Non-Diegetic Sound Deconstruction

In order for my group and me to get a good idea of the type of non-diegetic sound to use within our death scene of our film opening, I felt that it would be a good idea to do a deconstruction on two different film openings of two TV-series that have inspired us in our film opening development and research.

Looking at the sound only in the sequences, I carried out in-depth deconstructions of the non-diegetic music used- explaining the effects it has on the footage, the feeling it gives to the extract and the different methods used with layering to accomplish the sounds produced.

Se7en

)

Format of sounds

• Starts off with a booming sound- used to shock the audience and create an immediate tension.
• Beat of electronic "shhh" sound accompanies this booming sound initially.
• Booming repeats every four beats.
• A "typing" sound is then added for a bit- but then fades out.
• A strange "zooming" sound added for a bit- but then fades out.
• Screeching sound added for a bit- but then fades out.
• There is a constant booming and "shhh" sound throughout and is used as the beat.
• Random selection of the different sounds already heard are played to build intensity.
• About a quarter of the way through another strange, striking sound added- to keep the attention of the audience and add more depth to the sound.
• As it goes through extract, the collection of sounds get more clustered, playing at random times.
• Half way through, the beat changes to a quicker pace- a new high pitched sound is added for the beats that are slightly different to the previous one.
• This is repeated a few times.
• Three quarters of the way through more of a base sound added- increasing intensity- linked to the speeding up edits off shots
• This gradually gets more intense- drums creating the base- with a mixture of sounds- reaching peak.
• At the end, dialogue of a man singing "You bring me closer to God" is played, finishing the  non-diegetic sound with a final beat that then fades out.

Effects it has on the footage and the feeling it gives to the extract

The non-diegetic music used in this sequence adds to the tension within the scene, primarily, but also signifies to the audience- without even needing to look at the footage, that the genre is a horror. The weird sounds, and deep base booming also denotes that there is going to be something within the film that is scary- being that the sound is aimed at shocking and "scaring" the audience. It really works well with the footage also- relating to what is being shown on screen.

American horror story 



Format of sounds

• The extract starts off with silence.
• A sharp static sound suddenly plays, but only lasts for a second- used to make the audience jump.
• Then goes back to silence again.
• A sudden buzzing noise starts then stops immediately.
• Loud and, again, sudden "Dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum" beat initiates with a static noise over the top.
• "Dum, dum..." sound carries on, but dies down a bit from the original loud initiation 
• The static noise also fades, but then starts intensifying again before another beat is added- a scratching sound in with different tones.
• A sudden, very load, metallic, chattering sound starts, then stops.
• Again the static sound.
• A soft scratching sound is constantly played, accompanied by the buzzing, This with the -"Dum, dum..." beat intensifies the scene.
• Suddenly, all the sounds slow down and fades away to a stop.
• A load beat breaks this pause, a constant, load scratching sound representing the beats
• The extract ends with the sound of fire cracking, the "Dum, dum..." beat fading out into silence.

Effects it has on the footage and the feeling it gives to the extract

This non-diegetic music, similar to Se7ens sounds, is used to build the tension within the scene, also creating a mood, signifying to the audience that the TV-series consists of twisted horror- not even needing to look at the footage, but in just the representation of the sounds played. The use of layering, again like with Se7en's non-diegetic music, is used to add depth and irregularity to the extract- linking to the conventions of the horror genre.

Conclusion

From my deconstructions of both Se7en's and American Horror Story's opening title extracts, I have found that when making the non-diegetic sound for our death scene, in our film opening, I need to use layering, linking each different sound and beat with what is happening on screen. The use of beats and dramatic "bangs" is also really effective- as found in both of the extracts.

Another tip that I found was that by using sounds that are "related" to the footage, it makes it more realistic, allowing the audience's minds to wonder into more graphic scenarios from the audio stimulation. For example, in Se7en, a screeching sound is used as well as high pitched scratching, really stimulating the audience's minds to wonder, with the help of the footage. Another example is in the American Horror Story extract- the use of "buzzing" really reminded me of flies surrounding a gory corps- stimulated from both the audio and the images in the video. Looking at our footage, we could use "squelching" sounds and cracking along with the gory images, allowing the viewer's mind to imagine more graphic scenes than what are displayed from the combination of visual and audio stimulation.