Different uses of sound in film

1. FILM SOUND
Film sounds divide into two
categories

2. Diegetic
• Sounds that belong in the film’s world.
Example: Any synchronous or asynchronous
sounds that come from the film’s world.
Use of on and off screen diegetic sound adds to
a sense of realism and allows the viewer to
fully believe in what is going on.

3. Non Diegetic
• Sounds that are not part of the film’s world.
Generally, non diegetic sound comes in the
form of a film’s soundtrack.
Q: If a character turns on the radio and a song
starts playing, is that diegetic or non-diegetic?
Q: If that sound continues into another scene
where the radio is no longer present, what is
it now?

4. The 3 components of entire movie
soundtrack:
• The human voice (the actors)
• Sound effects (sirens, glasses clinking, locks)
• Music (background)
These three tracks must be carefully
mixed and balanced so as to create
desired effects on the audience.

5. SOUND EFFECTS
synchronous and asynchronous
sounds
• Synchronous sounds are those sounds which are
synchronized or matched with what is on the screen.
For example: If the film shows a character playing the
piano, the sounds of the piano are projected. Or, if a
character is making boiling a kettle, the sound of a
boiling kettle would be played.
• Synchronous sounds contribute to the realism of
film and also help to create a particular atmosphere.

6. • Asynchronous sound effects are not matched with a
visible source of the sound on screen. Such sounds
can be included to provide an appropriate emotional
state, and they may also add to the realism of the
film.
• For example:
A film maker might opt to include the background
sound of an ambulance's siren while the foreground
sound and image portrays an arguing couple. The
asynchronous ambulance siren underscores the
psychic injury incurred in the argument; at the same
time the noise of the siren adds to the realism of the
film by acknowledging the film's bustling, city
setting.

7. Parallel Sound
and
Contrapuntal Sound
The music used in films can be broken
down into two types of sound:

8. Parallel Sound
- When the tone of the music matches the mood
being shown on screen.
- i.e. the music is parallel with the mood.
Contrapuntal Sound
- When the tone of the music does not match the
mood being shown on screen.
- i.e. the music is ‘counterpoint’ to the images we are
being shown.
(Contrapuntal means ‘at counterpoint to’)

9. Sound Bridges
• Sound bridges are part of the continuity of a
film.
• Often sound will continue from one scene to
the next. The images may change but sound
continues across frames.
• Their job is to create a coherent world that is
understandable to the viewer.

10. Cloverfield
Note down all the different sounds you hear during
the following clip and decide whether they are
diegetic (D), non-diegetic (ND), synchronous (S) or
asynchronous (A) using the code above.