The Use of Hyper-Realistic sound in film.

In many films today there are many ways to increase tension and to pull audience the audience in. One thing they can use to build up tension is to use hyper realistic sound, Hyper realistic sound is to intensify the natural sounds to create a more exaggerated sound which is louder than natural.

Hyper realistic sound is usually used to build up tension in a scene so that it puts the audience at edge. It is effective because it can make the audience feel closer to the action, as if they were there in the scene. Hyper realistic sound can be really effective in horrors, for example in a typical horror movie you have the killer chasing a girl in distress, she hides in the cupboard whilst he looks for her. In this kind of scene the breathing of the girl is exaggerated whilst she is hiding, this is to put the the audience on edge and make them feel as if they were living the scene with the girl.

In the trailer below, hyper realistic sound is used to exaggerate the volume of the running and breathing. Hyper realistic sound is effective here because it shows panic in the character and puts the audience on edge.

The Da Vinci Code trailer

 

In this trailer for the Da Vinci Code they use many different sound techniques to create a intense surreal feel. One thing they do is use hyper-realistic sound.

there is one place in particular when they use hyper-realistic sound which really drags the attention of the viewers. At 1:16 you see a man running down a hall, There is no music and everything is relatively quiet apart from exaggerated heavy breath and foot steps.

This clip also uses hyper realistic Sound right at the beginning of the clip, the man at the start of the trailer is whispering then he hits the wall with a whip, hyper realism sound is used here to intensify the whispering and heavy breathing to put the audience on edge. They also increase the sound of the whip hitting the wall, they also add a slight echo after to echo to make an impact on the audience.

In the trailer they used scenes that hyper realistic sound is used, they do this because intensifying the sound to an almost unnatural level can intrigue the audience and pull them in as if they are in the scene with the characters. In the Da Vinci code, they used it to grab the audience and make them want to watch the film.

Hyper realistic sound can be used in different ways to create different effects, for example in the clip they use it to intrigue the audience, where as it can also be used to create tension like in the film the Terminator 2. In the terminator they use hyper realistic sound in the Chase scene.

Terminator 2- Chase scene

The chase scene is at the beginning of the film and it is important for the film to give a good first impression to the audience and pull them in straight away. The chase scene is effective because its full of action therefore giving a thrilling introduction to the film. 

The chase scene uses hyper realistic sound to boast the sounds that you wouldn't normally be able to hear to a level almost equal to the louder heavier sounds in the scene. In the scene the quiet sounds are made louder so that the audience can see it from the characters point of view rather than watching over the chase. For example the boy on the bike is heavily breathing and gasping as he is being chased by the guy in the truck. 

The heavy breathing would be to quiet to hear if you were watching over the chase but if you were from his point of view you would be able to hear him breath and gasp. They intensify the volume of his breathing to bring forward his emotions, which is mostly panic. 

Oppose to both the clips above, Hyper realistic sound is used in the godfather to create more of a realistic and natural sound rather than creating a more surreal or unnatural sound. Hyper realism is used well in the resturant scene where Sollozzo and McCluskey are shot dead. 

The Godfather-Restaurant Scene

in this scene hyper realistic sound is used so that almost every sound you hear is magnified to create a more life like experience, as if you were in the room with them. The whole way through the scene you can hear every noise from footsteps to the pouring of wine into a glass. All the quiet sounds are magnified to show the silence of there surroundings in the restaurant.The magnified sounds create a slightly unsettling vibe, that also creates tension and helps display the discomfort of the characters. 

Hyper realistic sound is used straight away at the beginning of the clip where the waiter is opening the glass of wine. The sound of the the bottle being opened is the visual and audio main focus point before zooming out on to the table, but even when the main visual point is on the table you can still hear the wine being poured into the cup quite clearly. 

Another way the godfather displays hyper realistic sound, is by magnifying the sound of the surrounding environment of the restaurant, Outside the restaurant  you can hear the sound of the subway passing by, The sound of the subway fades in and out of the scene, each time the subway passes it seems to be louder. At the time 4:20 the subway is used to create tension in the scene, the subway gradually increases in dynamics as the camera slowly zooms into a close up on his face. The audio and visual work together to display that the character is nervous and also creates suspense for the audience.

Hyper realistic sound is used in this scene to show the characters emotions, create tension, and to build up to the climax, when the characters are killed.

overall Hyper realistic sound is mainly used to create tension and build suspense, It is mostly effective in Horrors, dramas and action movies. In the examples above hyper realistic sound displays the characters emotions, in the da vinci code the breathing is amplified to show panic which is the same as they do in The Terminator 2, oppose to in the Godfather in which they use the subway train to display panic.