Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sound

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sound Review

Diegetic Sound - Diegetic sound is sound that is made from an object or a person that is visible in the picture. Diegetic sound is used to bring attention to certain objects within the picture and makes certain objects stand out more than others. Some different types of diegetic sound are thngs such as dialogue and sound effects. Diegetic sound is used in both TV drama and in film and is very common in scenes of both types of media. It is relatively easy to use diegetic sounds as most scenes include events in which they will occur i.e. conversations.

Non-Diegetic Sound - Non-diegetic sound is the sound made by objects or people who are not being shown in the picture at that particular point in time. These types of sound tend to be ones such as backing tracks, voiceovers and some types of sound effects. The objective of non-diegetic sounds are to normally set the scene or to introduce certain events or characters. This is mainly the case for the types such as backing tracks or in some cases when a narrator is needed, a voiceover may be used. Backing tracks can also be used for characters who are in the picture at that point and themes and different music can be played for these times as well.