Sound. Part 8. Ambience.

I used ambience tracks only in the Torture sequence. I wanted to use ambience to make a sound scape of something which sounded torturous to your ears.

A track from the Dark Knight inspired me loads for this. It's the Jokers theme called "Why So Serious?" Its a distorted cello slowly moving down the neck. It creates this unbearable tension.

I wanted to make a sound scape that made people want to turn it down or take of the headphones. Its not just the visuals that are making the audience squirm, but the sound too.

I started out by trying out some bassy synth sounds in garage band. I created one that had a nice rumble (file name bass). I then tried counter balancing that with a high pitch note ascending. I liked the feel it created, however it sounded too much like music (file name high pitch).

I then tried doing something similar to what Hans Zimmer did on "Why So Serious?". I got my guitar and a metal plectrum, I chose a metal plectrum because its give the guitar a metallic sound. I scraped the plectrum fast against the E string whist tuning up, wanting the string the snap. Whilst tuning up I thought it didn't sound right, so I scraped the plectrum up the guitar neck and that gave me the sound I was after. (you can hear the session on the hand in, file name guitar). I then took that section and slowed it down. This deepened the sound and time stretch it. (file name deep guitar).

I then took some machinery sounds from the BBC sound library and slowed them down.

This collection is what you hear on the final piece.