This document discusses sound techniques in film. It defines diegetic and non-diegetic sound and provides examples. Non-diegetic sound, like music, can establish mood, atmosphere, and meaning without being part of the film's world. Diegetic sound belongs to the film's world and can reveal characters' states of mind. The document analyzes the non-diegetic score in Jaws, which builds tension without showing the shark. It also discusses how diegetic sounds in Rear Window establish the setting and protagonist's detached frame of mind. Sound can create meaning by enhancing emotion, setting mood, and identifying characters.

1. SOUND

2. Objectives
 To understand how sound creates meaning
 To know a range of sound techniques

3.  Sound is aural rather than visual
 It can provoke an equally
powerful response

4. Sound can be divided into two main categories:
Diegetic Sound
Sound that has an
onscreen source and
belongs to the world of the
film
e.g.
Dialogue
Sound effects
Ambient sound
Non-diegetic Sound
Sound that does not have
an onscreen source &
characters onscreen do
NOT hear it
e.g.
Added music
Contrapuntal sound
Voice over

5. Sound can help create “meaning” by
 Enhancing the audience's emotional experience / providing
emotional focus
 Establishing the mood and atmosphere of a location
 Identifying characters/character types (e.g. good Vs evil in
Star Wars).

6. Jaws
 View these two clips and note how sound can completely change the
viewing experience

7. Knock! Knock!

9. Jaws non- diegetic sound
 introduces threatening element in the film
 first shots underwater
 shark not seen but its presence is implied by the
soundtrack
 the score uses a series of low , repeated notes in order
to illustrate the relentless threatening nature of the
shark
 the notes continue to build tension and anxiety for the
viewer, no resolution
THE NON- DIEGETIC SOUND IN THIS SEQUENCE
ESTABLISHES THE TONE, ATMOSPHERE, GENRE AND THE
MAIN THREAT WITHIN THE FILM.

10. Non-diegetic sound & character
can establish
 evil or good
 victim or hero
 character regularly have a piece of music attached to them- called
a character theme
 can establish status
 a character can be signalled by playing their theme when not on
screen
 Aural motifs( not music but repeated sounds)
 A character’s nervous state of mind could be conveyed through
non- diegetic sound
 A sudden shift in the non- diegetic soundtrack of a film into a
sequence of long-held, low chords could indicate peril for a
character

11. How to describe film score
 Discordant
 Harmonious
 Harmonic
 Orchestral
 Rhythm
 Tempo
 Pitch

12. Diegetic Sound
 How is the character’s
state of mind established?

13. Rear Window- diegetic sound
 the first sounds we hear are what Jeffries can hear:
voices, jazz music, traffic sounds.
 We hear these as Jeffries would hear them, the
diegetic sound has a muffled echoing quality
 Jeffries is detached from the life going on around
him and in a bored frame of mind. The diegetic
sound helps to establish this.

14. sound & setting
 ambient sounds can give clues about the setting and people in it
 soundtrack can help establish the setting

15. Dialogue
Tone of Voice (authoritative,
soft, aggressive, sarcastic)
Timbre (high, low, squeaky,
gruff)
Volume (quiet, loud)

16. Contrapuntal and Parallel
Sounds
 Contrapuntal
 Where sounds and visuals are
contrasted
 Sound does not fit the events that
are happening on screen
 Creates confusion and can
disorientate the viewer into thinking
something else
 Sound can be used to create a twist
 Parallel
 Where sounds and visuals match
 Sounds we expect to hear
 Reflects the emotion of the scene

17. Contrapuntal Sounds
 LISTEN CAREFULLY to this scene
 How do you feel about the police officer? How would you describe him?

18.  What sounds can you
imagine hearing?

19.  Is this what you
expected?

21. KEY SOUND TERMINOLOGY
 Diegetic sound – any sound that has an onscreen source and
belongs to the world of the film.
 Non-diegetic sound – any sound that does not have an onscreen
source & characters onscreen do NOT hear it e.g. some voiceovers,
music.
 Parallel sound – any sound that fits the visual onscreen
 Contrapuntal – any sounds that contrast or contradict what is seen
onscreen

22. KEY SOUND TERMINOLOGY
 Score – non-diegetic soundtrack music
 Theme music/tune - a recurrent melody in the film.
 Sound effects - sounds other than dialogue or music made
artificially (Often referred to as Foley Sound)
 Ambient sound - buzz and/or surrounding sounds.
 Dialogue - speech.

23. ACTIVITY
 Select one of the scenes on the next slide and write
an 800 word analysis of the use of sound to create
meaning
 Think about audience positioning in relation to
characters
 How is the setting established?
Denotation/Connotation