Thesis Project: Silence, the Forgotten Sound Element in Film

Although there is a very clear classification scheme for film sound nowadays (Dialogue, SFXs, Foley, Music, Background), I proposed in this thesis that silence should also be reasonably classified as a sixth sound element. In this thesis, the definition of silence is questioned, and it is divided into two types of silence: complete silence and prepared silence. I believe that each type of silence has been very maturely used in modern life. Not only in the fields of audio description, psychoanalytic and art, but also in film and television sound design, where silence plays an important role. I suggest that silence in sound design can play a role in facilitating communication, saving space and stimulating imagination, thus achieving increased emotional resonance between the audience and the work.
To test this idea, I designed separate grouped controlled variable experiments for different types of silence and ways of using them. By analyzing the data after the experiment through online distribution, I verified my own suspicions. Videos/audios that were altered by the properly used silence received stronger responses from the participants in terms of emotional ratings. Such data verifies the researcher's suspicions. Even if people do not classify silence as an outlier among the top five sounds, it still has a great role in the field of film sound, which can subconsciously affect the audience's viewing experience.