Sound Analysis - Miss Georgiou

Sound Analysis

In the opening of the scene Ali is running her hand across the top of a crop field, contrapuntal sound is used here as that would usually be seen as a gentle action this questions the characters personality and portrays a mysterious image.

This is then broken when the glass door is smashed (on screen sound) and Ali opens the door to Beyoncé’s house through the smashed glass. The audience become more aware of why the contrapuntal sound is used, it continues throughout while Ali is sneaking around the house, the audience knows this because on-screen sound is used for light-sound activities such as glasses clinking together. This sound is a quite noise the fact that the audience can hear these sounds and they are presented loudly in sound lets the audience know that Ali’s surroundings are quite and she is moving around quietly.

When Beyoncé gets a call that reminds her to turn on the alarm she sets back home, the car spinning back around is filmed and on screen sound is used again. Beyonce is filmed taking a U turn back around to her house, it is done in a bird’s eye view this alerts the audience that she is vulnerable and is going to be in danger. The same is used when the car is pulling up on the drive. While this is happening the mysterious light but deep music is still being used as a contrapuntal sound.

Ali is then filmed walking up the stairs this presents to the audience that she is a mysterious character as her red shoes show love and passion but also anger. These feelings clash well with the music to confuse the audience further. Again showing the audience that Ali should not be in the house is the door creaking (on screen sound) and her footsteps up the stairs not making a sound, this means Ali was slow when opening the door just in case someone was behind it. She carries on moving around the room places the glasses down and scatters rose petals across the bed.

Meanwhile Beyoncé is getting out of the car, she unbuckles her seatbelt (on screen sound) this sounds like a trigger of a gun, it allows the audience to expect there to be a battle of some kind. She gets out of the car and opens the door to her house, she walks straight to the alarm unaware that Ali is in her house and begins to type in the code (on screen sound again) Ali is in the bedroom and pops a champagne bottle, this alerts Beyoncé and the music becomes more rapid and the audience are made to sit on the edge of their chair.

Parallel sound is used while Ali is setting the scene for what looks like a romantic evening. This is then interrupted by Beyoncé when she enters the room. The diverse acts between the characters make them end up in a fight. Parallel sound is used when Ali looks up at Beyoncé after she is called delusional the music changes slightly to give more effect of her disgusted face, fast paste music is used throughout the whole fight scene.

They begin to fight and a lamp is smashed in the process this is done by using off screen sound, this was probably so the cast didn’t have to actually break the lamp. You do not see the lamp being broken but the audience can hear a clear smash as it supposedly hits the ground. Ali then uses the long wooden part of the lamp as a weapon this is conventional, the music gets faster creating tension.
Beyoncé’s phone begins to ring this is shown using both on screen and off screen straight cuts. When Beyoncé’s phone is ringing in her bag the audience is shown a close up of her phone this is on screen sound, meanwhile it cuts to Beyoncé and Ali fighting and the phone continues to ring this is called off screen sound. Beyoncé then loses Ali and the music changes while she is looking for her. The music is far creepier and light it creates suspense and keeps the audience’s attention. While looking Beyoncé pulls a light switch this has the same effect as the seatbelt and has an uncanny resemblance to a trigger on a gun. Ali then springs out from the left of Beyoncé and begins to attack her, the light switch is another example of Diegetic sound.