Film sound is carefully designed to achieve particular goals and shape the audience's experience. There are different types of sound in films including vocal sounds like dialogue and narration, environmental sounds like ambient noise and effects, and music. Sound can come from diegetic sources visible on screen or nondiegetic sources not visible. It serves many functions such as creating continuity, shaping the sense of space, guiding audience attention, creating expectations, adding characterization, and commenting on the film images.

1. FILM SOUND

2. Sound in film is a “designed experience, and
our access to it is shaped in a particular way
to achieve particular ends.”
- James F. Lastra, “Teaching Film Sound”

3. Types of film sound
What kind of sound is it?

4. Vocal:
Dialogue & narration

5. Environmental sounds:
Ambient, foley, effects

6. Music

7. Silence

8. • Which type of sound is in the foreground?
In the background?
• Which type of sound conveys the most
narrative information?
Layers

9. Sources of film sound
Where does the sound come from?

10. Diegetic vs. nondiegetic

11. Onscreen vs. offscreen

12. Asynchronous sound

13. Internal vs. external

14. • Create continuity
• Shape our sense of space
• Guide audience attention
• Create audience expectations
• Create the impression of subjectivity
• Add to characterization
• Add pace and rhythm to a scene
• Evoke emotion
• “Comment” on the film image
Functions of film sound
What does the sound do?

15. Music and image are in harmony

16. Music and image are in
counterpoint