Sound Types

Sound in movies today has developed 10 fold since it first began. A digital synchronised soundtrack combining dialogue, music, and sound effects.

DIEGETIC SOUND: The sound that happens in the world of film as we see it, sound which we can hear from actions inside the shot.

DIEGESIS SOUND: Sound which belong to the world of film, something happens off screen and wee still hear it to create an extra dimension to what we see.

Both of these types of sound help the viewer to imagine that what their seeing is more realistic, by making you feel there is more than just what's just on-screen. For example, in the movie Trainspotting at the beginning we are introduced to the characters and we see a baby on the floor crying in the flat. The camera then moves away from the baby and it's off-screen but we can still hear it crying in the background making it all seem very realistic.

This use of off-screen and on-screen sound creates a three-dimensional world instead of a flat two-dimensional screen.

Sound Bridges

Often in movies sound will continue from one shot to the next, and although the images are changing the sound is still flowing from shot to shot, and this is called a sound bridge. Sometimes we hear the saound from the next scene before the scene is even showed. It gives a coherent effect and links the film together creating a flow of continuity.

Parallel and Contrapuntal Sound

Sound in a film usually complements what we see, for example, happy images means happy sounds, exciting scenes require exciting music. This is parallel sound as the mood matches the musical tone. However, when music is not in synch - what wee see does not mach what we hear - it is called contrapuntal sound.