SOUND TERMINOLOGY

—  Selective sound is used to emphasise key sound elements within a sequence

—  Ambient sound is used to create a particular atmosphere or a sense of place

—  Sound bridges – the use of sound to help transitions between sequences pass more fluidly

—  Sound effects – are these used to create a sense of realism or to create some psychological impact.

—  Theme music – This is the music that introduces, develops throughout and ends the film. It often indicates the ‘personality’ and mode of address of the movie. Characters can have their own theme music – this is used to indicate their presence or ‘emotional journey’.

—  Musical Score – used to create atmosphere, to link shots or sequences, to help create the narrative or to offer information about characters.

—  Silence – film/TV are very rarely completely silent, but this effect is occasionally used to provoke a reaction from the audience.

—  Voiceover – This is the ‘voice’ of a character. This voice often guides or informs the external audience but can be used to push them in wrong narrative directions.

—  Synchronous sound – This is when a sound effect is matched with another technical event or action – this reinforces the effect.

—  Asynchronous sound – This is when a sound originates from outside of the diegetic reality of the film; musical soundtrack.

—  Contrapuntal - noise or sound effect which doesn’t match the visuals, often juxtaposed to create alternative meaning