dissertation submission 2013

The Role of Sound and Music in Horror Film

Killian Mc Cabe

April 2013

Niall CoghlanExternal Examiner

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Applied Music

Acknowledgements

I would like to give many thanks to Niall Coghlan, my supervisor who guided me

through this dissertation with his knowledge and enthusiasm. I also want to thank

my family for their support and encouragement.

Abstract

The primary focus of this dissertation is to examine the role of sound and music in

horror film. The aims of this research project is to investigate the importance of

sound and music in the horror film genre and also to investigate how the relationship

between the media of sound and music, and the medium of film combine to

complement each other as a whole, to greater effect than that of the individual parts.

This dissertation provides an overview of the history of music and sound in film. It

then investigates the relationship and influence of music and sound on emotion, and

how this contributes to film. This project then goes on to examine the musical tricks,

techniques and sound effects used to create the desired effects (e.g. fear, anxiety,

terror, panic) in horror films.

In each chapter of investigation, I want to point out the relationships that exist

between all the points of information and how they reinforce one another in order to

show the overall role of sound and music in horror film and how important they are

to one another.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements...................................................................................2

Abstract.....................................................................................................3

Table of Contents.......................................................................................i

List of Figures...........................................................................................ii

Chapter 1 - The Rise of Sound and Music in Film: The Horror Genre... .1

Chapter 2 - The Influence of Music on Emotion....................................10What influence does music have on emotion?.......................................................10What contribution does music make to the emotional aspects of horror film?......11

Chapter 3 - Tricks and Techniques.........................................................19Modes and Chords..................................................................................................19Diabolus In Musica (The Tritone)..........................................................................20Instruments and their Cultural Associations...........................................................21Contrapuntal Relationship Between Music and Film.............................................22Contrast as Counterpoint........................................................................................24Lullaby Melodies....................................................................................................24The Associative Power of Music............................................................................25Religious Music......................................................................................................25Tonality, Atonality and Dissonance.......................................................................26Other Techniques....................................................................................................27

Chapter 4 - Sound Effects.......................................................................29Functions of Sound Effects.....................................................................................29Define a Scene's Location.......................................................................................29Characteristics of Sound Effects.............................................................................30Acoustic Qualities...................................................................................................30Volume...................................................................................................................31Sound Effects..........................................................................................................31Sound Effect Instruments.......................................................................................33

Chapter 5 - Case Studies.........................................................................38'The Omen'..............................................................................................................38'The Shining' (Tricycle Scene)................................................................................40'Psycho'...................................................................................................................41

Chapter 6 - Conclusion............................................................................43

Bibliography............................................................................................45

Web Resources........................................................................................47

Filmography............................................................................................51

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Figures

Figure 1: Bela Lugosi

Figure 2: Boris Karloff in Frankenstein

Figure 3: Mary Henry in the Reuter Organ Company testing room, in Carnival of

Souls

Figure 4: Iris shot of Jekyll looking onto his organ keyboard in Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde

Figure 5: Tremolo notation

Figure 6: Trill notation

Figure 7: Glissando

The Rise of Sound and Music in Film: The Horror Genre

Chapter 1 - The Rise of Sound and Music in Film: The

Horror Genre

1


Historically the Greeks incorporated both music and drama in theatre (Muses Realm,

2009). The smooth natural progression one might presume, from the Greeks using

music and drama simultaneously, to the world’s use of sound and music in the birth

of cinema in later years did not happen. The implementation of sound and music in

film had its ups, downs and conflicts of interest in evolutionary terms during its

beginnings. In later years the relationship between sound and film came to fruition.

The first use of music in conjunction with cinema was on the 28th December

1895. This was a screening by the Lumière family at the Grand Café on the

Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, accompanied by piano. On 20th February 1886,

the Lumière program had its first public showing at the Polytechnic on Regent Street

in Britain where a harmonium from the Polytechnic’s chapel accompanied the

screening. In the month of April of that year, films were accompanied by orchestras

in numerous London theatres.

In the beginning of commercial cinema the musical accompaniment didn’t

emotionally synchronize with the visual content on the screen. The music selection

ranged from light cafe music to 'serious' classics. As the theatre exhibitor decided

what role the music played in relation to the film, it was common in theatres that the

orchestra would play a certain number of pieces and then just stop and leave the film

and audience. Film producers weren’t happy with this situation.

2


A desire arose with the more forward thinking artistic film producers to have

a specific music score for each film. This thinking came to fruition in 1908 when a

company in Paris ‘Le Film d’Art’ in conjunction with ‘The Comédie Francaise’ and

the ‘Académie Francaise’ had actors perform on film to famous plays with the group

creating their first production with the film ‘L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise' (1908)

for which the famous French composer Camille Saint-Saëns was asked to compose a

specific score, a commission which he accepted.

This idea of specifically composed scores for film didn’t catch on yet, due

mainly to expensive production costs. Nevertheless an industry answered the

growing need for sound and music in film (Prendergast, Roy M., 1992, p.5-6).

3


In 1926, a new sound-on-disc system called the ‘Vitaphone’ was introduced

by Warner Brothers and Western Electric. Using this sound-on-disc system, sound

effects and music were recorded onto a wax record that later would be synchronized

with the film projector. Warner Brothers used this new technology for the film ‘Don

Juan' (1926) which was the first film to have a score pre-recorded and sound effects

synchronized (University of Virginia, 2009). ‘Don Juan' (1926) was a box-office hit,

but still many movie studios refused to adapt to talking picture technology. They

believed that ‘talkies’ would never be replaced by silent pictures. However, with the

premiere of ‘The Jazz Singer’ (1927) in October of 1927, these opinions changed,

and in doing so, changed the history of sound and music in film forever (University

of Virginia, 2009). ‘Don Juan’ (1926) is historically significant for its

groundbreaking use of sound as more than a box-office gimmick. John Barrymore

became one of the top stars of the 1920s as a result. 'Don Juan' (1926) was an

enormous box-office success, leading Warner Bros. to helm an even more complex

sound project, ‘The Jazz Singer’ (All Movie, 2012). The film ‘The Jazz Singer’

(1927) premiered in New York on 6th October, 1927 (Weis, E. and Belton, J., eds.,

1985, p.14). It was a great success. It paved the way for the future of films with

audio soundtracks which were called ‘talkies.’

Harry Warner and Waddill Catchings knew the investment in sound was a

success by April 1928. By then it had become clear that The Jazz Singer

show had become the most popular entertainment offering of the 1927-28

season’ (Weis, E. and Belton, J., eds., 1985, p.15).

4

http://www.answers.com/topic/the-jazz-singer-1980-film

http://www.answers.com/topic/john-barrymore-1

http://us.imdb.com/Title?Don+Juan+(1926)

http://us.imdb.com/Title?Don+Juan+(1926)


‘The Jazz Singer’ (1927) set records for length of run all over America. For

example, five week runs in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Charlotte, Seattle,

Washington, Reading and Baltimore. In mid-February 1928 it had a record eight

weeks in St. Louis, Ohio, Columbus and Detroit, and seven weeks in Oregon,

Portland, Los Angeles and Seattle. In April 1928, The Roxy booked ‘The Jazz

Singer’ (1927) for a second run which was unprecedented, and it grossed $100,000 a

week. In 1928 Warner Bros. converted completely to the specific production of

talkies. Warner Bros. had set the stage for the maximum exploration of profit in the

production and distribution of talkies. In 1928 Warner Bros. became the most

successful and profitable American motion picture company (Weis, E. and Belton, J.,

eds., 1985, p.15).

The benefits of using sound and music in film have not always been fully

appreciated. For example, although music had been used to accompany many silent

films, the rationale for introducing such music was not always what one would

presume.

Hanns Eisler (composer): in his book ‘Composing for the Films’ argues that

silent films had a ‘ghostly effect’ on the viewers. Music was introduced to silent film

to appease unconscious feared evil spirits. ‘Music was introduced as a kind of

antidote against the picture’ (Prendergast, Roy M., 1992, p.3) which spared the

viewers emotions in seeing effigies of the living acting and speaking but also at the

same time silent. This living and simultaneous unliving effect constitutes the

‘ghostly effect’ caused by viewing a silent film. Music’s purpose was to absorb the

shock of the ‘ghostly effect’ on the viewer (Prendergast, Roy M., 1992, p.3).

