Sound techniques

Sound techniques

Sound has a very effective purpose in films to create a certain atmosphere or to create a desired mood. Each sound included has a specific effect which is usually taken for granted by the audience as the most effective sounds tend to go unnoticed. The sound used has the ability to change the entire way the audience interprets a scene and therefore it is extremely important to critically choose the right sounds that compliment the scene being shown. As a film maker, sound is a key tool required to control the way your audience to feels. 

Diegetic sound

In film, diegetic sound is the sound you are able to hear in the world you are watching. The source of the sound will be visible on screen such as:

• a door closing
• voices of characters
• sound of objects within the film

The digits sound can either be on-screen of off-screen depending on weather the source of the sound in in the frame or outside the frame. The purpose of diegetic sound is to create a sense of realism for the audience for the to become aware about what is happening. This would be useful in our teaser trailer if we were to use character commentary, however we believe that in our social realism trailer, we want our character not have dialogue as this helps the mood remain powerful but also ambiguous as we don't want to provide too much information about the story. 

Non-Diegetic

Non diegetic sound is the sound added in post production. It is sound which its source is not visible within the scene. It is used to create a particular effect such as a soundtrack or voiceover as this techniques can create what the audience should be feeling. Without this sound, the scene would undoubtedly be rather confusing or boring as no effect will be given to support the visuals. Example of non-digeic sounds are:

• Sound effects added for tension
• Background music 
• Narrators voice

An example of where non-diegetic sound is used effectively is in the teaser trailer for under the skin. The sound used in this is rather simple however extremely effective. The ambiguous airy sound builds up in coordination to the zoom of the eye. This is layered with harsh high pitch noises which is difficult to hear, which again increases the tension. This is then abruptly interrupted by fast paced beats synchronous to the timing of the words appearing which is highly effective and looks very professional. This teaser trailer can be found below: