Sunday 10 November 2013

'Shutter Island' Sound Deconstruction

The scene I will be deconstructing from 'Shutter Island' is the scene in which Teddy creates a car explosion and hallucinates as he does so:

The sequence begins with non diegetic background music comprising of sinister sounding deep wind and string instruments with high synthesised notes that make the music sound disjointed. This is accompanied by diegetic sounds such as Teddy's feet rustling leaves as he runs and his heavy breathing. These sounds create an uneasy atmosphere for the audience which is appropriate for this scene as it shows Teddy's unstable mental state.When Teddy gets in the car and hallucinates his dead wife talking to him, the diegetic sound of his heavy breathing from exertion is emphasised, as his slamming of the car door when he gets out. These noises are punctuated with the background string instruments swelling out momentarily into a low, intense note, creating tension and surprise. When a long shot of the ominous lighthouse is shown, the same intense swell of music is heard, clearly telling the audience that the lighthouse is a bad place and creates more tension within the scene. As Teddy talks to the hallucination of his wife, making an emotional admission, the non diegetic string music swells once more, this time accompanied by a non diegetic rushing sound similar to wind blowing. In the following scene when Teddy hallucinates a little girl holding his wife's hand in front of the car, all diegetic sound is silenced; the only sound heard is the disturbing rushing sound again which overlaps disjointed synth notes that vary from high to low. The diegetic sound of Teddy breathing heavily in panic is then made audible again, followed by his whisper of 'No'- this creates a sense of foreboding for the audience and fulfills audience expectations that something bad is about to happen. The non diegetic roaring sound builds before the car explodes, emitting a loud banging sound accompanied by an intense low note created by wind instruments that make the scene feel more dramatic and satisfies the audience expectation of a bad event taking place.

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