Sound in Horror Films

There are three many types of sound you use in horror films:

Music- This is a very important aspect in horror films as it helps set the mood to the scene. The effective use of music will help to promote the audiences emotion.

There are common conventions used when it comes to using music in horror films they are:

• Isolated instruments- they are used just before key events in the film, which links to vulnerability.
• Long suspense notes- these short sharp notes help to scare the audience.
• Changes of pitch tones- This makes the audience feel tense when there is a sharp change in pitch tone.

Voice- The use of voice is chosen to reflect many different things like, fear, panic and tension. An example of this would be jigsaw in the film SAW.

His tone of voice was well suited to the part he played, as it effectively created fear and tension as it was very distinctive which made him stand out from all the other characters, and the sound of his voice made the audience scared as they knew it was him.

Sound effects- There are lots of sound effects used in horror films the most common are:

• Classic- These are sound effects that have horror connotations like, crows, church bells, screams etc....
• Echoed voices- This helps to heighten the audiences mood, sense and emotion towards the film which can give a ghostly feel