Sound

• This is a clip from 'Paranormal activity 3' (2011). This clip is quite important in the film as this is the first time any of the characters is physically harmed by 'Toby' the ghost.
• The sound in this clip is quite clever as it goes from almost silent to very loud. At the beginning of the clip we can not see anything and this combined with the lack of sound puts the audience on edge as we really can not understand what is going on - horror films often have villains sneaking around in the dark and this clip is particularly effective as they are meant to be playing a game.
• The film plays on the idea of childrens games which require silence (such as this and hide and seek) to lure the audience in to a situation when they do not expect bad things to happen.
• When the lights are turned out for the second time we are left in the dark and silence for a while and this unnerves the audience- not knowing or understanding situations is used a lot in horror as it makes people uncomfortable and insecure.
• The whispering diegetic noise puts us on edge and when we finally hear another sound before the lights are turned back on, it sounds like an animal scuffling on the floor and we hear the man yell.
• After the lights are turned back on the energy in the room changes. We still do not understand the situation (though we understand more than the characters) but now we are made to panic as the mans voice is shaking with fear (the man is the only adult and who the girl is looking to for protection) and the girl is screaming.
• The screaming girl is the dominant sound and it panics the audience.
• The silence before a loud noise (like the table being moved) is effective as it builds up suspense and then makes us jump as it is not what we expect. In our film we need to look at how using quiet and loud noises contrasted can make an audience uneasy and scared.