Sound discussion- Miss Miller

Sound within every film overall is extremely important. As without sound, the storyline would be confusing and would not make sense to the audience. Thriller films should conventionally, scare the audience and make them feel certain emotions such as fright and sadness. Sound adds to this as different sounds can be used to surprise the audience such as screams, put them in suspense by the use of eerie music or make the audience understand the sequence by using dialogue. Overall, sounds are needed to link to what they are watching, which will cause them to feel negative emotions and engage with the narrative.

Contrapuntal sound will be used through scenes of the bride playing a wedding CD of what was meant to be a song at her wedding,  'Every breath you take' by The Police. Although this song is known to be reminiscent and positive/based on love, the mood is also quite negative. The audience will listen to the music and will gain a sense of negativity which links to what they are seeing on the screen. Also, the song relates back to a happy memory, which contrasts to what the audience see on screen. The audience will build a relationship with the character as they would want to understand the narrative and that the wedding day was ruined. This is conventional to the thriller genre as music is played to create a negative atmosphere, and come sometimes contradict what the audience see on screen, causing them to engage with the narratives and characters within the scene.

The next sound used is wedding bells, which is a non-diegetic technique. This will be used when there are close ups of the bride crying and again when the groom/victim is walking up the stairs.. This relates back to the wedding day, but links to the sequence as the wedding failed however, the audience are not sure why making the engage with the narrative and characters. From eerie wedding bells, the audience will feel suspense and sadness, as the day was not a success and they are scared and excited to find out why. The eerie wedding bells are played as the victim is walking up the stairs, as he was the groom, the sound highlights the mistakes he has made and may foreshadow his death. This is conventional to the thriller genre as this sound engages the audience as suspense rises, and the audience feel tense and engaged by the mood set by the music.

Non-Diegetic sound is used through eerie music soundtrack which will play through most of the sequence, for example, when the bride is in a dark secluded room. This signifys the bride's emotions to the audience, causing them to feel empathy for her and the audience/character bond to strengthen. The tone of the music causes the audience to be left in suspense, and again emphasise with the bride as she is alone in a room, after realisation of the narrative and the ruined event. From this sound, the audience see first hand the bride's deteriorating mental state. The music would imply how the killer is feeling, causing the audience to be placed in her position or allows them to see how dangerous or harmful she can be. Eerie music is conventional to the thriller genre as it builds suspense and this non-diegetic sound is commonly added before a negative event takes places, making the audience more shocked afterwards.

Silence will be used at the end when the killer is behind the door. Leading up to this, sound and dialogue was running all the way through, however leading up to the big event, silence is added to contrast with the other sound techniques, highlighting the scene's importance. Silence makes the scene more tense, making the audience feel the same and left worried for the victim's safety as that is where the opening sequence ends. Silence is used in the conventional thriller and is extremely popular as it intensifies the audience's emotions and the overall tone of the sequence and is a well known sound technique to create a negative ambience. 

The chosen sounds for the opening sequence are effective as they are all conventional to the thriller genre and engage the audience with the overall narrative and characters. The use of eerie music for example, highlights characters feelings, causing the audience to feel empathy towards them. Fundamentally, these sounds build tension and suspense and furthermore shock the audience when linked with correct scenes, as they maked the sequence more interesting for the audience.