This document defines and provides examples of key terms related to sound in media. It discusses diegetic and non-diegetic sound, sound effects, Foley, synchronous and asynchronous sound, score, ambient sound, sound bridges, sound motifs, and more. It explains how sound is used to set mood, emphasize reality, and connect shots through continuity editing. Videos are embedded as examples to illustrate different sound techniques.

1. MEDIA KEY TERMS
Images and Definitions for Revision
PART E: SOUND

2. Key Terms
• Diegesis
• Sound Scape
• Score (music)
• Diegetic
• Non-diegetic
• Volume control
• Dialogue
– Speech, language and accents
• Mode of address
• Direct Address
• Voiceover
• Ambient Sound
• Sound bridging (part of continuity editing)
• Sound perspective
• Sound effects
– Naturalistic vs unnatralistic
– Foley
• Synchronous
• Asynchronous
• Incidental music
• Sound motifs

3. The power of sound
• Is part of the production process but mostly
with the POST-PRODUCTION process
• Like good editing, it is invisible
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ZSZbNfSpk You don’t realise how things are made!

4. Purpose of sound
• What purpose does sound have in TV/Film?
• Set mood/atmosphere
– Romantic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7xddcpYlz8
– Thrilling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCfWHqrYUqo
– Sad
– Heroic/triumphful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCjoOOrgVMM
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDC47NsoRE0 slumdog (what mood?)
• Emphasize reality
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3q17gkuOcc matrix

5. Diegesis/Diegetic world
• The world of film/TV programmes we see on
screen is known as the DEGESIS or the diegetic
world.
• We can only see a section of this world.
• The things that make up the diegesis are
diegetic elements
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juVb1SDHWrk (diegesis)

6. Sound Scape
Scape = the wider scene
•The whole set of sound used
•Like ‘Mise-en-scene for sound’
Sound scape = ALL the sounds in a text

7. Score (music)
Music composed, arranged and played specifically for the production
Example:
1) Adele = Skyfall (James Bond)
2) Celine Dion = My heart will go on (Titanic)
Basically, any music that is written for TV/film…..
Purpose = sets mood and atmosphere to a scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTF5XvwcYZI sound interview with quentin

8. Diegetic sound
• Sounds that characters CAN hear.
• Sound that comes from a person or object in
the diegesis and seen within the field of
vision. (can be seen in screen)
Example:
1) Matrix = hearing helicopter sounds

9. Diegetic sound examples
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=276mzf_Go8U top gun
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRI15yhjeNQ night club
• Don’t make assumption that music is non-diegetic!

10. Non-diegetic sound
• Sounds that characters CANNOT hear
• Sounds that are not in the diegesis
• Example: score (music) and voiceovers.
– Score/music will often set mood/atmosphere

11. Non-diegetic sounds
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6-M8lXAE8k twelve trailer
• What parts are non-diegetic?
– Third personal narrator
– Score music to set mood
– Text on screen
– Text on black screen
– Sound with countdown (numbers)
– Transition sound effect (swooshing)

12. Volume Control
• The control of how quiet or how loud sound is
• This is to set or emphasize mood/atmosphere
• *Usually parallels with PACE (editing)
• When would sounds be quiet? Why? Effect on audience?
• When would they be loud? Why? Effect on audience?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMx-Az5Da4M how does the volume level change? Why?

13. Dialogue (speech & language)
• Dialogue is speech made from characters when
talking (what they say)
Consider:
• Language (what they say and meanings of words)
• Tone (aggressive, serious, sympathetic)
• Accent (where from?)
• Volume (whisper or shouting)
• In hustle……compare the 2 men at the end.

14. Mode of address
• This is the manner in which the narrative comes across to the audience.
• Style of language used by character or narrator
– If characters are represented of an educated class perhaps they will use
more sophisticated and complex vocabulary and are well spoken than of
lower class
• The mode of address might cover accent used by characters of a particular
regional identity (example liverpool)
• Mode of address would also cover the way in which a narrator speaks to an
audience ……think of the tone
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_-7QtC2oms dove
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F08U2yCxbYg armani code

15. Direct address
• When a narrator and character speaks directly to audience (looking at camera)
• Brings reality and diegesis together
• This technique breaks the verisimilitude (the world of the show) and
acknowledges the presence of the audience.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG0y8efmMAQ miranda

16. Voiceovers
• Where voice from outside the diegesis gives the audience
information. Often this voice tells us a story (narrator) or may be
from a character in the story to communicate their thoughts or
feelings.
• Example: this was common in film noir in 40/50’s and could give
audience information about their thoughts (that perhaps only the
audience should know)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV1436VsnZY (diegetic)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkwke3UCbCQ sex and the city (narrating = non-diegetic)

