User:Warrenstreet

The OCR textual analysis unit section on sound uses the following terms:

Ambient sound: This refers to sound that helps to describe a particular location, for instance in a restaurant scene the ambient sound will be the sound of cutlery, dining guest chatter and glasses chinking.

Synchronous/Asynchronous sound: Synchronous sound is the sound that is heard at the same time as an image or images appear on screen, for example in a battle scene involving a sword fight the viewer would see swords fights and hear the clash of swords. Asynchronous sound is sound that is heard separately to an image but is linked to that image, for example this can be seen/heard in the classic crime drama scene of the police siren sounding in the distance at the point where the viewer is shown the perpetrator about to strike.

Sound bridge: A sound bridge is a form of asynchronous sound and it is used to prepare the audience for a transition from one scene/image to a next so in our crime scene scenario we would hear the police siren before seeing the police en route to the crime scene and then there would be a cut/edit/transition to images of police cars with blue lights flashing dashing towards the crime scene.

Dialogue: This doesn't need explanation it is the speech delivered by the characters in a television program or a film. Dialogue is used to help the audience understand a character or the follow the story line.

Diegetic/non diegetic sound: Diegetic sound is sound that would naturally belong to a particular location or scene, for example if we see a character alone driving a car with the car radio on then the music we hear we can accept as coming from the car radio. If in the same scene we hear a narrator explaining the narrative/story line this would be non-diegetic sound, though we the viewer accept this style of presentation we can recognise that we wouldn't really hear a narrator telling us about the driver.

Sound effect: A sound effect is used to help create a sense of reality or used when the original sound doesn't record as well as the sound the normal human ear would hear. Fight scene involving punches are an obvious example of sound effects being used because a real punch doesn't record well and it wouldn't be right to have actors punching each other for real.

Sound motif: A sound motif is a way of describing a particular character or introducing a particular action sequence. A classic sound motif is the sound that is heard short before a villian/antagonist makes an appearance or dispatches another victim.

Voice over: The voice is the non-diegetic sound that is heard explain the narrative or providing insight to a particular character. Voice overs in film or drama is used to help audiences empathise with a particular character or provide the audience with information that is not known by characters in the narrative.

Mode of address: The mode of address is the way in which the audience is communicated to this can be through the language used in a media text or through direct address a would be done through a news broadcast or a narrated film or television program.

Sound mixing: As can be expected any scene from a film or television program would have a number of different sounds in that scene these sounds are mixed together to allow some sounds to be heard above or below others. Sound mixing can also be done when a particular sound effect is being created by bringing together a number of sounds in order to create one particular sound.

Sound perspective: The sound perspective indicates to the audience where one sound source is in relation to another, going back to the example of the crime drama police siren we know roughly how far away the police are from the crime scene by the how loud or how soft the siren sound is.

Soundtrack: Though it is now commonly understood that soundtrack refers to the music from a film that is being sold as an album sound track is in its original meaning refers to everything that is heard when listening to film or television program - this would include the music, dialogue and sound effects.

Score: The score is the musical arrangement that accompanies a film or television program and would normally include the theme tune as well as incidental music used throughout the text.

Incidental music: The incidental music is the music that accompanies key action sequences in a film or television drama, the music that accompanies fight sequences provide obvious examples of incidental music as do chase sequences, romantic interludes or robberies in a heist movie.

Sound themes: Sound themes are used to arrange the various elements within a film or television program so that to the audience they make sense as a whole, this is done by accompanying the various elements with a particular piece of music or sound. In example a film feature a different groups of young people can choose to identify some with rebellious music, some with classical music and some with happy go lucky musical sounds.