Source of Inspiration: Sound
The sound that i will be analysing are from "The Sixth Sense", "Amelie" and "Ghost Ship".
The sound used is non diegetic only and would fall into the genre of expressionism as the melody sounds extremely dissonant and instruments use high registers when performing dynamics such as ppp (really quiet) to ff (very loud). The timbre (tone colour) that's created is very discordant and gives off a rather uneasy feeling for those listening but it does prepare us for the uneasy storyline.
The sound that i will be analysing are from "The Sixth Sense", "Amelie" and "Ghost Ship".
The Sixth Sense (0:30-3:00)
The tonality of it is not surprisingly minor as creating an eerie feel within a major tonality is rather impossible. Firstly a whirring sound is heard, preferably produced by a bass instrument such as a double bass that is being bowed rather than plucked. Viola's are then added, alternating between two notes and this may involve string crossing. The string crossing of a viola player creates an arched movement of the arm and to the eye this may be unsettling to watch especially if it's at a rapid pace but when imagined or sighted it can almost be closely related to the numerous amounts of climaxes and anticlimaxes within a horror. It can also be linked with the uneasy narrative of a psychological horror. The choice of a viola over a violin fits this genre of music perfectly as the viola has a hollow sound rather than a richer sound that the violin has. We can then hear the tremolo of the cellos played underneath the whirring created by the double basses and then the clarinets come in playing an extremely dissonant flourish of notes. Again, the use of the clarinet adds a hollow sound to the piece suggesting some type of emptiness within the film.
We then hear the piano, percussion and higher strings come in. The piano plays chords each a crotchet long adding a strong, persistant beat to the music. Additionally on the first beat of every bar the timpani strikes, furthermore the violins are then added but they only play using the high registers of the instrument so we only hear extremely high pitches coming from the violins and this could be mirroring shrieks or screams that are to come in the film. Once the instrumentation has been added the texture builds up and the piece overall modulates a step at a time building to a climax and the ensemble sound as if they're playing together rather than one at time. After the climax the piano imitates the sound of footsteps or someone sneaking around by using the upper half of the piano. The violins are then used to sustain an accidental, creating a chromatic and discordant sound making it uncomfortable for the audience to listen to. The sustained accidental played by the violins is used as a sound bridge between the credits and the close up of a light bulb.
We then hear the piano, percussion and higher strings come in. The piano plays chords each a crotchet long adding a strong, persistant beat to the music. Additionally on the first beat of every bar the timpani strikes, furthermore the violins are then added but they only play using the high registers of the instrument so we only hear extremely high pitches coming from the violins and this could be mirroring shrieks or screams that are to come in the film. Once the instrumentation has been added the texture builds up and the piece overall modulates a step at a time building to a climax and the ensemble sound as if they're playing together rather than one at time. After the climax the piano imitates the sound of footsteps or someone sneaking around by using the upper half of the piano. The violins are then used to sustain an accidental, creating a chromatic and discordant sound making it uncomfortable for the audience to listen to. The sustained accidental played by the violins is used as a sound bridge between the credits and the close up of a light bulb.
Amelie (0:23 - 1:36)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pFctvte6Ts
Unlike the sound used in "The Sixth Sense", "Amelie" uses non diegetic sound as well as diegetic sound. The non-diegetic sound used can automatically be pin pointed as sounding french therefore already giving off an idea of the setting of the film. The use of instrumentation within a piece of music may sometimes offer the audience a hint of location, for this instance by using an accordion to play the melody the audience are able to make the link that the accordion is usually an instrument associated with France. The instrumentation used is very simple and consists of an accordion and possibly two violins, they begin by playing a simple rhythm and then develop it as the song goes on. The idea of the music developing the further into the film possibly mirrors the idea of the storyline getting more complicated and because we only hear the narrative, the complications are prevailed in the music. The music uses short, detached (staccato) articulation and is in a major key therefore it comes across as a merry and jolly film. The idea of it being in a major key touches on the idea of the complications being illustrated in the music and the complications come off to be those of no harm, instead it just emphasises on the idea of life moving forward as it shows the 9 month cycle and then Amelie's birth.
The tempo of the music is also quite fast so moves along quickly. As inspiration, the music (non diegetic sound) used in 0:23-1:36 mirrors everyday life. The use of the simple motif played by accordion at the beginning prevails a simple time but as the film goes on we see the sun rise, birds fly by, and others every day life and as each new subject is added the complexity of the motif is developed highlighting on the different stages of life and this is also reiterated in the tempo of the music as it gradually becomes faster. There is also use of diegetic sound such as the car driving by, a sigh and the rubbing out of writing.
Additionally, the music is what the audience hear first until the voice over of the narrative begins and the music in played int he background. As well as the narrator, the music also acts as a narrative as explained above. The narrator is not present in any of the scenes so therefore his dialogue is non diegetic as it is a voice over but within this context it plays a large role as it fills the audience in about the history before Amelie allowing us to have an insight of what life was like before she was brought into the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pFctvte6Ts
The tempo of the music is also quite fast so moves along quickly. As inspiration, the music (non diegetic sound) used in 0:23-1:36 mirrors everyday life. The use of the simple motif played by accordion at the beginning prevails a simple time but as the film goes on we see the sun rise, birds fly by, and others every day life and as each new subject is added the complexity of the motif is developed highlighting on the different stages of life and this is also reiterated in the tempo of the music as it gradually becomes faster. There is also use of diegetic sound such as the car driving by, a sigh and the rubbing out of writing.
