Sound
Sound is used extensively in filmmaking to enhance presentation, and is distinguished into diegetic and non-diegetic sound:
- Diegetic sound: It is sound that the characters can hear as well as the audience, and usually implies a reaction from the character. Also called "literal sound" or "actual sound":
- Voices of characters;
- Sounds made by objects in the story, e.g. heart beats of a person
- Source music, represented as coming from instruments in the story space.
- Basic sound effects, e.g. dog barking, car passing; as it is in the scene
- Music coming from reproduction devices such as record players, radios, tape players etc.
- Non-diegetic sound: It is sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space, i.e. its source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action. Also called "non-literal sound" or "commentary sound":
- Narrator's commentary;
- Voice of God;
- Sound effect which is added for dramatic effect;
- Mood music; and
- Film Score
- Non-diegetic sound plays a significant role in creating the atmosphere and mood within a film.
- Very commonly diegetic shift occurs from one to the other, for example when characters are listening to music, then start dancing and the music becomes non-diegetic to indicate being 'lost in the moment'.
Read more about this topic: Cinematic Techniques
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