by Alina Haq

1. Sound And Meaning
Alina Haq

2. Diegetic Sound
• Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be
present by the action of the film:
• voices of characters
• sounds made by objects in the story
• music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source
music)
• Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's
world Digetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on
whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.
• Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound
• Diegesis is a Greek word for "recounted story"
The film's diegesis is the total world of the story action

3. Non-Diegetic Sound
• Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be
present in the action:
• narrator's commentary
• sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
• mood music
• Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story
space. The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our
understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening. We know of that
certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are
represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with
diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror),
or to surprise the audience (comedy).
• Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound.

4. Synchronous Sound
• Sound that appears to be matched to certain movements occurring in the
scene, as when footsteps correspond to feet walking.
• Synchronous sound can be either ambient (sound recorded during the
filming of a sequence and retained in the final cut) or a sound effect, the
product of a Foley or ADR (Automated Dialog Replacement) technicians. In
other words, that dialogue you hear could have been live, or it could have
been dubbed if the filmmakers were not satisfied with the sound on-
screen. For example, in one sequence of Spartacus (1960), Los Angeles
traffic noise could be heard in the background. Filmmakers had the
dialogue dubbed over the ambient soundtrack so that audiences would not
wonder what the purr of a '57 Chevy was doing in ancient Rome.

5. Asynchronous Sound
• (that is, when there is discrepancy between the things heard and the
things seen in the- film) can acquire considerable importance. If the
sound or voice is not tied up with a picture of its source, it may grow
beyond the dimensions of the latter. Then it is no longer the voice or
sound of some chance thing, but appears as a pronouncement of
universal validity. The surest means by which a director can convey
the pathos or symbolical significance of sound or voice is precisely to
use it asynchronously.

6. Sound Effects
• An imitative sound, as of thunder or an explosion, produced
artificially for theatrical purposes, as for a film, play, or radio program.
Often used in the plural.

7. Sound Bridge
• Sound bridges can lead in or out of a scene. They can occur at the
beginning of one scene when the sound from the previous scene
carries over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins.
Alternatively, they can occur at the end of a scene, when the sound
from the next scene is heard before the image appears on the screen.
Sound bridges are one of the most common transitions in the
continuity editing style, one that stresses the connection between
both scenes since their mood (suggested by the music) is still the
same.

8. Dialogue
• a written version of a play or other dramatic composition; used in
preparing for a performance.

9. Voiceover
• is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the
narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television
production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. The voice-
over may be spoken by someone who appears elsewhere in the
production or by a specialist voice actor. It is pre-recorded and placed
over the top of a film or video and commonly used in documentaries
or news reports to explain information.

10. Mode Of Address
• This covers the manner in which the narrative comes across to the
audience. This includes the style of language used by the characters
or the narrator. If characters of an educated class are represented, the
mode of address will involve higher register language than characters
of a lower class. The mode of address might cover the accent the
accent or dialect used by characters of a particular regional identity.
Mode of address would also cover the way in which a commentator
or narrator speaks directly to the audience.

11. Direct Address
• When a narrator or character speaks directly to the audience, not to
characters within the digenesis. This technique breaks verisimilitude
because it acknowledges the presence of the audience.

12. Sound Mixing
• Mixes sound from various sources using a multi-track mixing desk.
Much of the dialogue can be remixed afterwards because the spoken
words are recorded using one or more boom microphones and can
have their volume changed relative to other sounds during post-
production.

13. Sound Motif
• A sound associated with a character or a place. This could be the
humming of machinery associated with a factory or the threatening
buzzing of a power station or clicks, whirrs and beeps in a computer
lab. A character might have a particular musical figure that plays
when they appear or when they sort out a problem. James Bond films
have four related motifs in the theme tunes, each indicating a
narrative turning point e.g. the start of the resolution of a chase
sequence.

14. Sound Perspective
• Sound recording that helps up place a sound as either near or distant
or coming from a particular place within the diegesis.

15. Soundtrack
Score – music composed, arranged and played specifically for the
production.
Incidental music – non-diegetic music that accompanies this particular
programme or even a particular character (see ref to the Bond theme above)
and suits its mood or themes.
Themes – music that always accompanies this particular programme or even
a particular character and suits its mood or themes.
Stings – musical Stings are short bursts of music. They were originally used in
TV and Radio to bump together different sections and chapters of a show.
Ambient sound – can be recorded on location or can be added to the
soundtrack.