Wednesday 13 February 2013

Sound and Music in Thriller Films Analysis 2

For the sound and music research we have chosen to analyse the first two minutes of Black Swan and Oceans Twelve.

The first thriller we will be analysing is Black Swan. We are introduced to the Black Swan by a sound effect of a train chugging, this effect continues for around ten seconds. Another sound effect is used shortly after of what sounds like a pack of cards flickering, this happens when the film company name appears. This then switches to 5 seconds of silence, this builds tension and makes the audience question what is about to happen. As the producers and directors are introduced, music is also introduced we hear a quiet violin, this again continues for another ten seconds. The volume of the violin increases as the title "Black Swan" appears on the screen, we then hear a short diegetic laughter of a female character, this builds enigma as we wonder why or what she is laughing at. The music of the violin carrys on before we hear a collaboration of all different stringed instruments, as soon as we see an element of the main character which is her feet, this is when all the the stringed instruments come together in a slow pace. After almost 7 seconds of this music playing the volume increases. As the main character slows the pace of her ballet dance down, her face is revealed and the volume decreases again to almost silence. After we see the full body of the character the stringed instruments all come together again, however they also add a crash symbol, this creates suspense and is parallel to the visuals.


Secondly, we will be analysing Oceans Twelve which is a Crime Thriller and may influence and help us when we come to make our own opening sequence as we have the same sub genre. The first sound we are introduced to is a church bell, when the Time Warner company appears on the screen. The church bell changes pitch from low to high conveying the sound of wedding bells. Shortly after, a stormy sound is used as the Village Roadshow Pictures approaches the screen. The sound effects of all the ambient sounds such as the door opening, the keys jingling and the footsteps, this adds realism to the first scene. As the main character is walking round his house we hear the sound of water running, whilst this is happening we continue to hear ambient sounds such as the glass touching the table. As we are welcomed to the second character, we hear the first bit of dialogue which is spoken by the main male character to a female character, roughly one minute into the clip. While they are speaking, the sound of water is still continuing slightly in the background. The dialogue continues of the two characters having a conversation about their day.


As Black Swan and Oceans Twelve are both different genres of thrillers, they are obviously going to be different sound effects and music to ensure that they fulfil their conventions accurately. The Black Swan conveys their conventions successfully because the audience are always questioning what is happening and why, on the other hand Oceans Twelve didn't have any conventions of a crime thriller in the first two minutes of the clip. Also, The Black Swan used a wide variety of instruments such as a violin and other stringed instruments, whereas the opening sequence of Oceans Twelve did not include any instruments. The first two minutes of The Black Swan didn't include any dialogue which may of helped with the enigma, though Oceans Twelve included dialogue throughout half of the opening sequence.

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