This document provides an overview of different types of sound techniques used in filmmaking and television production. It discusses diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, and categories of sound effects like background effects, Foley effects, and design effects. It also covers uses of music, dialogue, voiceovers, and silence in audio mixing and how sounds are used to direct audience attention and establish mood. Specific techniques discussed include sound bridges, stings, ambient sounds, synchronous sounds, themes, and internal diegetic sounds. The document is intended as instruction on sound elements and techniques exam questions may address.

1. CTK – AS Media: Unit G322 Key Media Concepts: Section A Textual Analysis & Representation
TECH-SOUND
Instructions on the types of
MUSIC, SFX & DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES
You will need to identify in the exam.

2. CTK – AS Media: Unit G322 Key Media Concepts: Section A Textual Analysis & Representation
Sound Overview
Sound is used extensively in filmmaking and TV to enhance the presentation of raw elements that have been
constructed in to a finished piece (Film/TV Programme):
Sound Mixing
In a film or TV program, when dialogue is recorded, sound effects added and music composed, the various
tracks are combined, or mixed, into one complete stereophonic soundtrack by the re-recording mixer. Re-
recording mixers set sound levels so that dialogue and key sound effects stand out against the background.
Contrasting sound levels also make the story more dramatic. A loud explosion, for example, will be especially
shocking if it takes place when everything else is silent. Just as a camera can move from one character to
another, sound can shift the audience’s attention between characters or parts of a scene. By fading noisy
background chatter in a crowded room, the filmmaker can direct the audience to an intimate conversation
between two people. Heartbeats or heavy breathing can alert us to a characters fear. The soundtrack can play
only the sounds heard by one specific character. Finally, silence is another useful tool for the sound mixer.
General Sound
• Diegetic Sound: can be any type of sound in the text which is heard by all characters and also by
the audience. This can be in the form of dialogue, background noises, music and sound effects. The
sound originates from within the film/TV program source.
• Non-Diegetic Sound: is the direct opposite of Diegetic Sound. It can be any type of sound that is
added to the text, which only the audience can hear. This can be in the form of Score/Incidental
Music or Voiceovers. The sound originates from outside the film/TV program source.
Sound Effects:
Artificially created/enhanced sounds that are used to emphasize content in Films/TV:
• Background Sound Effects: will be a variety of sounds that are used to establish location.
Examples: traffic noise in a city, people talking/coffee machine in a café. What separates background
sound effects from ambient sound is that all background sound effects are put there for a reason.
• Foley Sound Effects: Synchronize on screen, and require the expertise of a Foley artist to record
properly. Footsteps, the movement of hand props (e.g., a tea cup and sauce).
• Design Sound Effects: do not normally occur in nature, or are impossible to record in nature e.g.
futuristic technology in a science fiction film.

3. CTK – AS Media: Unit G322 Key Media Concepts: Section A Textual Analysis & Representation
Music:
• Silence: also used to create tension in the audience.
• Score/Incidental Music: Music written and composed for dramatic effect. Incidental music is
often "background" music, and adds atmosphere to the action e.g. simple low, ominous tone
suggesting an impending startling event. It conveys a great deal of information about the mood and
tone of the text. Tension can be established and emotions communicated. The rhythm of music can
dictate the rhythm of the cuts and serve to establish an atmosphere.
Speech/Dialogue:
• Dialogue: Speech (when characters orally communicate). Dialogue is central to TV dramas –
especially soaps which feature huge amounts of dialogue (dialogue is cheaper to film than action).
Dialogue in TV dramas is there in order to clarify or explain what is going on to the audience.
• Voiceover: Voice of an unseen narrator/character. Often provides information which cannot easily
be dramatized, such as a characters thoughts or the passage of a long period of time.
• Direct Address: When characters speak directly to the camera i.e. the audience.
• Mode of Address: The tone in which characters in the media text 'speak to' the audience (for e.g.
angry, sad, patronizing).
Additional Learning
• Ambient Sound: Do not explicitly synchronize with the picture, but indicate setting to the audience
e.g. forest sounds, wind, buzzing of fluorescent lights.
• Synchronous Sound: Type of sound that is timed to match the movements occurring in the text.
• Themes: A piece often written specifically for that show, usually played during the title sequence
and end credits. If accompanied by lyrics, it is a theme song. It establishes a mood for the show and
an audible cue that it is beginning.
• Sound Bridge: At the beginning of one scene, the sound from the previous scene carries over
briefly before the sound from the new scene begins.
• Sting: a short musical phrase used as a form of punctuation e.g. at the end of a scene, or as a
dramatic climax is imminent.
• Internal Diegetic Sound: is the type of sound which only a certain character and also the
audience can hear, any other characters in the text/scene do not hear. This is often used when a
character is speaking to themselves in their head (their thoughts).
• Hard Sound Effects: Very dominating in a scene. E.g. door slams, weapons firing, explosions etc.