Sound

Diegetic Sound:
-This is the sound that is inside the world of the film, whether on screen or off screen.
-It makes the film seem more real.
-Off screen diegetic sound can be used to give us clues to what’s happening around the characters or to the location the characters are in.

Non-Diegetic Sound:
- This is the sound that is not inside the world of the film.
- It’s sound that is added on later.
- For example, music playing over the top of a scene.

Sound Bridges:
- The sound from one scene carries over into the next or we hear the sound of the next scene before we see the images.
- Sound bridges give a wider and coherent diegetic world.
- Therefore, sound bridges are part of the films continuity

Parallel and Contrapuntal Sound:
- Parallel sound is when the sound we hear complements what we see, for example romantic music at romantic moments.
- The tone and mood of the music matches the scene
- Contrapuntal sound is when the sound doesn’t match what we see, for example in ‘Jaws’, the sinister sound we use as a signal for the shark coming, played over a scene with holidaymakers on Amity beach.

The Foley Track:
- This is the track of the sound effects
- Some sounds would need to be enhanced and others need to be created and added in later, for example the dinosaur eggs hatching in ‘Jurassic Park’ (Steven Spielberg)

Sound in Trainspotting (1996, Danny Boyle) :

The film starts with the sound of footsteps, with Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his friends running along a street. This would have been enhanced or added on in post-production. At 0.04 music starts, this non-diegetic. The music is fast and upbeat, and suggests that the film is not going to be serious. A voiceover (Ewan McGregor) accompanies the music, this is also non-diegetic. When the car brakes at 0.20 the sound of the breaks are enhanced or added in later on in post-production, as would the sound of Renton's head hitting the floor at 1.17. At 2.50 and 5.19 we hear a baby in the background although it is off screen. This makes the film seem more realistc and more three dimensional. At 5.37 we hear the sound of keys in the door and then see Renton close the door. This is a sound bridge, we hears what's happening before we see it. At 6.32 we hear the sound him putting the glass down although the glass is off screen. This again makes the film seem more realistic as we would expect to hear the glass being put down, in real life. When Renton comes through the front door at 5.37, music from 'Carmen' starts. This is contrapuntal to what's happening in the scene. The music is enhanced at 6.40 when he has broken the boards and has left his flat, which would be done post-production.