Texts-Sound

You will watch a clip from the film 'The Srangers' and using the time code as a reference, note down the different types of sound you can hear.

·         Key Terms: atmosphere and meaning Expectations. Audience manipulation.

Diegetic. Non diegetic. Contrapuntal.

Sound Terminology

DIEGETIC

A sound that is part of the film world and usually heard by those in it.

-    Sound recorded at the same time as the images – for example, dialogue spoken by the actors on set. This does not include any sound added in post production

-    Sound which appears to the audience to come from the scene, whether or not it was actually recorded with the images. Thus includes post-synched dialogue, sound effects and foley. Also known as parallel sound

NON-DIEGETIC

A sound which is added later during editing for effect and therefore cannot be heard by those in the film world. A voice over narration for example. A term that describes sound that does not have a visible onscreen source; also referred to as offscreen sound.yy

 

MUSIC

A soundtrack added during editing, the sound and tone can affect the whole meaning of the scene

Synchronous sounds are those sounds which are 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 film and also help to create a particular atmosphere.

Asynchronous sound effects are 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 film maker might opt to include the background sound 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.

 

SOUND EFFECTS

Usually added to film in post-production, they may be used to build up ambience or reinforce action.

SOUND BRIDGE

Film and TV editing technique in which visual cuts are deliberately not matched with audio cuts. For example, the editor may cut to a completely new scene, but allow sound from the preceding scene to run on for a short time. Alternatively, we may hear the sound of the next scene before we see it.

 

VOICE OVER

A type of non-diegetic, asynchronous sound in which the audience hear a voice that does not have a source either within the frame or within hearing distance, and which is not heard by the people on screen. Voice overs allow us to see things from a particular character’s point of view

CONTRAPUNTAL SOUND

Sounds that do not easily match the images they are accompanying, or even go against them. This can have a disorientating effect upon the audience and make them question what they are seeing.

TASK 1:
Watch the clip from the film 'The Srangers' and using the time code as a reference, note down the different types of sound you can hear.

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