Music is a powerful tool in media, mainly used to flesh out the visuals and provide the viewer with a much more immersive experience! The types of audio are often sorted into 2 categories: Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sound.
Diegetic sounds belong to the world being shown to the viewer, sourced from characters in the form of dialogue, or from props and sets in the form of effects.
Non-Diegetic sounds and are added for the benefit of the viewer by the film producers, the sounds not belonging to the featured world and often used to exaggerate a motion or build to defuse tension through orchestrated music pieces.
As these categories have become the norm in a myriad of mediums ranging from films and television to newly emerging video games, some more daring, experimental artists, producers, and content creators have opposed these the status quo of music and sound use. This is usually done through subverting the expectations of the viewer, using filmmaking techniques to make the viewer presume what they're hearing doesn't belong to the world when it in fact does!
In the satirical 1974 western Blazing Saddles, which pokes fun at the conventions and stereotypes of the action/ adventure sub-genre of movies, there's a scene that beautifully manipulated the audience. In that scene, Bart, played by Cleavon Little, rides through the desert as he's backed by a sweeping orchestra which the audience can only assume is for us; produced in post and implemented after the filming process was wrapped up like every western of the time... However as the scene progresses, row after row of musicians creep into frame as Bart acknowledges them and rides on by as the men play the soundtrack on their instruments. This is used as a comedic relief as well as an intermission for the viewer between scenes as downtime to digest what's transpired before in preparation for what's to come.
A more modern take on this convention-twisting technique is in 2014s Birdman (as known as The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) which, again, uses music to build up emotion and tension in the scene whilst also making an appearance just like the musicians from Blazing Saddles. In the scene, the characters portrayed by Edward Norton and Michael Keaton make their way down a busy, late-night sidewalk as they're having a heated conversation is accompanied by heavy drum beats the emphasize the tension between them. Out of nowhere, one of them flips a coin towards the drummer before walking along, the aggression gradually settling as they walk further from the source of the banging.
Diegetic sounds belong to the world being shown to the viewer, sourced from characters in the form of dialogue, or from props and sets in the form of effects.
Non-Diegetic sounds and are added for the benefit of the viewer by the film producers, the sounds not belonging to the featured world and often used to exaggerate a motion or build to defuse tension through orchestrated music pieces.
As these categories have become the norm in a myriad of mediums ranging from films and television to newly emerging video games, some more daring, experimental artists, producers, and content creators have opposed these the status quo of music and sound use. This is usually done through subverting the expectations of the viewer, using filmmaking techniques to make the viewer presume what they're hearing doesn't belong to the world when it in fact does!
In the satirical 1974 western Blazing Saddles, which pokes fun at the conventions and stereotypes of the action/ adventure sub-genre of movies, there's a scene that beautifully manipulated the audience. In that scene, Bart, played by Cleavon Little, rides through the desert as he's backed by a sweeping orchestra which the audience can only assume is for us; produced in post and implemented after the filming process was wrapped up like every western of the time... However as the scene progresses, row after row of musicians creep into frame as Bart acknowledges them and rides on by as the men play the soundtrack on their instruments. This is used as a comedic relief as well as an intermission for the viewer between scenes as downtime to digest what's transpired before in preparation for what's to come.
A more modern take on this convention-twisting technique is in 2014s Birdman (as known as The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) which, again, uses music to build up emotion and tension in the scene whilst also making an appearance just like the musicians from Blazing Saddles. In the scene, the characters portrayed by Edward Norton and Michael Keaton make their way down a busy, late-night sidewalk as they're having a heated conversation is accompanied by heavy drum beats the emphasize the tension between them. Out of nowhere, one of them flips a coin towards the drummer before walking along, the aggression gradually settling as they walk further from the source of the banging.
Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Music in Media/ Video Games
Reviewed by Ben Roughton
on
January 25, 2019
Rating:
Reviewed by Ben Roughton
on
January 25, 2019
Rating:
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