DYM Homework 3 - Title Sequence Sound Analysis

 For my sound analysis, I looked at the title sequence of:

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lemony-snickets-a-series-of-unfortunate-events/

Music

The music fades in slowly, and is very choppy and staccato. It has a mysterious and creepy feel to it which creates enigma. It builds up as some percussion instruments come in as well as a bass line. At one point the music slows down and fades away, but restarts again to create suspense.

Sound effects

There are a few sound effects in the opening sequence such as a creaking sound and wind blowing. These add to the mysterious and 'haunted' atmosphere that the music creates. We get a sense of danger - even nature is not on their side.

Video

At the start of the sequence we see the protagonists on a small boat in the ocean. Together with the music this creates a feeling of isolation. Later we see the characters flying away in a hot air balloon, and as this is happening the music subtly increases in pitch. As it fades and becomes quiet about half way through the sequence, we see a high contrast black and white clip which does not fit with the dark and washed-out look of the rest of the sequence, creating a short 'break' in both the video and audio. Overall the artistic style of the video fits very well with the eerie music.