Diegetic and Non-diegetic Sound

In lesson we looked at the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound in films, and the effect that sound has on the audience. The use of sound in a film is very powerful technique. Sound engages with a distinct key sense and helps us synchronize both our visual and aural sense and unifies them together.
We watched the film 'Jaws' to show how the sound is used to create a tense atmosphere, throughout the opening.

The scene starts with with the use of Diegetic sound:
- Children screaming, laughing, playing The sound of the children playing happily creates dramatic tension for the audience as they are now aware that there are innocent children on the beach and the scene will not stay in this happy vibe for much longer.
- Parts of dialogue from peoples conversations There are 3 sets of diffrent dialogue going on in the scene. This helps to show that the beach is crowded and busy.
- Dog barking The sound of the dog barking could be trying to imply or signal warning or danger for the people on the beach.
- Splashing Shows that their are people and children in the water, and could be building up the tension and suspense as it is creating more noise for the audience.
-Music from the radioThe music is very calming this could be like this to emphasise the mood at that time then the mood during the shark attack.

After the opening of the scene starts there is then structured and scripted dialogue from the main characters in the film however the diagetic sounds are still continuing in the background.
The young boy Alex then asks to go back into the sea and we see the child floating alone in the sea on his lilo.

The scene then starts to build up the use of non-diegetic sound:

- Tension music quietly and slow starts to play.
- Quiet when Alex is shown on the lilo buy himself there was no music or sound this is so show his isolation and distant from the people and safety of the beach.
- Splashing You can still hear the splashing and voices of the children this creates tension as we do not want the children to come to harm.
- Tension music the music is building up into a crescendo as the shark is getting closer and closer to Alex.
- Dramatic noise Once the child is being eaten there is a ping and zooming sound as the realisation of the attacked is noticed by the people on the beach.
- Silence and waves After all the action in the scene is over and the mother of Alex is trying to find him we just hear the voice of the mother calling out for her son then just the sound of the waves as we see Alex's torn up lilo float onto the shore of the beach.

I think the tension music in 'Jaws' was very good and the use of the crescendo really makes the audience engage with the film as they feel the tension and atmosphere build up inside as the music climaxes when the child is attacked. The effect of having really strong powerful music in 'Jaws' creates a more dramatic scene to the film, but the audience will then know the que to when the attack or action will happen. Whereas in 'Physco' the music was a lot more quiet and had more diegetic sounds such as the toilet flushing, the shower running and the door closing. By just having these diegteic sounds I feel that this creates a more eerie mood in 'Physco' as we do not know when the attack will happen, therefore this makes the audience jump and more glued to the screen.

When creating our film opening, I think I would like to use both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. As I like the effect that scary music has on the audience however, I believe that silence or just very small minimal sound can also be very effective and can create alot of tension with the audience.