Photo Credit: Nico Clemente via Compfight cc
The violin is my favourite instrument, hence the opening graphic.
Visuals can be stunningly beautiful. From the natural landscapes of the world, to the precisely planned mise-en-scene of a film. What you see can alter your perception of particular things in life, whether it’s a movie or something you’ve encountered in everyday life. Seeing a flower flutter in the wind can cause a sense of serenity and peacefulness, while seeing a person defeat a sworn enemy in battle can feel empowering and motivating. Visuals can make a viewer feel a wide range of different feelings and emotions – to an extent. While visually seeing a battle unfold right in front of you can cause a strong sense of power, the addition of sound can help; and even enhance the emotions felt through a particular scene within a movie.
A particular example that stood out to me was in everyone’s favourite saga – Star Wars. Now, I have only watched the original trilogy of Star wars plus episode one of the second trilogy. Out of those four episodes, there was one particular scene that stood out more than any other. Funnily enough, it was actually quite a simple scene. Some of you may be familiar with ‘binary sunset’ – a very famous scene from Star Wars, where Luke stares out towards the two setting suns of Tatooine. From that description alone, it sounds like quite a simple concept. However it goes far more deeper than that with the use of the score in the scene.
John William’s beautiful and empowering composure of ‘the force’ theme helps to convey a sense of adventure and greatness. After Luke storms off after being told by his uncle that he cannot leave Tatooine, he stares out towards the setting suns and the score plays. Its slow build-up as Luke walks towards the mounds of dirt helps to convey the sense that Luke is trapped from his own freedom. But as he climbs up, and stares out towards the sky, the music explodes and we get a sense of power – as he searches the endless skies for his destiny. For me personally, this scene was so immensely empowering, that it sent shivers down my spine the first time I watched it. I am not exaggerating, I literally shivered. But lets think about the score in a different way. Say we removed the entire audio from this scene. Would it be as powerful? Would it be as engaging? That’s a big, fat no! Music – and audio in general, helps to convey different feelings and emotions, the same way that visuals do. It’s power is not to be underestimated, as a well thought-out piece of audio, can affect viewers/listeners, not only on an emotional and mental level – but even physically as well.
A final example of the way sound can affect listeners is commonly seen in a plethora of horror movies. Now, let me get this straight – I hate horror. Not just in movies, but in general, everyday life. But when I say horror, I’m referring to the supernatural side of things; ghosts, ghouls and little girls with their hair flowing down the front of their face (I’m talking to you Samara, or whatever your name is. I’m too scared to double check if I spelled your name right, in the fear that your face might pop-up in my Google searches). Now, enough about me being a big wuss. Now visually, these types of horror movies are enough to scare me to death – with or without sound (like seriously, a DVD cover of ‘The Grudge’, or ‘The Ring’ is enough to make me want to cry). But from an audio perspective, there is one sound that can amplify these feelings of fear ten-fold, and it’s made by a single instrument – the waterphone.
Now, this instrument – on its own, produces quite a beautiful sound. But when paired up with the darkness, and the unknown that is associated with horror movies – it’s just plain creepy. My experience with horror movies has made me sweat whenever I hear this sound. It evokes emotions of fear, that no other instrument can produce. This sound builds suspense, as the unknown demon creeps towards the unsuspecting victim. Overall, despite my hatred towards this sound – it does its job of conveying an impending doom – and it does it well.