The background music uses an auditory illusion called the "Shepard Tone" to sound like it's endlessly rising.

Film/Series: Dunkirk

Category: Trivia Fact

Timestamp: 00:00:00

Christopher Nolan and composer Hans Zimmer used a mathematical audio illusion called a "Shepard tone" for the film's score. It consists of multiple sine waves separated by octaves, playing in a loop. It tricks the brain into hearing a pitch that is constantly ascending and accelerating, but never actually gets higher. Combined with the ticking of Nolan's own pocket watch, this sound design keeps the audience in a perpetual state of subconscious anxiety from start to finish.

The background music uses an auditory illusion called the "Shepard Tone" to sound like it's endlessly rising. in Dunkirk

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