History Main / QuieterThanSilence

* Several levels in ''MedalOfHonor: Allied Assault'' are entirely devoid of music until you complete the main objective.

* The "Communications Blackout" level in ''MedalOfHonor: Allied Assault'' is entirely devoid of music until the end of the level.

* ''{{Quake}} II'' is much scarier without its industrial metal CD soundtrack. Likewise, although ''Quake 1'' has dark ambient music, it is best played without the music (only background noises) and with the lights off for maximum NightmareFuel effect.

* In one of the signs of Mary Shaw's appearence is sound slowing down, then fading to nothing. The only things that make any sound are the victims and her.....

* In [[DeadSilence]], one of the signs of Mary Shaw's appearence is sound slowing down, then fading to nothing. The only things that make any sound are the victims and her.....

* In ''[[DeadSilence]]'', one of the signs of Mary Shaw's appearence is sound slowing down, then fading to nothing. The only things that make any sound are the victims and her.....

* In the [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer]] episode The Body, there was no background music in the entire episode. This led to a lot of silent scenes, which made the episode much more depressing than it probably would have been if there had been music.

* The "Communications Blackout" level in ''MedalOfHonor: Allied Assault'' is entirely devoid of music.

"''[[It's quiet... too quiet]]...''"

''[[ItsQuietTooQuiet "It's quiet....too quiet..."]]''
''...''

[[AC:{{Anime and Manga}}]]

* Played straight in ''[[TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' where some of the most terrifying scenes in the film play out in the cold dead quiet of space.
* An example of the exact opposite: Actual dead silence was used to punctuate the seismic charges ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuzj_dICmw shown here]]) in ''StarWars: Attack of the Clones'', considered an experiment in cinematography by the film's sound engineers.
** A similar effect is used in the climax of Aranofsky's ''TheFountain'', just before [[spoiler: the star goes supernova and explodes]].

* During the filming of ''FerrisBuellersDayOff''', director JohnHughes told the sound editor that he wanted the scene in which Rooney and Jeannie sneak up on each other to be completely silent. When he got the finished footage back, he asked why a fly was buzzing. The editor said "If it was really quiet, you could hear a fly buzzing."

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]

* Twice in the [[TheNthDoctor Eleventh]] [[DoctorWho Doctor's]] run, total [[ArcWords silence falls]]. First, at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E06TheVampiresOfVenice The Vampires of Venice]], when ''all'' the sounds of Venice cut out, like the birds, the waves, and the people, then at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens The Pandorica Opens]] (including the ''music'' this time). According to WordOfGod, these two episodes actually take place around the same time, so it's actually ''the same silence''.

* A sound engineer collegue was asked to provide a "pin drop" silence for the opening scene. The solution? White noise, played throught the theatre's speaker system and slowwwwwly raised in volume over 10 minutes. When the sound was cut your ears popped with the sudden silence

[[AC:{{VideoGames}}]]
* The only thing in {{Silent Hill}} more scary than the monster-made radio static or the ghoulish background music? Dead silence.
* [[{{Halo}} Halo: Combat Evolved]] uses this trope for the Flood. In the cutscene there are 0 enemies around even though a dead body just fell at John. However, the music and faint sounds kee some sound around. [[ItGotWorse Then the Flood arrive.]]

* GearsOfWar uses this trope. The sounds of you moving and some ambient sounds in the Locust tunnels help convey it, as does the line "It's quiet... too quiet."

[[AC: {{Web Original}}]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

* In the musical "LesMiserables" the only time the pit does not play is during [[spoiler:Gavroche's death scene.]]

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* In OnePiece, when Zoro first learns to cut steel, the whole world goes silent save for his heartbeat--you can even see his opponent yelling, but no sound can be heard.

* Non-threatening example: in ThankYouForSmoking, a hot-shot's assistant points out that their building's elevator is completely silent.

Compare VisibleSilence, NothingIsScarier, ChirpingCrickets.

* In OnePiece, when Zoro first learns to cut steel, the whole world goes silent save for his hearbeat--you can even see his opponent yelling, but no sound can be heard.

* The only thing in {{Silent Hill}} more scary than the [[spoiler:monster-made radio static or the ghoulish background music]]? Dead silence.

* ''{{Quake}} II'' is much scarier without its industrial metal CD soundtrack.

* The only thing in [[{{SilentHill}}]] more scary than the [[spoiler:monster-made radio static or the ghoulish background music]]? Silence.

* The only thing in [[SilentHill]] more scary than the [[spoiler:monster-made radio static or the ghoulish background music]]? Silence.

* The only thing in [[SilentHill]] more scary than the [[spoiler:monster-made radio static or the ghoulish background music]]? Utter silence.

* The subtle sound of wind can be heard in the external shots of the capsule in ''{{Apollo 13}}'', providing an ambiance Quieter Than Silence, ironic because in space, there is no sound.

* InvaderZim would often use a stock hawk scream in place of a ChirpingCrickets.