Sound in film

Sound in Film

Glossary

• Diegetic Sound: Also called 'literal sound' or 'actual sound' is sound that originates from a source that is onscreen or a source implied to be present. It exists in the world of the film and characters that are present would be aware of it. Examples include dialogue of onscreen characters and sounds or music originating from onscreen sources.
• Non-Diegetic sound: Sound which doesn't originate from the action or objects onscreen for example voiceover narration, musical score or sound effects added for dramatic effect. Any characters onscreen would not be aware of the sound.
• Ambient sound: Sound which creates atmosphere or a sense of place.
• SFX: An acronym for Sound Effects. A sound effect is an artificially created or enhanced sound used in a motion picture.
• Mood: A sense of feeling suggested or created by the soundtrack.
• Tone: A combination of the pitch, quality and strength of a sound.
• Genre: a category or type of music e.g. rock, classical, jazz etc.
• Theme music: Theme music establishes the mood and signals the start of the film, it may recur and develop throughout the film. Individual characters might have their own themes which appear when they are onscreen indicating their presence and giving some sense of their personality. 
• Voiceover: Sometimes shortened to V.O. is the voice of a character who is not visible onscreen. Voiceover can include diegetic sound (e.g. the sound of a parent calling a child from another room) or non-diegetic (e.g. narration that is not heard by other characters onscreen.)
• Musical Score: Original music created for a film.
• Synchronous sound: A sound which occurs at the same time as an event onscreen reinforcing the effect.
• Asynchronous sound: A sound which does not match the visuals onscreen but might be included for atmospheric effect or to increase the emotional impact of what is happening onscreen.
• Contrapuntal sound: Sound which does not match or works against the visuals.
• Silence: Silence occurs rarely in film but can be used effectively to elicit a reaction from the audience or disorientate the viewer.
• Selective sound: When an element of sound is emphasised within a sequence.
• Sound bridges: Sound which is used to ease transition between different sequences.

Looking at the opening sequence of Sherlock Holmes (2009) we can detect a number of sounds, some diegetic and some non-diegetic. The first thing we hear is piano music. This music is non-diegetic as it does not originate from any instrument within the sequence. It conveys a sense of mood and the ragtime style of the piece helps us to identify the era of the piece. We hear a distant rumbling and the asynchronous sound of horses' hooves. The horses soon appear onscreen pulling a coach and so the sound of their hooves becomes synchronous. One of the horse's gives a shrill whinny, a jarring, unsettling sound. The sound of strings appears in the musical score, the tempo of the music increases as the pace of the onscreen action also increases creating a synchronous effect. The non-diegetic sound of rumbling also increases giving a sense of foreboding. The camera moves to the inside of the coach and we see police officers loading guns. The selective sound of the guns whirring and clicking emphasises the sense of unease which has been building, the characters are preparing for danger. Drums appear in the musical score adding rhythm to the music. The sounds of the horses and their rattling of their bridles continues. The tempo of the music matches the fast cutting of the visuals. A man appears running in front of the horses. The sound of his feet against the cobbled stones is audible. A crow caws and we see it fly away. Crows are often associated with death so this adds to the sense of foreboding and building tension. We see and hear another gun. The volume of the music increases. The man who has been running reaches a door we see and hear the door open and the clip dramatically concludes with a crashing noise.