I’ve always been fascinated with how sound actually affects the viewer when watching a film. As someone who is prone to crying during a movie, I know that the main reason I cry is not so much because of what is happening within the film but because of the way the music manipulates me to feel emotion. I’ve actually tried watching a scene without the music to evoke feelings of sadness and as a result, was not moved to tears at all. Sound is one of the key elements of a moving image that hints at what the director is trying to portray. Bordwell and Thompson state that it is a mixture of the loudness, pitch and timbre (texture of a sound) that create the overall aesthetic of the soundtrack. Myself, and a few others made a silent short film last year, our main intention being to create tension and suspense using just visuals and music. The end result was really effective and proved just how vital music really is to filmmaking.

Sound effects are the other main component of a soundtrack. These usually blend so seamlessly into film that we hardly notice them. A lot of sound linked with action is actually created using foley which is the recreation of sound to make it look like it is happening in sync with an action. It is important to remember the role sound plays in film and to notice how it affects what is happening on screen.

Elle Sablotny