Sound

Sound is one of the most important parts of films can make or break the experience the cinematic experience, however this has not always been the case in the filming industry. The first film featuring a soundtrack was The Jazz Singer (1927) followed by Lights of New York (1928).

Today the use of sound has developed much more and as along with the dialogue, there is also extensive use of music and sound effects. It places you in the situation so that you can hear every creak in a haunted house, every whistle of the wind and even the quietest footsteps.

Diegetic Sound
Diegetic Sound is sound that you would hear if you were placed in the scene, but you may not necessarily be able to see it onscreen. It gives us the feeling that thee is a world beyond what we see through the camera. For example, if a character were sitting on their bed reading a book, whilst another character is in the room next door listening to music the Onscreen Diegetic sound would be the turning of pages, however the Off-screen Diegetic sound would be the radio somewhere in the background. This helps create a three dimensional world of a house in the eyes of the viewer even if the scene is shot on a small set.

In Horror films off-screen diegetic sound is often used to give us clues or warn us of danger. For example if the character was sitting on their bed reading when home alone, and we hear the creaking of an opening door followed by footsteps, we can assume that the character is in danger of someone spying on or stalking them.

Non-Diegetic Sound
Non-diegetic sound is sound that you would not be able to here if you were placed in the scene, for example the voiceover or dramatic music. It is the sound that is only heard by the audience but not the characters.


Sound Bridges
This is when sound links scenes together through bridging making them seem more coherent. The sound from one scene may lead on to the next seen even if the image has changed. Alternatively, the sound from the next scene may be heard before we see the image. This is another way of maintaining film continuity.

Parallel Sound
This is when the sound complements the atmosphere or mood of the film. For example if everything is happy then there would be upbeat and higher pitched music, but when it is sad the music may be slow and thickly layered.

Contrapuntal Sound
This is when the sound contradicts the mood, so it may be a really sad moment in the film, but the music may be quite upbeat and happy sounding. This can also be known as ‘asynchronous’ sound.