Sound

Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sounds are original sounds that have not been edited in and come from a source within the scene, for example footsteps, characters speaking, a radio, television etc. The characters are able to hear these sounds.

Example:

The Mos Eisley Cantina scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope has diagetic sound in it, emanating from the band playing the famous Cantina song, composed by John Williams. Here, the characters can hear the music being played and so it is a diagetic sound.

Non-Diagetic Sound

Non Diagetic sounds are sounds which have been edited into the scene for effect, do not come from a source within the scene and so the characters of the scene cannot hear it. For example, the film's score.

Example:

In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, the famous shower scene uses non diagetic sound as the harsh string piece plays over Marion being attacked. Neither Marion nor her attacker can hear the musical accompaniment, it is used solely to enhance the viewers' experience, and so it is non-diagetic sound.




Synchronous Sound

Synchronous Sound is that which appears to be matched to certain movements occurring in the scene, as when footsteps correspond to feet walking.

Example:

In Groundhog Day, synchronous sound is used when Bill Murray's character wakes up. This sound comes from the alarm clock by the bed and matches up to the alarm clock going off, so is synchronous sound.




Asynchronous Sound

Asynchronous Sound is when the sound is, deliberately or otherwise, not matched up with the action occurring onscreen.

Example:

In this clip, asynchronous sound is used to create a sense of confusion and delirium.




Sound Effects

Sound effects are sounds used in film, television or theatre scenes to add realism. They are not usually part of the scene originally and are "artificial" sounds edited in afterwards.

Example:




Sound Motif

A sound motif is a recurring sound effect which can be associated with a certain character, setting, situation or idea.

Example:

In Fritz Lang's M, a sound motif, a distinct whistle of In the Hall of the Mountain King, is played everytime Peter Lorre's character comes onscreen. This is used cleverly as it builds suspense amongst the audience, waiting for the worst case scenario to occur.




Sound Bridge

A sound bridge is when a scene begins with an overlap of dialogue from the previous scene or vice versa.

Example:

A few sound bridges are used in The Wachowski Brothers film The Matrix. In this scene, there is a sound bridge linking Neo and Trinity's conversation and the scene where Neo wakes up.




Dialogue

Dialogue is the most basic type of sound. It is one or more person speaking aloud in a scene.

Voice-Over

A voice-over is where dialogue, often from a character's perspective, is placed over other shots.

Example:

One film which makes brilliant use of voice-over is Mary Haddon's 2000 masterpiece American Psycho. We learn of Patrick Bateman's interior thoughts and reflections on both his mental status and on what is going on in the world around him.




Direct Address,

Direct address in film is when the character in the film address the audience of the film, thus breaking the fourth wall.

Example:

At the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris uses direct address to offer his words of advice to the audience, breaking the fourth wall in the process.




Sound Mixing

Sound Mixing is when multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels.

Sound Perspective

Sound perspective is when you can sense that there is sound coming from a different space and distance than the subject. It adds to the sense of realism and depth in the film.

Example:

In this scene, sound perspective is used for a number of reasons. Firstly, to develop the sense of realism present in the film and, secondly, to create a sense of tension throughout the scene.




Sound Tracks

The Soundtrack of a film is the sounds (usually musical, but also, to an extent, dialogue and sound effects) used in the film.

Score

The score of a film is music, usually completely instrumental, composed exclusively for the use in the film. The score is non-diagenic, as the characters can never hear the score.

Example:

One of the best scores from last year was Hans Zimmer's beautiful Interstellar score, which gave me a sense of nationalistic pride.




Sting

The sting is a musical phrase for when the music includes an increase in pitch or volume. In film, they can be used in any genre, however have in recent years become associated with horror films and are often used combined with a jump scare.




Ambient Sound

Ambient sound is the term used to describe sounds which are naturally in the background of a scene. Often associated with water, birds, wind etc.