Iconic Sounds of Trailers

Trailers feature many different sounds, both diegetic and non-diegetic and are normally associated with the genre that they are in. Action movies will often have large powerful non-diegetic sounds, like a horn designed to create drama. However horror film trailers have a different kind of sound pallette, as sound plays an important role in establishing the genre of the trailer.

Diegetic Sound

Firstly diegetic sound comes in the form of heavy breathing. Heavy breathing is a sound used in numerous horror trailers as it, firstly, hopes to associate the viewer with the characters of the film. It also creates tension as people breathe heavier and faster when they have been running or fighting. The sound of breathing also helps to create the feeling of loneliness as breathing isn't something usually heard, suggesting an absence of sound.

The next and possibly most important part of the diegetic sound is screams. Screams are usually used to highlight someone on-screens terror, pain or death, which causes the audience to fear the screams as well because of these connotations. If used correctly screams can also be used alongside jumpscares, adding to the fear created by these moments.

Some sounds aren't from the actors. Some are from things such as blunt and sharp weapons. Knives in particular are used a lot as they have particularly gruesome connotations and cause a lot of pain. Sounds such as drawing a weapon or slicing a knife through something are accentuated to cause more terror in the audience.

Another kind of sound is voices. Particularly in this case the voice of the monster. The monster may not always speak but it will usually create some form of noise to signal its presence. This can be a voice, distorted or regular, a roar or something else entirely.

There are also several kinds of non-diegetic sound, such as music used in trailers. The music used in a trailer usually builds up and eventually climaxes at the end of the trailer when it will have built the optimum amount of tension.