When researching the importance of music and sound effects in horror films, I came across a quote from the famous Simon Boswell - a classic horror music composer who stated that "Music in horror films is probably more powerful than in any other genre."
I completely agree with Simon's statement as the visuals, props and mis-en-scene alone in horror films are not enough to build the tension and suspense required to captivate an audience whilst experiencing a movie of this particular genre as the different sound effects and music helps set the pace and convey different emotions that the actors actresses are feeling through out.
Different genres of music can be heard in horror films however orchestral music is the type that is widely used and can be found in classic iconic horror's such as Psycho and Jaws as it is great at building the pace and tension through classical instruments such as the violin.
Through research, I also found that many horror's seem to use upbeat Pop/R&B music to highlight the equilibrium at the start of the film and then later on progress to the more dramatic heart clenching music and sound effects. A great example of this is in the 2009 slasher Sorority Row film.
Ambient sounds (the background noise present in a scene) are also sound effects that are commonly used in horror films as it usually helps to portray the iconic isolated setting. The most typical type of ambient sounds are crickets, strong winds and owls which are also often used to represent night time.
Below are some of the sound effects I used in my horror trailer in order to build tension and suspense as music and sound effects in horror films play an extremely crucial role as explained above.
No comments:
Post a Comment