5


Another theory put forward by Kurt London in his study ‘Film Music,’ is that

music was introduced in silent film to neutralize the sound coming from the

projectors that were used at the time and that cinema proprietors used music in the

silent film as an agreeable sound rather than having a less agreeable sound coming

from the projectors (Prendergast, Roy M., 1992, p.4).

According to Hanns Eisler and Kurt London sound and music in film in the

very beginning was only used as a necessary utility. But I would argue differently,

that this is a very unappreciative and short sighted view of the role of sound and

music in film and that sound and music in film in many ways is just as crucial as the

visual imagery itself. Sound and music itself has physiological, neurological and

psychological effects on the body that when used with visuals or specifically film in

this case, they can enhance people’s emotions in relation to the visual narrative. This

is why sound and music is used in film, to add more emotional depth to the visual

narrative for spectators.

The commercial success of ‘Don Juan’ (1926) ‘The Jazz Singer’ (1927) and

the Warner Bros. company was due to the introduction of the use of sound and music

in film. This proves sound and music’s importance in film. This fact and also the

point that people were striving through the years to implement sound and music in

film in itself (e.g. investing in new sound recording technologies for example the

Vitaphone, specific scoring for films, orchestras in theatres which were expensive)

shows the growing appreciation of the important role of sound and music in film.

6


With the advent of sound changing the nature of cinema, the horror genre was

reborn in the 1930’s. The horror genre had a new beginning, and sound brought a

new dimension to the cinematic experience. Dreamlike imagery of the silent film

was replaced by a more realistic experience now that sound had arrived. Now films

with visual representations of ‘horror,’ were replaced by monsters that howled or

grunted and groaned. Sound now was a tool for suspense and threat, as sound effects

were used to magnify creaking doors or footsteps echoing down a corridor. The

powerful elements of the fantastic and the supernatural in horror gave an escape to

people during the Great Depression. The film studios put a lot of painstaking effort

into music and special effects, but the efforts had a good return. Film with sound

was a very different process to producing silent films, and looking back it seems to

have been a turbulent process.

In the 1930’s with film sound revitalizing cinema, compared to the 1920’s

silent films, audiences were more enthusiastic about the horror genre and flocked to

cinemas in record numbers. Horror film was the best form of escapism one could

find. In America, cinema became a national obsession with 80 million people

attending cinema each week in 1930 which is 65% of the US population (Wilson, K.,

Horror Begins To Talk... And Scream, 2001-2011).

7

http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/index.php?pageID=about


Figure 2: Bela Lugosi

Figure 3: Boris Karloff in Frankenstein

8


‘Dracula’ (1931) is a horror film from 1931. It was directed by Tod Browning and

stars Bela Lugosi as the main character ‘Count Dracula.’ It was produced by

Universal. Dracula’s concept is taken from the stage play ‘Dracula’ (1927) by

Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, and results in a highly theatrical version.

The stage play itself was based on the novel ‘Dracula’ (1897) by Bram Stoker

(Wilson, K., 2001-2011). Tod Browning’s 1931 ‘Dracula’ (1931) used formulas that

influenced other horror films of the 1930’s, including ‘The Mummy' (1932) and

‘Frankenstein’ (1931) (Lerner, N., 2010, p.188).

In the 1920’s there was the use of live continuous music in film, but this

changed in the late 1920’s. In 1931 preceding 'Dracula' (1931), 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde' (1931) and 'Frankenstein' (1931), horror film’s music was sparser. In early

sound films music was usually restricted to the opening and closing credits, as well

as scenes of music-making or dancing.

During the first part of the 1930’s, the use of music as underscore gradually

came to fruition, notably in Steiner’s score for ‘King Kong’ (1933). ‘Dr. Jekyll and

Mr. Hyde’ (1931) uses this convention of the sparse use of music with two

exceptions: The first transformation scene of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde, where

Mamoulian accompanies the scene with a sound collage that was groundbreaking

and Irwin Bazelon described as ‘pre-musique concrete’ and the scene when Dr. Jekyll

breaks up with Muriel where a version of a waltz reappears which had been

introduced earlier in the film (Lerner, N., 2010, p.56).

9


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Balderston

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Deane

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tod_Browning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film


In the 1950s, 1960s, 1970’s, James Bernard galvanised the British Hammer

horror musical style. His scores to films such as 'Dracula' (1958), 'The Plague of the

Zombies' (1966) and 'The Devil Rides Out' (1968) are some of his best known with

their paced, frantic, shocking or jolting musical style. Other composers such as

Benjamin Frankel were also employed by Hammer horror and his score for 'The

Curse of the Werewolf' (1960) is believed to be the first film theme to be based totally

on Arnold Schoenberg's Twelve-Tone scale (Wikipedia, 2012).

Music plays an important role in a movie and a good musical score drives the

story, elicits emotions and excitement in the viewer. Horror, thriller, and suspense

films use the power of music to build anticipation, fear, anxiety and suspense. Below

are some of the most notable and scariest music scores for horror film:

In 1960, director Alfred Hitchcock made the horror film ‘Psycho’ (1960). Bernard

Hermann composed the groundbreaking score for the film. Composer Fred Steiner

wrote

No other composer up to that time... had so successfully captured, in

music, the special Hitchcock mood: a blend of mystery, suspense, the

sardonic, and the romantic (Prendergast, Roy M., 1992, p.133).

10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serialism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Frankel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plague_of_the_Zombies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plague_of_the_Zombies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1958_film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bernard_(composer)


‘Psycho’ (1960) has one of the most famous horror scenes and music themes of all

time in the infamous ‘shower scene.’ The terror of this scene is highly magnified by

Herrmann's shrieking violins music score. Herrmann’s use of exclusive string

orchestration throughout ‘Psycho’ (1960) was a departure from the music formulas

and conventions of film music previous. He brought the idea to the Hollywood film

of strings having cold and piercing sounds whereas traditionally Hollywood saw the

use of strings as a way of creating warm and vibrant feelings and atmospheres.

Herrmann reinforced his idea of using only strings in his score for ‘Psycho’ (1960) to

‘complement the black and white photography of the film with a black and white

sound’ (Prendergast, Roy M., 1992, p.133). The sound, instrumentation and rhythm

of the music in the stabbing scene have been imitated by many other composers

since.

‘Jaws’ (1975) was directed by Steven Spielberg and has one of the most

famous music scores in horror or suspense film. Composer John William’s uses a

‘rising, two-note chromatic figure that signals the arrival of the shark’ (Brown, R.S.,

1994, p.42)

‘The Omen’ (1976) is a suspense/horror directed by Richard Donner. The

music score was written by Jerry Goldsmith and earned him an Academy Award.

The film has a sinister-sounding and hell raising choral piece titled ‘Ave Satani’ that

sounds like the embodiment of pure evil.

‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999) is psychological horror film with sensitive overtones

about an isolated boy who can ‘see dead people.’ The films score was written by

James Newton Howard and has a mixture of ambient and pulse-raising music

(Estrella, E., 2012).

11

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_horror

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Donner


'28 Days Later' (2002) is a British horror/zombie film directed by Danny

Boyle. The plot depicts the post-apocalyptic breakdown of society and the world

following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus. The film focuses on

the struggle of four survivors to survive and fight their way to safety with the hope of

resolution to the destruction of their life. Due to the film's success it spawned a

sequel, '28 Weeks Later' (2007) (Wikipedia, 2013).

12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Weeks_Later

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Boyle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Boyle


The Influence of Music on Emotion

Chapter 2 - The Influence of Music on Emotion

In this chapter I want to explore two questions:

What influence does music have on emotion?

What contribution does music make to the emotional aspects of horror film?

What influence does music have on emotion?

People value music mainly because of the emotions it evokes, research indicates.

The idea of music evoking emotions is still a controversial subject. Researchers have

been unable to give a satisfactory account of these emotions. Certain underlying

mechanisms have suffered from neglect in the study of musical emotions. In the

study of musical emotions, presently researchers have focused on how these

emotions were evoked or an assumption that the emotions are based on the ‘default’

mechanism for induction. This is a cognitive appraisal.

The most common goal of musical experiences is to influence emotions,

numerous studies have suggested: Music is used by people to alter emotions, to

release emotions, to relieve stress, to match their current emotional state and to

comfort or enjoy themselves (e.g., Behne 1997; Juslin & Laukka 2004).

