Sound for Interactive storytelling
For our interactive storytelling unit, my group are going to create a detective, thriller short film called the Cut. In this unit, we are looking at our inspirations for the sound in our short film. This is sound from Dialogue to Music to Sound Effects. We have been looking at films of a similar type of genre to this one to get an idea of what we want our film to sound like.
For the dialogue, we took a lot of inspiration from David Fincher's 1995 classic, Seven. This is another detective, thriller film which we got most of our inspiration from for the overall product. Because this is a very character focused film, Seven has a lot of scenes in which people are just sitting in a bar or sitting at a dinner table having a normal conversation. These conversations feel very relaxed and serene, in comparison with the dark and violent city that they are living in. It also reflects the subtle nature of the film. Also, there is a lot in this film, particularly about John Doe who is going after the 7 deadly sins, that you aren't shown in order to build the suspense up inside the audiences head. The only time that the film gets particularly loud is at the end when the famous plot twist happens and all gets revealed. The rest of the film, on the other hand, is very secretive and quiet in terms of sound.
This is similar to what we are looking for in our short film. The plot is very similar to Se7en as you have 2 cops going after a serial killer. Its structured in a very similar style to Se7en as well. Not a lot about the villain of the film and his plans is revealed until the end of the film, which is exactly what happens in Se7en. Occasionally, the sound in Se7en does get louder, like in the Lust scene, for example. This is to reflect the environment that the characters are in. At this point in the film, they are in a night club, which is generally a loud environment. This is very similar to our film as every once in a while, the volume suddenly goes up. This is because something really dramatic happens, like a death scene for instance. This implies the sudden shock of what has been going on off screen and it makes it more thought provoking for the audiences.
Another very similar film that we looked at for sound is Silence of the Lambs. This film has far more music than Se7en does. But whereas Se7en is about a serial killer that comes into the film in the 3rd act, Silence of the Lambs has Hannibal Lecter in the film right from the start. Whenever, Hannibal Lecter is on screen, they always put in some really creepy music to make the audiences feel intimidated by him. As stated in the film, he is the most psychotic man in the cell that Clarice is working in. The film use the music to build up a sense of suspicion of this man because as much as we are told that he is an extreme psychopath, when we first meet him, he looks very civil and normal. Yet, there is something very peculiar about him. The way that he talks is also very off putting for the audiences. His voice sounds very sly and sinister.
We really wanted this kind of feeling around the main villain of our film as tonally speaking, our film is very similar to Silence of the Lambs. Its not a particularly loud film, until it comes to dramatic deaths scenes. Its very indirect and understated which makes things even more scary for the audience. Another thing that both this film and Se7en do that we are planning to use in our short film is the ability to convey a scary feeling without the usage of any music. This makes the scene feel far more realistic than if the scary scenes had music. That way, it can feel as if the scene is telling the audience to feel a specific way in comparison with the scene having no music at all. This makes the audiences feel like there is nothing to cover themselves whenever something scary is happening.
We also looked at the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, another David Fincher film. It is extremely similar in tone to the films that we have just mentioned. Its another detective film in which two character go after a serial killer, even though one of the two just so happens to be very unconventional. It has very similar build up style to the film that we are planning to make. It also has a very similar style in scene setting and dialogue to what we want to create. For the most part, the volume of the dialogue is kept at a very normal level and therefore it comes across as being very natural. However, every once in a while, it explodes into something more dramatic whenever a big dramatic thing happens on screen. It also has a quiet soundtrack which reflects the subtle and obscure mood of the film.
For example, in the scene where we first meet Lisbeth Slander, there is this soundtrack that is playing very quietly in the background. The scene starts out with no music at all when the two investigators are discussing their feelings about her. This represents a very formal and serious setting in the scene. However, as soon as Lisbeth comes into the scene, this is this creepy numbing music that starts to come into play in the background. The reason for this is David Fincher is trying to create a mystery around this character because she is really unusual, yet she is helping Mikael Blomvkist out.
For the dialogue, we took a lot of inspiration from David Fincher's 1995 classic, Seven. This is another detective, thriller film which we got most of our inspiration from for the overall product. Because this is a very character focused film, Seven has a lot of scenes in which people are just sitting in a bar or sitting at a dinner table having a normal conversation. These conversations feel very relaxed and serene, in comparison with the dark and violent city that they are living in. It also reflects the subtle nature of the film. Also, there is a lot in this film, particularly about John Doe who is going after the 7 deadly sins, that you aren't shown in order to build the suspense up inside the audiences head. The only time that the film gets particularly loud is at the end when the famous plot twist happens and all gets revealed. The rest of the film, on the other hand, is very secretive and quiet in terms of sound.
This is similar to what we are looking for in our short film. The plot is very similar to Se7en as you have 2 cops going after a serial killer. Its structured in a very similar style to Se7en as well. Not a lot about the villain of the film and his plans is revealed until the end of the film, which is exactly what happens in Se7en. Occasionally, the sound in Se7en does get louder, like in the Lust scene, for example. This is to reflect the environment that the characters are in. At this point in the film, they are in a night club, which is generally a loud environment. This is very similar to our film as every once in a while, the volume suddenly goes up. This is because something really dramatic happens, like a death scene for instance. This implies the sudden shock of what has been going on off screen and it makes it more thought provoking for the audiences.
Another very similar film that we looked at for sound is Silence of the Lambs. This film has far more music than Se7en does. But whereas Se7en is about a serial killer that comes into the film in the 3rd act, Silence of the Lambs has Hannibal Lecter in the film right from the start. Whenever, Hannibal Lecter is on screen, they always put in some really creepy music to make the audiences feel intimidated by him. As stated in the film, he is the most psychotic man in the cell that Clarice is working in. The film use the music to build up a sense of suspicion of this man because as much as we are told that he is an extreme psychopath, when we first meet him, he looks very civil and normal. Yet, there is something very peculiar about him. The way that he talks is also very off putting for the audiences. His voice sounds very sly and sinister.
We really wanted this kind of feeling around the main villain of our film as tonally speaking, our film is very similar to Silence of the Lambs. Its not a particularly loud film, until it comes to dramatic deaths scenes. Its very indirect and understated which makes things even more scary for the audience. Another thing that both this film and Se7en do that we are planning to use in our short film is the ability to convey a scary feeling without the usage of any music. This makes the scene feel far more realistic than if the scary scenes had music. That way, it can feel as if the scene is telling the audience to feel a specific way in comparison with the scene having no music at all. This makes the audiences feel like there is nothing to cover themselves whenever something scary is happening.
We also looked at the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, another David Fincher film. It is extremely similar in tone to the films that we have just mentioned. Its another detective film in which two character go after a serial killer, even though one of the two just so happens to be very unconventional. It has very similar build up style to the film that we are planning to make. It also has a very similar style in scene setting and dialogue to what we want to create. For the most part, the volume of the dialogue is kept at a very normal level and therefore it comes across as being very natural. However, every once in a while, it explodes into something more dramatic whenever a big dramatic thing happens on screen. It also has a quiet soundtrack which reflects the subtle and obscure mood of the film.
For example, in the scene where we first meet Lisbeth Slander, there is this soundtrack that is playing very quietly in the background. The scene starts out with no music at all when the two investigators are discussing their feelings about her. This represents a very formal and serious setting in the scene. However, as soon as Lisbeth comes into the scene, this is this creepy numbing music that starts to come into play in the background. The reason for this is David Fincher is trying to create a mystery around this character because she is really unusual, yet she is helping Mikael Blomvkist out.
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