How to Build Tension in Different Types of Entertainment

Tension is a crucial element in many types of entertainment. This is when the reader or viewer anticipates something happening, such as potential conflict among characters that bubbles away until it finally explodes. There are several ways of creating tension that help to create the right atmosphere.    

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Raising the Stakes

Since tension is used in virtually every genre of books and movies, we can see it generated in different ways. However, raising the stakes is one of the most reliable ways of generating tension in any type of story. The main character should have something important on the line that people want to see them achieve, whether it’s financial, emotional, or merely survival. By having the character initially fail and then raising the stakes, it becomes a more intriguing story.

The idea of raising the stakes is also used in areas such as gaming. After initial success, the player should encounter gradually more difficult challenges although in some games it’s the players themselves who need to decide whether to raise the stakes. In the details of the Plinko online gambling game, we can see that players set their own stakes to suit their budget. This game has a random outcome where a ball bounces down the screen to hit a win multiplier. In this case, the tension comes from the player gambling with real cash and waiting a moment to see the final result.   

Using Music and Sound Effects

When looking at movies, the role of music and sound effects is crucial. Sometimes sound is used subtly to draw the viewer in but in other cases it can be more obvious. A list of the best horror movie soundtracks of all time by WFMT includes 1960’s Psycho and 1976’s The Omen. The mixture of tunes in these albums reveals how music can be used in different ways to build tension before releasing it during the action sequences.

Short melodies that are repeated over and over are ideal for generating tension, as can be heard in the famously simplistic yet effective theme tune from Jaws. That score by John Williams was voted by the American Film Institute as one of the most memorable soundtracks in history.  Some composers use clashing harmonies to create a sense of dread and uncertainty while increasing the volume can also achieve this effect.   

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Getting the Right Pacing

Getting the pacing right is perhaps the most important way of adding tension to any type of entertainment. This is what ensures that viewers and readers are hooked little by little. In a book, this can be done by alternating between fast-paced and slower chapters. The faster chapters are where the action usually takes place, while the slower parts let us reflect on what has happened and imagine what comes next while deepening the emotional impact.  

All these techniques are useful in adding tension to various types of entertainment but they need to be used alongside other vital elements such as strong characters and a gripping storyline. Without these basics, the tension created would be worthless.