The document discusses how sound is used in horror films to build tension and suspense. It specifically analyzes the use of sound in the trailer for The Blair Witch Project. The trailer relies on diegetic sounds from the characters and transitions between scenes to create an unsettling atmosphere without using music. It aims to engage a target audience of teenagers and young adults by allowing them to relate to the student characters and feel the same tension and confusion about what is happening to them.

2. How it is used
Within the Horror genre, sound is mainly use to help build
tension, create suspense, and on some occasions, create jump
scares with the use of loud sounds after silence. Sound is a major
concept in films because not only does it have good conventions
to make the movie its genre, it helps build an atmosphere that
the audience will become familiar with as well as getting them to
relate to the characters within the film. It also, if it has an original
sound track, can create a trademark sound that people are able
to recognize when talking about the particular film.

3. Blair witch project
In this film there isn’t much sound being heard as it is based off a recording that is
being watched over, although the film uses silence to build the tension and suspense
to get the audience off their seats into wondering what is going to happen to the
characters in the film. The entire film is mainly based around diegetic sound because
the footage was a prerecorded documentary about the Blair witch project. Because,
according to the trailer, the film is mainly based around darkness so it is most likely
that it is about things popping out to scare the characters involved in the situation.
There are no voice-overs except for the characters voices in the trailer, but the sound
bridges are the black transitions of sound that is seen after each scene shown. This is
the only sound that is not diegetic in the trailer, but apart from that. There is no use of
soundtrack or music used throughout the trailer, except for the transition sounds that
creates a tension and anticipation for the audience wondering what is happening to
the characters and where they are. The confined spaces make it harder for the
audience to know what is going on with the characters so they begin to feel the same
tension as the characters do therefore enigmas begin to form making the audience
want to know what else is going t happen an the only way to find out is by watching
the film.

4. Like said, there are no narrators in the trailer except for the voice of one character
in particular. At the beginning of the trailer the main character who is a girl
apologizes to certain people for making a very bad decision. The sound of her
voice also very quite and sounds like that she is crying and terrified making the
audience wonder what she did and what happened. It is also as if she is speaking
to the audience through the camera she was speaking through from the close up
on her face. It then cuts to a text saying that three students disappeared and
then footage was found a year later.
The text briefly explains to the audience on what has happened to the girl and the
two other students and the trailer shows certain scenes on what has happened to
them. The general voiceover in the film is the girl because she is the one who is
holding the project and is in control fit therefore she explains what is happening
and what their plan is in the project. The impression that the girl gives is the fact
that after watching the trailer, she fully regrets in starting the whole project and
that she is sorry to anyone who has told her not to do it and to the other two
students she was doing the project with.
There is no music used in the film except for the diegetic sounds of the character
sand the transition sounds. However, this trailer proved that you do not need
music to create a good trailer because a lot of tension has been built just from the
fast paced editing and the short transitions sounds that have been heard along
with the progressing voices of the characters that slowly lead into chaos for them.

5. Target audience
I think that the target audience are targeted to teenagers and young adults aged 15-25
because the main characters in the film are students who look like that they are in
university or college as they are filming a project for the school therefore the audience
are able to relate to what they are experiencing. It also includes strong language so it
is likely that the age is going to be 15 and over. The audience may also be able to have
peer pressured other teens that are not fond of Horror films since teens usually peer
pressure others into taking risks and getting them out of their comfort zone.
Judging by the genre of the film, I think that the personalities of the audience, from
an obvious perspective, are interested in Horror. This is because the film-included
conventions such as dark settings jump scares and other conventions. Not only that,
they may also be interested in the supernatural. The Blair Witch Project is a ghost who
inhabits within the forest that the students are filming in. If they like ghosts, they may
enjoy the film. Moreover, the film is about media students. Those who are interested
in media or filming could relate to what they are doing when trying to create a project
or movie in a short space of time. With it being based in the woods it may be also
interesting to those who enjoy the outdoors. Although, this film may put that
particular audience off into going into the outdoors due to watching the film and
seeing the students being attacked and hunted by the Blair Witch.

6. Conclusion
Over all, I think that the conventions in horror films attract their audience with the use of
enigmas, this with keep the audience engaged with the film and teases the audience by
giving the narrative and genre, but also leaving questions behind on what is happening in
the film and what is going to happen next. Also, it creates excitement. The anticipation and
tension created by the fast paced editing and crescendo in the music to leave them excited
for the film. The accolades and reviews give the audiences an idea, from an opinion based
perspective, to see if the film is worth seeing in the cinema and to know what others think
of it. The more that people like it, the ore likely that audience is going to go and see the
film.
It conveys information fairly quickly so the audience doesn’t have quite a lot of time to
process what is happening so to find out more, they must watch the film. One more thing is
that it does not give a lot of the plot away. The audience is given a small piece of the
narrative and what is going to happen but not all of it therefore they may want to know
more about it so they must watch the film to find out what is going to happen. However,
there are disadvantages that lower the audience going to see them films due to people
spoiling the film for them or it is posted onto the Internet for them to see.
Overall, horror trailers are good for introducing a film because they give enough
information for the audience to know what the genre is, but they still leave questions about
what is going to happen and how the characters involved in the film are affected by the
climax.