description of all different types of sound in film.

1. Sound
What noises can you hear in the clip?
Piano (theme song), horse and cart, orchestra ( non-diegetic musical score), revolver spin
(diegetic), crow, cocking of guns, flutes, man evaluating something, banging around like
heavy movement, someone injured (arghhhhhh), more men conversing in a struggled tone
(whispering/raspy), people fighting, ringing of ears, wood hitting each other, someone
panting, more high pitched ringing, smash glass.
Film sound is as important and as carefully controlled as the visual elements of a
text. Although sound is often recorded on set, most film sound is added in post-
production
Film sound will be mixed very carefully to ensure that important sounds are
emphasised and that the correct atmosphere for a sequence is maintained
Selective sound is: used to emphasise key sound elements within a sequence.
Ambient sound is: general background noise. It is used to create a particular
atmosphere or a sense of place
Other elements of sound design to look out for:
 Sound bridges – the use of sound to help transitions between sequences
pass more fluidly.
 Sound effects – a sound that has been added in to create a sense of realism
or to create some psychological impact or effect.
Sound can be either:
 Diegetic – that is, it exists within the world of the film or
 Non-diegetic – that is, it emerges from outside the world of the film, eg film
soundtracks
Diegetic Sound Non-Diegetic Sound
Voices of characters
Sounds of objects
If there things like radios in the scene making
its own sound
Sound of birds or other natural sounds
It can be off screen or in screen but only if
the sound is still coming from within the film
and not additionally added.
Soundtracks
Sound effects
Voice overs
All noises added in through editing and
added after the film/scene has been filmed

2. Film sound can be either:
 Synchronous – this is when a sound effect has matched with another
technical event or action-this reinforces the effect.
 Asynchronous – this is when a sound originates from outside of the diegetic
reality of the film; musical soundtrack.
 Contrapuntal – noise or sound effect doesn’t match the visuals, often
juxtaposed to create alternative meaning.
Other elements of sound design to look out for:
 Voiceovers – when a characters voice is non dietetically put over a scene
 Theme music – this is music that introduces, develops throughout and ends
the film.
 Musical Score – used to create atmosphere, to link shots or sequences, to
help create the narrative.
 Silence – film/tv this effect is normally used in films to get a reaction from the
audience.

3. Identifying sound in Sherlock Holmes