Audio Planning

Audio Element

In my Cambridge portfolio project called Stay Inside, the most significant portion in my case would consist of the audio thing to create tension. What the audience hears in a thriller is usually much more fancied than what the audience sees simply because the viewers have to fill in the blanks with their imaginations. I will begin the movie with a blanket of simple sounds in everyday life so that you can feel the sluggishness of Jay and Marcus on the couch. Imagine subdued TVs, snack packs crunching and then they laugh carelessly. By making the soundscape sound perfectly normal, one can feel the abrupt silence or insanity beforehand that follows.

The climax of the entire introductory part falls at the point where we move the warmness of the night in atmosphere to the frigidity of the emergency broadcast. I will add a kind of high-profile and disorganized crackling noise to tell about the problem with the television signal breaking. Such sound must be crisp enough to startle the viewers, akin to literally jumping scare, a break of the silence. The voice used in the broadcasting will be monotonous calm straight up, something creepy in contrast to the desperate commands to remain indoors. This sound effect is used to deprive the characters of the feeling of security and replace it with the increasing feeling of dread. 

One of the biggest sources of inspiration behind the usage of these sounds is the movie The Purge where it employs the smooth way the siren inspiration adds a chilly sound to announce the beginning of the event.

Purge Announcement Scene

The sound is iconic as it immediately turns the rules of the world inverted and informs you that now danger has been given permission to enter the building. I am applying the same in my project by means of the distorted TV broadcast that demonstrates that the domestic safe zone is violated. The other good example is the film Signs where the characters can hear scuttling and rattles on the roof and the doors. Those noises hang around without explanation over long periods of time, and the audience, along with the characters, can only pay attention to every single metallic click or heavy bang.

In the process of ascending towards the climax of the movie, I would be interested in the juxtaposition between complete silence and violent heavy noises. The deadbolt must be heavy and finalized with a knocking sound that provides one with a short moment of what is safely perceived to be a safe moment before the handle begins turning. I do not want the audience to miss the slow, deliberate movement of the metal handle and creating an impression that whatever is outside is tolerant and patient. With the background music thrown out and these spot-on sound effects bringing me nearer to the final seconds of the opening, I can make it claustrophobic and intimate.