13


Experts and lay people have been fascinated since ancient Greece, on the

mystery of music’s ability to induce emotions. Music is used in numerous fields in

society under the presumption of its effectiveness in inducing emotions, such as film

music, marketing, and therapy. This is why it is all the more important to explain

how music can induce emotions and how these may be manipulated by the composer

for 'horrific' effect.

In a study by Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D. From ‘Emotional responses to music: The

need to consider underlying mechanisms’ they present a theoretical framework

including six additional mechanisms in which music can induce emotions:

(1) brain stem reflexes

(2) evaluative conditioning

(3) emotional contagion

(4) visual imagery

(5) episodic memory

(6) musical expectancy

They propose that these mechanisms differ regarding such characteristics as their

ontogenetic development, information focus, key brain regions, induction speed,

cultural impact, degree of volitional influence, dependence on musical structure and

modularity (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.559).

In their research they conclude that:

music evokes emotions through mechanisms that are not unique to music,

and that the study of musical emotions could benefit the emotion field as

a whole by providing novel paradigms for emotion induction (Juslin, P.N.

and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.559).

14


What contribution does music make to the emotional aspects of

horror film?

Emotions are acute, physiologically and psychologically costly, and therefore

reserved for emergencies (Juslin and Sloboda, p.703).

Horror film’s repetitious drones, clashing dissonances, and stingers (those

assaultive blasts that coincide with shock or revelation) affect us at a

primal level, perhaps instinctually taking us back to a much earlier time

when the ability to perceive a variety of sounds alerted us (as a species) to

approaching predators or other threats (Lerner, N., 2010, p.ix).

This primal instinct we have as a species, to alert us and create fear of threat by these

repetitious drones, clashing dissonances, and stingers in horror film have become a

music and sound tool for horror film composers to take advantage of in their film

compositions and soundscapes. We are hardwired to react to these sounds with fear,

anxiety and suspense. A horror film composer's main objective is to frighten

spectators. For a horror film composer, using these types of manipulative

physiologically and psychologically penetrating sound and music techniques is a fool

proof angle to approaching composition.

Horror film is perceived as a safe exploration of the audience’s worst fears.

Steven Schneider stated that horror ‘serves a variety of psychological functions in

society’ (Schneider, S., 1999). In addition to the purging of emotions and escape,

audiences are provided with ‘a relatively safe forum for the expression of socio-

cultural fears.’ (Lerner, N., 2010, p.1).

15


Emotion characterizes the experience of film, as it does the experience of

music. Because music almost always accompanies film, we may well ask

what contribution music makes to the emotional aspects of film (Cohen,

A.J., 2001, p.249).

Film music has been neglected by the fields of musicology and music psychology

until the last decade (e.g. Cohen 1994; Marks 1998; Prendergast 1991) in spite of the

essential role music plays in film. This neglect is due to reasons such as social,

technological, economic, historical and cultural factors. A parallel neglect by

psychology on the study of film perception is also due to similar factors (Cohen, A.J.,

2001, p.249).

In Juslin and Vastfjall’s study they discuss evaluative conditioning and

episodic memory with a focus on circumstances where arbitrary life events become

associated with music. Analysis of film however suggests that the viewer

experiences consistent pairings between types of narrative content and types of

music.

Research has demonstrated that the emotional content of film music impacts

hugely on the viewer’s emotional experiences of a narrative (Juslin, P.N. and

Vastfjall D., 2008, p.578). Juslin and Vastfjall identify two mechanisms that are

crucial in music’s ability to evoke emotions rely mainly on memory processes.

Evaluative conditioning

16


Evaluative conditioning is an unconscious process: People learn associations

between certain pieces of music and pleasant or unpleasant events through repeated

pairings e.g. in film music post-Psycho, sharp, staccato strings have come to signify

terror and impending doom. Evaluative conditioning refers to a process where an

emotion is induced by a sound or a piece of music because this stimulus has in the

past been paired repeatedly with other positive or negative stimuli e.g. a specific

sound or piece of music may have occurred repeatedly together in time with a

specific happening or event that always made you happy. This could be for example

meeting your best friend. Through repeated pairings over time, the specific sound or

piece of music will eventually set the brain to evoke happiness even with the absence

of the friendly interaction (meeting your best friend). Evaluative conditioning is also

known as affective learning, emotional conditioning, preference conditioning and

fear conditioning. Regardless of which of these terms used above, it refers to a

special kind of classic conditioning which involves pairing of an initially neutral

conditioned stimulus with an affectively valenced, unconditioned stimulus. After

this pairing, the conditioned stimulus acquires the ability to evoke the same affective

state as the unconditioned stimulus in the perceiver. Regardless of which term used,

and whether it's positive (e.g. happy) or negative (e.g. fear, sad) these states are

conditioned and the process seems to have the same characteristics (Juslin, P.N. and

Vastfjall D., 2008, p.564).

Emotional contagion

17


Emotional contagion refers to a process where an emotion is induced by a sound or a

piece of music because the listener perceives the emotional expression of the sound

or piece of music, and then 'mimics' the expression internally. By means of either a

direct activation of the relevant emotional representations in the brain or peripheral

feedback from muscles, this induces the same emotion. For example, the sound or

piece of music might have a sad expression (e.g. low sound level, slow tempo, low

pitch) that induces sadness in the listener (Juslin 2001). Several studies report

evidence that sound or a piece of music with a specific emotional expression can

induce the same emotion in the listener (e.g. Kallinen & Ravaja 2006; Lundqvist et

al., in press). Expression may be an 'iconic' source of emotion (Dowling & Harwood

1986). The term 'iconic' refers to structures of music showing formal similarities to

the structures of expressed emotions (Kivy 1980). Studies have concluded that a

listener is able to perceive specific emotions in a sound or a piece of music

(Gabrielsson & Juslin 2003). Also children as young as 3 or 4 years of age are able

to recognize basic emotions in music (Cunningham & Sterling 1988). Emotional

contagion it has been argued, facilitates the mother-infant bond (Darwin 1872), as

well as social interaction in general terms (Preston & de Waal 2002). In support of

this, this emotional contagion seems to create liking and affiliation (e.g. Lakin et al.

2003) which is perhaps beneficial for social interaction (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D.,

2008, p.565). An example where emotional contagion occurs is in the 'shower scene'

in the horror film 'Psycho' (1960), where Bernard Herrmann's score of the shrieking

screaming violins has this 'iconic' source of emotion where the musical structure

shows formal similarities to the structures of expressed emotions.

Episodic memories

18


Episodic memory is a conscious process: Music evokes memories and so also evokes

the emotions associated with these memories. Although this discussion of the

memory processes is compelling, it is incomplete because it excludes mentioning the

circumstances where music is explicitly associated with narrative content that

independently evokes emotional responses e.g. music accompanied by lyrics that tell

a story which evokes the story’s emotion message. However, their main focus is on

circumstances where music is associated with the narrative content of film (Juslin,

P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.578).

Brain Stem Reflexes

19


In horror music and sound, the process of brain stem reflexes plays a role in regards

to our reactions to horror film's repetitious drones, clashing dissonances, and stingers

as previously mentioned. Brain Stem Reflexes refer to a process where an emotion is

induced by sound or music because the fundamental acoustical characteristics of the

sound or music are received by the brain stem which signals a potentially urgent and

important event. Sounds that are sudden, dissonant, loud, or have fast temporal

patterns induce arousal or feelings of unpleasantness in the listener (Berlyne 1971;

Burt et al. 1995; Foss et al. 1989; Halpern et al. 1986). These responses show the

impact of auditory sensations (music as sound in the most basic sense). Our

perceptual system is continually scanning the immediate surrounding environment as

to discover potentially important events or changes. Particular sound qualities are

indicative of change e.g. sounds that change very quickly, extreme or sudden sounds,

or sounds that are resulting from that of strong force or large size. Music or sounds

that meet these certain criteria e.g., noisy, loud, fast, extreme low or high

frequencies) will there as produce an increased activation of the central nervous

system (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.564).

