Sound Design: Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sounds

Definitions

Diegetic sound: Sound that can be heard by the character inside the story world

Non-diegetic sound: Sound that comes from a source outside of the story world and cannot be heard by the character

Example - Saw 0.5 (2003)

    The sound is being used to set the mood for the scene. In context to Saw, sound creates a thrilling and scary feel to the film.

    Immediately after playing the film, the sound of machines, weird signals, and unidentified sound effects confirm the film genre to be thriller and horror. In the first few seconds, the sound is diegetic when 2 characters are having a dialogue. Then the scene switches to the non-diegetic sound of an upbeat song when the character is wearing his jacket and walking out of a room. When walking upon the elevator, it changes into a diegetic sound when it is revealed that the song is coming out of the character's headphones. This is a connotation showing his rebellious personality as he is listening to a rock song whilst smoking in a hospital. The upbeat song contrasts with the scene that happens right afterward when the sound of a stick hits the character's head, and the scene returns to silence. Between the shots of the detective investigating and the main character reporting the case, a non-diegetic windy sound was added to create the effect of reminiscing about the past event.

    The volume contributes to the overall mood and feeling of the film, making sense of the film genre, which is horror and thriller. Also, the sound effects help the viewer to have a general view of how the film is going to progress and prepare their mentality of what is to come. In Saw 0.5, a scene where the character is tied into a chair, grunting and trying to get out of place uses many sound layers at a time such as metal clinging, thunderstorms, and the character's grunts to add to the mood of the scene and alarms the viewer about what is about to happen next.

    Based on the genre of Saw 0.5, it is clear that the sound is abrupt, causing a jumpscare effect. However, in some of the scenes where emotions are built up slowly, a modulated sound is applied to show clearly the character's changes. For example in the scene where the character remembers the moment he was kidnapped, a modulated sound was added while the camera zoomed into his face, showing the changes in emotions that he had.

    Saw 0.5 is a short film that is able to use its sound effectively to showcase its ideas and story through it. Therefore, all the sound used during the 9-minute film is rhythmically related to the image shown on screen and supports the overall meaning that the director wants to convey.