The use of anempathetic sound in film.

Anempathetic sound is when the music/ Audio goes against the visual mood or setting of a video clip. Most films tend to use Empathetic sound which is when the music fits with the visual mood of a video, but when An-empathetic sound is used well, it can be quite effective.

Anempathetic sound will usually be found in horrors, The music on its own would sound peaceful or joyful oppose to the dark lighting and scary mood of the scene. The idea of using anempathetic sound is to twist the scene to change the overall tone of the music into something creepy and unwelcoming, for example if you were to hear a guy whistling on a sunny day most people wouldn't think much of it, but if you were to hear whistling when you are on your own in the dark it doesn't sound as friendly as it did before. 

Anempathetic sound can be used in killing scenes to make them seem even more scary. Background noises from in a video clip like a fan blowing or water running can be used as anempathetic sound as they keep on going even whilst the video is showing something violent or upsetting.

One of the most iconic scenes in which anempathetic sounds is used is the shower scene from the film Psycho. 

Psycho- Shower scene

The shower scene from the film Psycho uses anempathetic sound during the murder and after the death of the girl in the shower. The girl turns on the shower and then the man attacks her. Whilst the man kills her the shower keeps on running as if nothing happened.

The shower keeps on running as the girl is lying dead on the floor. The camera even focuses on the shower head for a while as the water is running. The sound of the water running is calming oppose to the violent death of the girl. The use of anempathetic sound in this scene makes the whole scene even more sinister.

 Another example of anempathetic sound is in the scene the smiling family in the film insidious. In this short clip you can see how  the whistling helps the scary scene to sound even more creepy.  In the clip the Smiling family they use whistling to scare the audience. The overall scene is dark, slightly discolored and edgy whilst the whistling is too cheerful that it makes the scene even more unsettling.

Insidious- the smiling family

This scene from the film insidious uses anempathetic sound at the beginning of the clip, and then again at 0:48

They use a whistled melody to introduce the family, The whistling is almost guiding him to room they are sitting in. The Characters in the scene are discolored and purposefully fake, this is to create even more of an unsettling mood to the scene. The scene is dark lighting apart from the light that the main character holds, The light is tinted blue to create a slightly cold surreal setting.  The mood of the music contradicts the scene to the point were the music makes the scene more surreal. The whistling sounds slightly distant and mysterious therefore drawing the audience in. 

One more example of anempathetic sound in film is the opening fight scene of the watchmen, this is when the comedian is killed. This scene demonstrates anempathetic sound really effectively, the music used in the scene is 'unforgettable' by Nat king Cole.

The Watchmen- Death of the comedian

In the Watchmen the radio music plays throughout his attack until he is dead outside of his apartment, The music starts off diegetic then becomes non diegetic when you see him lying dead on the pavement. The use of non diegetic sound brings out the anempathetic sound because it makes the music become fuller and therefore creates more of an impact.

At the beginning of the clip the man is sitting in his chair, smoking a cigar whilst listening to the song. The door gets slammed down and then the man is attacked whilst the song carries on playing until the point of his death.

The song used in this clip had lyrics that went against the mood but also added drama and a slight irony to the death of the comedian. for example at 1:57 the man is getting picked up and thrown out the window, the lyrics are 'that's why darling, Its incredible, that someone so unforgettable, thinks i'm unforgettable too'.  

Also in this scene they give you a close up of the smiley face badge, and the comedian also says 'This is a joke', these little things go against the rest of the scene, but also states his character as the comedian. These little things like the use of the badge, the calm music etc creates an impact on the audience as the comedian dies.

overall anempathetic sound is most effective in horrors or dramas because the calm or joyful music can become quite unsettling if put with dark and sinister scenes. Anempathetic sound can be created by the different noises in a scene for example, The Shower scene from psycho creates the sound with the shower, the smiling family uses whistling and the watchman uses music. Each scene above uses anempathetic sound from different audio sources but are all just effective as each other.