Film Language: Sound

Film Language: Sound
Today we are:
Learning about the impact sound can have
in films
Learning the difference between diegetic
and non diegetic sound
Objectives:
• By the end of this lesson:
• All of you:
Will know the difference between diegetic and non
diegetic sound
• Most of you:
Will be able to analyse sound from a film using the
correct terminology.
• Some of you:
Will be able to describe and select sound
appropriate to a piece of film.
Starter Questions:
• Write down your answers - leave a space
underneath each answer....
• What type sound do you find in films?

• What effect can sound have on an
audience?
• Why do we have sound in films and
television programmes?
Sound In Film...
• In filmmaking, sound is manipulated independently of the image in film. It can be used representationally (we see a
train and hear its engines), impressionistically (we see a rural landscape and hear bird song) and even psychologically
(we see a terrified face and hear a high pitched train whistle).
• What can sound do?

• Sound can fundamentally change the way we interpret the meaning of a shot or a sequence of images and can be used
to emphasise an element of action within the frame. Or it can challenge and upset an expectation in order to achieve a
dramatic and emotional effect. Silence – the absence of sound – can also be extremely effective.
• Music and film are a strong marriage as they are both based around time and rhythm. In
realist films, such as Twelve Angry Men and Hush-a-Bye Baby, music is used sparingly to
enhance the moments where it is used in the drama, whether it is an upbeat or downbeat
moment. In other films, such as Thelma and Louise, music is used more extensively
throughout and plays an integral part in the overall pace and structure of the film. Exploring
the way sound, especially music, and image work together, can help students peel away
some of the layers of meaning within a film and identify how music and sound effects
influence or manipulate audience response.
Different Types of Sound
• A distinction in film analysis is often made between diegetic and non-
diegetic sound. In practice, the distinction between diegetic and non-
diegetic sound is rarely clear-cut however, these definitions are a
useful starting point for discussing the different uses of film sound.
• Diegetic sound
• Is sound heard within the world of the film or television programme.
For example, dialogue, conversations, a song being heard from a radio
in the room.
• (From 8 secs:)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI3oRil4LHM&feature=channel
• Non-diegetic sound
• Is sound not produced by a source within the world of the film or
programme. Sound that exists beyond the world of the story, such
as a voice over.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IwGs1uob9g&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbX1U1tx9aw&feature=related
Sound Effects
• The Foley Effects:
• When you watch footsteps on a film, the sound is not necessarily from
the same source that we see on screen – it can be created artificially,
and sometimes has to be created artificially. This kind of sound
effect is known as a Foley effect. Foley effects are usually used to
enhance believability, making the sound match what is on the screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNvKhe2npMM&feature=related
• Sound for Animation:

• For animated films, the sound designer has to make the sounds seem
real and authentic. They watch the film and then add the sounds in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A6z8QkVHk4&feature=related
Sound Bridge
• This is an editing technique where sound
from the following sequence begins before
the shot has changed location or vice versa.
The music bridges the gap between the
scene change or action.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOByH_iOn88
The origin of music in films
• Silent Films:
• In the early days of cinema, before the use of synch sound, live
music always accompanied 'silent' film screenings and, in early
sound films, the music was played on set while the film was being
shot.
• This was a natural extension of the way musical accompaniment
was used in theatre and vaudeville and is just one legacy of the
theatrical tradition which so informed the development of early
narrative cinema. With the introduction of synch sound to
filmmaking, music became more imaginatively integrated into film.
• Examples:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79i84xYelZI&feature=related
Film Music
• Film music includes source music (such as classical pieces or popular music) and music
specially composed for the film.
• Example of source music:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik-RsDGPI5Y&feature=related
• Example of music written for the film:

• (From 1min 20 secs)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYi1nQf-GlE&feature=related
• It can be used as another voice in a film, influencing our response to images. It can
enhance the meaning or dramatic effect of an image, or challenge it. It can also be
used to link apparently unconnected scenes and situations together. While it is not
'realistic' for music to accompany action, it is an accepted convention of classical-
styled narrative cinema, and tends to enhance our involvement in and acceptance of
the world of the film. Music operates, like pictures, beyond the confines of language
and dialect and so helps universalise film.
Film Music
• Music and film are a strong marriage as they are both based
around time and rhythm. In realistic films, courtroom dramas,
and Dramas such as Twelve Angry Men and The Devils Advocate,
music is used sparingly to enhance the moments where it is used
in the drama, whether it is an upbeat or downbeat moment.
• This scene is the moment where he realises the truth...
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WdWH53nsu8&feature=related
• In other films, such as Forest Gump, music is used more

extensively throughout and plays an integral part in the overall
pace and structure of the film.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsyYvFgdb5c&feature=related
Why Study Sound?
• Exploring the way sound, especially music, and
image work together, can help you peel away some
of the layers of meaning within a film and identify
how music and sound effects influence or
manipulate audience response.
• We are now going to study an extract of a film

together and note down how the soundtrack
influences the audience, looking at the effect it
would have on the audience.
The Sound Analysis:
• The Opening 5 minutes of “The Usual

Suspects”.
• Complete the table given to you, to

allow you to analyse the effect the
sound has on the audience.
Tell me what music, diegetic and
non- diegetic sound you would use in
the following scene….
• A young girl is trapped in a wooden box.

She thinks she’s been kidnapped. The
audience sees that she is in a large
warehouse. Her kidnappers are nearby.
In Conclusion:
• Let’s return to our original questions, this
time add in the detail you have learnt this
lesson..
• What type of sound do you find in films?

• What effect can sound have on an
audience?
• Why do we have sound in film and television
programmes?

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Film Language: Sound

• What type sound do you find in films?

• What can sound do?

• Sound for Animation:

• Example of source music:

• Example of music written for the film:

• In other films, such as Forest Gump, music is used more

• We are now going to study an extract of a film

• The Opening 5 minutes of “The Usual

• Complete the table given to you, to

• A young girl is trapped in a wooden box.

• What type of sound do you find in films?

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