Chion: Projections of Sound on Image

The article "Projections of Sound on Image" provided many insights on the effect that sound has on a film image. Often times, sound is neglected over the image as every director searches far and wide for the ever-elusive "perfect shot." I, too, have often found my time overly consumed over whether or not an image was conveying exactly what I wanted and needed it to at that precise moment in the film. During those many stressing moments, I spent little to no time thinking of the sound that would either be captured or later added to accompany my image and further its overall success.

Sound is such s powerful thing in the world of film. As the article mentioned, sound can even replace an image and be the difference between what the audience has truly seen, and what they believe they have seen, as evidenced by Irvin Kershner in The Empire Strikes Back. Instead of actually seeing the space door open and close, Kershner, in certain scenes, was able to simply use a jump cut accompanied with the sound that the audience had come to expect with that particulaly type of door closing, as established in the original Star Wars. The fact that the audience was aware of something made it that much easier for Kershner, by use of a sound effect, to show them something that they never actually saw.

Though I consider myself a big fan of any and all films, I find horror films to be a personal favorite. The same type of effect with sounds that Kershner employed in Empire has been used to great effect by some of the masters of the genre. As the article also mentioned, Hitchcock was a master at this and never was it more evident than in his use of sound in Psycho. To look at the famous "shower scene" is to truly witness greatness. To show it to the average film-goer today would probably still elicit a disturbed and visceral reaction as they watch it. However, sometimes the very technique that Kershner used in Empire can bring about a negative reaction to what the viewer later believes that they saw in a film.
　
Take another look at the scene from Psycho. In all its beautiful glory, it is nothing short of pure genius. Though, if one were so inclined to analyze the scene frame by frame, and mute the relentless sound effects and pulsating Bernard Herrmann score, they would find that they are seeing nothing more than the edge of a knife, a woman's stomach and mouth, and thick liquid falling to her feet, into the tub, and down the drain. The scene actually does not work at all without sound. Though I'm making no attempt to discredit Hitchcock. On the contrary, he knew all along the effect and techniques required to utilize sound to its fullest, and this scene, as well as numerous others within the film, serves as a perfect testament to that.
　
Other classic horror films have actually suffered the same type of mis-remembering from those who have seen them. Looking back, viewers actually believe that they saw something with their eyes that was never present on screen. A film like Tobe Hooper's original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre immediately strikes up images of gore based on the title alone. Even more so, some who have experienced the film remember nothing about it but the fact that is was disturbing and gory. In fact, very little blood is even present in the film. Most of the gore lies not in the physical act that the fiends commit, but in the bludgeoning sound effects that go hand-in-hand with them. John Carpenter's classic Halloween is another one of the many films that unjustly suffer the same fate. Carpenter's film relies heavily on sound effects and an ominous score to scare the audience. In fact, when Carpenter first showed the film at 20th Century Fox prior to putting a score to the film, it was rejected and he was told that the film "isn't scary at all." It is amazing the effect that the simple, but effective, score had on that film. Today, it is a theme recognized by film fans the world over, even if they've never actually seen the film. However, due to that famous score and some meticulously placed sound effects, that film if often dubbed the "first slasher film." This is a perplexing label considering that two of the three on-screen victims are actually strangled, and the film is almost completely devoid of blood. Nonetheless, despite some misgivings that I have with the uninitiated who often mistake what they have seen on-screen with what they have instead heard, sound in films continues to triumph, sometimes breaking, but often making a film into a truly memorable cinematic experience.