Sound Terms

Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is a sound that the characters within the film can hear, e.g. Dialogue, singing.

Non-Diegetic sound

A sound the characters cannot hear, e.g. voice over's, background music used for suspense, etc

Sound FX

Sounds that are not necessarily music or dialogue but more single notes to create a mood, or added natural noises such as birds, etc

Sound Bridge

When one scene is playing one sound and that sound blends into the next scene.

Dialogue

When someone is talking within the film, analyse what is said (content) and how it's said (delivery)

Voice over

When a character within the film or not involved at all will talk over the film, this sound the characters in the film don't normally hear, it is purely for the audience to hear. E.g. in a play someone would talk from the wing narrating the play.

Mode of Address

When the way one character addresses the other character is defined in order to communicate

Direct Address

When a character directly addresses another character and often uses their name.

Sound Mixing

The process during the post-production stage of a film or a television program in which the collection of recorded sounds are combined into one.

Ambient Sound

Can be both diegetic and non diegetic but helps create atmosphere and set the scene

Contrapuntal

Sound that is at odds with the action i.e. a nursery rhyme playing during an execution scene.

Accent

Inflection of speech that identifies where someone comes from in regional terms

Dialect

Specific words that originate from specific regions and identify where someone comes from i.e. using bathers, pushang implies you are from Guernsey

Tone/Mode of Address

How speech is delivered i.e. slow, low and deliberate could infer seriousness - does depend on the narrative context

Volume

The volume of how speech or sound FX are relayed to the viewer can help represent a character, mood, atmosphere but does depend on narrative context

Instrumentation

Instruments used in a soundtrack to evoke a response - strings, brass, electronic etc