Deconstruction of Non-Diegetic Sounds:
As we are still undecided whether we are including an actual violent death scene I decided to look into the different music and sounds heard during a death scene. This should hopefully give us an idea of what types of music and/or sounds we should have if we decide to include a death scene.
One of the most recognisable sounds from a horror film, the scary horror music from Psycho is extremely well-known as it automatically makes any scene so much more scarier. The fast paced beats make the audience think of a countdown, leading up to something which would appear to be a death. The change in pitch also adds to this and the weird scraping knife sound that the instruments create is really effective. The low paced 'humming' sounds which interrupt the shrill beats also provide variation so the music isn't the same all the way through.
In this scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the dialogue and the diegetic sound of the chainsaw are probably more dominant but I am focusing on the music in the background as I feel without it, the death would not be as effective.
During the first 20 seconds or so, the audience should be listening to the dialogue but there is some slow background music which is very consistent at the same speed and volume, almost luring the audience into a false sense of security while at the same time making sure they are conscious of the situation at hand. This builds up slightly, making the audience think something big is going to happen but it's kind of a red herring as the characters change.
Almost immediately though, the music increases, even louder than before and the quicker tempo and the added drum beats make it sound more impatient and builds up to the moment where Leatherface appears. The combination of a deep rumbling noise and a higher pitched note used also add a sinister, eerie feel to the situation and help to increase the tension even more.
Throughout the next moments the music stops, there are drum beats but they are quieter than before, however the music increases again quickly as the action in the scene becomes more intense. The sound of the chainsaw then overpowers the music, showing how impressive and deadly it is and to make the audience focus on the weapon itself.
The simple drum beats return slightly louder and then the stringed instruments also join in towards the end of the clip, to stop the scene from being silent with just the man talking. The non-diegetic sound during this sequence is very effective as it is creepy and adds tension to the scene as the music seems to fit the action perfectly.
In another clip from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there is a lot of screaming from the girl but the sound effects in the background can still be heard. From the very beginning we can hear low pitched bass notes almost once every second, as the girl tries to run away, but then as he catches her and picks her up, a high pitched ticking noise joins in almost to signify she can't escape now.
The bass notes are still playing but the tempo has become much more fast paced and urgent. Gradually the sound of stringed instruments, possibly violins, builds up to increase the tension and also the desperation in her screams. The whirring of the chainsaw then joins in with the music, obviously telling the audience what is about to happen and the steady rhythm of the ticking helps make the scene more scary for the audience.
I decided to mention the song below which is also from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as it is completely different from what you would expect from a trailer for a horror movie. This extremely subverts the conventions of trailer music as you would not expect a film like TTCM to use a song like this to promote the film, however it is still one of the most well-known horror films around.
In this scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the dialogue and the diegetic sound of the chainsaw are probably more dominant but I am focusing on the music in the background as I feel without it, the death would not be as effective.
During the first 20 seconds or so, the audience should be listening to the dialogue but there is some slow background music which is very consistent at the same speed and volume, almost luring the audience into a false sense of security while at the same time making sure they are conscious of the situation at hand. This builds up slightly, making the audience think something big is going to happen but it's kind of a red herring as the characters change.
Almost immediately though, the music increases, even louder than before and the quicker tempo and the added drum beats make it sound more impatient and builds up to the moment where Leatherface appears. The combination of a deep rumbling noise and a higher pitched note used also add a sinister, eerie feel to the situation and help to increase the tension even more.
Throughout the next moments the music stops, there are drum beats but they are quieter than before, however the music increases again quickly as the action in the scene becomes more intense. The sound of the chainsaw then overpowers the music, showing how impressive and deadly it is and to make the audience focus on the weapon itself.
The simple drum beats return slightly louder and then the stringed instruments also join in towards the end of the clip, to stop the scene from being silent with just the man talking. The non-diegetic sound during this sequence is very effective as it is creepy and adds tension to the scene as the music seems to fit the action perfectly.
In another clip from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there is a lot of screaming from the girl but the sound effects in the background can still be heard. From the very beginning we can hear low pitched bass notes almost once every second, as the girl tries to run away, but then as he catches her and picks her up, a high pitched ticking noise joins in almost to signify she can't escape now.
The bass notes are still playing but the tempo has become much more fast paced and urgent. Gradually the sound of stringed instruments, possibly violins, builds up to increase the tension and also the desperation in her screams. The whirring of the chainsaw then joins in with the music, obviously telling the audience what is about to happen and the steady rhythm of the ticking helps make the scene more scary for the audience.
I decided to mention the song below which is also from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as it is completely different from what you would expect from a trailer for a horror movie. This extremely subverts the conventions of trailer music as you would not expect a film like TTCM to use a song like this to promote the film, however it is still one of the most well-known horror films around.
During my research, I also decided to look at horror music that other people had done themselves to see how simple it would be if we were to do it ourselves from scratch. I liked the use of the piano in this one for example, it sounds good especially with the deep notes in the background and the held notes (possibly strings). I also liked the big drum beat at the end as I think it's best to finish on a loud note rather than just fading out unless you want it to be creepy and feel it would worth with the scene. To me however, it didn't sound that scary, I think it wasn't either fast or slow enough, it was kind of in the middle and just sounded to me like it was sad music and I could picture it being in a tragedy film, rather than a scary horror film.
During my investigation, I found that the piano and also a lot of stringed instruments were mostly used to create tension, that is why I feel that in our opening, it could be more effective if we decided to use those instruments if we choose to have music as it builds up the atmosphere to that final moment where usually a death or something important happens. As we don't have any experts in music in our group, we would either have to get help from a friend or try to keep it relatively simple, but still scary.
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