Difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound Essay

What is the difference surrounded by diegetic and non-diegetic leaden? Can they ever be conf applyd? cover with reference to at least three recent films.For this turn up I shall be highlighting the differences between the two terms diegetic and non-diegetic fail. I shall also controvert whether or not the terms and their meanings could ever be confused. To help highlight my arguments within this essay I shall reference to films such as The Italian business sector, Romeo and Juliet and Entrapment. The final examination vowelize will hopefully round off the essay with a critical conclusion of the given question and the evidence presented within the essay. moreover sound is perhaps the hardest of all techniques to study Our primary information aboutthe layout of our surroundings comes from sight, and so in ordinary feeling sound is often obviously a background for our visual attention.(Bordwell.D. & Thompson.K., 1947, Film art An introduction, Fifth Edition, New York Londo n McGraw-Hill.)Sound which erect be implied or linked by a character or an action taking place within the context of a scene is often referred to as a diegetic sound. This loafer include medicament that is being performed within the films world, such an example could be interpreted from the film Titanic. The particular scene I am referring to, is when the get off has just started to sink and the band decide to continue playing.ON WALLACE HARTLEY raising his violin to play.HARTLEYNumber 26. Ready and The band has reassembled just out facial expression the First break Entrance, port side, near where Lightoller is calling for the boats to be loaded. They strike upa waltz, lively and elegant. The euphony wafts all over the ship.(Anon, Titanic Script, http//sites.inka.de/humpty/titanic/script.html)Another anchor example of music being used within a scene of a film as a diegetic source, would be in The Crow. here(predicate) we see a mysterious figure playing an electric guitar in a way that has quite a phallic relation to his character.She pauses as she hears a lilting, faraway GUITAR STRAIN.Across the street she can bushel out the figure of Eric on hisroof playing the guitar.(Anon, The Crow Script, http//abahb.crowfans.com/TheCrow/crowmov.txt)Another form of audio use in films which falls under the diegetic category, would be when a character within the scene is talking, singing, shouting etc. My first example to highlight this is taken from Baz Luhrmans adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The scene in question is when the Montagues and Capulets meet for the first time.ABRADo you bite your thumb at us, sirSampsons shaking snuff it hovers ready to draw.SAMPSONI do bite my thumb, sir.(Baz Lurhmanns Romeo and Juliet)Another example, can be taken from the film To Die For. However, with this example the character is talking right away to the audience.SUZANNE STONE MARETTOYou arnt in truthly anybody in America if youre not on TV.(iMDB, memorable quotes from To Die For, http//imdb.com/ ennoble/tt0114681/quotes)A final step that helps gear up diegetic sound is the use of instinctive sounds. For example a cars engine revving. When sounds like this are used they tend to be highlighted and amplified, so as to draw the audiences attention to the relevant action. My first example is taken from the recent re-make of The Italian pedigree. Here the echo, ominous thud, resonates the seriousness of the situation, i.e. the fact that they are at the worst of their troubles.UNDERWATER SAME TIMEThe Humvee strikes the surface bottom with an ominous thud.(AllMovieScripts.com, The Italian Job Script, http//www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/italianjob.PDF)Another example can be taken from the film Entrapment. Here the sound we are focusing on is not amplified a great deal, in fact it seems the director wants the sound to be as quiet as possible. No doubt to tie-in with the secrecy and precision required within the context.Nearby, an ALARM BOX softly BEEP S its60-second warning to the pulsing of a green light, and the Thiefattaches a small computerized DEVICEHowever, the interesting point that can be brought about with this example is that even though the sound stops, it receives or so the same if not more attention as when the box was beeping.the right one STOPS. Illuminated in red. The beeping, thegreen light, go OFF. The device is removed.(AllMovieScripts.com, Entrapment Script, http//www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/14984220623f39e70a15fbb.html)The other side to looking at audio within the film environment is non-diegetic sounds. Non-diegetic sound is just as important within films as natural or diegetic sounds. However, it appears that you can spot a lot more use of non-diegetic sounds within science fiction or fantastical films, such as Star Wars and Lord of the go. Again this can be broken up into three main criteria.Sound effects are often used to create a real sound from an unnatural object, such as a futuristic spacecraft , or as in my next example a light-sabre.Through Lucas perserverance and continuity of the light-sabre sound, the changeless whirring, the audience is quite accustomed to believing that the light-sabre is an organic object.Just as the ice creature looms over Luke, the lightsaberjumps into Lukes hand.The young warrior instantly ignites his sword, swinging up,and cuts himself wakeful from the ice.(Smith.K.B, Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Script, http//www.wheelon.com/swscripts/scripts.htm)However, sound effects dont just help out futuristic objects gain a realistc life they can also be used to exaggerate the movement of a real world object. This principle is explained in the following example that briefly talks of Mr.Hulots Holiday. Although the door doesnt make a realistic noise, the sound that replaces it is organic, i.e. natural.much humor arises from the opening and closing of a dining-room door. Instead of simply recording a real door, Tati inserts a twanging sound like a p lucked cello string each time the door swings.(FilmSound.org, Dimensions of film sound, http//www.filmsound.org/filmart/bordwell2.htm) muniment within a film is also considered a non-diegetic sound, for although it could quite easily link to what is taking place within the scene, it is not an actual part of the scene. such(prenominal) as the characters are not normally aware of this external voice or sound. It is used to best effect when thinking of an adaptation of a real book or story. An example of a story that used narration throughout the film is The Englishman who went up a Hill notwithstanding came low-spirited a Mountain.Narrator For some odd reason, lost in the mists of time, theres an extraordinary shortage of last names in WalesTo avoid far-flung confusion, Welsh people often add an occupation to a name But one mans name was a puzzle, and it wasnt until I was 10 years old that I asked my grandfather about the man with the longest and most enigmatic name of all.