Sounds: Diegetic and Non-Diegetic

Sounds, from narratives to music, often correspond to a films genre, characters and era. In todays lesson we studied and discussed the concept of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and how they influence the audience's perception of the scene/film.

Similar to 'Mise En Scene' (although not necessarily focusing directly on what was presented on screen) we observed how the music and scene progressed together. We analysed an extract from ' The Notebook ' in which two lovers enjoy a romantic boat trip down a river, not long before a storm breaks. As the first wave of thunder stuck, it generated a sense of forboding which elicited the more negative characteristics between the two lovers, resulting in an argument. However, in the formative stages of the scene, both characters interacted romantically in a rather more tranquil environment. Therein, the first strike of thunder signified to the audiences subconcious that something more destuctive was imminent - this is due to the fact that we associate thunder with more unwanted emotions. Midway through the argument, some romantic music eased its way into the scene and the lovers subsequently indulged in a passionate kiss. Fundamentally, it was the music that faded into the scene/argument that hinted the lovers possessed mutual feelings for one another.

We then established the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. In essence, the word diegetic refers to the ficticious world in which the characters of a film/tv series reside. This made the concept of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds easier to comprehend when applied to an example. We watched a clip from the acclaimed 'Inbetweeners', in which one of the main characters, Will, gives a comical narrative whilst the camera pans over the scene. The fact that the character addresses the audience directly denotes that it is a non-diegetic sound, as in the ficticious world, a narrative is not a sound heard by everyone in the realm of reality. Essentially, that is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sounds: diegetic sounds are sounds that would be expected to be heard e.g. footsteps, a glass smashing etc., whereas non-diegetic sounds are sounds used to supplement the atmosphere of the scene e.g. music, narratives - sounds that would not be expected to be heard in the realm of reality.