Research into sound

Sound is essential in film as it is one of the micro elements which combine in order to produce media. Sound establishes the diegesis to the audience.  Sound is used to: 

• Inform the audience.
• Create meaning. 
• Emphasis points.

Diegetic sound

"Sound in the world of narrative". Including dialogue and all sound affects and any sound which can be seen taking place within the scene. In order to know whether sound is diegetic, you can ask the question "can the characters hear this".

Non-diegetic sound

"Sound that exists outside of the narrative". The audience can hear these sounds however the characters can not. Normally this sound will be additional music played over a scene. Music is very important to create atmosphere and suspense in thrillers.

These are the types of sound used but there are also specific meanings of when a sound is used compared to the meaning within the scene.

Parallel sound - The sound enhances and emphasises the same meaning that the scene does. For example, In Jaws, the theme has a parallel meaning to what happens during the first scene.

Contrapuntal sound - The meaning of the sound is the binary opposite to the meaning of the scene which it is in. For example, in 'A Clockwork orange' there is severe violence in the scene however happy music is playing.

Sound bridges are also commonly used in order to bridge the gaps between scenes and link them together