villains there are in the film. The dramatic sound can come in just before the villain is going to speak, or during his or her dialogue.

Sounds that are used in films can include:

Diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound, ambient sound, dialogue, sting, incidental music, sound effects, sound motifs, voice overs, soundtracks, synchronous sound, asynchronous sound, contrapuntal sound, sound bridges and sound perspectives.
In the thriller genre, the most sound techniques that are used are synchronous sound, asynchronous sound, a sound bridge, dialogue, diegetic sound and ambient sound all to create the sense of tension for the audience, and build up suspense for the rest of the film.