Watching the Film Ringu, what caught my interest was the way in
which music was applied to the scenes. Majority of the scenes have no music or
music is played softly for short durations. However, scenes that occur shortly
before or after events that may be depicted as supernatural, have more dramatic
intense music. For example the scene where Asakawa and Ryuji are looking for
Sadako’s corpse in the well, as they pull water from the well, the music begins
to get louder and with a faster tempo, Asakawa is looking at her watch, and
watching the light fade, knowing she is fated to die in a few minutes. (See Clip
1).
At the end of the scene the music quickly stops as Asakawa falls back,
appearing as though her time has come.
The omission of music from supernatural events, creates an eerie
feeling of uncertainty, you are not sure what to expect since there is no sound
alluding to something about to happen. Having no music allows for the event to
stand on its own, as a shock to the audience, without anything influencing
whatever horror they are trying to inflect. (See Clip 2)
Scenes in which music occurred after the supernatural event were
often short bursts of loud traumatic music. Having a supernatural event preluding
a scene, the audience is on edge not knowing what may happen next, building the
suspense for the music to take its full effect in the dramatic scene that
follows. (See Clip 3).
The uncanny event that Asakawa just experienced opens
the door to throw another tragic event at the audience by revealing the
horrible scene where her son Yoichi seals his fate.
The placement of the music in the films greatly supports the
horror aspect of the film, the constant uncertainty the audience feels from it
helps it to achieve the emotional response they are going for.
Discussion Question: In Ringu, why does the director use periods
of foreshadowing with dramatic music only to omit the music from scenes of
supernatural events?
I think the director is using both sound and no sound for scenes to mix up the horror. If he were to use sound to foreshadow that something "scary" is about to happen then the audience will always know and the tension is lost. However by adding scenes with silence he is creating an anxiety of fear.
ReplyDelete-Kelly McEwen
My personal opinion, is the director is aware of how commanding and powerful music and sound are to the human psyche. In the most scary parts of Ringu, the music is silent and the split second it ends, the audience believes the worst is over and they can relax. However, the next second a booming noise or creepy music making one's stomach lurch, having the most creepy parts even more terrifying.
ReplyDeleteThe director decided to use music during the scenes where foreshadowing occurs in order to play up the anticipation factor and make viewers feel anxious about what's about to happen next. There was no music during the scenes where supernatural phenomena occurs in order for there to be no distractions, so the viewers can focus solely on the visual presented to them. Also, silence tends to make people feel uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the silence in the scenes involving the supernatural can be used to heighten the anxiousness the audience can feel while watching. Since the audience is used to having some kind of soundtrack always be in the background, the lack of it would create a sense of unease. The lack of music can also bring the audience for focus on the sound the characters are making as was done with the movie The Birds.
ReplyDeleteBoth the omission of music and the dramatized sounds act as a prediction of imminent peril. These variations make the audience unaware of the type of danger to ensue upon the characters in the movie, making the scene even scarier.
ReplyDeleteI think that the omission of sound in scenes with supernatural events is used to create a sense of apprehension and blind fear in the audience. Just as humans fear the dark, we fear the absence of sound; everyday life is full of sounds, so the sudden disappearance of them is foreboding. The lack of one of our pivotal senses heightens each of the others (in this case sight). We have to rely on what we see, as we see it, with no warnings, which is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI think the director used music and the lack of it to play on the senses of the audience. When music is played it clues the audience into knowing something is about to happen very soon and gives a kind of nervous energy where the audience is just waiting for whatever is about to happen, to happen. The silence is used in supernatural events to give the raise anxiety in the audience as well as exclude any other sense than sight; in a way it blurs out the rest of the world so the audience is completely and utterly focused on what they are seeing.
ReplyDeleteI think the director omits sound from the scenes with supernatural events because it truly heightens the anxiety and fear in the audience. In scary movies, we are relying on a distinct song, sound, or music track to indicate when something really scary is going to happen. So, by eliminating the sound and making it silent, this creates intense fear in the audience as they anxiously anticipate the impending doom.
ReplyDeleteI think that supernatural events were meant to horrify us psychologically, with elements of uncertainty as you stated in your analysis. Thus, it works as a more stand-alone horror. However, the intense bouts of music used to foreshadow horrible events to come or heighten anxiety/suspense are used, in my opinion, to connect the supernatural elements of this film to reality. In other words, the tale of Sadako and the video are creepy, but the ramifications of their existence are that people will die without any seeming escape. I think these two elements fused together make Ringu a wholesome and truly terrifying horror movie.
