You’re sitting on the couch at home. On the television screen a character is slowly making her way down a long, dark hallway. You can hear her heart pounding, and fast shallow breaths. Stringed instruments trill quietly in the background. You lean forward to see the screen clearer, as your own heart begins to speed up as well. Suddenly there’s a loud unexpected noise in the room. You jump up, only to realize it was your grandfather’s old clock in the next room. You laugh at how much it startled you. Of course you’re just watching a movie… why does it feel so real?
Anybody who has ever watched a horror movie is familiar with the importance of audio in creating moments of suspense. Halloween events are no different. An effective sound design bridges the gap between the use of music to make your guests feel the emotions you want them to feel, and realistic audio that places them in the setting you’ve built for them to experience.
For an audience to truly believe that they are standing in a sewer that’s been infested with kidnapping soul sucking monsters they should be able to close their eyes and hear all the details of their surroundings. Rats coming in and out of the walls, leaking pipes dripping, whispering spirits.
A coal mine that’s haunted by the miners who used to walk the tunnels would have an ever present sense of depth, as though it never stops getting deeper. The wooden supports put up 100 years ago groan under the weight of the earth. Did a canary just fly by? Has that been here for decades, or did it pass away in these caverns ages ago? This mine has been covered up and abandoned, why can I still hear someone continuing to dig? Am I truly alone down here?
These are samples of soundtracks created by a Silent Roar designer while employed at Illuminated Integration for a regional theme park Halloween attraction. These designs could be heard across six haunted houses and a scare zone over the course of three seasons at the park. Each house contained at least 30 different speaker channels, creating a truly immersive spatial sound scape.
At Silent Roar Studios we would be proud to act as a partner for your next Halloween attraction. With services ranging from remote content creation to on-site spatial mixing and audio implementation our team is ready to help you take your event to the next level. Contact us today at hello@silentroarstudios.com