"I do not see, but I hear": On the role of sound in horror movies
Horror is a movie genre where the most important role is played by the emotions and defensive reactions caused by them. Fear, suffering, panic, disgust, trembling in the hands and feet - all this suggests that the events on the screen really make you nervous. But is it only the frightening moments that are hidden on the screen, or are there other sources that make us close our eyes?
In this article we will talk about the importance of sound in horror films and games, explain the reasons for which he “wakes up to the little ones”, and give some burning examples, after which not everyone wants to go to bed.
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Photo of Rande Archer / CC
First of all, let's see what should be the basis of a quality horror. Nowadays it is becoming more and more difficult to frighten the spectator - you have already seen everyone, and you can’t take him by the usual ghosts, clowns or demons. Therefore, directors move from individual fears to collective ones, that is, those who are put into a state of horror by large masses of people.
They are built mainly on the tragic events that occurred in reality, for example, " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre " - in the film there are echoes of the history of the American serial killer and the kidnapper of corpses Ed Ed.
The correct plot is only half the story, the most important is ahead. The creators of horror films face the challenge of conveying the atmosphere of what is happening and creating tension.
For example, the works of Alfred Hitchcock are considered works of art in cinema, and he himself is the guru of creating an atmosphere of tension. In his works, you can see first-person shots (sometimes on behalf of the victim, but sometimes on behalf of the killer) and the so-called McGuffin is a way of narration, when the center of the story is a thing that everyone wants to have, but about which everyone later forget.
But not one video creates the atmosphere. The desired result could not be achieved without sound. The ticking of the clock, the heartbeat, the steps, the rumble of thunder, the ominous music and many more effects that prevent the viewer from relaxing.
It is thanks to the sound component and the atmosphere of horror is transmitted. Although the first films were without sound at all, with time this began to change. One of the first sound horror films can be considered the film of the Lumiere brothers, released in 1895, then the guitarist playing frightening melodies created an ominous atmosphere in the cinema. The musical experience was warmly received, as can be judged by the wide distribution of organs in cinemas in the future.
For the film Nosferatu (1922) composer Hans Erdmann (Hans Erdmann) specially wrote music . On the day of the premiere the whole orchestra accompanied the film. The musical original has not reached our time, however, existing recordings allow us to feel the very atmosphere.
Over time, music has become an integral part of the cinema, and attention should be paid to it - a film without music is not a film, and the directors had to look for new ways of intimidation. They began to sharpen single sounds.
In 1979, The Changeling, which radically changed the face of horror, appeared on the screens. [The English word "changeling" translates as "a child left by elves instead of a kidnapped person", i.e., a foundling, therefore a more accurate translation of the original name - "Replaced child" - approx. Ed.]. In the film, there is no blood, no human viscera, and not so many special effects, but a lot of sounds that emphasize what is happening on the screen.
The sound of the wind, bursts of water, the creaking of doors appear in the film. By themselves, they are not scary, but accompanied by a video series, they begin to play with new colors.
So why do we become afraid when we hear the usual sounds in a movie? What is guided by our consciousness, making you nervous?
Since ancient times, hearing has played a major role in human life. The ability to hear protected us from dangers. Imagine that you met a lion in the savannah. Despite the fact that the speed of light is greater than the speed of sound, and we see a lion earlier than we hear, only his roar will immediately cause us to have a sense of danger. The fact is that the received visual information goes through several stages of processing and decoding, and only then enters the brain.
Hearing works completely differently. Information obtained through hearing, goes through five nerve endings and then immediately goes to the brain. Therefore, we first react to sound stimuli, and only then we understand what happened. It is for this reason that a person shudders if he hears a loud, unexpected sound — the startle reflex is triggered.
According to a study conducted in 2010, it was revealed that many "non-linear" sounds are used in horror films. Under the non-linear sounds refers to sudden changes in frequency, unusual harmonics and excessive noise. Such non-linear sounds are inherent in animals. We can say that the danger information is in our DNA - hearing the roar of predators, our ancestors sought shelter or took up arms.
Here are some examples of "nonlinearity." Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Birds” used music written by German composer Oskar Sala. The sounds of birds were played with an electronic instrument of trautonium.
The Shining film Sanudtrek by Stanley Kubrick, written by Krzysztof Penderecki, is even more sinister and frightening. And in the film “The Day the Earth Stopped ” (1951), the composer Bernard Herrmann used perhaps the most non-linear musical instrument, the theremin.
It is impossible to say for sure whether the composers knew about non-linear frequencies and their influence on human consciousness, but the music and instruments chosen by them convey the intensity of events in the best way.
In addition to musical accompaniment, the voice actors play an important role in creating the atmosphere - those who voice all the “processes” that occur on the screen. In everyday life, we do not pay attention to the sounds that surround us, but for films, and especially for the horror genre, sounding, for example, a creaking door, is extremely important.
In 2012, The Credits interviewed Gary Hecker - a man who worked with films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), Something (2011), Fear Night (2011), " War of the Worlds (2005), Friday 13 (1980) and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Gary shared the features of his profession, and also revealed several techniques of dubbing. To voice Fredy’s hands, he used an old squeaky belt to convey the sound of gloves and two types of blades: a machete and a surgical scalpel to emphasize a metallic sound.
