Sound in TV Drama

1. Starter
Task
Look at the effects on the
sheet in front of you and take
a minute or two to select
which technique is used to
create which sound effect.
Alyson Moore - Professional Foley Artist

2. The work of the Foley Artist
Galloping horses
Punching someone
Kissing in a
romantic scene
Footsteps in snow
The sound of the
guillotine
playing coconuts stuffed with cloth
kissing the back of your hand
thumping a watermelon
crunching grain held in a glove
slicing a cabbage with a knife

3. SO
UN
D
Apply a range of key terms in relation to this micro
element with a view to being able to write about
sound effectively in TV Drama Exam
Aims &
Objectives
Know that sound constructs meanings and effects
just as subtle as those as any other micro technique
can achieve.
Identify different sounds from a broad mix.

4. Blind Screening
✦ What kind of story is
being told? How can you
tell?
✦ How do you think an
audience is supposed to
feel listening to it?
✦ Can we split the sounds
we hear into any
categories? What
different varieties of
sound does a sound
designer have at their
disposal?

5. Classifying Sounds
DIEGETIC NON DIEGETIC
Diegetic sound is the sound that is
heard in the fictional world, the sound
that the characters in that world can
hear. Diegetic sound includes…
This is the sound that is outside the
fictional world, and that characters in
the fictional world cannot hear.
Non-diegetic sound would include…
Dialogue spoken by characters
Sound effects (specific sounds that stand
out against the general soundscape; ones the
makers wish to draw attention to)
Ambient sound (the overall background
‘atmosphere’ of a fictionalised location is created
through ambient sound like traffic noise or
weather sounds)
Soundtrack music
Musical leitmotifs (a theme within the
music ‘attached’ to a character, object or place)
Voice-over narration

6. Practice
• Watch the sequence and try to
practice categorising the sounds
you hear.
• Also give some thought to why
they have been used in the
creation of meaning.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=qx0LSM_qy7s&list=TLjkdFXaWcb5
N_0J-N5RXOl3487N8eQ_nj

7. Analysis
• How does the sound work to generate meaning?
• Think about:
• Narrative: The story/plot Genre or the type of TV Drama it is
• Character: What do we understand about the characters
• Consider the changes in the levels (volume) of the various sounds in
one or both of the following extracts:
• Life on Mars, episode 1 going to the suspect’s house > leaving the same (ch6
48:18 > )
• police canteen > rooftop (end of episode) (ch7 53:32 > )
• Are changes in levels apparent? When do they occur? For what
reasons?