Effectiveness of sound
Research into the effectiveness of sound from as14rk on Vimeo.
Conducting my own research into the effectiveness of sound has helped to understand the value and importance of sound when producing my own film.
Analysing the facial expressions of the participants of the experimental group (who listened to just the audio) was enough to tell me how audiences can mentally connected with audio, one of the participants squinted her eyes and raised her eyes brows as mouth dropped towards the end- when the audio became loud and the sound effects (in the clip) of the protagonist grunting started increasing this clearly shows that sound is very effective, as it helps intensify the viewing experience for the audience without even seeing the footage. Moreover, the immediate reaction after asking 'how did that make you feel?' the overall response was 'omg that was so scary'. The participants mentioned that they tried to vision what was happening in the scene, one participant correctly guessed what was happening though the speech, which implies how sound could affect audience imagination. Also they mentioned how the instruments made them feel tense, increased their heartbeats and created a scary atmosphere overall.
The control group listened to exact same audio however they also watched the clip, as expected they had a different experience to the experimental group. Throughout the film, the facial expressions were not as vivid and in shock compared to the experimental group. When I asked them whether they would be scared if they watched the clip without the audio one of the participants said that they felt tense and more scared when the tempo of the music and volume had increased. They commented on how without the audio the visual wouldn't be as dramatic, this proves that the manipulation of audio can play on real emotions where the audience are so amerced that they feel apart of the scene and can understand what is being portrayed on both a mental and emotional level.
In my own short film I will ensure that during my post-production stage I edit my audio in a sophisticated manner where I can connect with my audience and express all my ideas. I will do this by ensuring that I am using non- diegetic and diegetic sound as well sound bridges that fit my sub-genre of zombie horror.
