sound terminology

Natural sound (nat sounds)

Unaltered sounds with an actual source — a.k.a., nature.

• ie: sounds of wind, tree branches, animals, insects, cars whizzing by, horns honking, etc., all of which add a layer of realism to your films

Foley

live action sounds made by HUMANS from the objects that appear in the film, or from completely different sources.

• ie bag of corn starch rustled in your hands hands = footsteps in snow

sound effects

aren’t recorded to sync directly with picture.

created artificially or by enhancing existing sounds

• ie explosions, mechanical sounds, or made-up objects (light sabers!).

Walla

sound effect for the murmur of a crowd

diegetic

existing or occurring within the world of a narrative rather than as something external to that world

diegetic sounds

Sound the characters in the film can hear and is seen on screen

ie actors’ voices, footsteps, piano

non-diegetic sounds

sounds that come from subjects or objects that do not appear on screen, and aren’t implied in the films world

• ie voiceover/soundtrack, Love Island, running home in the rain “drunk running” playing

non diegetic & diegetic sounds?

films can “trick” the audience to get their problem-solving to turn on

• ie shot in period piece of two kids playing with piano music in the background → you think the music is non-diegetic, but then the camera pans to someone playing piano in the room

empathetic sound

diegetic sound effects that “fit” the mood and rhythm of the scene or images

Anempathetic sound

diegenic sound that continues when the tone of the scene changes = sound doesn’t care

ie radio continues to play a happy tune when a character dies

contrapuntal sound

non diegenic sound that doesn’t “fit” a scene or images ie. happy music over violence = sound and image don’t match

Fidelity

ensuring the sound made matches its source, keeps viewer in story. can be comedic ie the cat barks

Hyper-real Sound

the exaggeration of sounds compared to how they sound in real life ie footsteps

Microphone polar (pickup) patterns

where/how diff microphones pick up sounds around their central axis

focused → least focused

shotgun cardioid omnidirectional

shotgun microphones (boom mics)

highly-directional mics that only pick up sound from where they are pointed

• used for interviews, films

Cardioid microphones

directional mics that pick up sound in the shape of the heart → most of the sound comes from one direction, the rest is ambient audio surounding

• used for speech-related uses, voiceovers, podcasts, etc

Omnidirectional microphones

directional mics that pick up sound from all directions

• used in clip on mics (work when mouth isn’t pointed at mic)

Lavalier microphones (lav mics)

small (usually omnidirectional) mics usually placed on the body (jacket, hair) with wireless transmitter and receiver (micpack)

• used when mic needs to be hidden (in wigs, on faces)

wireless transmitter & receivers

used to record audio via bluetooth

the one takes your audio signal and converts it to radio waves, and sends them to a another which coverts them back (to an audio signal)

peaking/clipped audio

when the volume of audio gets too loud for a system to handle (over 0 decibels) it results in crackling

• fixed by lowering levels to create a buffer (-10db) or setting build-in limiter on audio recorder

Phantom power

power sent through microphone cables

(a way of carrying electric current to power microphones without using a separate power supply)

can use camera/audio recorder can be their power source

sync sound

sounds that were recorded directly into the camera.

• ie plugging your shotgun mic directly into your camera.

asynchronous sound

when the sound is out of sync with the image on screen (intentionally or unintentionally)

semi sync

sounds that appear synchronized with action & have secondary importance

• ie parties/carnivals the sound seems synced but viewer can’t really tell

dual-system recording

sound that was not recorded directly into the camera.

• ie using another sound recorder to capture the audio separately from the visual shots = having to sync sound in post

timecodes

used for syncing multiple media tracks (video and audio).

• ie used to sync dual-system recording.

• either set in-camera manually or ‘jammed’ into the camera via a separate audio recorder (to ensure both are set at the same value).

ADR (looping) -  Automated Dialogue Recording

dialouge that is re-recorded in the post-production phase

the actor does this in a booth and hears beeps which act as a cue for their line 

dubbing

describes the process of adding sound to a film, often different language over the original language (can also be same lang) (often done using ADR)

ie Maxton Hall, Never Enough The Greatest Showman

added value

the illusion viewers experience that the image creates meaning but the sound is just as valuable

room tone

the “extra” sound in a room

• plumbing, fans, people walking three floors up

ambient sound

background/atmospheric sound that establishes the environment and tone

ie traffic, birdsong, crowd chatter (can exist in real life or film)

location sound

ALL the sound that is recorded in the actual location during filming, some of this sound (dialogue) may need to be re-recorded

also production sound/direct sound

sound scape

the types of sound associated with a  particular period of time or location ie woods = twigs cracking and birds

sound loop

a continuous loop of recorded sound, designed to provide background sound throughout a scene

soundtrack

music and voices added in post-production that the characters can’t hear. Shares info only for the audience

character theme/motif

the soundtrack that is associated with a particular character. Used to introduce, indicate characters presence, or suggest someone is think abt them

ie spiderman

character sound/motif

sound effect(s) that are associated with a particular character ie the film rolling with flashbacks of Dad in Hugo

attack

the way sound is initiated (starts playing), it can be fast or slow

stings

short bursts of music

soundbridge

sound that sustains from one scene into the next (bridges the gap)

harmonics

an object's ability to vibrate and the frequency sound waves it puts off - can change “enjoyment’ of a sound

rhythm

a recurring sound that has both strong and weak elements (has pitch).

timbre

The "colour" of the music what makes the sound unique. It helps describe the texture or feel of the sound.

E.g. Saxophone used during seduction scenes

Vococentrism

the presence of the voice over all other sounds

accelerando

music gradually getting faster

adagio

music played at a slow pace

characteristic sound

what the audience THINKS a sound should be.

When a natural sound is changed = __

crescendo

Music getting louder gradually used to create tension

decrescendo

Music getting gradually softer

dialogue

sound made by the characters talking

emotional realism

When the soundtrack reflects the mood of the story or the character's feelings

establishing sound

Sound that establishes the scene or character of the surroundings at the BEGINNING

• ie A shot of Times Square in a classic film paired immediately with loud honking car horns and street traffic

MOS

when a scene is filmed without synced or any sound (Mit out sound)

score

music composed, arranged specifically for that scene