Film Language; sound

Today we have learnt about the use of sound in films.
The world of the film we see on the screen is known as the Diegetic world, we can only see a section of this world; what the director has chosen us to see. However we accept that there are other things going on around the edges of what we are seeing. These edges are extended by the use of sound. For example we may hear a doorbell ring and acknowledge that there is someone being let into the house even though we can't see them.

Diegetic sound is sound which is part of the film world we are watching. This can be dialogue, music or noises which come from a source in the film world. For instance music could be coming from a radio, the way i remember it is to think whether or not the characters can hear the sound.

Non Diegetic sounds are sounds that we, the viewer, do not recognise as part of the film world such as a voiceover, background music and credit music. Similarly I remember this by thinking whether or not the characters can hear these sounds.

Off screen sounds are sounds that we can’t see the origin of, but are still part of the Diegetic world, this could be a kettle boiling in another room or traffic outside a house for example.

On screen sound is when the viewer can see where the sound is coming from as it could be in the same room as the characters we are watching.

A sound bridge could be either Diegetic or Non Diegetic. It is used to create a smooth transition from one scene to the next.

Parallel sounds are sounds that compliment the image being shown. For example in a scene where children are playing happily in a play ground and a light happy sound is playing in the background then this is parallel sound.

Contrapuntal sounds are sounds that don’t compliment the image. For example if people are playing and laughing on a beach and there is a dark sound then this would be contrapuntal sound. This is used to warn of something not being right and make the viewer be wary that something is going to happen.