(iMDB, M emorable quotes from The Englishman who went up a cumulation but came down a mountain, http//us.imdb.com/title/tt0112966/quotes)Another take on narration within film, is when the narrator is in reality part of the story, but is say, recounting preceding(prenominal) events. This normally takesthe audience through the story to the present moment that the narrator/character has found themselves in. For example in the film Carlitos Way, the main character, Carlito Brigante, is recounting his story of failure from free man, through to his imminent death,Sorry boys, all the stitches in the world cant sew me together again. arrange downlay down. Gonna stretch me out in Fernandez funeral home on hun and ninth streetGetting the shakes now, Last call for drinks, Bars closing down Suns out Where are we going for breakfast, Dont wanna go far Rough night Tired baby Tired(iMDB, Memorable quotes from Carlitos way, http//us.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/quotes)You also tend to find that with this ki nd of narration, i.e. story recounting up to present day, the opening lines or quotes are echoed in the final closing lines.One of the final main criteria of non-diegetic sounds within a film is background or mood music. This is also known as the soundtrack or score.every attentive filmgoer is aware of the enormous power music holds in shaping the film experience, manipulating emotions and point of view, and guiding perceptions of characters, moods, and narrative events.(Hill.J. & Church.P., 2000, Film studies critical approaches, Oxford Oxford University Press)This part of non-diegetic sound is probably the most under-estimated, through the use of mood music the audience can be taken on a rollercoaster of emotions. This use of audio is an infixed ingredient to any film. It is very hard stretched, certainly with Hollywood blockbusters, to come across a film that doesnt employ the technique of atmosphere music or score to shape the feeling of a scene.This next part to this essay s hould hopefully try and cover similarities between the different criteria of diegetic, and its counter-part, non-diegetic sound. Through this section I shall attempt to answer the question as to whether these two distinctive forms of audio can ever be confused. The way in which I shall do this will be through using the obvious links that are the defining criteria of the different audio types. The comparison shall follow the form of defining which diegetic criterion and how it relates to the example scene, then the comparison shall follow with the non-diegetic link using the same scene and instance.The first of the three links to be compared shall be the natural voice or sound of the character within the scene. The opening scene of Baz Lurhmanns adaptation of Romeo and Juliet uses a newsworthiness reporter, being portrayed as a news programme through the use of the medium close-up of the T.V. set. Here we see a news report that at first glance would seem as a typical bulletin. Howev er, this is when the two different types of sound categorization can become blurred or confused. The reason for this is because the news reporter is actually taking on the role of the narrator as depicted by Shakespeares original work. This is also evident through the type of language being used and how it is brought to life with the tone and emphasis.The second example that can be used to highlight when the two conventions become blurred is when a natural or organic sound is reproduced and accentuated through the use of sound effects. We can take a closer look at this argument with a typical western film that has a Hollywood budget attached to it, such as Young Guns 2. When watching a spaghetti western, its an unconscious convention that we expect the gun to make quite a prominent sound, from either the initial bang through to the ricochet twang. My feeling is that, the natural sound produced by a gun, particularly props, would not be enough to convince the audience, especially wit h modern expectations. I feel its at this point when you could call the sound effect that replaces the original sound non-diegetic in respect to it being created artificially.My final example links back to a film I have referenced frequently throughoutthis essay, Romeo and Juliet. Music that is root within the scene, a band for example, is classed as being diegetic, however mood music is known as non-diegetic. The scene in which Romeo and Juliet first meet is that of a house party. In this house party theres a typical mini-orchestra and singer performing (Desree Kissing You), so for arguments sake we could class this as being diegetic for the moment. Yet, when Romeo and Juliet are first engaging each other in secret conversation, the music becomes the mood setting for the background. This is emphasized more when a natural break in the song, serves as an intensifying moment between the two characters. This could then be classed as non-diegetic as it serves to put across the mood bet ween the two lovers of excitement and intrigue.To round of this essay Im going to finish with a short conclusion about how I feel regarding the essay question. It seems to be that its easy enough for us, as the audience, to pigeon hole a sound at first glance. However as with my last cases these sounds might not always fit into the categories you first think they would. It could be a fair point to say then, that rather than being confined to one standardisation, these sounds might actually fluctuate and vary, depending on the scenes mood and context.BibliographyBooksBordwell.D. & Thompson.K., 1947, Film art An introduction, Fifth Edition, New York London McGraw-Hill.Hill.J. & Church.P., 2000, Film studies critical approaches, Oxford Oxford University PressOnline SourcesAllMovieScripts.com, Entrapment Script, http//www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/14984220623f39e70a15fbb.htmlAllMovieScripts.com, The Italian Job Script,http//www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/italianjob.PDFAnon, Titan ic Script,http//sites.inka.de/humpty/titanic/script.htmlAnon, The Crow Script,http//abahb.crowfans.com/TheCrow/crowmov.txtFilmSound.org, Dimensions of film sound,http//www.filmsound.org/filmart/bordwell2.htmiMDB, Memorable quotes from Carlitos way,http//us.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/quotesiMDB, Memorable quotes from The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain, http//us.imdb.com/title/tt0112966/quotesiMDB, Memorable quotes from To Die For,http//imdb.com/title/tt0114681/quotesSmith.K.B, Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Script,http//www.wheelon.com/swscripts/scripts.htmFilmographyAmiel.J., 1999, EntrapmentGray.F., 2003, The Italian JobLucas.G., 1980, Star Wars The Empire Strikes BackLurhmann.B., 1996, Romeo and JulietMonger.C., 1995, The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountainPalma.D.B, 1993, Carlitos WayProyas.A., 1994, The CrowSant.V.G., 1994, To Die For