Diegetic Sound In Movies

Sound is something quite special, impactful, and adds layers of elements and complexity to a film. As with the progression of the movie making medium, sound has grown and changed drastically over the decades. However, sound cues in the form of effects, dialogue, and everything in between, shapes our perceptions of a scene and movie.

For example, in the nut sorting room, when Veruca’s shoes are clicking on the floor, which is a diegetic sound. This creates the effect that everything has suddenly gone very quiet and anticipation is growing. But, in Big Fish, Tim Burton uses sound to make people feel many different things. For example, in the town of Spectre, when the townspeople were dancing, the diegetic sounds were all of the happy dancing music. This creates the effect of happiness.

To start off, Quentin Tarantino gave much attention to detail in his diegetic sounds. By including crickets chirping, floorboards creaking, bullets ricocheting off multiple surfaces, and, of course, blood splatter, Tarantino truly brings his audience into the old American west. Another example of diegetic sounds in the film is when Dr. Schultz is waiting for Mr. Candie to sign the papers

It is usually pre-recorded and placed over the top of a film or video and commonly used in documentaries or news reports to explain information. Focusing on selected sounds can create tension, atmosphere, and emotion. It can also impart personality to film characters. Walter Murch (the doyen of sound designers) once described the character sounds (in a film he directed) as "coronas" which can magnify each character' s screen space. A figure who is associated with a particular sound (often suggested by his or her clothing), has "a real presence that is pervasive even when the scene is about something else or the character is off-screen."

Diegetic sound is sound that occurs within the film’s world and which the characters can hear; whereas, non-diegetic sound occurs outside the film’s world and the characters cannot hear it (Stadler & McWilliam 2009, p. 70). An example of diegetic sound in The Jazz Singer (1927) is the knocking on the table by the audience, after Jakie is shown performing for the first time as an adult. Jackie hears the adulation and reacts to it. An example of non-diegetic sound is the film’s near-constant score; which began the film with an overture and continued to be a central aspect of the film throughout; concluding with exist music for the audience’s benefit. The use of synchronous sound; sound recoded during filming (Stadler & McWilliam 2009, p. 67);

Tim Burton has been in the movie making business creating beautiful movies for over thirty years. Most can agree that Burton has a very unique and interesting directing style which allows him to manipulate the emotions of people of all ages. Tim Burton uses camera angles, color contrasting, and diegetic and non-diegetic sounds to blur the seemingly straight line dividing reality and imagination in Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, and Big Fish.

The music interacts with dialogue in the film; the techno beat is, at times, accompanied by vocals, which correspond with not only what is happening in the scene, but also the internal diegetic dialogue—another important motif.

Boyz in the Hood is a crime/ action-drama filled film directed by John Singleton that pursues life in the hood of three black youngsters. Singleton style of music and sound chosen in the film played a major role by implying a specific functions to the picture to intensify the scene. Musical genre establishes groups of music pieces by determining its form, rthym and style. When it comes to choosing a soundtrack for a film, it is very crucial to have sound that implements the picture in order to guide the viewers attention the right way.

Another example of sound is Hitchcock's use of voice over. For instance, as Marion drives away with the money she ha stolen, she imagines conversations between the people she has left behind and their reactions to her faults. Hitchcock also uses sound, which doesn’t complement the image that we see. Whilst the on screen

* Diegeticsound within the actual scene e.g. the image of waves and you hear waves crashing on the sand.

Along with background music, sound effects play more of a role on the way we feel than many moviegoers think, and "although the function of sound effects is primarily atmospheric, they can also be precise sources of meaning in film" (Giannetti, 225). When the

For example, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when Willy Wonka told his adventure in the forest, non-diegetic sound is used in flashback. Specifically, the fast drum sound that foreshadowing the danger waiting for him or a great mystery waiting to be discovered, which turn out to be the start of his companionship with the oompa loompas. The nest example is in Edward Scissorhands, close-up shot is used in the scene with Edward and his creator to told the past of him. We could clearly see now that Edward is a machine but he is created by the love of a person, close-up shot of the inventor show how much love in his eye

Another example of diegetic sound used to create a tense atmosphere is when Andy first arrives to prison. We hear the inmates’ voices, whistling, screaming and banging the gates. This makes them seem mean and the scene tense and makes the viewer think that Andy has arrived to a dangerous and horrible place and that he could be in danger there. These sounds make us feel anxious for him about his new home because the inmates seem intense and mean.

By offering a shot by shot analysis of a scene that uses diegetic sound the audience can understand why the director used these sound aspects to tell his story. This analysis does not just follow one scene but rather a series of scenes in order of what is relevant. First we are witness to the mother in her apartment washing clothes on the washing board and the camera then cuts to the clock, which is striking time and making an animated noise that brings the audience into this important element of the film. The story then cuts to Elsie being honked at on the street with horns that are overly dramatic in sound, yet another way for the director to use the sound technique. Another way the director uses sound in a dramatic way is when he presents Elsie bouncing her ball down the sidewalk and on the

In Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when Gandalf arrives in the shire the action follows his horse drawn cart, camera angles are switched to follow the movement of the cart but the editing is done so that it is ‘silent’ and almost inconspicuous. The latter technique used to maintain temporal continuity is diegetic sound, a device referring to a sound that has been viewed within the story world. It can include off-screen sounds but it always takes place in the narrative domain. Whenever Legolas draws his bow and loosens an arrow we hear a zip for the sound of the arrow leaving the bow and a thump when it meets its target, this is an example of diegetic sound in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.