In this essay I will explore the different ways in which Orson Welles used various sounds to create and manage the dramatic tension in the 60-minute drama. I will be exploring in detail the use of the orchestra, the medium used to present the broadcast to the viewers and lastly the use of sound and silence to maximize the effect.
The time slot in which the broadcast took place was one of the main parts of the entire story. Welles scheduled the broadcast to take place during one of the most prime slots on radio when other popular shows we’re changing causing them to switch over. Welles started the broadcast with a piece from a live orchestra, which roughly lasted around 3:34. This was then interrupted with a news broadcast of explosions happening on the planet Mars that …show more content…
Welles carefully placed this “short” news flash a few minutes in, as any listeners that just tuned in would have heard this. It then went back into the music piece by (name of band) this would have not cause any suspicion to the listener’s but also to add to the authenticity of the whole act. Welles also used this, as a technique to slightly comfort the listener’s with a fine piece of music being played it would make them slightly vulnerable in that they are being relaxed in which they are hit with the interruption of the attack from Mars it would not have had the same effect on the audience if they hadn’t been preoccupied with something that does not require there attention as much. Throughout the broadcast the live orchestra created all sounds which ranged from the Martian’s spaceship hum; the bombings of the