Music
Due to having a very low skill level when it comes to creating music or scores, I will be finding music or ambient backgrounds to accompany my piece online. However I wanted to know what makes a music in films scary and what some of the most common tricks are when it comes to creating a tense atmosphere in films.
I listened to some of the most popular movie’s soundtracks and something stood out immediately, quite a lot of the best soundtracks were fairly minimalistic and relied on only a few instruments. Films such as Psycho used more traditional instruments such as the violin to create sharp, high tones that cut through and shocked the listener, whereas films such as Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street used synthesisers, mixing both high notes and an underlying bass note to create a sense of easiness by leaving the mid range frequencies blank.
Sound Effects
I will be creating certain sound effects during this project as well as sourcing them online. My original idea was to make the pieces quite effect heavy, however on my first attempt at editing together one of the pieces with sound effects, it didn’t add a lot to the piece and at points came off as quite tacky and forced, really taking the listener out of the experience.
I think the best option for me when it comes to effects is stick more to background ambience and only use sound effects when I really want to make an event stand out and pair it with the story. However, in certain horror media, it can be more scary when you subvert the expectations of the listener and start adding effects that don’t fit within the scene, building up tension and confusing the listener and then scaring them at a later part of the piece.