Gary portrayed the gurgling blood in a rather obvious way - he drank water in his mouth, "rinsed" her throat and sprayed it. But perhaps the most interesting examples of his work were the sounds of breaking bones and stabbing. Hacker took the celery, wrapped it in a piece of suede and at the right moment cracked, - it seemed that the bones broke under the skin. And for dubbing knife wounds, the actor stabbed cabbage with a knife . Previously, he used chicken carcasses, but they fell into disuse after the first double.
Another good example of working with sound is the following video . Pay attention to the exaggerated volume of the usual actions: knocking on the door and lighting a cigarette. Music in the player, playing in the background, also causes concern.
However, not only sounds are capable of creating a frightening atmosphere. Sometimes quite simple silence. The man himself thinks up the situation and frightens himself even more. The scene from the Labyrinth of Faun with a girl and a monster at the table is quite quiet, only the crackling of firewood is heard in the fireplace, but the flying creatures additionally emphasize that one should not make noise and make unnecessary movements.
Also worth noting is another industry that sets itself the task of scaring people. It's about video games. In them, sound is as important as ever. Abertea University even conducted research on this topic. For the experiment, 12 students were invited, who had not previously played or played computer games for a small amount of time. They were divided into two groups: one was tested with sound, the other without it. Scientists have chosen three games of different genres: Osmos - puzzle, FlatOut - racing with elements of derby and Amnesia - survival horror .
The subjects passed the game in the order listed. The experience itself took place in an isolated room with a large screen, controlled lighting for a more complete immersion and 7.1 surround sound system. To measure vital signs, special sensors were installed to monitor heartbeat and respiratory rate.
According to the results of the study, it was found that the indicators of pulse and respiration in people who played with sound are significantly higher, unlike those who played without it. Based on this, we can conclude that the sound has a positive effect on the ability to immerse a person in the gaming environment, giving a more complete awareness of what is happening. These are very important components of a successful horror movie (you can learn more about the results of the study, as well as see the graphs of the test subjects here )
Computer games continue their development and come to new frontiers, looking for other uses of sound. So, at once, two companies presented games that, in addition to the usual controllers, also used a microphone. The point is to use echolocation to determine the location of objects in space.
In the first case, the player uses his voice to understand where he is, since it is very dark around. In the second case, the developers went a little further and made the main character blind, which further intensifies the atmosphere of the game.
Thus, sound is an important component of any movie or computer game, especially horror. It allows you to create the most immersive atmosphere and scare the viewer or player, even when there is nothing to be afraid of in principle.
Additional reading:
In this article we will talk about the importance of sound in horror films and games, explain the reasons for which he “wakes up to the little ones”, and give some burning examples, after which not everyone wants to go to bed.
')
Photo of Rande Archer / CC
Good horror rules
First of all, let's see what should be the basis of a quality horror. Nowadays it is becoming more and more difficult to frighten the spectator - you have already seen everyone, and you can’t take him by the usual ghosts, clowns or demons. Therefore, directors move from individual fears to collective ones, that is, those who are put into a state of horror by large masses of people.
They are built mainly on the tragic events that occurred in reality, for example, " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre " - in the film there are echoes of the history of the American serial killer and the kidnapper of corpses Ed Ed.
The correct plot is only half the story, the most important is ahead. The creators of horror films face the challenge of conveying the atmosphere of what is happening and creating tension.
For example, the works of Alfred Hitchcock are considered works of art in cinema, and he himself is the guru of creating an atmosphere of tension. In his works, you can see first-person shots (sometimes on behalf of the victim, but sometimes on behalf of the killer) and the so-called McGuffin is a way of narration, when the center of the story is a thing that everyone wants to have, but about which everyone later forget.
But not one video creates the atmosphere. The desired result could not be achieved without sound. The ticking of the clock, the heartbeat, the steps, the rumble of thunder, the ominous music and many more effects that prevent the viewer from relaxing.
It is thanks to the sound component and the atmosphere of horror is transmitted. Although the first films were without sound at all, with time this began to change. One of the first sound horror films can be considered the film of the Lumiere brothers, released in 1895, then the guitarist playing frightening melodies created an ominous atmosphere in the cinema. The musical experience was warmly received, as can be judged by the wide distribution of organs in cinemas in the future.
For the film Nosferatu (1922) composer Hans Erdmann (Hans Erdmann) specially wrote music . On the day of the premiere the whole orchestra accompanied the film. The musical original has not reached our time, however, existing recordings allow us to feel the very atmosphere.
Over time, music has become an integral part of the cinema, and attention should be paid to it - a film without music is not a film, and the directors had to look for new ways of intimidation. They began to sharpen single sounds.
In 1979, The Changeling, which radically changed the face of horror, appeared on the screens. [The English word "changeling" translates as "a child left by elves instead of a kidnapped person", i.e., a foundling, therefore a more accurate translation of the original name - "Replaced child" - approx. Ed.]. In the film, there is no blood, no human viscera, and not so many special effects, but a lot of sounds that emphasize what is happening on the screen.
