Film Sound Techniques

Film SoundTextual Analysis

Diegetic & Non-diegetic

Diegetic Sound

Sound which comes from the world of the film (the diegesis).

Any event which occurs on or off screen which has a noise audible to the characters. Includes: Dialogue Ambient Sounds▪ Sound Effects

Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is a highly effective at creating a sense of place and the nature of events (environment).

Dialogue

Scripted speech:

Moves the story forward▪ Emphasises events in the scene

Develops the audience’s sense of character▪ Creates relationships & tensions

Dialogue

Scripted speech:

Accent Delivery Vocabulary

Diegetic Sound

Apply what you’ve learnt to this sequence

Non-diegetic Sound

Sound which is not from any source within the diegesis (world of the film) but is added as an extra layer of sound in post production. Includes:

MusicVoiceovers

MusicThe feel of the film

Music and Sensation

Interpret (emotionally) a feeling or sensation

Music & Character

Create or enhance audiences’ understanding of and/or empathy with a key character.

Music & Place

Echoes the nature of the place in which the film is set: Scale Culture Mystery Wonder

Music & Narrative

Gives a sense of pace to the sequence, allows the audience to move follow the flow (climaxes / lulls) of the sequence and the overall film.

Music & Theme

Lyrics can be used in some cases to reflect the theme(s) of the film.

Voice Overs

Position the audience with a particular character

Understand their mental stateGive us narrative informationTrick us – The untrustworthy narrator

Describing Music

Popular or classical music InstrumentationRhythmTempoVolumeArrangement (Crescendos,

Diminuendos, key changes)

Music in The Scene

Parallel (matches emotions / events on screen).

Contrapuntal (contrasts / juxtaposes events / emotions on screen).

Sound Bridge

Used to link two sequences together and is employed in conjunction with editing to move the action in time or place or both.

Can be diegetic or non diegetic sound.

Leitmotif

Character’s signature tune

Sound Perspective

The quality of the sound changes depending on the audiences’ positioning in events. Diegetic & Non-Diegetic can be made to

fade into the background or fore grounded depending on the need / impact.