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
Famous quotes containing the word sound:
“Methinks the human method of expression by sound of tongue is very elementary, & ought to be substituted for some ingenious invention which should be able to give vent to at least six coherent sentences at once.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
“It is not only their own need to mother that takes some women by surprise; there is also the shock of discovering the complexity of alternative child-care arrangements that have been made to sound so simple. Those for whom the intended solution is equal parenting have found that some parents are more equal than others.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)