Film Opening: Audio

    Every film must include some kind of sound, especially in wordless storytelling. When creating a soundscape for my animated film opening, I knew I mainly wanted to use music and stings to enhance the mood of the scene.

    The scene of course begins with imagery of the burning houses and buildings, showing the damage and ruin that this village has suffered from a massive fire. While this is being shown to the audience, I think I would want to utilize music that is slow, saddening, and sentimental yet striking, probably including violins or some kind of string instrument. This music would be non-diegetic, meaning it does not exist inside the world of film. Instead, it is there to set the tone and create feeling inside the audience, and in this case, make them understand that this is a tragic and dramatic situation. The music makes the audience feel emotions of sorrow at the traumatic event that has occurred. When the shots transition to take place inside the destroyed house of the protagonist, the audience sympathizes with the protagonist and understands his grief as we see the kind of life he once had through the items inside his home. The music sets up the depressing atmosphere and feelings of pity and commiseration that would come with the sight of a wide-scale tragedy.

    Other important audio elements that I am very keen to incorporate into the sequence are the sound that accompany the initial appearance of the dragon as the massive figure slowly moves into frame. Up to that point, the cause of the fire is left unanswered, until we see the fire-breathing creature flying overhead. The audience understands that it is clearly capable of causing a large amount of death and destruction, so I want the moment when the dragon shows itself on screen for the first time to be impactful and powerful. Sound effects such as a loud shrieking roar could accompany the moment, as well as a strong musical sting. I imagine that sting would be comprised of brass and horn instruments, which are known to produce loud, powerful, resonant sounds compared to any other instrument (brass instruments are the loudest in an orchestra). 

    This idea was influenced by this moment from the film “The Sea Beast,” in which the massive sea monster suddenly appears on screen with a haunting music sting. 

    The moment following the dragon’s appearance would quickly change the tone of the opening sequence. The music would become much more sparse and muted, and the realistic diegetic audio effects would be the primary sound. This would probably include the sound of the dragon swooping down as it flies away, growling, and the crackling of the fire. 

    As for foley (sound effects created with objects), I feel that I could use sharp kitchen knives for when the sword is pulled out from the ground, and possibly crinkling bubble wrap, tinfoil, or even sizzling bacon for the sound of the fire.

   Finally, the part when the main character picks up the sword, and we see a point of view shot of him pointing it in the direction of the dragon intercut with a tight close up of his eyes — I want some kind of dramatic musical sting to kick in at this point to place the proper emphasis that this important moment requires. It establishes the goal of the protagonist and his desire for revenge. Though I’m not sure exactly what kind of sounds this would involve, I imagine the music would be rather orchestral and dramatic. This is a key moment that concludes the opening of the film.