The sound of the wind, bursts of water, the creaking of doors appear in the film. By themselves, they are not scary, but accompanied by a video series, they begin to play with new colors.
Reason for fear
So why do we become afraid when we hear the usual sounds in a movie? What is guided by our consciousness, making you nervous?
Since ancient times, hearing has played a major role in human life. The ability to hear protected us from dangers. Imagine that you met a lion in the savannah. Despite the fact that the speed of light is greater than the speed of sound, and we see a lion earlier than we hear, only his roar will immediately cause us to have a sense of danger. The fact is that the received visual information goes through several stages of processing and decoding, and only then enters the brain.
Hearing works completely differently. Information obtained through hearing, goes through five nerve endings and then immediately goes to the brain. Therefore, we first react to sound stimuli, and only then we understand what happened. It is for this reason that a person shudders if he hears a loud, unexpected sound — the startle reflex is triggered.
According to a study conducted in 2010, it was revealed that many "non-linear" sounds are used in horror films. Under the non-linear sounds refers to sudden changes in frequency, unusual harmonics and excessive noise. Such non-linear sounds are inherent in animals. We can say that the danger information is in our DNA - hearing the roar of predators, our ancestors sought shelter or took up arms.
Here are some examples of "nonlinearity." Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Birds” used music written by German composer Oskar Sala. The sounds of birds were played with an electronic instrument of trautonium.
The Shining film Sanudtrek by Stanley Kubrick, written by Krzysztof Penderecki, is even more sinister and frightening. And in the film “The Day the Earth Stopped ” (1951), the composer Bernard Herrmann used perhaps the most non-linear musical instrument, the theremin.
It is impossible to say for sure whether the composers knew about non-linear frequencies and their influence on human consciousness, but the music and instruments chosen by them convey the intensity of events in the best way.
In addition to musical accompaniment, the voice actors play an important role in creating the atmosphere - those who voice all the “processes” that occur on the screen. In everyday life, we do not pay attention to the sounds that surround us, but for films, and especially for the horror genre, sounding, for example, a creaking door, is extremely important.
In 2012, The Credits interviewed Gary Hecker - a man who worked with films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), Something (2011), Fear Night (2011), " War of the Worlds (2005), Friday 13 (1980) and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Gary shared the features of his profession, and also revealed several techniques of dubbing. To voice Fredy’s hands, he used an old squeaky belt to convey the sound of gloves and two types of blades: a machete and a surgical scalpel to emphasize a metallic sound.
Gary portrayed the gurgling blood in a rather obvious way - he drank water in his mouth, "rinsed" her throat and sprayed it. But perhaps the most interesting examples of his work were the sounds of breaking bones and stabbing. Hacker took the celery, wrapped it in a piece of suede and at the right moment cracked, - it seemed that the bones broke under the skin. And for dubbing knife wounds, the actor stabbed cabbage with a knife . Previously, he used chicken carcasses, but they fell into disuse after the first double.
Another good example of working with sound is the following video . Pay attention to the exaggerated volume of the usual actions: knocking on the door and lighting a cigarette. Music in the player, playing in the background, also causes concern.
However, not only sounds are capable of creating a frightening atmosphere. Sometimes quite simple silence. The man himself thinks up the situation and frightens himself even more. The scene from the Labyrinth of Faun with a girl and a monster at the table is quite quiet, only the crackling of firewood is heard in the fireplace, but the flying creatures additionally emphasize that one should not make noise and make unnecessary movements.
Other industry
Also worth noting is another industry that sets itself the task of scaring people. It's about video games. In them, sound is as important as ever. Abertea University even conducted research on this topic. For the experiment, 12 students were invited, who had not previously played or played computer games for a small amount of time. They were divided into two groups: one was tested with sound, the other without it. Scientists have chosen three games of different genres: Osmos - puzzle, FlatOut - racing with elements of derby and Amnesia - survival horror .
The subjects passed the game in the order listed. The experience itself took place in an isolated room with a large screen, controlled lighting for a more complete immersion and 7.1 surround sound system. To measure vital signs, special sensors were installed to monitor heartbeat and respiratory rate.
According to the results of the study, it was found that the indicators of pulse and respiration in people who played with sound are significantly higher, unlike those who played without it. Based on this, we can conclude that the sound has a positive effect on the ability to immerse a person in the gaming environment, giving a more complete awareness of what is happening. These are very important components of a successful horror movie (you can learn more about the results of the study, as well as see the graphs of the test subjects here )
Computer games continue their development and come to new frontiers, looking for other uses of sound. So, at once, two companies presented games that, in addition to the usual controllers, also used a microphone. The point is to use echolocation to determine the location of objects in space.
In the first case, the player uses his voice to understand where he is, since it is very dark around. In the second case, the developers went a little further and made the main character blind, which further intensifies the atmosphere of the game.
Thus, sound is an important component of any movie or computer game, especially horror. It allows you to create the most immersive atmosphere and scare the viewer or player, even when there is nothing to be afraid of in principle.
Additional reading:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/398071/
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