Secret Invasion

The (not so) secret to the trailer for Disney’s Secret Invasion, the latest in a steady drumbeat of Marvel Cinematic Universe-based TV series to hit the streaming platform, is in the sound design. For the first twenty seconds or so, a monologue directed at Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is interrupted only by the occasional ominous, appropriately unidentifiable sound—such as the low-fidelity blare at 0:18 as Fury exits what looks like a spacecraft, or the diegetic closing of a huge metal door at 0:23, interacting somewhat with the dialogue (a closing door as she speaks of Fury’s avoidance). The off-screen voice of Maria Hill appears in frame at 0:30; the sounds pause for a moment as Fury delivers his first line: “yeah, well, this is different”.

At 0;37 with the studio title card, we get a ticking motif—a definite favourite aural technique for trailer music editors, especially in the past few years for establishing and maintaining dramatic tension. This time, however, it sounds as though perhaps string instruments using col legno battuto—striking with the wood. We also hear what sounds like some prepared piano, with steadily rising microtones further escalating the tension. Percussion enters at 0:54, doubling its rhythm quickly and reaching a climax at 1:02.

There’s almost a metadiegetic moment at 1:01 as one of the characters seems to become camera-aware at the very moment a particularly eerie sound is heard following the climactic moment. At 1:06 we get a montage action sequence as the ticking blaring continue, but with one interesting twist: there seems to be some volume panning happening, as the soundtrack rapidly and smoothly ramps down to silence and back up again. This lopsided arrangement continues, with a synch point occurring at 1:16 as it looks like a diegetic siren alarm sounds in time to the soundtrack—but it continues as part of the musical arrangement. Notice also the crow at 1:20 that seems to synch up as well.

The music escalates and rhythmically doubles again at 1:35, echoing earlier in the trailer as we hear Fury’s final monologue. We get an audiovisual blackout at 1:37 before one last repetition of the trailer’s sonic motif—simple but effective in its repetition. What’s most striking about this trailer’s soundtrack is perhaps neither the timing nor editing techniques—while they are good and effective—but the sonic design. Oftentimes, sound in this trailer straddles a line between being readily identifiable and completely foreign, perhaps not unlike how the alien Skrulls in the series can disguise themselves in human form.

Secret Invasion is due to arrive on Disney Plus in 2023.

— Curtis Perry