Sound in Horror films

1. +
How and why sound is
used in horror films
Annabelle Ferguson & Abbie Lloyd

2. +
Why sound is used
 In a film the audience is able to hear different sounds and
pieces of music that allows the creation of certain atmosphere
of a genre allowing the audience to explore a movie in an
emotional way.
 In horror films the music used is very important to allow the
audience to establish the narrative and make the film seem
original and emotionally captivate them.
 Some film franchises sometimes have a specific song or
melody that as an audience we are able to relate to the
franchise such as Jaws (John Williams) and Psycho (Bernard
Herrmann) . This is called an audiovisual icon of a film or its
franchise. It is used within marketing campaigns such as sound
tracks or promotional teaser trailers to allow the film to be
recognised by a wide market audience.

3. +
MUSIC
 Music within films is one of the many aspects that is important
when establishing the horror genre and to help create an
atmosphere or tension within the viewing audience. can be used
within horror films that cover many different common conventions:
Isolated instruments that are normally used before a bug key event
happens within the film and also shows the vulnerability.
Long Suspenseful music notes allow the audience to hear a
contrasting effect within the music with the short, high pitch notes that
allow the audience to become scared and to create jump scares.
There can also be an extreme pitch change during the music that
goes along with the film. The extreme pitch tone changes for
example low brass notes would suddenly change to fast and high
pitches. To create tension.

4. +
Music
 In some horror films music is able to describe the impending
violence or horror and show the intensity of any action within
the shot.
 Music is able to describe the feelings of a character. In a horror
films case, music allows character to express their pain or fear.
 The tone of the music is also very important to allow the
audience to predict what action is impending and to understand
the atmosphere that the characters are feeling.

5. +
Why directors use music
 Directors have decided to use music within the horror genre to
allow the audience to have a breathtaking experience that the
audience want to experience every time they watch a film.
 It is very important for directors of horror films to have the right
music, that is created by the right instruments such as a violin
or a piano. To ensure that the build up to a key moment is
unforgettable.
 They also decide to use music so that they are able to create a
connection between the audience and the film by playing with
the audiences emotions with the pain or fear of the characters.

6. +
Sound effects
 In horror films there are usual sound effects that are used, these
include; creaking doors, foot steps, owls, bats and echoed voices.
These all help to establish the horror genre as they are usually
associated with it and are known as classic sounds.
 They are used to also create tension when there is a key moment
that is needed to be signified to allow the audience to know of any
impending doom to the character(s). This is called
HIGHLIGHTING.
 Sound effects allow the audience to experience the unknown and
gather the mystery of the film to create dramatic irony within the
audience.