Film sound is carefully designed and mixed in post-production to emphasize important sounds and set the atmosphere. There are different types of sounds: diegetic sounds exist within the film's world while non-diegetic sounds come from outside. Synchronous sounds match the visuals while asynchronous sounds come from outside the diegetic reality, like musical scores. Other elements include voiceovers, theme music to introduce characters, and silence which is sometimes used provoke a reaction.

1. Sound
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: 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 – are used to create a sense of realism
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
Dialogue
Object sounds
Background noises
Sound effects
On and off screen
Music created from instruments
Narrators commentary
Musical score
Sounds effects
Re-dubbed dialogue
Voice over

2. Film sound can be either:
 Synchronous – this is when a sound effect is matched with another technical
event or action – this reinforces the effort.
 Asynchronous – this is when a sound originates from outside of the diegetic
reality of the film; musical soundtrack
 Contrapuntal – noise or sound effect which doesn’t match the visuals, often
juxtaposed to create alternative meaning.
Other elements of sound design to look out for:
 Voiceovers – this is the ‘voice’ of a character. This voice often guides or
informs the external audience but can be used to push them in wrong
narrative directions
 Theme music – this is the music that introduces, develops throughout and
ends the film. It often indicates the ‘personality’ and mode of the movie.
Characters can have their own theme music- this is used to indicate their
presence or emotional ‘journey’
 Musical Score – used to create atmosphere, to link shots or sequences, to
help create the narrative or to offer information about characters.

3.  Silence – film/TV are very rarely completely silent, but this effect is
occasionally used to provoke a reaction from the audience