Sunday 16 September 2012

Hanna Sounds

In this clip from Hanna, both the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used very intelligently to increase the sense of panic we feel for the character, to build tension and therefore build suspense. These are characteristics of Thriller films so by listening to the sounds used, we can tell the genre of the film.

The diegetic sound of the door locking is juxtaposed to the diegetic sound of the enemy's dialogue "You're in a safe place sweetie." This tells the audience there is something amiss and hints that the people who're containing her are not trying to help her. This idea of secrecy and sneaky enemies is typical of thriller films.
The lack of non-diegetic music means the audience focuses on the words and the atmosphere of the interrogation is therefore intensified; this clearly creates empathy for Hanna. When the synchronous sound of woman A's voice is echoed and then shown through woman B's mouth, the moment is marked. This insinuates that Hanna has detected a fault and the use of stylised sound shows the switch in Hanna's situation.
Plus, to add shock, the heightened diegetic of Hanna whimpering suggests she's a weak character, so when she suddenly breaks her captor's neck and beats up 5 guards we see that she's not atall weak; this intensifies the action which is typical of a thriller. She instantly starts crying, which is the start of her plan to escape.
The diegetic speech "I think that might be necessary." shows that woman B has now realised she's in danger and this triggers the, quick paced, non-diegetic. The non-diegetic sound increases in tempo and pitch which quickly builds suspense and in conjunction with the visual of a guard preparing a large needle, we begin to feel desperate for Hanna to escape.
In addition, the heightened diegetic of the lock ticking as it spins unlocked acts as a coundown to the action. The audience can clearly tell that violence is to follow so they're further drawn into the action. Finally, the suspense is broken by the heightened, synchronous sound of the neck break which kicks of the action and the fight scene really begins.

This scene is a prime example of how sound can be used to effectively portray underlying subtext and can create the suspense needed to take the audience on a thrilling journey.

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