Audio in Focus on the Past

Hey there Cambridge!

I need to find and create sounds to create a realistic soundscape. Having a realistic soundscape is important to depict a sense of thrill in my film opening. Whether it is through music or silence with small sounds, sound plays a major part in my thriller.

Bristle Brush, option to
create broom sound.

Focusing on the first scene of my opening, where the janitor is cleaning the ground. I would like to capture the boring and lonely moment through a quiet atmosphere, the broom brushing against the floor, and the janitor's footsteps. I will create the broom sounds by swiping a broom or a bristle or paint brush and the footsteps can be made with recording sounds of similar/same shoes hitting the ground. Honestly though, I will just use a broom to create the sound.

Screenshot of list of sounds
from Epidemic Sound.

For the part where he is looking at the magazine, I would love to hear suspenseful music to increase tension. I am no musician, though, and will need to find this audio online. I headed to Epidemic Sound to find a suspenseful background song. I love this "Impossible Theory" sound, but I feel like it is not what I am looking for. I want something that kind of speeds up towards the end. "Confidential Report" matches what I want much better, but it sounds more like what would play over a moment someone is discovering or spying, and I want it to have much more suspense. Searching "suspenseful background music" is not working out for me, so I changed to "thriller background music". That search worked out much better: I really think "The Carrion" sound is my best option yet, but it sounds more for Halloween. Then I found the "Warning Signal" sound, which works perfect for my film opening; I love the sudden beats! I think I would love to try playing it as "The Carrion" plays, especially since "The Carrion" sound would really heighten the suspense.

The title will appear right after this, and once it does the music will suddenly stop.

The next scene is at the janitor's home, when he dials the life preservation company and his roommate comes. I, once again, want this to be a realistic setting, so probably no music and just dialogue and sounds that would be heard. To create a realistic soundscape, I first will focus on the obvious sounds and then get deeper. These easily recognizable sounds that would be heard would be like dialing a phone number and the automated voicemail sound, footsteps, taking a sip of water, the door opening and closing, and the sound of a couch when someone sits on it. This of course excludes dialogue which will be caught on camera while filming. Deeper in, there would also be sounds like, placing the phone down, the sound when someone gets up from a couch, ones of pouring water and placing down a glass, unlocking a door, doorknob turning, and the squeaky sound of door hinges. Those are the sounds that should be heard in this scenario. I think I will do foley for all of them and here is how:

• Dialing phone # and automated voice: record my phone saying that (I might use an actual house phone doing that though, especially since I will be using one for the actual prop).
• Footsteps: use the shoes and hit/tap them to the ground.
• Sipping water: record someone recreating that sound.
• Anything with a door: recreate it using a real door.
• The couch sounds: recreate it using a real couch and a person sitting onto and getting up from it.
• Placing the phone down: recreate the phone being placed down.
• Anything with water: recreate using an actual glass of water.
• If I think of other sounds that should be on the list, I will make sure to add it!

Some of these sounds must be recorded using foley, like the footsteps, dialing a phone number, and placing down a phone. The footsteps more obviously needs to be recorded through foley, but I included the others in the previous sentence since it will be difficult to find a sound that clicks the digits at the same pace as my actor and I will need to find a specific sound of a phone being placed back with the same force that my actor uses.

Reflection: My favorite part of this blog was trying to find a thriller background audio. I think pairing "The Carrion" and "Warning Signal" will work well to achieve my intended effect. My worry is that I missed some sounds in the parts without music, but once I film and begin editing my film opening, I will check for sounds over again. I feel like creating a realistic soundscape is one of my favorite parts of the whole production process.

Citations:

Boar Bristle Hair Brush with Beechwood Handle - Parker Shaving. (2025, July 14). Parker Shaving. https://www.parkershaving.com/product/boar-bristle-hair-brush-with-beechwood-handle/

Epidemic Sound. (2025, November 12). Rachel Sandy - Impossible Theory | Epidemic Sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/386e7d4b-7b08-4a2a-8e34-5a4c38253689/

Epidemic Sound. (2017, August 18). Alec Slayne - Confidential Reports | Epidemic sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/7b7d7443-2310-3cf8-babf-b76480ea5546/ bn

Epidemic Sound. (2025a, March 10). Rachel Sandy - The Carrion | Epidemic Sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/82744b00-d5db-4963-86ac-9ee59f636dd8/

Epidemic Sound. (2015, January 9). Max Anson - Warning Signal | Epidemic Sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/bb18c6c8-651a-35c9-ab0c-c46b4c98a0ec/

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