17. Ambient sound
• Background sound in diegesis
• Does not have to be in field of vision
• IN field of vision = crowd in restaurant
• OUT of field of vision = traffic outside
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkwke3UCbCQ identify the ambient sounds

18. Sound bridge
• Where sound (diegetic or non-diegestic) continues across one or more
cuts/transitions.
• PART OF CONTINUITY EDITING
• Called bridge because it connects and continues the sound like a bridge
• It is applicable in ANY shot reverse shot when a character is talking
• Example: scene in freedom writers when guy was reading diary, and there was
shot reverse shots between him and the classmates this is part of continuity
editing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f8liieRepk
• Example: in love actually christmas scene = playing silent night continues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KtVKu9CfDA

19. Sound perspective
• Sound recording that helps us place a sound
as either near or distant or coming from a
particular place within the diegesis
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w_73ROcJuo

20. Sound effects
• Sounds added to the visuals in the editing
NATURALISTIC SOUND EFFECTS UNATURALISTIC SOUND
EFFECTS
-sound of traffic outside the window added -boing sound (for comical purpose)
in editing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qSB-JPQWbU
-punching -whooshing sound in a flashback

21. Sound effect examples
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbliAXRxRhQ fighting
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_Aje0hnac record scratch
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjAQOjv3eg0 matrix neo swallow
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlZ5vkPS34M tron club fight
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i48Ab0rg2U cheap tricks (flying)
• http://vimeo.com/48955170 haha guys vs girls

22. Foley
• Foley is trick used to create naturalistic sound effects.
• It is to use different objects to imitate the sound of
other objects (and then add them in post-production
(editing) to emphasize the sounds for an audience
• It is used because often sounds get compromised in
filming process (production process)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHa98mDfOR4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONaPcZ4EAs 70’s
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu2Va2CIxfE clothes ripping

23. Synchronous sound
• Where the sound is synchronized with the object
giving off the sound
• Ex. You can see an alarm clock and you can hear it
going off
• Ex. Radio playing silent night in love actually
scene
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar0xLps7WSY which are the synchronous sounds?
• .

24. Asynchronous sound
• Where the soundtrack is deliberately out of sync (out
of time) with what we see.
• Sound that comes from an action but not precisely
synchronized with the action
– Example: character has died on scene, shot remains on
them but you can hear phone ring and hear answering
machine (but you cant see answering machine)
– Example: an advert for drunk driving where the advert
visuals are of a girl on stretcher bleeding while the
voiceover is her voice with her friends telling her to have
another drink and deciding to drink

25. Asynchronous sound examples
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j0avp3PVVE which is synchronous? Which is
asynchornous?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8JJsNQoIDc hunger games bees

26. Incidental music/sound motif
• Non-diegetic music that accompanies events or changes of the scenes
• Incidental music is often "background" music, and adds atmosphere to the
action. It may take the form of something as simple as a low, ominous
tone suggesting an impending startling event or to enhance the depiction
of a story-advancing sequence.
• It could be a type of music that plays when things go wrong (example
simpsons) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vK8NO-p1AA
• Example: Most films have 4 related motifs in theme tune: each indicating
a narrative turning point: eg. Start or resolution of a chase sequence for
example
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiRPWfz3HZw what does this music
indicate?

27. Sound motifs
• Sound associated with a character or place.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyBlKqktP_E (what is this sound usually used for?)
• Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzZAnq3kZQg
What would you expect to hear in a scene in a:
School?
Arcade?

28. Task
• Watch this clip and analyse the sound:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OrXdBYojBQ matrix
dance scene
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2sXXG3tTaI hunger
games interview scene

29. Key Terms
• Diegesis
• Sound Scape
• Score (music)
• Diegetic
• Non-diegetic
• Volume control
• Dialogue
– Speech, language and accents
• Mode of address
• Direct Address
• Voiceover
• Ambient Sound Fill in the chart
• Sound bridging (part of continuity editing)
• Sound perspective
• Sound effects GREEN AMBER RED
– Naturalistic vs unnatralistic (Terms I am confident (Terms I am ok with) (Terms I am not
– Foley with) confident with)
• Synchronous
• Asynchronous
• Incidental music
• Sound motifs

30. Homework
• GREEN = revise once
• AMBER = revise twice
• RED = revise three times
• Search youtube and put terms on your blog
(in powerpoint or blog posts)
• Extension: write meaning of terms in book as an
extra form of revision