EVALUATION TWO: How does your use of sound compare with trailers similar to your genre?

Sound is a dominating aspect in the film industry, and it essentially pulls the whole film together, can you imagine an intense murder scene without any screams, soundtrack or effects? Sound adds drama, effect and emphasise, which when producing a horror trailer, is imperative to grip and entice our audience. In our trailer we included diegetic and non diegetic sound, as well as a soundtrack and effects. All these contributed together to create our film. The Folley process is a method whereby everyday objects are used to make sound effects. A common example is snapping a carrot in half and replacing that sound with a bone breaking. In our production, we did not use the 'Folley Process' as it would have been too long to create the exact sound effects that we wanted, instead, it was a lot easier to find the required effects on software's such as Youtube. 

 At the beginning of our trailer where are titles are presented on the screen, we used a sound effect of a loud, thud sound. This immediatley sets the scene, especially, as the first shot shown is an establishing, panning shot of a house, which makes the audience initiall;y think that the house is not reflected as a positive or optimistic place. This already conforms to a horror film, as houses are usually the main factor that is haunted. For example, in Paranormal Activity and The Woman In Black. The thud sound then faded out, and we hear a clock ticking really quickly. This suggests to the audience that something is about to happen. A clock ticking can connote to the idea of a countdown, such as a bomb, or before something is going to end. This builds up a climax or as Tovorodo's states, 'Starting the equilibrium'. As the screen then fades into our first shot, all the sound effects are cut out, and the audience are left to hear diegetic music from a radio being played. The type of music we chose was jazz, as this is seen as joyful and relaxing music,firstly this directly juxtaposes with the eerie thud sound, and secondly, makes the house seem ordinary and relatable as many houses have background music playing. So if jazz music is joyful, why include it in a horror film? Modern day horror films play on the idea of positive things being turned evil and being perceived as a negative thing. For example in the Chucky franchise, a child's doll becomes possessed, and in the woman in black, child's toys such as, a rocking horse and a jack in the box move and play music on their own- suggesting that there is a paranormal nature to the film. Linking back to sound in horror films, in Insidious, there is positive music being played called 'Tip toe through the tulips' which creates mystery and tension as positive music is being played whilst a demon is in the house. In our trailer, we linked this idea to the clown. At the end of our trailer, where the last record player scene is shown with the end titles, we included circus clown music. This links to the trailer, as the antagonist is the clown in the film, but also is an effective way to end the trailer as it creates confusion to the audience of how the film just fades out with circus music. This is an effective way to get the audience to go and see the film as, they will want to know what happens next. Leaving a trailer on a cliff hanger is very effective way to make the audience go and see your film. 

The soundtrack in our production fades in just before half way. The soundtrack was a hard thing to get right, as he had to get it to suit the clown horror genre. We found a non-copyrighted soundtrack of chimey music. The chimey music already shows a direct link to the clown, as it sounds like music that would be played at a circus-where clowns are usually associated to be. At the end of the soundtrack, there is a young girls voice saying 'follow me!' This plays on the idea of children in our trailer. In some horror films children are used to create a creepy atmosphere. For example, in 'The Orphan' and 'The Ring'. Children are associated with being innocent and vulnerable, which when possessed, they are the stark opposite. This links to the idea of binary oppositions, through 'good and evil' which helps to create a daunting atmosphere. Our soundtrack can link to our inspiration film 'IT', directed by Stephen King. This film opens with a fast paced chiming noise. The music gradually gets louder and increases in tempo, which helps to create a dramatic climax.

We used the sound effect of a violin being played at a high pitch. A violin is seen as a classical instrument, similar to the jazz music played at the beginning of the film. The pitch at which the violin is played is almost unbearable to hear, as it's almost like it's screaching. This conforms to a horror film, as weird, unbearable sounds can connote to the unknown and create an ominous, paranormal atmosphere. The violin sound, is presented when the full image of the clown is displayed for the first time, which makes the audience immediately realise that the clown is a negative thing. We also used a sound effect of a hear beating rapidly and quickly. This gave the effect that someone was in a frantic rush or scared (as your heart rate rises when you feel fear). However, when we placed the heartbeat sound into the trailer, we wanted it to be as dramatic and tense as possible. Therefore, we cut out all other sounds and just had the heart beat playing. This is mainly shown when the girls are running away, and trying to get away in the car. This is effective, as it suggests that the girls are in a rush/trying to get away which means their heart rates would be rising.