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The Sound of Silence

There are three things that cause arguments in our house:
1) Someone standing in front of the television when we are trying to watch the television.
2) Someone adjusting the sound causing an interruption in the vital first 5 minutes of a film/programme.
3) WORST CASE SCENARIO: Someone turning the television off completely without warning or consultation.

 All three of the above cause auditory/visual disturbances. As soon as one of our senses is interfered with, our brains are physically affected. There is some indication of this problem in the quote:
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced" - Obi-Wan.


Some people say that silence is golden, whilst for others it is their worst nightmare. What is it about silence that catches our attention? If you turn off the visual aspect of a movie and listen to the sound there is still the ability to create a mental picture. It is not so easy vice-versa.
"The funny thing about silence is that you can't hear it coming" - E J White.
When silence ensues in a film, your senses immediately know that something is coming, or perhaps that the editor is trying to draw your attention. Silence is there to capture a moment, where no words or music is necessary. The audience is called upon to use the information given to them prior to this and use their intuition to understand the moment. Successfully, a scene with no sound is able to prey on your mind and draw your attention for the purpose of forcing an emotional reaction. This happens when all of your senses are called upon to compensate for the lack of or reduction in sound.

For example:The Lovely Bones - Lindsey finds evidence

In order to create suspense, the director directs the audiences' focus by deleting any unnecessary information. When watching the above scene, the viewer is concentrating so hard on what is going on that the interruption of noise would in fact ruin the sequence. the intensity is built on the visual rather than the auditory.

Narnia the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe- battle scene

In the clip above there is a split second of silence before the great battle. Here silence is given as a moment of reflection, a moment of calm before the storm. Though it lasts only a second or two, it is a noticable pause which is followed by the clash of battle into which the viewer is plunged.

The sound of silence very much depends on the context that it is in. It is empty; it is disturbing; it is peaceful; it is unnerving; it is relaxing; it is terrifying; it is beautiful. I think the best description of an image with no music or sound to accompany it is given in the lyrics to Simon and Garfunkel's:The Sounds of Silence

"Hello darkness, my old friend ,I've come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping, And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains, Within the sound of silence" - Simon and Garfunkel.

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