In the film Clown Train how does sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space?

Sound in Clown Train contributes to the atmosphere of the film by foreshadowing, adding suspense and manipulating space through sound effects and music. Through this the film is given an eerie feeling as the clown get’s closer and closer to the boy, and as the boy tries to understand what’s going on. The film begins with the harsh screeching of train breaks on tracks, foreshadowing the train set the audience is about to see; the screen then flicks from black to image and the sound of space begins with the hum of lights. The first shot of the clown’s face is met with the thumping of a drum to create the feeling of a heart stop in shock. Dialogue then begins and can be heard from opposite channels of the speaker, this places the viewer in the train as though we sit between their conversation. The background audio then decreases volume and there is the flickering of lights – here audio and sound work together to establish darkness, a well established code of nervousness, and make the Clown’s move on the train a shock. There is then a knocking as the Clown smiles, alluding to him knowing something the boy and the audience are deprived of. This knock is then used again when the Clown tells his first joke and realises he’s already told the boy, the Clown knows he’s told the boy before but the boy himself and audience are confused. After this is silence, leaving the audience unsure what to take from the Clown’s comment. The clown then appears next to the boy and tells another joke; “What do you get when you wake up on a train, with a Clown, and you can’t remember how you got there?” The music then quickly rises in volume and is cut to fully hear the Clown laugh; it becomes the climax of the film through sound isolation and sheer volume.

The boy then leaves the train and we hear the Clown say, “Never mind [pause] I’ll tell you on Friday.” This dialogue sets up a form of narrative completion as the audience tries to piece together that this isn’t a single occurrence but the boy will return to the train and this will happen again. There is no explanation to what’s just happened but instead the ability for the audience to interpret the events.

Thriller is another genre of film that uses sound to create tensions and a unique filmic space. Clown Train has Thriller sound codes throughout and uses the familiar sounds, such as flickering lights and knocking, to elicit emotions instilled in the audience from a young age. Thriller films use sound to foreshadow events the audience may not necessarily be able to visually see or understand, in Clown Train this can be heard in the creaks and knocks that allude to key information to help solve the puzzle and act as potential stimulus for the audience to understand the situation.

Clown Train screenshot sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dX9bfCbJdw