Acoustic Appeal of Fringe

Acoustic Appeal of FRINGE by SarahBee

Let me guess, while watching TV you hardly acknowledges the sound in the background. We mostly are drawn to the image since they are visually stimulating. But what you don't realize is the role sound plays in TV shows. Victoria Jeffrey in an article in Helium.com says that sound is “used to enhance drama and to help illustrate the emotional content in the story. It is also used to manipulate the feelings and sentiments of viewers. This is universal.”

So when I applied all of this to the TV series Fringe I found that each character has a particular sound that plays in specific scenes, mostly when there is unsolved drama.

Take a listen!

Olivia Dunhams sound is very similar to the sound that plays when a dramatic moment is occurring. This is because she is the protagonist, and she solves the problems that arise.


Now in the season one finale, Jones (a bad guy) is trying to find his way to an alternative universe. Therefore, everytime there is information involving Jones, or the alternative universe, the audience hears this noise.


For this particular episode, Water and Peter Bishops relationship is in question. Peter, from what is noted in the visual appeal of the episode, is from the alternative universe for he died in this universe when he was younger. Unable to live life without his son, Walter the seemingly work focused mad scientist travelled to the other universe to retrieve a duplicate. In this episode, it is made clear the fact that Peter may be from this other universe though it isn't mentioned in full. It is for this reason that this somber music occurs when Walter talks to peter, or thinks about his son.

Towards the end of the episode, Walter highlights his sons illness, and brings into the conversation the metaphor of a coin. This moment is particularly interesting for the sad somber music that is played between Walter and Peter, is joined with the noise of Drama as the FBI drags them from the car, for they were mistaken for Jones. In addition, as Olivia Dunham calls off her men, her sound is played as well, leading to a transition between three major sounds in a matter of seconds. Please excuse the background noise for I left the dialogue in place so one could follow.

As we can see, sound is very important to TV and film. Though we may not directly acknowledge it, it allows for an experience all on its own. According to An Introduction to Film Sound by Jane Knowles Marshall, the human voice, sound effects, and music are the three main acoustic stimulants. In Fringe, all three of those things can be noted, the dialogue, the sound effects that allow for the action noises, along with the background music that follows a specific theme.

Therefore, FRINGE is acoustically appealing, which is one of the many reasons I, among with many other viewers, may be totally addicted to the series.