Additionally, the music is what the audience hear first until the voice over of the narrative begins and the music in played int he background. As well as the narrator, the music also acts as a narrative as explained above. The narrator is not present in any of the scenes so therefore his dialogue is non diegetic as it is a voice over but within this context it plays a large role as it fills the audience in about the history before Amelie allowing us to have an insight of what life was like before she was brought into the world.
Ghost Ship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbSjSIY0Zkk
The sound within "Ghost Ship" is mostly diegetic as the band and singer are visible on the screen. We hear the strings playing a romantic melody as the notes are played with a legato and vibrato. The piano is then heard in conjunction with the singer and strings. The manner in which the singer sings the song in Italian and in a seductive manner highlighting on the idea of the song being romantic. Although, the sound of the band is drowned out as if it's being heard from a distance and we can hear a discordant high pitched note being produced by a violin as well as a sweeping sound that may have been imitated by air being blown down a flute or clarinet and this is used in conjunction with the canted framing of the camera. We then hear the strings alternating between notes within the higher register of their instruments, together with the timpani as the camera focuses on the metal wire.
Then we are able to see and hear a small segment of diegetic sound as the reel the wire is wrapped around becomes loose and spins uncontrollably. As soon as the wire is free, the music is faded out abruptly and replaced with the sound of light bulbs breaking, explosions, the sound of the wire travelling through the ship creating a whipping sound ( again this could actually be non diegetic sound, played over the scene. The whipping sound could have also be produced by blowing air down a wind instrument rapidly) and then we finally hear the diegetic sound of people grunting as the metal wire cuts through their torso. A sheer silence is then used for dramatic effect and the camera shows the blank expressions of the passengers faces. The sudden halt of the wire is heard although this could have been imitated by lower string players by using vibrato. Additionally, the use of silence is used for a entirety of the clip after the metal wire cuts through everyone, and all that is heard is the creaking of the reel the wire was wrapped around. Soon, the sound of a glass falling over is used as a sound bridge between the shot of the glass to the domino effect of each character dis figuring. The sound of the bodies hitting the floor may have been pre-recorded in a studio of someone dropping raw meat on the floor of the recording booth, again for the use of dramatic effect. Just by analysing the sound of a death scene within a horror film, we realise how over dramatised sounds are just for the initial impact a horror movie is expected to have on you.
After the death of all characters apart from the young girl we hear a stirring sound that is created on the upper strings through the use of tremolo and vibrato creating a discordant sound and this is used in conjunction with the shriek of the young girls as a sense of finality for the opening scene.
By analysing sound from different genres of film i have noticed that the use of sound has a huge impact and without it some scenes within a film may be de-meaning. Sound is not only used primarily for foreshadowing a scene or adding feeling to a romantic film, it can also be used to imitate time through the tempo of the piece or the location of the film through its use of instrumentation. However, the use of sound does not stop there. Sounds can be imitated by musicians such as the sound of a chainsaw can be imitated by an electric guitar or a scraping sound can be imitated by a string player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbSjSIY0Zkk
Then we are able to see and hear a small segment of diegetic sound as the reel the wire is wrapped around becomes loose and spins uncontrollably. As soon as the wire is free, the music is faded out abruptly and replaced with the sound of light bulbs breaking, explosions, the sound of the wire travelling through the ship creating a whipping sound ( again this could actually be non diegetic sound, played over the scene. The whipping sound could have also be produced by blowing air down a wind instrument rapidly) and then we finally hear the diegetic sound of people grunting as the metal wire cuts through their torso. A sheer silence is then used for dramatic effect and the camera shows the blank expressions of the passengers faces. The sudden halt of the wire is heard although this could have been imitated by lower string players by using vibrato. Additionally, the use of silence is used for a entirety of the clip after the metal wire cuts through everyone, and all that is heard is the creaking of the reel the wire was wrapped around. Soon, the sound of a glass falling over is used as a sound bridge between the shot of the glass to the domino effect of each character dis figuring. The sound of the bodies hitting the floor may have been pre-recorded in a studio of someone dropping raw meat on the floor of the recording booth, again for the use of dramatic effect. Just by analysing the sound of a death scene within a horror film, we realise how over dramatised sounds are just for the initial impact a horror movie is expected to have on you.
After the death of all characters apart from the young girl we hear a stirring sound that is created on the upper strings through the use of tremolo and vibrato creating a discordant sound and this is used in conjunction with the shriek of the young girls as a sense of finality for the opening scene.
By analysing sound from different genres of film i have noticed that the use of sound has a huge impact and without it some scenes within a film may be de-meaning. Sound is not only used primarily for foreshadowing a scene or adding feeling to a romantic film, it can also be used to imitate time through the tempo of the piece or the location of the film through its use of instrumentation. However, the use of sound does not stop there. Sounds can be imitated by musicians such as the sound of a chainsaw can be imitated by an electric guitar or a scraping sound can be imitated by a string player.
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