Drive Opening Scene - How Refn Builds Suspense with Sound Design & Editing

A Drive opening scene analysis of the sound design and suspense editing.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Sound Design & Editing in Drive's Opening Scene
00:55 The 3 Elements of Building Suspense
01:39 Drive Opening Scene Breakdown
08:35 Final Takeaways
Drive (2011) is a film that works on many levels simultaneously. The fast cars and the ultraviolence are expertly juxtaposed with the now-iconic synth-driven soundtrack. There are many aspects to admire in Nicolas Winding Refn’s ode to L.A. crime movies but in this Drive video essay, we wanted to look at something very specific. In the Drive opening scene, we get a tense and heart-stopping car chase. But it’s not just the editing or camerawork that is driving the suspense - it’s the sound design.
Throughout the Drive opening scene, layers of sound are added to the mix to help generate suspense. In any suspenseful scene, we need three things: consequences, uncertainty, and time. If any one of these elements is missing, the whole thing falls apart. Let’s look at how Nicolas Winding Refn used these layers of sound to fulfill these criteria.
Consequences - obviously, we know the consequences that await Driver and his criminal passengers if they are caught. The alarm blasting from the break-in, the police sirens in the distance, and the helicopter roaring overhead all remind us of the danger involved in this operation.
Uncertainty - will Driver be caught by the police? We see very little of the police but we know they’re there and we know they’re closing in. This information is delivered through Driver’s police scanner as we follow the progress of the search.
Time - time is running out from the moment Driver starts his analog stopwatch. The music sounds like a racing heartbeat with a metronome-like rhythm. And to top it off, Driver has timed everything to the conclusion of a basketball game, which he listens to on the radio.
The cinematography obviously plays its own role in the scene but the real hero here is the soundtrack. By isolating our perspective to inside the car, our vision is limited and we rely almost exclusively on what we hear. Drive is a showstopping showcase of the Nicolas Winding Refn directing style and Drive’s first scene is a masterclass in sound design and suspense.
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♬ SONGS USED:
"Nightcall" - Kavinsky
"Rubberhead" - Cliff Martinez
"Tick of the Clock" - Chromatics
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