Sound and Editing.

SOUND


Diegetic Sound: This refers to the sound in video and film that is implied to be present by the actions of what is going on through out the footage in the film. This wold include the voices of the dialogue between characters, the sounds of the objects in the film and the music from sources such as instruments and radios etc.

Non-diegetic Sound: This is sound from a source that is not on screen or implied to be present through the actions on screen. This could range from music played over the video, commentary and dramatic sound effects.

Synchronous Sound:
This is when the sound is synced with what is viewed on screen, these can be recorded during shooting but sound effects are normally added after.

Here is some great Synchronous sound from the legendary PC game Quake 3!



Asynchronous Sound:
This is when there is a difference between what we hear and what we see on screen, it is often coupled with eye line matches as the character hears the sound, to create a sensation of tension or surprise.

Sound Effects: This refers to the use of sound to produce particular meanings in film, television and radio. Sound effects are very important in conveying meaning to the audience in a very quick and economical way, such as the sound of a car crashing, which instantly conveys a sense that something significant had happened.

Here is a great example of sound effects in a horror style. Listening to them gives you a perfect idea of what genre it is....



Sound Motif: This refers to sound effects that are associated with something in the film, be it a character or a place etc. These are used to connect the audience emotionally with something such as the actions of a particular character. These are often used to shape the story but are sometimes hard to create and convey across to the audience.

Dialogue:
This is when there is a reciprocal conversation between two or more characters.

Voiceover: This is when the voice of someone, usually the main character, is played over footage where the character is not speaking. This can be used to give a summary of events of the thoughts of a character. Recorded over a scene, sometimes by a 'voice artist'.

Here is some classic voiceover- from the opening scene of Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In this case, the voiceover is done by the mystical elf, Galadriel.



Mode of Address/Direct Address:
When the name of a character is used to secure their attention this is direct address, use of a vocative form.

Sound Mixing: This refers to the process by which a number of sounds are combined to create a more more appropriate sound with a multitude of channels.

Sound Perspective: This Refers to the apparent distance of a sound. Clues to the distance of the source include volume, balance with other sounds, frequency range (higher frequencies lost at a distance) and the amount of echo / reverberation. these are normally used to match sound and picture.

Here is a simple, yet effective way of showing sound perspective.



Score: This is a term used to describe the music in film. However a film score differs to a film soundtrack as a score tends not to include the songs from inside the movie or film compared to a soundtrack, that does. These can be written especially for a piece of video, such as in Lost with the composer Michael Giacchino.

Stings: In radio, a sting is a short piece of music between other content.

Incidental Music: This can commonly be described as background music, it adds atmosphere to the action. It may take the form of something as simple as a low, ominous tone suggesting an impending startling event, or, to enhance the depiction of a story-advancing sequence, It may also include pieces which will provide the main interest for the audience, for example overtures, or music played during scene changes, or at the end of an act, immediately preceding an interlude

Ambient Sound: This is similar to incidental music and relates to the sound that would be in the background of the scene but would be more diagetic sounds that would be heard in the actual location and adds to the reality or the action of the footage and helps connect the audience with the piece of film.

An example of ambient sound.



EDITING

Transitions: These are the way in which two clips are joined together, the most common is the cut but they vary from, crossfades to wipes and digital affects. Here are some examples

Dissolve: This is also known as a cross fade, this is where one shot gradually fades into the next.

Fade in/out: A video fade is when a shot gradually fades to (or from) a single colour, usually black or white signalling the begining or end of a scene. The timing of the fades indicates the importance of the change in time and/or location between scenes — a slower fade with more time spent on black indicates a more significant end/beginning. A fairly quick fade to and from black could indicate a time lapse of a few minutes or hours, whereas a long drawn-out fade indicates a much bigger change.

Wipe: A technique in film and video editing whereby one image is replaced by another, typically by a line moving across the screen.

Superimposition: In film, this is to lay or place an image or a piece of video on or over something else.

Takes: This refers to the attempt at filming a particular scene or a portion of narrative. As is now well known from the popularity of out-take programs on TV, the production of the final take my involve many attempts.
These takes can be either categorized as a long take or small take, referring to the amount of time that passes while the camera is rolling.

Slow Motion: This is a special effect produced by the increasing the speed of film run through the camera, so that when the film is projected at the standard rate of twenty-four frames per second the action appears to be slowed down.

Ellipsis & Expansion of Time: During brief, dangerous events, (i.e. car accidents and robberies) many people report that events seem to pass in slow motion, as if time had slowed down, the expansion of time aims to recreate this and can be enhanced using slow motion, different angles and time remapping.

Visual Effects: This is the artificially created (trick) images in film, often to create the illusion that an action that cannot be performed naturally - a man flying or a famous building being blown up - is actually happening.
There are three categories of special effect: those done on camera, those done on set and those carried out in post-production.