Visual Imagery

20


Music can influence viewers’ perceptions of film narrative even when the music does

not occur simultaneously with the main action of a scene. Tan et al. (2007) paired

scenes from commercial films of characters exhibiting neutral emotions with music

that the participants had before rated as happy or sad, fearful or angry. This time the

character’s actions did not accompany the music. The music played either before or

after the character appeared on screen. The experiment instructions asked the

participants to focus their attention towards the visual techniques e.g. lighting

changes, which are used to convey certain emotions. The participants were

discouraged from focusing directly on the music. After the participants viewed each

film, the characters emotions were evaluated on several scales.

Even though the music occurred either before or after the actor’s actions were

onscreen, the judgments of the participants in regards to the characters’ emotions

constantly adhered with the emotional content of the music. Also emotional attributes

were stronger for music occurring before a scene rather than for music occurring

after a scene. The music provided participants different interpretations of the

characters’ neutral effect (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.578). This experiment

proves how powerful music can be to induce particular emotions in people and

therefore shows the important role music has in film.

Musical expectancy

21


Music with broader associations e.g. crime music, melodrama, also can establish a

context for understanding films (Boltz 2004). Bullerjahn and Guldenring (1994)

commissioned musical scores that represented several different film genres to

accompany a 10 minute film. Participants watched the film with one of these scores

and completed questionnaires about what the characters intentions and relationships

were. Differences in the music’s emotional content caused differences in the

participants’ interpretations of the film.

For example, the crime music made participants attribute violent intentions to

the characters. This study demonstrated that film music genres can be used to set an

emotional framework, which prepares the viewers to expect certain experiences

during the narrative (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.578).

Visual Imagery, Musical Expectancy and Evaluative Conditioning combined

The following is an example of how visual imagery, musical expectancy and

evaluative conditioning combined have a very powerful and complementary effect.

An example would be John Williams’s famous theme from the movie 'Jaws'

(1975). Viewers are provided with an association with a particular piece of music

which is a repetition of two chromatic notes in an ascending pattern. This signifies

the narrative arrival of the Great White Shark. This pairing is done for the purpose of

matching or amplifying the narrative content. Also as the film progresses, the music

starts to foreshadow specific narrative content. People acquire correlations between

types of narrative situations and types of music (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008,

p.578). In the film, every time the shark approaches closer to its potential victim

there is an increase in musical tempo as the Jaws theme progresses. This is an

example of anxiety and fear from musical expectancy.

22


Film research suggests that emotional music has an effect on viewers’

interpretation of narrative content. For example, Vitouch (2001) done a study where

participants were asked to view an opening scene of a film accompanied by music

pre-tested to represent either a positive or negative effect. Afterwards participants

wrote continuations of the narrative. Analyses of this revealed that the narrative

continuations were coloured by the emotional content of the opening scene’s music.

Participants who heard the positive music used more happy words in their narrative

continuations and participants who heard the negative music used more sad words in

their narrative continuations. All the participants saw the same visuals. Given the

same visual information, modifying the emotion of the opening scene’s music caused

differences in the viewers’ narrative expectations about how they thought the

narrative would continue (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.578).

23

Tricks and Techniques

Chapter 3 - Tricks and Techniques

Music in horror film usually has some common notable characteristics. Generally the

music is non-diegetic, empathetic, uses leitmotivs and often represents the sounds of

a presence or an emotion that the audience cannot see or hear. What we cannot see

or hear is often translated to the audience via music.

Composers in horror film have used particular common techniques to create

the effects needed in the genre e.g. stingers to frighten, drones and sustained

tremolandi strings to create suspense. Harpsichords and church organs have been

used extensively in horror films and there is a cultural association of these particular

sounding instruments with gothic horror (Lerner, N., 2010, p.21).

Some of the techniques used are the use of ‘Diabolus In Musica’ (the tritone),

using certain instruments that have cultural associations, taking advantage of the

contrapuntal relationship between music and film, using the associative power of

music, contrasting as counterpoint, religious music, major and minor keys,

chromaticism, tonality, atonality and dissonance. These techniques have great power

to dramatize, contextualize and evoke emotions in film.

Modes and Chords

People generally hear major keys as optimistic whereas minor keys have greater

potential for chromaticism and thus dissonance than do major keys (Lerner, N., 2010,

p.21).

24


What is crucial in the major/minor distinction is affect, not scale form or

the diatonic/chromatic dichotomy. In other words, major/minor is another

aspect of [our] ‘cultural musical codes’ (Gorbman 1987:3), a coded binary

pair (David Neumeyer and James Buhler, 2001, cited in Lerner, 2010,

p.21).

'Danse Macabre,' (1874) written by Camille Saint-Saëns, is a tone poem for

orchestra which uses the technique called 'scordatura' (Lerner, N., 2010, p.23) which

is alternate tuning used for open strings to represent the finger positions as if played

in regular tuning. This can create unusual timbres otherwise unachievable through

standard tuning. In 'Danse Macabre’s' case the E string is lowered a semitone to E

flat, as to create a tritone with the closest string A (Lerner, N., 2010, p.23).

Diabolus In Musica (The Tritone)

The ‘Diabolus in Musica’ or Devil in Music is the demonic tri-tone interval. It was

banned by the Catholic church as it represented evil, impurity and was not

considered ‘sacred music.’ It was considered to be the most imperfect interval that

could affect our character in a negative way (Merrick, R., 2010). Within the

medieval study of music the tri-tone’s position caused it to acquire specific musical

symbolism. In Western theology and music: the number six represents the number of

the devil while seven is the divine number. The demonic tritone is the sixth semitone

above and below the tonic whereas the perfect fifth interval is on the seventh

semitone. In the circle of fifths, the tri-tone is the sixth step away from the tonic,

which is harmonically, as far from grace as one could fall. These associations

christened it to be called the ‘Diabolus in Musica’ and made it incredibly useful for

composers of music in horror and suspense film to represent evil, the other or the

alien (Lerner, N., 2010, p.23).

25


Instruments and their Cultural Associations

Pipe Organs, harpsichords, violins and the tri-tone have cultural associations with the

horrific, the gothic and the devil. In Chapter Two I outlined the concepts of episodic

memory and evaluative conditioning, and these processes are linked to instruments

and their cultural associations.

Two compositions, Saint-Saen’s 'Danse Macabre' (1847) and Igor

Stravinsky’s 'The Soldier’s Tale' (1918) draw on the folklore of the devil as a violinist

or fiddler. In the folklore the devil plays the violin at a gathering of witches and later

tricks a man out of his soul.

26


Organs and especially pipe organs are a popular instrument of choice for the

horror film composer and also are commonly used visually in horror film for its

gothic look and religious associations. Directors and Screenwriters have even added

organs to film whose literary sources have none. The film ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’

(1931) opens with Dr. Jekyll playing a pipe organ but the original novella ‘The

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ (1886) has no mention of a pipe organ in it.

The horror film 'Carnival of Souls' (1962) is maybe the 'ne plus ultra' of horror films

with an organ in it. The soundtrack is written for organ exclusively. The film moves

around two locations of organ imagining: a church and an abandoned fairground

pavilion (Lerner, N., 2010, p.1). The pipe organ has suitability to the horror genre’s

gothic themes. It has clear religious associations which enable it to represent

religious ponderings i.e. in ‘Bride of Frankenstein' (1935), a isolated blind man

brings the monster into his hut and thanks God for sending him a friend. Here non-

diegetic organ music is heard. The locations organs are typical in are cathedrals,

churches and crypts so we associate the organ to these spaces (Lerner, N., 2010, p.5).

These cultural associations all make the use of the these instruments a useful tool in

composing for horror film.

Figure 3: Mary Henry in the Reuter Organ Company testing room, in Carnival of

Souls

27


Figure 4: Iris shot of Jekyll looking onto his organ keyboard in Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde

Contrapuntal Relationship Between Music and Film

There is a contrapuntal relationship between music and film stemming from the idea

of counterpoint in music where two or more lines are independent of each other. An

enlarged linear independence and overall musical gesture can be achieved using

counterpoint which involves the technique ‘contrary motion,’ two melody lines

moving in opposite directions. Counterpoint in music transfers attention from one

voice to another. In music an example of this would be in a string quartet, where the

main melody line passes from the first violin to the viola or cello and back again.

The combination of the two mediums of music and film creates a

contrapuntal interaction between the two. These two media’s impact on each other

‘Music has an impact on film, and film on music' (Burt, G., 1994, p.6). It is only

with the combined interaction that the force of the combination comes into effect

(Burt, G., 1994, p.6).

