Relationship Between Sound and Image: Diegetic, Non Diegetic and External Diegetic Sound

Diegetic Sound



 'Diegetic Sound' often refers to audio which can be seen in the shot or frame, such as dialogue or sounds made by objects. Another way to look at it is that diegetic sound is the sound that the characters can hear within the films world. This is the norm for sound as it includes every piece of audio recorded there and then on the set

'Non-diegetic Sound' means sound from outside the shot or the film world. Its not seen in the shot and is not normally heard by the characters. This often tends to be things like music or soundtrack that the audience can hear but the characters in shot can't. Non diegetic sound is used to add mood and emphasis to scenes that may not be able to deliver impact without it. In terms of soundtrack, see page 'Audio Components:Music'. Another example of none diegetic sound is a narrator, who is normally only heard by the audience.

'External Diegetic Sound' comes along the same lines of non-diegetic, as it is put into the scene from outside the shot but can be heard by the characters as well as the audience. An example of this would be foley sound effects, ambient or background sound as they are edited into shot during the editing stage. If a scene lacks certain audio that may be heard within the scene, then using external diegetic sound adds to this and creates depth. Sometimes, there is also cases of external diegetic sound which can include a narrator, often one that talks to the audience but can interact with the characters as well. This is used a lot in child's TV programs, so that, for the children watching, they feel included in the story. This also accounts for a characters imagination, which is actually a voice over recorded separately but put in to speak for the character within their head, heard by the audience and by the character.

Sometimes, diegetic sound can become non-diegetic sound. For example this is normally seen when a soundtrack playing in the scene from something like a radio in a car, or through a characters headphones, then becomes non diegetic. This works both ways from non diegetic to diegetic. it creates a sense of atmosphere.



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