Sound for films

1. Sound
Selective sound: is used to emphasise key sound elements within a sequence
Ambient sound: is used to create particular atmosphere or a sense of place
Sound bridges: the use of sound to help transitions between sequences pass more fluidly
Sound effects: used to create a sense of realismor to create some psychological impact or
effect.
Diegetic sound: sound where source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to
be present by the action of the film:
-voice of characters
-sounds made by objects in the story
-Music represented as coming from instruments in the story space
Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the films world. It
can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame
or outside the frame. Any voice over, narration and sound effects becomes non diegetic.
Synchronous sound: This is when the sound effect is matched with the action- this
reinforces the effect.
Asynchronous sound: This is when a sound originates from outside of the diegetic reality of
the film; musical soundtrack
Contrapuntal: Noise or sound effect which doesn’t match the visuals.
Voiceover: This is the ‘voice’ of a character. This voice often guides or informs the external
audience but can be used to push them in wrong narrative directions.
Theme music: This is the music that introduces, develops throughout and ends the film. It
often indicates the ‘personality’ and mode of address of the movie, characters can have
their own theme music.
Musical score: Used to create atmosphere, to link shots or sequences, to help create the
narrative or to offer information about characters.
Silence: film/tv are very rarely completely silent, but this effect is occasionally used to
provoke a reaction from the audience.