28


because of the fundamental difference of the two media-one is visual, the

other aural-each is inevitably perceived as having an independence of its

own. When placed together to achieve a common goal, a great deal more

is expressed than would be possible by means of either medium alone.

In-deed, one will heighten the effect of the other (Burt, G., 1994, p.6).

This idea of music and film being contrapuntal is a technique that a composer can

use musically, for example in a scene in a film where a character is losing control of

a situation and is gradually becoming furious. Musically, the high point of the

melody line could represent the intensity rising in the scene, but instead the melody

line could go in the opposite direction ending on the lowest pitch as the character

breaks with fury. Underscored by the music, this dramatic effect here is that the

manner has come to a head and the character or situation has got to the point of no

return (Burt, G., 1994, p.7).

Contrast as Counterpoint

29


This involves using contrasting elements as counterpoint using music with narrative,

visual and perceptual imagery. In horror film children have been an inevitable

subject because of the vulnerability associated with them. Vulnerability and

innocence have been represented visually and musically in film to have an opposite

effect which is that of ‘evil.’ This vulnerability factor has been used when it comes to

innocents in danger i.e. ‘The Poltergeist’ (1982) to the reverse, innocents as danger

i.e. Damien Thorn, the innocent looking child in ‘The Omen’ (1976) representing the

Antichrist, the twins (tricycle scene) in ‘The Shining' (1980) the clown Pennywise in

‘It’ (1990). In these films composers have underscored these narratives, extended

them and enacted them. This is a counterpoint technique that contrasts with the

unseen implications of a character whether it be by the use of acapella children’s

songs and lullabies to musical modernism in full orchestra (Lerner, N., 2010, p.40).

This type of music naively blankets unseen danger and induces as sense of fear rather

than a sense of safety.

Lullaby Melodies

30

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Thorn


Lullaby melodies have been used by composers in horror film as a technique. It is

used ironically to play with the emotions of spectators, leading them in to a false

sense of security and innocence which as a result, exaggerates scary, shocking and

gory images to even greater effect. This technique ties into the ‘contrast as

counterpoint’ technique. These two techniques together compound and complement

each other to even greater effect creating very twisted and scary perceptions in the

viewer’s mind. Examples of film that combine these techniques: 'The Omen' (1976),

'The Sixth Sense' (1999), 'Nightmare On Elm Street' (1984), 'The Poltergeist' (1982)

(music by Jerry Goldsmith), 'The Devil’s Advocate' (1997) (music by James Newton

Howard) and 'Rosemary’s Baby' (1968) (music by Kristopher Komeda).

The Associative Power of Music

It is not within music’s power to fully identify or represent something solely on its

own. Music is a means to evoke imagery and interpret something. For instance, it

cannot evoke a picture of a house or describe a political system. Music is a

subjective art form but music can allow for associations. These associations can be

more particularized when music is combined with visuals in a dramatic context.

When we see visuals with music we make a connection even if it is on an

unconscious level.

31


When we see a picture of something we recognize, that something is instantly

conveyed. But the picture alone cannot always unite our feelings into a direct pattern

especially if the picture is of an inanimate object (Burt, G., 1994, p.9-10) . For

example, imagine a cabin in the forest on a dark night with the lights from inside

being turned off one by one. What’s happening inside? Is there a family getting

ready for bed, or is there a murderer creeping through the house stalking his victims.

Music here would associate with the intended situation and define it either as calm or

threatening.

Religious Music

Composers such as Jerry Goldsmith have used religious music for cultural

associations with evil. Jerry Goldsmith’s score for ‘The Omen’ (1976) has used

religious music mixed with dissonance to achieve this effect. Dissonance in music

has an uneasy, terrifying, evil sound, that is why the 'Diabolus in Musica’ or ‘The

Devil in Music’ dissonant tritone was banned by the Catholic church as it was looked

upon as impure and not sacred. It is the most ‘imperfect’ musical interval. This ‘evil’

dissonance mixed with the opposite of ‘evil’ – ‘good,’ gestures this evil sound. Also,

what I think accentuates this effect is perhaps through the sacred medieval

associations people have with religion. People perceive this musical imagery as

dark, unworldly, mysterious, and that of the gods or spirits. The dissonance can

make you question whether what you are hearing is that of either good or evil.

Religious associations in music can be created by the use of instrumentation and

style e.g. choral music, Gregorian chants, church organs, Latin text. The use of any

of these alone or in combination with dissonance has a dramatic terrifying, evil

effect.

32


Tonality, Atonality and Dissonance

Composers for horror film use tonality and atonality to represent different characters

and situations. Atonality would be used to underscore scenes of fear and anxiety and

tonality would generally underscore the more calm scenes, although they are not

always completely calm. Atonality can also represent the ‘Others’ i.e. monsters,

aliens, ghosts. These others are outside the ‘human’ system. Contrary to this we find

humans represented by tonality. An example of this technique would be

James Bernard’s score for 'Dracula' (1958). In the main title the character

Dracula is introduced with severe atonality. This destabilizing threat that Dracula

represents is coded in audible terms. The audience may or may not consciously be

aware of this delivery of destabilization, but the seed is planted. The use of

dissonance, atonality, stingers of fright, sustained musical gestures and silences of

suspense that scare the audience (Lerner, N., 2010, p.21).

Other Techniques

There are numerous techniques composers can use to imply musical imagery for

something that is not present on screen. Traditional and avant-garde devices have

been very useful to the film composer's arsenal of tricks and techniques. Some of

these techniques are:

Tremolando

Trills

Glissando

Col Legno ('hit with the wood')

Pizzicato

33


Tremolo

Tremolo or Tremolando (in Italian) is a technique used with string instruments that

creates a trembling effect. Woodwinds and brass can also achieve this effect using

the technique, but to different effect. It is used to alter our interpretation of what is

happening in a film scene to create unease, fear and foreboding. People have been

conditioned to associate this effect with fear and danger.

Figure 5: Tremolo notation

Trills

Trills are a type of ornamentation or decoration within a musical melody or harmony

line. The trill sound is produced by rapidly alternating between two notes. These

notes are generally a semitone or a tone (two semitones) apart. This technique is

extensively used by horror film composers as it has a devilish and terrifying effect.

34


Figure 6: Trill notation

Glissando

This technique is used with string instruments, trombones and the vocals. In string

instruments it is achieved by sliding a finger on a string from one pitch to another

which produces a continuous sound.

Figure 7: Glissando

35

Sound Effects

Chapter 4 - Sound Effects

Dialogue is the element of film sound that usually receives the most emphasis on

screen in spectators' minds. Some viewers naively may think that sound effects are

of minor importance and are a cosmetic component of a film's soundtrack. However,

sound effects contribute greatly to film and play a very important role in shaping the

viewer's understanding of space and characterization of environment (Pramaggiore

M., Wallis T., 2005, p.219).

Functions of Sound Effects

Sound effects contribute to the intellectual and emotional depth of a scene in

different ways, one of which is that they define a scene's location

Define a Scene's Location

Sound effects have an important role in helping viewers understand the nature of the

environments that surround the characters e.g. the beeping car horns of an urban road

in 'Manhattan,' swirling winds of an African sandstorm in 'The English Patient'

(1996). Sound effects can describe a wide array of environments.

A lot of the time sound effects define locations rather generically e.g. urban

films using the constant noise of traffic in the background to evoke the hustle and

bustle of a city situation, Westerns using the jangle of spurs and coyote howls to

describe the lonely, lifeless, arid plains where the action (gunfights) will unfold.

36

Sound Effects

Sometimes sound effects are used to define the setting more specifically,

referring to particular places at specific points in time e.g. the sound of rotating

helicopter rotors plays a critical role in depicting the American conflict in Vietnam

with films such as 'The Deer Hunter' (1978), 'Apocalypse Now' (1979) and 'Platoon'

(1986) because the Vietnam war marked the first time that helicopters were used

extensively in a combat situation.

Even though these examples of sound effects give viewers a greater sense of

the historical circumstances and physical environment that surround the characters

(Pramaggiore M., Wallis T., 2005, p.220).

Characteristics of Sound Effects

A critical component of an analysis of a sound effect is a detailed description of how

that effect is created. To effectively analyse this with precision, film scholars take

into account two different characteristics of sound effects: acoustic qualities and

volume (Pramaggiore M., Wallis T., 2005, p.222).

