Research into Sound in Thrillers - Miss Miller

I have chosen to use a clip from the film 'The Women in Black'. I have chosen to use this clip as it uses sound to create suspense and it engages the audience into the scene. I will be analysing sounds used in the scene I have chosen and how it is conventional to the thriller genre and what effects it has on the audience.

On screen sound
On screen sound was used when it shows that male character trying to open the door (at 0.33), this is on screen sound as the audience can see where the sound is coming from. The character is seen to be angry that he cant open the door as he is struggling, this creates anticipation in the scene as the audience are not aware of why he is desperate to open the door or why he is struggling to open it, this is also conventional to a thriller film as the on screen sound is used in thrillers to make it clear for the audience what is happening in the scene and  it is used conventionally to build anticipation and engage the audience.

Non-Diagetic sound.
Non-diagetic sound is used in the scene when the soundtrack is added after the scene was filmed, the use of non-diagetic sound in the form of  a sound track was very effective at creating suspense in the scene, as the character is seen to be worried, the use of the mysterious soundtrack helps build the suspense and the sound track creates a reaction from the audience at the end of the scene. The sound track is a convention of most thriller films because it is quick way for the suspense to be built in a scene and different sound track can mean the difference of the audience feeling scared while watching the scene or not. (from 0:40)

Off screen sound.
Off screen sound is used throughout most of this clip, the sound of footsteps without a visible source is mysterious and creates tension very effectively in the scene, the audience can feel the tension build up as the footsteps get louder, and once the male character sees the locked door become open the audience can still hear the loud footsteps get closer to the male character which is a good use of non-diagetic sound to create a suspenseful scene. (footsteps from 0:10)

Silence. 
Silence was used towards the end of the scene for a few seconds, the use of the silence was very effective at creating even more tension in the scene as the audience couldn't hear anything along with the scared face of the main character the silence was used very effectively to scare the audience. The silence is conventional to the thriller genre as the silence makes the audience anticipate what is going to happen next in the scene and the silence can also be the climax of the tension build up that usually leads to something scary happening, this all helps to engage the audience, so it is a useful convention of the thriller genre. (silence from 0:50)

Evaluation.
All of the sound techniques used in this scene are effective at creating suspense and they are all relevant to the thriller genre as they help build the tension quickly and effectively in this scene which was effective at engaging he audience. This clip has inspired me to consider adding some of these techniques into my own thriller scene as they were effective at building tension.