Sound Glossary IB Film

Diegetic Sound

sound within a story (what the characters can hear)

Non-Diegetic Sound

sound added for the audience, but the characters cannot hear

Synchronous Sound

sound matches its onscreen source (ex: footsteps lining up with walking)

Asynchronous Sound

sound that doesn't visibly match on screen (ex: a scream is heard but the camera shows an empty hallway)

Onscreen Sound

source of sound is visible (ex: a character is playing guitar on screen)

Offscreen Sound

sound exists in the world but is not seen (ex: a door slamming offscreen in a horror film)

Dialouge

conversation between two or more people

Voice-over

the recorded voice narrating the story

Sound Effects (SFX)

artificially created/enhances sounds

Foley

the art of recreating incidental sound effects (such as footsteps) in synchronization with the visual component of a movie.

Ambience/Ambient Sound

natural background sounds (ex: birds and wind in an outdoor scene)

Score

original composed music

Sound Bridge

audio that carries from one scene into the next

Pitch

highness or lowness of a sound

Volume/Loudness

how intense a sound is

Tone/Timbre

Unique "color" of a sound (ex: the metallic quality of swords clashing)

Silence

the absence of sound

Reverb/Echo

reflected sound creating space (ex: dialogue echoing in a cathedral)

Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR)

dialogue re-recorded in post (usually to fix mistakes)

Dubbing

replacing dialogue, often in another language

Mixing

adjusting levels of sound layers

Sound Perspective

sense of distance and location of a sound source (ex: a voice muffled when overheard through a wall)

Sound motif

Recurring sound linked to an idea (ex: the music in Jaws before someone is attacked by a shark)

Leitmotif

Repeated musical theme tied to a character or idea (ex: Darth Vader's "Imperial March" in Star Wars)

Parallel Sound

sound that matches an image's mood (ex: sad music in a breakup scene)

Contrapuntal Sound

sound that contrasts with the image (ex: cheery music during a violent fight)

Mickey-Mousing

Music that directly imitates the action on-screen (ex: violins playing as a character tiptoes)