Sound in film is said to make up 50% of the film, the reason why is because it (most of the time) gives the audience more direction than a silent film would give, for instance. But what exactly does sound do in movies?
- It helps set atmosphere and tone - Lack of sound is sometimes better than having the "wrong" sound. For example, if you were to have a slasher movie you can't put a jolly song while he's hacking away at everyone, it wouldn't fit the genre (although some films do it on purpose, this is called Soundtrack Dissonance - where the music doesn't fit the mood of the scene) but generally speaking, if you were to have a thriller you'd normally want sound that reflects on the genre (most likely non-diegetic)
- Suspends disbelief - To suspend disbelief is to temporarily allow oneself to believe something that is not true, especially in order to enjoy a work of fiction. Without sound, it's not possible to make the audience suspend their disbelief as it would feel odd to them, watching a movie without sound - you can see what's happening but you don't know what's going on.
- Provides more engaging scenes - If there's an action seen you'd want music to reflect on that scene, therefore making the audience feel on edge with the sound, making the audience more engaged with the scene and move engaged in the movie, the sound is normally what would make the audience feel more engaged with the movie and that's why sound is the most important element of the movie
- Gives an insight to the genre - Without sound sure we can make out what the genre is but with it, we get a definitive answer on what the genre is, you hear a very slow, suspenseful music it's most likely a thriller etc. Sound is used to guide the audience
