Tuesday 1 October 2013

Sound EG3: Bride of Chucky


Ronny Yu, 1998
Midwinter Productions Inc.Universal Pictures (prod.)

Budget: $25M; US box office: $32M

Opening duration:
Rottentomatoes.com 42%; IMDB 5.2.


Summary/Ideas I Might Use
Any non-diegetic (or diegetic) sounds go quiet just before something shocking happens. This adds to the tension of the scene, and makes people jump more (therefore better horror film?).
Synopsis

The fourth movie in the Chucky franchise, Chucky finds himself a perfect mate to kill and revive into a doll's body.

Sound Analysis
The music begins with string instruments and slow drawn out notes. Subconsciously you hold your breath on long notes because it is tense. The timpani beats represent heart beat or footsteps (it is polysemic). This shows us the movie could be thriller, horror, or mystery.

The soundtrack designed to cause tension (timpani and string instruments are signifiers).
The audience is being manipulated emotionally and physically through the music.

Commutation test - if you switched strings for a kazoo the meaning changes, from horror to comedy.

Next, more drums come in and get more fast paced. The fast paced percussion unconsciously speeds your heartbeat up. Diegetic sound begins, of footsteps, a gate, rain, a key in a lock. There is no dialogue until he gets into the car. There is exaggerated diegetic sound of the phone dialling and a voice on phone. This is to give the audience clear info and steer the audience. It sounds like a dumb blonde on phone, this shows through sound you can interpret the character.

The dripping water sound reinforces the grim scene. A long note is used to make the audience hold their breath to see what happens next. The music cuts off then a few seconds later the man gets an electric shock, which makes you focus on that noise and makes you jump. The sound goes quiet, then the loud sound makes you jump, accompanied with fast paced music, which all adds to the shock and the scene.


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