ReplyDeleteI think that the director uses periods of foreshadowing to give the audience a taste of what is to come without giving the whole story away. It is in a way a method to grab the viewers attention an distract it from what is really going to be frightening. The director then confuses the audience of what parts are going to be terrifying (by omitting the music) and those that are neutral (have eerie background).
ReplyDeleteThe exclusion of sound does multiple things. For those experienced with horror films, the absence of sound is usually the sign of a "pop up" or jump scare. The absence of a soundtrack also adds a sense of realism, so audience members can more easily place themselves in the shoes of the protagonist, or whichever character is on screen at the time.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the dramatic music is used to build the suspense and that is when we are able to sense the tension. In the actual events of fear, we are so engrossed by the horror, that the sound is lost in our minds.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the music and lack of music was used to build suspense. In most horror films, dramatic music usually means something horrifying is about to happen.
ReplyDeleteMusic in movies creates a subconscious effect on viewers allowing them to anticipate what is to come. It in a way creates a false sense of security for, while heightening a person's emotions, it allows them the relief of knowing what is happening is fake. The director, by excluding music from the most striking scenes, makes the audience question if the events taking place could actually happen. By both allowing sound and omitting it it leaves a divide and uncertainty in the viewer to question the reality of the piece and only adding to it horror.
ReplyDeleteI believe the director doesn't use music during the actual supernatural event in order to put more emphasis on the action. Music is played before the supernatural event is presented in order to create suspense, and it is played after to emphasize how horrifying the event really was, as with the case in the scene with Yoichi watching the video. The music helps emphasize the feelings felt by Reiko realizing that her son has cursed himself. Overall, the music, or rather absence of music, helps build suspense and keeps the audience wondering what is going to happen next.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
DeleteSound and silence are both terrifying in Ringu. I think the director's use of silence in the scenes with the supernatural is an excellent way to depict the supernatural since the modern audience deems the supernatural to be unreal we cannot attribute a certain sound to it. Thus omitting sound allows us to focus on the visuals and feel the presence of the supernatural in a realistic environment.
ReplyDeleteI believe the director chose to play suspenseful music and then suddenly stop it in order to create more anxiety for the audience. Before the viewer has time to consider why the music has stopped playing, there is some horrifying scene occurring.
ReplyDeleteI believe the director switches up the horror music to no music at all in order to keep the viewer on its toes. Using this method, the viewer never knows when a frightening scene will take place.
ReplyDeleteIn Ringu, the director uses periods of foreshadowing with dramatic music only to omit the music from scenes of supernatural events. The effect of which is as follows: Because of the dramatic music we as the audience hear in the background, we cannot help but to feel a sense of anxiety. The music acts a type of notification, for it alerts the audience of what is to come. Similarly, the omission of such from scenes where supernatural events are indeed present makes these scenes perhaps even more frightening than they would be otherwise for it does two things. On one hand, the lack of such music makes these scenes all the more realistic (life doesn’t actually have music playing in its background unless we as humans actively place it there of course). Likewise, because there isn’t any music playing in the background, we as the audience don’t necessarily know when to expect the supernatural. This, in turn, intensifies the feeling of anxiety (that had already been established in earlier scenes) to the degree that when the supernatural is finally introduced, we as the audience nearly almost die of a heart attack at its presence.
ReplyDeleteSuspending the music is a very effective way to add horror elements into a film. For example, when the viewers are watching the cursed videotape, there was no music. In fact, the videotape was simply a bunch of seemingly unrelated disturbing scene. There was no music, no sound, all the viewers could hear is their own heartbeat, until all of the sudden, the director introduce white noise or ringtone to disrupt the silent. Ringu also focuses on darkness throughout the film. Silence and darkness are the two elements that many people are afraid of, yet cannot escape from. RIngu uses unavoidable realistic elements as its way to express horror successfully makes it a classic horror film.
ReplyDeleteAs was mentioned when we previously discussed "The Birds", we as an audience expect there to be sound and music in a movie. When there isn't we find it strange and experience heightened anxiety as a result, as others have mentioned. I think the directors decision to omit sound from the scary scenes specifically is signifigant because it emphasizes the difference between the "normal" scenes with music, and the "abnormal" or scary scenes without music.
ReplyDelete