Acoustic Qualities

37

Sound Effects

In order to analyse sound effects it is crucial to describe exactly what the audience

hears, and to analyse it with precision. An example of subtly differing sound effects

is as follows: consider the sounds produced by the opening and closing doors in

'Alien' (1979) and the 'Star Wars' film series. In 'Alien' (1979), captain Dallas (Tom

Skerritt) pursues the alien and circular hatches close behind him one by one. This

sounds like sheets of grimy steel grating against each other. This clunky, mechanical

sound effect fits into and is appropriate for the industrial aura of the star ship

'Nostromo.' To contrast this, when doorways open and close on the 'Death Star' in

'Star Wars' (1977), the sound is of decompressing air. This hydraulic sound

produced conveys the space station's sterile and efficient environment. With the

contexts given in which these sounds are produced, the difference between them is

absolutely appropriate (Pramaggiore M., Wallis T., 2005, p.222).

Volume

As dialogue in film tends to overwhelm sound effects in general, those few moments

when sound effects do compete in volume with dialogue are particularly important.

These moments convey the characters being engulfed by their environment

(Pramaggiore M., Wallis T., 2005, p.222).

Sound Effects

There are different types of categories of sound effects. Examples are as follows;

Hard sound effects: Door slams, weapons firing, and cars driving by.

38

Sound Effects

Background sound effects: These are atmospheric, ambient sound effects. These

don’t always synchronize with the visuals. They indicate a setting to the audience

e.g. forest sounds, car interiors, the sound of people (language/speech with no

clarity)

Foley sound effects: These are synchronized on screen e.g. footsteps, hand props

movement, cloth rustling.

Design sound effects: These are unnatural sound effects. They suggest futuristic

technology generally in science fiction films.

List of horror sound effect clichés

Castle Thunder: Thunderclap during a rainstorm. It was originally recorded for the

film Frankenstein (1931).

Universal Telephone Ring: Commonly used 70’s and 80’s and is still used today.

Movie Owl: This is a recording of a Great Horned Owl which is commonly used in

the horror genre specifically, but is also in other genres such as fantasy. The sound

effect represents the supernatural, the unknown and danger ahead.

Hawks and Eagles: Red Tailed Hawk or Bald Eagle. This effect is commonly used in

landscapes e.g. camera panning across a landscape.

Loony Loons: Cry of a loon. It is used extensively in movies. Its sound is mostly

associated with wilderness and/or fog.

Wolf Howl: Usually the Timber wolf. It’s used extensively in horror film specifically

and other genres. It’s sound depicts a full moon.

39

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_(1931_film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction

Sound Effects

Door Creek: Very common effect in film which is a creaking door. Very effective

effect and used in horror film extensively.

Wilhelm Scream: This scream is a commonly used film and television stock sound

effect. The effect became popular when it was used in Star Wars. The effect is

generally used when someone is falling to their death from a height.

(Frater, J. 2009)

George Lucas quotes:

A special effect is a tool, a means of telling a story. A special effect

without a story is a pretty boring thing.

The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie.

Sound Effect Instruments

The Waterphone

40

Sound Effects

The Waterphone was invented by Richard Waters in the 1960's (Gonzalez, R.T.

2011). It is a dissonant atonal acoustic musical instrument. The Waterphone is made

up of a stainless steel resonator bowl with a cylindrical neck and bronze rods of

varying diameters and lengths around the rim of the bowl. A small amount of water

in the resonator bowl can gives the Waterphone a vibrant type of ethereal sound

(Wikipedia, 2013). It has been used extensively in horror and sci-fi film soundtracks

and scores and has a very recognizable sound that if you have seen a horror or sci-fi

film in the last fifty years would of made the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

It has been used in films such as 'The Poltergeist' (1982), 'Let The Right One In'

(2008), the 'Matrix' (1999) (Gonzalez, R.T. 2011), 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture'

(1979) (music by Jerry Goldsmith), 'Dark Water' (2002), and 'Aliens' (1986) (music

by James Horner) (Wikipedia, 2013).

Composer Johan Söderqvist for 'Let The Right One In' (2008) stated that:

One of the things I try to do with every new picture is to find a unique

sound, a new universe, which will suit the story and give it a musical

personality. For 'Let the Right One In,' I discovered an instrument called

the bass waterphone, which I recorded endless samples of and then

tweaked and worked into the fabric of the score. This defined the musical

voice of this particular film' (Johan Söderqvist, 2011, io9).

The Waterphone sounds are produced by either bowing or drumming in various

different ways which affect the water's movement and thus creating the resonant

characteristics of the rods and bowl. Using a superball mallet in a friction mode has

become the main way of playing the Waterphone. This instrument is very often used

to evoke mystery, horror, fear, anxiety and suspense (Wikipedia, 2013).

The Theremin

41

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Horner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture

Sound Effects

The Theremin is a very recognizable instrument and is ubiquitous in sci-fi films and

television. It was used in some of the earliest sci-fi films e.g. 'Spellbound' (1945)

directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' (1951).

Oddly, the instrument is played without any physical contact. Instead the

musician controls the pitch and volume with their hands, moving them closer and

further away from the Theremin's two metal antennae (Gonzalez, R.T. 2011).

The Beam Blaster

The Blaster Beam is an electronic musical instrument involving a 12 to 18 foot long

metal beam strung with a number of tensed wires. Beneath these tensed wires are

mounted electric guitar pickups which are movable. When moved they alter the

sound produced. The Beam Blaster is played by plucking or striking the strings with

fingers, pipes, sticks, or large objects e.g. artillery shell casings. This instrument

produces a distinctive bass tone which is often described as 'sinister' or 'dark.'

The Beam Blaster was invented by John Lazelle in the early 1970s. Craig

Huxley, an American child actor/musician created a refined version of the instrument

made out of aluminium. The instrument was then made famous in the soundtrack

for the film 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' (1979). In this film, composer Jerry

Goldsmith used the Beam Blaster to create its signature V'ger sound. The following

is a number of composers and film soundtracks that used the instrument: composer

James Horner for the soundtrack to 'Battle Beyond the Stars' (1980) and 'Star Trek II:

The Wrath of Khan' (1982), composer Michael Stearns for the soundtrack to the

IMAX film 'Chronos,' (1985) and composers David Shire's and co-writer Craig

Huxley for the soundtrack to '2010' (1984).

42

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Shire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Stearns

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_II:_The_Wrath_of_Khan


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Beyond_the_Stars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Horner


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Huxley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Huxley

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Lazelle&action=edit&redlink=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_guitar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_musical_instrument

Sound Effects

Huxley patented his own design of the Beam Blaster in 1984. Since then the

instrument has been used to create dark unnatural sounds in film soundtracks in the

late 1970s and early 1980s e.g. 'Forbidden World' (1982), 'The Black Hole'

(1979) and 'Meteor' (1979). In 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones' (2002),

the Blaster Beam was used by Jango Fett for the seismic charge sound. The Beam

Blaster has been used in the theme for the Borg in 'Star Trek: First Contact' (1996)

(Wikipedia, 2013). Craig Huxley's patent abstract described the Beam Blaster as

follows:

A sound producing instrument is shown having a plurality of vibrating

strings supported over an elongated aluminium sounding board. The

strings are solid wires of brass, bronze or steel that are tensioned to

produce a range of vibrations within the audible sound range. The strings

may be manipulated along their lengths in various ways to control the

mode of vibration of each of the respective strings. An electronic means

such as a crystal or magnetic microphone is provided adjacent to the

sounding board to pick up the vibrations resulting from activating the

vibratory motion of the strings, and amplifying means are used to

reproduce the sounds developed by the instrument. In one embodiment,

the microphone may be caused to move during the pickup by a remote

controller, so as to provide different sound effects. A special cylinder is

provided for creating special sound effects when used to agitate the

strings.

In a modification, cylindrical elements may be used when placed in

contact with the strings to alter the vibratory action of the strings. The

cylinders are formed of aluminium and may be manipulated in various

ways to stimulate the motion of the respective strings in characteristic

modes for the production of unusual sounds (Craig Huxley, 1984).

