Diegetic sounds and non-diegetic sound are just the fancy terms for onscreen and offscreen sound. These cover all the sounds in a movie from the voices of the characters to the background music playing over the closing credits. Filmmakers use these to enhance the beauty of film. But how to differentiate between these two? You will find the answer to this question in this blog.
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What is Diegetic Sound?
Diegetic sound is defined as sound that originates from the film’s plot. The source of diegetic sound does not need to be displayed on screen as long as the audience knows and understands that it comes from within the movie.
Example of Diegetic Sound
These are some of the most common and popular examples of Diegetic Sound.
- Characters voice: it is the easiest example of diegetic sound.
- Sounds of objects: to make films look realistic these sounds are added, for example, if the character is standing in nature, we can hear the birds chirping and the natural ambience of the place.
What is Non-Diegetic Sound?
Non-diegetic sound refers to the sound that is not picked up on-screen and originates from beyond the scene or storyline. The source of non-diegetic sound is not visible, and the characters in the film are unable to hear it; these sounds are later added by the sound editor.
Example of Non-diegetic Sound
These are some of the most common and popular examples of Non-diegetic Sound.
- The film musical score: music that is played over and which is not part of the natural scene. Added to set the mood of the film, manipulate emotion and drama.
- Narrations take place to make the audience understand the story but it doesn’t guide the character of the movie.
What is Trans-Diegetic Sound?
In the same project, both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds can be used. This combination of diegetic and non-diegetic is referred to as “trans-diegetic sound”. Trans-diegetic is any sound that moves in between non-diegetic and diegetic, it helps link two things, like transitions between scenes.
Examples of Trans-Diegetic Sound and When a Filmmaker Should Use It
These are some of the most common and popular examples of Trans-diegetic Sound.
- When a character hums a tune (diegetic sound), the humming sound transforms into a soundtrack of the same tune (non-diegetic sound), which continues over into the following scene, this is an example of the trans-diegetic sound.
- Another example is when music plays over the opening of the film and then transforms into the song playing on the radio in the film.
You probably know these sounds very well and now you understand the difference between them as well. Hope this blog was useful for you.
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