Art of Entertainment

Art of entertainment
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Art of entertainment
Diegetic sound as a compositional element is utilized almost whenever someone is telling a story that is visual, be it on a small screen or big screen. The idiom diegetic sound basically originates from the sound design as well as the film techniques. Diegetic sounds in essence, are those type of sounds experienced by the off-screen and on-screen characters that emerge from the story, for instance, the sound of a car crashing on the street, the sound of wind as it blows outside, or the sound of the door slamming (Cabrini, 2010).
Diegetic sound in different mediums
Diegetic sound in film: Sound is an essential element of film production. It is of note that sound can be utilized to indicate action, time or mood; to contribute to character development; or to complement an image (Cox, 2011). In the opening scene of the film Jaws, when the young woman is in the water, and then the sharks or jaws start to attack her, a lot of splashing as well as the sound of water lapping at the shore could be clearly heard as seen in figure 1 below; that is diegetic sound.
Figure 1: Jaws, opening scene

Diegetic sound is also clearly heard in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, at the scene where they are fighting using swords. All through the entire scene, the sounds of swords are heard many times since they are using swords to fight one another as shown in figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – the scene where they are fighting for the key.


The sound made is diegetic since the sound is relating to the action that is happening on the screen and the swords would actually be producing those sounds in real life when being utilized in fighting, thus the sound enhance the narrative. Other sorts of diegetic sounds that are utilized include the sound of cutting through objects like rope and flesh, the bushes inside the forest, the sand on the beach, the metal beam striking Jack on the head, as well as the sound of creaking wood. All these are the sounds that appear in the film world and both the audience and the characters in the movie can hear them as they happen because of the things occurring on the screen; all of them are vital to audience engagement and storytelling (Manolas & Pauletto, 2012). Another example is heard in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, at the scene of Mine Cart Chase illustrated in figure 3 below.
Figure 3: Diegetic sound in the film Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom.


Diegetic sound is employed extensively during this particular scene in order to make the action appear more believable and realistic to the audience, thereby enhancing the narrative. The sound of car screeching on the track, the gun shots sounds, the sound of the mine cart speeding on the tracks, the sound of falling wood, and the sound of gushing water and of individuals getting hit are instances of where diegetic sound has been employed in order to create a plausible effect. Without the use of such sounds, the audience might have the feeling that part of the action is missing since all these sounds add to the entire movie and capture the attention of the audience just as the visuals do. In essence, the sounds inform the audience of what is taking place without them having to look at the screen. Every diegetic sound corresponds with an action and all these sounds are familiar sounds to the audience (Slowik, 2013).
Why the aspect matters in film: Diegetic sound is essentially another tool that can be employed to help in telling the story, even though how it is utilized is up to the user. By making use of diegetic sounds, one is able to engage the viewer/audience and cleverly involve them in the action. This type of sound can be used effectively in film for telling a story and making the viewers/audience care. The sound will help to draw them in, since after all, sound is at least half of the picture (Slowik, 2013). Therefore, diegetic sound is an essential component in films since it is helpful in creating a particular event, mood, atmosphere, ambiance or plausible event. Presently, viewers are very much used to hearing diegetic sounds in films that they are now taking such sounds for granted. Nonetheless, when closely analyzed, one is able to see that dielegic sound is employed for a particular objective and has to be selected with carefulness so that the sound can provide an effect that is desired. It is noteworthy that the sound utilized can alter how the viewers/audience interpret a particular film and thus, it is imperative when making a movie.
Dielegic sound in music
In musical theater, just like in film, diegetic sound is the sound that the characters in the theater are able to hear and the viewers are also able to hear. In essence, the characters are aware that they are singing when a song is occurring. For instance, in the Sound of Music, the song Do-Re-Mi makes dielegic sound primarily be...