43

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_II:_Attack_of_the_Clones

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Hole

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_World

Sound Effects

Sub Bass Drones

44

Sound Effects

In recent years, a reoccurring trend in the film soundtrack has emerged. It is a single

note drone, sometimes produced using musical instruments e.g. strings, percussion,

horns. Other times the sound is produced using synthesizers. The New Yorker

magazine described it as an 'ear-splitting and maddeningly ubiquitous action-movie-

trailer musical cue' and also described it as 'duhhhhn,' that low and loud synthesized

hum—ominous and brain-addling' (Crouch, I. 2013). For the past few years, I have

noticed this trend reoccurring in films. The first film I heard it in was Christopher

Nolan's 'Inception' from 2010. Then I noticed the drone in 'Prometheus' (2012)

(music by Marc Streitenfeld). Ian Crouch who posted an article in the New Yorker

said that the first trailer release of the film 'Inception' (2010) in 2009 (music by Mike

Zarin) was the first time the drone was used and the third trailer for 'Inception'

(2010) (music by Zach Hemsey) added a clever string part over Mike Zarin’s big

booms. Ian Crouch's article in the New Yorker also went on to say that these two

components were then absorbed into the 'Inception' (2010) soundtrack (music for

'Inception' written by composer Hans Zimmer). It may be true that the film

'Inception' (2010) had used this drone effect first, but personally I think the theme

music for the film 'Terminator' (1984) (music by Brad Ira Fiedel) has used a similar

type of drone effect. The recent films since 'Inception' (2010) which have used this

sound effect or musical cue are as follows: 'Star Trek' (2009), 'Transformers: Dark of

the Moon' (2011), 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012), 'Iron Man 3' (2013), 'Olympus

Has Fallen' (2013), 'World War Z' (2013) and very recently 'Oblivion' (2013). This

hum or drone effect is often timed to the sound of drums for a certain more dramatic

effect. Also to further exploit this dramatic effect the drone is sometimes timed with

certain scenes to amplify the visuals power and to evoke and portray certain narrative

ideas to audiences e.g. danger, impending doom, terror, fear, fear of the unknown.

45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ3Mt9yiz6k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6Dvxdr0AQ

http://youtu.be/vwx1f0kyNwI?t=2m23s


http://youtu.be/2CzoSeClcw0?t=1m10s

http://youtu.be/kqF8lcKTLw0?t=1m12s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRf01Gjosk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IdA7aV4ftY

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/ian_crouch/search?contributorName=Ian%20Crouch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nev2JJCRZHg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Streitenfeld

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftuxbvGwiU


Sound Effects

The combination or partial combination of these techniques creates fear, terror and

anxiety within spectators.

46

Chapter 5 - Case Studies

'The Omen'

Jerry Goldsmith composed the score for the film ‘The Omen’ (1976) which has many

of the characteristics associated with horror film music and uses a lot of the

techniques described in Chapter Three. It is non-diegetic, empathetic, uses religious

music, lullabies, the associative power of music, tonality, atonality and dissonance,

contrast as counterpoint, instruments and their cultural associations, leitmotifs and

the music often represents the sounds of a presence or an emotion that the audience

cannot see or hear (Hub Pages, 2011). Below are some of the tricks and techniques

described in Chapter Three and how they relate to the music for the film 'The Omen.'

Religious Music and The Associative Power of Music

The theme music for 'The Omen' (1976) is a Gregorian chant called ‘Ave Satani’

which means ‘Hail Satan’ in Latin (Hub Pages, 2011).


Goldsmith said that the idea for ‘Ave Satani’ was to create a Satanic version of a

Gregorian chant similar to a Black Mass which inverted Latin phrases from the Latin

Mass (Hub Pages, 2011).

Tonality, Atonality and Dissonance, Contrast as Counterpoint, The Associative

Power of Music, Religious Music

47

The Gregorian Chant establishes an unsettling mood with its religious associations

and added dissonances. The Latin text gives a religious feel and the lyrics

themselves contain a religious and sinister message making connections to the

Catholic belief in transubstantiation in the first two lines (Hub Pages, 2011).

The Associative Power of Music, Religious Music

A technique called ‘text painting’ is used in ‘Ave Satani’ when the music crescendos

from soft to loud which could be interpreted as hell coming to earth which is a

narrative theme of the film. ‘Text painting’ is when music is used as imagery to

express an idea (Hub Pages, 2011).

Religious Music and The Associative Power of Music

Church bells are added in the score for an association with Christianity. This Black

Mass starts with a chanting anthem (Hub Pages, 2011).

Instruments and their Cultural Associations, Religious Music, Tonality,

Atonality and Dissonance

There is a dark choral introduction and the first statement of a theme on piano. The

song progresses into a funeral-like dirge with pipe organ and chimes. The choral part

synchronizes the dissonant chords, and the higher voices have a wailing style (Hub

Pages, 2011).


48

Another aspect is that Damien, who is possibly the anti-Christ, is a child. Here we

see the vulnerability and innocence aspect as we associate children with innocence.

Goldsmith used the 'contrast as counterpoint 'technique described in Chapter Three to

underscore this misconception. Lullabies are associated with children so an eerie

motif which is a seven note lullaby for piano is played throughout the film (Hub

Pages, 2011).

(The following is an English translation of the Latin text for ‘Ave Satani’)

‘We drink his blood,

We eat his body,

Elevate the body of Satan!

Hail

Hail, Hail Anti-Christ!

Hail Satan!’

'The Shining' (Tricycle Scene)

49

Every aspect in the sound design of the film 'The Shining' (1980) is carefully

measured and controlled. The tricycle scenes are the most famous, in which the child

Danny pedals around the Overlook Hotel on a tricycle. The tricycle scene where

Danny cycles on and off the wooden floor from wood to carpet numerous times is

very unsettling. The film's editor Ray Lovejoy called them 'The sudden explosions of

sound.' This scene to an extent could be considered a part of the score. It is

dissonant, distinctive and memorable. The scene is not dramatic in traditional terms

as it is inanimate to the story, but it creates tension and an atmosphere that's at odds

with the innocence of the action of the scene. Out of the film's context, this scene

could be viewed as abstract audio-visual art (The Sound Of The Shining, 2011).

This scene ties into the ‘contrast as counterpoint' technique previously

explained in regards to the 'innocents in danger' factor and the use of dissonance.

Also this scene ties into the 'Effects' chapter (Chapter Four) in relation to certain

elements such as:

Defining a scene's location: the wood and carpet sound effects play an important role

in helping viewers understand the nature of the environments that surround the

character (Danny) and the physical environment that surround him.

Acoustic qualities: the wood and carpet sound effects are dissonant and have an echo

effect which plays an important role in helping viewers understand the surrounding

environment for Danny; large, open, empty, lonely and lifeless. This adds to the fear

factor in this scene.

Volume: this scene conveys Danny being engulfed by his environment, as there is no

dialogue so the sound effects overwhelm the scene.

50

'Psycho'

'Psycho' (1960) is an American suspense/horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

It has become one of the most celebrated films of all time and Bernard Herrmann’s

music score for the film is equally celebrated. The film is loosely inspired around the

Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Geinby. The plot for 'Psycho' (1960)

centres on the encounter between a secretary on the run who embezzled money from

her employer and ends up at a secluded motel, and the motel's owner-manager

Norman Bates and its aftermath (Wikipedia, 2013). Bernard Herrmann’s music score

for 'The Psycho Theme' or the 'Psycho Shower Scene Theme' is infamous and has one

of the most recognizable horror music motifs ever. It was the beginning of 'slasher

music' and has inspired many slasher film music scores ever since.

Melody in its normal, traditional sense is absent in 'Psycho' (1960) The

music is made up of strings of fragmented motifs, stacked around each other, often in

very dissonant ways which raise up into a musical whole. This effect creates a state

of near-perpetual suspense, unremitting and unresolved. Some of the music in

'Psycho' is both active and physical e.g. the opening credits music, where the

character of Marion Crane (secretary) flees with the stolen embezzled money. Here

her face is dispassionate but in contrast her mind is frenzied and burning. Another

example is the 'Psycho Shower Scene Theme' music, with its violent shrieking jabs

played in the high register of the violins.

