The hurt locker

 

The hurt locker - war film

Each programme/film had its own audio effects, and I have detailed notes on them for periods of time in the programme/film that I watched. They are listed here below in this case for the film 'The hurt locker'.

To begin with you have the soundtrack to set the scene, then there is buzzing and chattering from electronics and the local people. This is all helps us with the time period and the area it is in. You can also hear wheels moving showing there is technology being used, also indicating the era. Dripping can also be heard showing the lack of water in the area. There is also static from the walkie talkies showing they are at a distance from each other. A wild track is used in the scene to make normally quiet objects abundantly obvious to the audience for certain reasons. This makes the scene ominous, as there are creepy noises that build tension abnormally, thereby provoking emotions. It is also clear there is state of the art technology, and there is an Arab voice showing the modern times. Especially due to the current Afghanistan and Iraq wars, therefore setting the scene. The brisk Arab tone attracts attention, as well as the military presence. This also identifies the scene by explaining the type of environment that must be taking place. Other audio effects that draw attention in the scene are screaming, running, and car horns but with no movement. This add to the medium and genre by telling you what is going on and reinforces emotion by keeping everything clear. These all suggest a highly populated area. Again the use of high pitch tones, tire sounds and the footsteps of boots suggests a military presence. You can also tell something is about to happen as there is a butcher yelling, a frantic atmosphere, engine sounds, panic and terror, and a heartbeat soundtrack that is designed to build tension and suspense. This all leads to a climatic scene, which can be predicted from the previously building audio effects. Sirens are then present with the sudden use of the English language, suggesting changes in characters. Tension is then built again by the use of mechanic noises and near silence, to suggest something is about to happen. A jet can then be heard telling us it is a war zone, with the noises getting closer telling us the distance. The use of a muffled prayer turns the scene quite sinister as it is unnaturally quiet. However the dialogue is generally quite calm, relaxed and casual, but is then unnaturally so thereby reinforcing fear. Lastly there is a man putting on a costume for a bomb, which we are told be the use of Velcro and heavy breathing from the suit and heat.