Sound

Diegetic Sound – sound that exists in the world and can be heard by the characters. Sound that comes from a diegetic world can occur on or off screen. Off screen diegetic sound may be used to motivate action  i.e. gunshot or nock on the door. They can also be used in place of music to create tension. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhwbUMyCnJg ) This clip is from The Dark Knight and it is when Batman interrogates the Joker and there sure a lot of different diegetic sound from Gordon shutting the door off screen to batman banging jokers head on the table.

Non Diegetic Sound – Sound that we do not recognise as part of the diegetic/film world. Examples : Eternal voice over, musical score. Directors may subtly switch between diegetic and non-diegetic i.e. a song that appears to be external to the action but it turns out that its coming from a juke box. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCmWfb7bfxQ) This clip is from Shawshank Redemption this is the opening  of the movie and when Morgan Freeman does his voiceover.

Internal Diegetic – Sound that is in the film world but can only be heard from one character. Example: Internal voiceover, hallucinations. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhRpMvwWY8 ) This women has a weird kind of sickness it is where she gets sick from seeing paintings and hallucinates and starts hearing sounds out of nowhere.

Parallel Sound – Most films/ TV shows will use parallel sound. Parallel sound is when sound matches the image on screen. Dialog and sound effects will be as expected. Music will match the extended mood of the scene. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_H-nwTPq1c ) This clip is 2 people dancing on screen to music.

Contrapuntal Sound – Music / sound FX that do not fit the image on screen – juxtaposition. It can be used to create a sense of humour and a sense of irony. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0EXHvbsnJ8 ) This clip is from reservoir dogs and someone being tortured to cheerful upbeat music.

Sound Bridge – Sound that continues from one scene/image to the next it creates a smooth transition between scenes – enhances the continuity of the film. Can be music (diegetic / non-diegetic) dialog or sound FX. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJZ-gPQ0ew8 ) This scene is from the matrix and there is a sound of an alarm clock in one scene when he’s in a club and then it transitions to another  to when he wakes up in bed really smoothly.