This week, I started thinking about suspense. In a visual film, you can show someone hiding behind a door or use lighting to create tension. But in a sound-only piece like ours, how do you do that?
I listened to a few classic radio horror stories, and I noticed something interesting: silence is a big part of suspense. I used to think adding lots of scary sounds would make a scene tense. But actually, it’s the quiet moments — the small pause before a footstep, the space between words — that make the listener nervous.
We also tried using sound layers to create unease. For example, we used a low-frequency hum under a scene where the character is alone. The listener doesn’t even notice it directly, but it makes them feel uncomfortable.
Another trick we learned was delaying the sound you expect. If you hear a door creak… but no one speaks, or the footsteps come a second too late, your brain gets confused. That tension is exactly what we wanted.
Creating suspense with sound is not about volume or speed — it’s about timing, contrast, and what you don’t hear.
Leave a Reply