Sound

Diegetic Sound: This refers to the sound in video and film that is implied to be present by the actions of what is going on through out the footage in the film. This wold include the voices of the dialogue between characters, the sounds of the objects in the film and the music from sources such as instruments and radios etc.

Non-diegetic Sound: This is sound from a source that is not on screen or implied to be present through the actions on screen. This could range from music played over the video, commentary and dramatic sound effects.

Synchronous Sound: Synchronous sound in film refers to the sounds that are matched with what is being viewed in the footage, such as if the film showed the character watching a football match, the sounds of the football match, such as cheering, are projected.

Sound Effects: This refers to the use of sound to produce particular meanings in film, television and radio. Sound effects are very important in conveying meaning to the audience in a very quick and economical way, such as the sound of a car crashing, which instantly conveys a sense that something significant had happened.

Sound Motif: This refers to sound effects that are associated with something in the film, be it a character or a place etc. These are used to connect the audience emotionally with something such as the actions of a particular character. These are often used to shape the story but are sometimes hard to create and convey across to the audience.

Sound Bridge: Sound bridges are used in the entering of a new scene or the exiting of an old scene. They can occur at the point of entry of a new scene when the sound from the previous scene is carried over, before we hear the sound from the new scene. However, they can also occur just before the exit of an old scene, when the audience hears the sound from the next scene, before the footage appears on screen.

Voiceover: This is when the voice of someone, usually the main character, is played over footage where the character is not speaking. This can be used to give a summary of events of the thoughts of a character.
(this contains both voice over, non-diegetic sound and a tune)



Mode of Address: This is when one party is communicating with another, they will use different modes of address in different circumstances and with different purposes in mind, for example, when giving a speech to a large audience, the speaker will use a relatively formal language appropriate to a public event. This differs a private conversation between two people when a public mode of address would be inappropriate and a more intimate tone is adopted.

Sound Mixing: This refers to the process by which a number of sounds are combined to create a more more appropriate sound with a multitude of channels.

Sound Perspective: Sound perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound, this is created through a number of techniques such as the volume of the sound, the balance with other sounds, the frequency range (high frequencies may be lost at a distance), and the amount of echo and reverberation.

Soundtrack: The is the part of a film text that carries sound - the recorded sound of action filmed as well as added items such as music, voiceovers and effects. It has an important role in the generation of meaning, i.e. certain sounds are conventionally understood to have particular connotations such as the sound to built up tension in horror films.
(this video is from a movie which has a brilliant soundtrack, although not British, it's Irish.)



Score: This is a term used to describe the music in film. However a film score differs to a film soundtrack as a score tends not to include the songs from inside the movie or film compared to a soundtrack, that does. These can be written especially for a piece of video, such as in Lost with the composer Michael Giacchino.

Incidental Music: This is the atmospheric (background) music that adds to the way the audience is feeling at this point in time in the film, such as fast, up beat music during a car chase.

Stings: In radio, a sting is a short piece of music between other content.

Ambient Sound: This is similar to incidental music and relates to the sound that would be in the background of the scene but would be more diagetic sounds that would be heard in the actual location and adds to the reality or the action of the footage and helps connect the audience with the piece of film.