Hans Zimmer’s score for Dunkirk starts with the sound of ticking.
汉斯·季默给《敦刻尔克》配的乐是以滴答声开场的
And that’s a common theme in the legendary composer’s work —
在这位传奇作曲家作品中，这种开场其实是一个常见的主旋律
you can hear it in Interstellar… ...and in Sherlock Holmes…
《星际穿越》如此……《神探夏洛克》亦是如此
But in Dunkirk, the ticking makes way for an overwhelming orchestra
然而，《敦刻尔克》中，这种滴答声让位给了一种
that seems like it’s rising higher and higher, but never actually does.
音调似乎一直在升高但实际并没有但又摄人心魄的管弦乐队演奏
It’s so tense, it makes you cling to your seat.
出来的音效紧张感十足，让你不得不贴紧座椅
That is because Zimmer is taking advantage of an auditory illusion caused by something called a “Shepard Tone”.
这是因为季默利用了一种所谓“谢帕德音调”（Shepard Tone）的音效错觉
It consists of several tones separated by an octave, layered on top of each other.
这是一种由不同八度音的音波重叠组合的音效
As the tones move up the scale, the highest-pitched tone gets quieter......
随着音调升高，高八度的音反而变得越来越弱
the middle pitch remains loud ......
中八度的音调保持响亮……
and the lowest bass pitch starts to become audible.
低八度的音则逐渐变得清晰可辨
Because you can always hear at least two tones rising in pitch at the same,
因为我们一直可以听到至少两个八度的音在不断升高
your brain is tricked into perceiving a constant ascending tone.
大脑就会误以为所有的音调都在一直上升
Loop it all together… … and it sounds like a piano scale going on for infinity.
把它们叠加在一起……听上去就像是音阶一直在往上走
When the transition between tones is continuous, it’s called a Shepard–Risset glissando.
当音调进行连续切换时，就会产生所谓的谢帕德·瑞赛滑音效果（Shepard–Risset glissando）
And it can sound really spooky:
听起来可能就非常吊诡

This can happen in the opposite direction too.
反方向演奏也是一样
You can hear it in the Endless Stairs in Super Mario 64… And in Pink Floyd…
这种音效在《超级玛丽》第64关的“无尽楼梯”时就有，平克·弗洛伊德乐队的作品中也有
It’s like a barber’s pole of sound,
这种音效就像是用声音做成的旋转灯
constantly seeming to rise without actually going anywhere.
不断出现音调升高但其实没变的错觉
Put that in a soundtrack… …
把它放在音轨里……
and it creates this sound of rising tension that carries the screenplay forward.
就会产生一种越来越强烈的紧张感，从而带动剧情发展
Christopher Nolan loves this illusion —
克里斯托弗·诺兰对这种错觉爱不释手
you can hear it in the Batpod sound effect in his last two Dark Knight films…
所以无论是最后两部《黑暗骑士》里蝙蝠侠摩托车的引擎声……
And in the music of The Prestige, composed by David Julyan.
还是《致命魔术》里大卫·朱莱安的配乐都用到了这种错觉
Nolan’s films are often all about time —
诺兰的电影通常都与时间有关
how it warps in space, in our dreams, and in our memories —
比如时间在空间、梦境以及记忆中的扭曲
and there's tension that comes with that.
紧张感通常会伴随时间出现
An illusion like this makes that tension palpable — all it takes is clever sound design.
类似这样的错觉让这种紧张感变得更加真实——只需要巧妙的音效设计就能实现这一点
I just wanted to give a shoutout to Jason Guerrasio at Business Insider for doing this great interview with Christopher Nolan.
商业内幕公司的杰森·圭拉西奥访谈了克里斯托弗·诺兰，访谈做的非常棒，我要为他打call
In the interview, Nolan confirms that a lot of the soundtrack was built around the effect of a Shepard Tone.
在访谈中，经诺兰证实，很多音效都是围绕“谢帕德音调”这一错觉创作的
And he also reveals that the ticking that Hans Zimmer uses at the very beginning of Dunkirk
他还透露，汉斯·季默在《敦刻尔克》开篇用到的滴答声
is actually a recording of a watch that Christopher Nolan owns.
实际上是录的他本人的一只表走时的声音