Cape Fear sound scape analysis

This clip is very minimalist in terms of sound in the sense that there is next to no non-diegetic sound.

The main sound is the dialogue, which communicates the narrative of the film. A noticeable and important part of the sound scape is the sonically exaggerated kicking of the man on the floor's head. The sound clearly wouldn't be that loud in real life. Sonically exaggerated sound is where the sound is made to sound louder. The main purpose of it is to add effect and possibly shock the audience. It is most commonly found in action/adventure films but of course is clearly used here.

The background atmosphere noise (wind and rain) is also sonically exaggerated. This sound is of course to add realism to the clip, if it was raining on screen but not in your ears, something would seem wrong and the film would be unrealistic. The howling sound of the wind is discordant and makes the viewer feel uneasy. This is backed up by the rain and the rain hitting the window. It also creates a sense of being exposed in a large, open space. Most of the people there are vulnerable. This is re-enforced by the fact that Leigh is out of breath. This makes her seem desperate and incapable.

When the handcuffs are removed from Leigh, there is another sound added to the soundscape, the sound of the handcuffs being removed. You can't really see them being removed so it is important that we hear is. Perhaps it shows that the handcuffs are still on, metaphorically.

The main non-diegetic sound happens when the girl squirts lighter fluid on the antagonist. A low pitched dramatic sound used to emphasize his screaming. Clearly, tables have turned here and the sound aims to shock the viewer. It helps them to digest the fact that the antagonist is no more. Or is he?

Overall, the sound from this clip is quite impressive. This is partly due to it's simplicity. It might be a good idea to apply the 'Keep It Simple Stupid' approach to our project.