51

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Bates

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_robber

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murderer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)

Some of the music for 'Psycho' (1960) simmers quietly to itself, insanity and

tension woven together by layers of intense counterpoints e.g. a cue called 'The

Madhouse,' in which we first seem to think that Norman Bates is crazy. The music

for 'Temptation' underscores Marion's growing desire to steal the money. The music

for 'The Peephole' underscores Norman Bates spying on Marion in her room. Here

steady, pulsating music seems to go nowhere but creates yet a boiling inside feeling.

In the last bars of the music score for 'Psycho' (1960) there is no resolution in

relation to the harmonic or psychological dissonance. Inhuman strands of

counterpoint in the high register violins and violas, pianissimo and con sordino, are

dissolved and replaced by a dense final sonority where Marion's car is dragged out of

the swamp from behind the Bates Motel (Answers, 2013).

Chapter 6 - Conclusion

52

I conclude that the role of sound and music in horror film is extraordinarily

important. I've analyzed the role of sound and music in horror film and what

establishes and enhances the sense of suspense, unease, terror, fear, anxiety and

shock which is absolutely crucial to the genre. I've come to the conclusion that

without sound and music in horror film, there would be a loss of dramatic effect on

viewers. The media of sound and music, and the media of visuals are co-dependent

on each other. In horror films, only the music is able to describe in detail the actions

and atmospheres taking place on the screen. Music and sound can describe

characters' emotions and surroundings and the context of a situation. It can highlight

a scene's emotional content and narrative meaning or even allude or manipulate the

viewer in to creating their own narrative assumptions. Sound and music in film

creates narrative and emotional depth.

Chapter 1 gave a historical background to the role of sound and music in film. I've

concluded its great importance for various reasons, some of which are for example,

the very fact that people persevered through the ages to establish sound and music in

film, as they knew how effective it was.

Chapter 2 talked about the influence of music on emotion and the contribution music

makes to the emotional aspects of horror film. In this chapter I concluded through

analyzing experiments taken, that emotion plays an integral part in the horror film

experience.

Chapter 3 provided an insight into the tricks and techniques used by composers in

horror film. Here I learned of the vast array of approaches and techniques that are

used in the scoring of horror film and the reasons and backgrounds of their

effectiveness.

53

Chapter 4 investigates the importance of sound effects in horror film, the types used,

and how they are used to achieve the desired result. I have concluded that sound

effects contribute greatly to film and play a very important role in shaping the

viewer's understanding of space and characterization of environment.

Chapter 5 analyzes particular film case studies. In this chapter I combined all the

knowledge I have gained through my dissertation and applied it to three films which

are 'The Omen' (1976), 'Psycho' (1960) and the tricycle scene from the film 'The

Shining'(1980). Through this practical approach I have gained an understanding of

how all the elements I have talked about work in a greater context.

Through investigation of the different chapters of this dissertation, I have seen a

constant relationship between all the different elements and how they combine and

contribute to each other to greater effect, which gave me greater insight and

perspective on the great importance of the role of sound and music in horror film.

54

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Filmography

2010 (1984). Directed by Peter Hyams, U.S.A., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

28 Days Later (2002). Directed by Danny Boyle, U.K., 20th Century Fox.

28 Weeks Later (2007). Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, U.K., 20th Century Fox.

Alien (1979). Directed by Ridley Scott, U.S.A., 20th Century Fox.

Aliens (1986). Directed by James Cameron, U.S.A., 20th Century Fox.

Apocalypse Now (1979). Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, U.S.A., United Artists.

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, U.S.A., 20th

Century Fox.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Directed by James Whale, U.S.A., Universal Pictures.

Carnival of Souls (1962). Directed by Herk Harvey, U.S.A., Herts-Lion International

Corp.

Chronos (1985). Directed by Ron Fricke, U.S.A., Canticle Films.

Dark Water (2002). Directed by Hideo Nakata, Japan, Toho Company Ltd.

Don Juan (1926). Directed by Alan Crosland, U.S.A., Warner Brothers.

Dracula (1931). Directed by Tod Browning, U.S.A., Universal.

Dracula (1958). Directed by Terence Fisher, U.K., Hammer Film Productions.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, U.S.A., Paramount

Pictures.

61

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouben_Mamoulian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Fisher

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1958_film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tod_Browning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Brothers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Beyond_the_Stars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Weeks_Later

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_(film)

Forbidden World (1982). Directed by Allan Holzman, U.S.A., New World Pictures.

Frankenstein (1931). Directed by James Whale, U.S.A., Universal Pictures.

Inception (2010). Directed by Christopher Nolan, U.S.A., Warner Bros. Pictures.

Iron Man 3 (2013). Directed by Shane Black, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios Motion

Pictures.

It (1990). Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, U.S.A., Warner Bros. Television.

Jaws (1975). Directed by Steven Spielberg, U.S.A., Universal Pictures.

King Kong (1933). Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, U.S.A.,

RKO Radio Pictures.

L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise (1908). Directed by Charles Le Bargy and André

Calmettes, France, Le Film d'Art.

Let The Right One In (2008). Directed by Tomas Alfredson, Sweden, Sandrew

Metronome.

Matrix (1999). Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, U.S.A., Warner

Bros. Pictures.

Meteor (1979). Directed by Ronald Neame, U.S.A., American International Pictures.

Nightmare On Elm Street (1984). Directed by Wes Craven, U.S.A., New Line

Cinema.

Oblivion (2013). Directed by Joseph Kosinski, U.S.A., Universal Pictures.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013). Directed by Antoine Fuqua, U.S.A., Film District.

62


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ3Mt9yiz6k

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http://youtu.be/2CzoSeClcw0?t=1m10s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_World

Platoon (1986). Directed by Oliver Stone, U.S.A., Orion Pictures.

Prometheus (2012). Directed by Ridley Scott, U.S.A., 20th Century Fox.

Psycho (1960). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, U.S.A., Shamley Productions.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968). Directed by Roman Polanski, U.S.A., Paramount Pictures.

Spellbound (1945). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, U.S.A., United Artists.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996). Directed by Jonathan Frakes, U.S.A., Paramount

Pictures.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Directed by Robert Earl Wise, U.S.A.,

Paramount Pictures.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Directed by Nicholas Meyer, U.S.A.,

Paramount Pictures.

Star Trek (2009). Directed by J. J. Abrams, U.S.A., Spyglass Entertainment.

Star Wars (1977). Directed by George Lucas, U.S.A., 20th Century Fox.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002). Directed by George Lucas,

U.S.A., 20th Century Fox.

Terminator (1984). Directed by James Cameron, U.S.A., Orion Pictures.

The Black Hole (1979). Directed by Gary Nelson, U.S.A., Walt Disney Productions.

The Curse of the Werewolf (1960). Directed by Terence Fisher, U.K., Hammer Film

Productions.

63


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Hole

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_II:_Attack_of_the_Clones



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftuxbvGwiU

The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Directed by Christopher Nolan, U.S.A., Warner Bros

Pictures.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). Directed by Robert Wise, U.S.A., 20th

Century Fox.

The Deer Hunter (1978). Directed by Michael Cimino, U.S.A., Universal Pictures.

The Devil Rides Out (1968). Directed by Terence Fisher, U.K., Hammer Film

Productions.

The Devil’s Advocate (1997). Directed by Taylor Edwin Hackford, U.S.A., Warner

Bros. Pictures.

The English Patient (1996). Directed by Anthony Minghella, U.S.A., Miramax

Films.

The Jazz Singer (1927). Directed by Alan Crosland, U.S.A., Warner Brothers.

The Mummy (1932). Directed by Karl Freund, U.S.A., Universal Studios.

The Omen (1976). Directed by Richard Donner, U.S.A., 20th Century Fox.

The Plague of the Zombies (1966). Directed by John Gilling, U.K., Hammer Film

Productions.

The Poltergeist (1982). Directed by Tobe Hooper, U.S.A., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

The Sixth Sense (1999). Directed by Manoj Shyamalan, U.S.A., Hollywood Pictures.

The Shining (1980). Directed by Stanley Kubrick, U.S.A., Warner Bros.

64

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Freund


http://youtu.be/kqF8lcKTLw0?t=1m12s

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). Directed by Michael Bay, U.S.A.,

Paramount Pictures.

World War Z (2013). Directed by Marc Forster, U.S.A., Paramount Pictures.

65

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6Dvxdr0AQ


dissertation submission 2013

Documents

influence of music

applied music

history of music

religious music

horror film genre

associative power of

sound effects

medium of film