Sound

Sound is everything you can hear on screen. This can include:

Dialogue- words spoken by a character within a scene. Dialogue can be used to establish characters and relationships as well as provide plot and backstory. Both content and delivery is important for the development of character and narrative

Voice-Over- Where an omniscient narrator or character is heard talking over the images appearing on screen.Often used to provide backstory and either a subjective or objective of the story as it unfolds. Voice-Over is usually recorded in a recording studio

Music- is used to heighten emotion and drama of a scene. Audiences are experienced in decoding the style of music to interpret mood or genre. Other uses can include: Establishing atmosphere,time and place, move the action forward, describe a character, accompany scene changes, provide continuity across edits.

Sound Effects- Are recorded sounds other than speech or music that is added to the soundtrack to enhance the narrative or make a statement creatively.  Sound effects and background noises are integral to depicting the world or setting in the film


Sound can be used in lots of different way that include:

Digetic-  Digetic sound has an origin within the world of the film. This includes dialogue and sound effects such as car alarm. It can be off-screen or on screen depending on the source within the film. The 2007 film No Country For Old Men uses this extensively throughout the film to give the film a more realistic feel.

Non-Digetic- has no direct origin in the film world such as music and some forms of narration and sound effects.


Sometimes films will have an absence of Non-Digetic sound to give a film a sense of realism. An example of this is the 2007 film No Country For Old Men does this successfully.

Emotional realism: Emotional Realism enables a film to be accompanied by sounds that both relate  to the image on screen but also the emotions of the actors consequently the viewer. For example if a scene is suspenseful the music and sound that accompany the picture will set the tone of the scene and the feelings and emotions of the actors. This can be shown in the film Toy Story where Buzz Lightyear has just fallen as he tries to fly and ends up loosing his arm in the process. In this scene the song I Will Go Sailing No More by Randy Newman is played to express how Buzz feels.

Contrapuntal Sound-  this type of sound highly contrasts the mood or tone that is being portrayed within a scene. This could be a really upbeat song playing over something horrible or nasty or visa versa. An example of this is the opening to the 2015 surprise hit Deadpool where the opening song Angel in the Morning is the complete opposite tone to what is being shown on screen which is quite gruesome and very funny

Parallel Sound-  This matches the mood or tone of the sequence. This is when the sound we hear goes hand in hand with a the image we are seeing on screen.In this sequence from the 2013 animated film Despicable Me 2 the song Happy is played to show how happy the main character Gru is feeling.The song is used to symbolise his feelings

Exaggerated or Pleonastic Sound- Film makers will often exaggerate sound to to heighten emotion or meaning within  a scene. It can be used to reinforce a characters threatening nature when they are on screen. It can also help emphasise the emotional impact of a specific action taking place during the scene. An example of this is from the 2008 Marvel film the Incredible Hulk where Bruce Banner (Edward Norton)turns into the Hulk and the sound of his roar is exaggerated in editing to make the Hulk appear much more threatening and scary.

Foley Sound: Are sound effects added to the film in post production. They can include footsteps,clothes rustling, crockery clinking, paper folding, doors opening and slamming, punches hitting and glass breaking. During production a boom operator will record dialogue and only dialogue. This makes it easier for a director to control the sound. The 2018 hit A Quiet Place used lots of Foley Sound effects