INTRODUCTION TO FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES

FILM SOUND

SOUND DESIGN

SOUND DESIGN is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating, or

generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines,

including: filmmaking, television production, theater, sound recording,

reproductive live performance, sound art, and video game development.

Sound design most commonly involves the manipulation of previously

composed or recorded audio, such as sound effects and dialogue. In some

instances it may also involve the composition or manipulation of audio to

create a desired effect or mood.

THE USE OF SOUND

IN FILM

Although film is typically considered a visual experience, one must not underestimate the importance of film sound. A meaningful soundtrack is often as complicated as the images on the screen. The soundtrack is comprised of different elements: the human voice, sound effects, actual sound, commentary sound, atmospheric sound, and music. These different tracks must be mixed and balanced to produce the necessary emphasis and create the desired effect. Sound can be used in film to provide us with information about the location of a scene, advance the plot, and tell us about the characters in the story. It can serve to heighten mood or atmosphere in a film by creating a soundscape that adds another layer of meaning to the images on the screen. Pitch, volume, and tempo may be altered to indicate how the filmmaker expects the audience to respond to a given noise. High-pitched sounds often help to create a sense of anxiety, while low-pitched sounds can be used to create a sense of mystery, or calm. In the same way the camera shapes our experience with storytelling, so too does sound.

DIEGETIC AND

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND

There are two categories of sound in film: diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

DIEGETIC SOUND: Diegetic sound is sound that’s source is visible on the screen or that’s source is implied to be present by the action of the film. It includes voices of characters, sounds made by objects in the story, music represented as coming from the instruments or recordings in the story space (source music). Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from the source within the film’s world. It can either be on-screen or off-screen, depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame. Another term for DIEGETIC SOUND is ACTUAL SOUND.

NOTE: EXTERNAL DIEGETIC SOUNDS are sounds of action and characters’ speech. INTERNAL DIEGETIC SOUNDS are sounds of internal dialogue and/or sounds of memories or other actions taking place in a character’s mind.

HERE IS A CLIP of INTERNAL DIEGETIC SOUND: http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/pcote/clips/internal-diegetic-sound-in-the-prestige.mov/view

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND: Non-diegetic sound is sound that’s

source is neither visible on the screen nor has it been

implied to be present in the action. It is sound that only the

audience can hear; it is in no way audible the characters in

the film. It includes narrator’s commentary, sound effects

which are added for dramatic effect, mood music for the

viewer – not for the characters. NON-DIEGETIC sound is

represented as coming from the source outside the story

space. Another term for NON-DIEGETIC SOUND is

COMMENTARY SOUND.

CREATIVE USE OF SOUND:

STRANGER THAN FICTION

SYNCHRONOUS AND

ASYNCHRONOUS SOUND

SYNCHRONOUS SOUND or ON-SCREEN SOUND is the sound that is

synchronized or matched with what is viewed. For example, if the film

portrays a character playing the piano, the sounds of the piano are

projected. Synchronous sounds contribute to the realism of the film and

also help to create a particular atmosphere.

SYNCHRONOUS AND

ASYNCHRONOUS SOUND

ASYNCHRONOUS SOUND or OFF-SCREEN SOUND is not matched with a

visible source of the sound on screen. Such sounds are included so as to

provide an appropriate emotional nuance, and they may also add to the

realism of the film. For example, a filmmaker might opt to include the

background of an ambulance’s siren while the foreground sound and image

portrays an arguing couple. The asynchronous ambulance siren

underscores the psychic injury incurred in the argument; at the same time,

the noise of the siren adds to the realism of the film by acknowledging the

film’s city setting.

ASYNCHRONOUS

SOUND

THE HUMAN VOICE:

DIALOGUE

DIALOGUE authenticates the speaker as an individual or real

person rather than a fictional creation of the storyteller. It

serves to tell the story and express feelings and motivations

of characters. The very texture of a performer’s voice

supplies an element of character. When the voice texture of

the performer fits the character, a realistic persona emerges.

The viewer sees not a character but another human being.

MUSIC

FILM SCORE - also sometimes called film music, background music, or incidental music - is original music written specifically to accompany a film. It is used to add emotion and rhythm to a film. Often not meant to be really noticeable, it often provides a tone or an emotional attitude toward the story and/or the characters depicted. In addition, the background music often foreshadows a change in mood. For example, dissonant music may be used in film to indicate an approaching (but not yet visible) menace or disaster.

FILM SCORES may aid viewer understanding by linking scenes. For example, a particular musical theme associated with an individual character or situation may be repeated at various points in a film in order to remind the audience of salient motifs or ideas.

JAWS: SHARK CHASE

SCENE WITH AND

WITHOUT MUSIC

FILM SCORE: THE

SAME SCENE 5 WAYS

DIRECT SOUND AND

POST-SYNCHRONIZATION

DUBBING

DIRECT SOUND is sound that is recorded during the moment of filming,

while POSTSYNCHRONIZATION DUBBING records sound that is dubbed on

top of an existing, silent image. It is the process of adding sound to images

after they have been shot and assembled.

THE ART OF SILENCE

Perhaps the most interesting use of sound in a movie is the very absence of it:

SILENCE. At key points in a film, directors may use silence in much the same way that

they would use a freeze frame. Both tend to arrest an audience’s attention to highlight

some action or change in story direction. Silence can be used to build up a scene’s

intensity or to foreshadow impending doom.

BASIC SOUND TERMS

SOUND PERSPECTIVE is the sense of a sound’s position in space, yielded by volume, timbre, pitch, etc. It is used to create a more realistic sense of space with the events happening closer or further away.

SOUND BRIDGES can lead in or out of a scene. They can occur at the beginning of one scene when the sound from the previous scene is carried over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins. Alternatively, they can occur at the end of a scene, when the sound from the next scene is heard before the image appears on screen. Sound bridges are one of the most common transitions in the continuity editing style, one that stresses the connection between both scenes since their mood (suggested by their music) is still the same.

SONIC FLASHBACK occurs when sound from one scene is heard over the images from a later scene. SONIC FLASHBACKS often carry a moral or emotional overtone, making a character’s motivations explicit.

SUMMARY

Film is comprised of conventions and innovations. We have

come to expect an acceleration of music during car chases

and creaky doors in horror films. Yet, it is important to note

as well that sound is often brilliantly conceived. The effects

of sound are often largely subtle and often are noted by only

our subconscious minds. Yet, it behooves us to foster an

awareness of film sound as well as film space so as to truly

appreciate a 20th century art form, the modern film.