Sound key terms
Shania Steele
Soundtrack
• The recorded sound element of a film
Sound effects
• Sounds that are not dialogue or music made artificially .
Ambient Sound
• Ambient sound is background sounds which are present in a scene
or location.
• Examples of this include: wind, traffic and birds
Dialogue
• This is speech
Voiceover
• Narration in a film that is not accompanied by a synchronised
image of a speaker.
Direct address
• This is when characters speak directly to the camera.
Diegetic sound
• This is sound with an onscreen source.
Non-diegetic sound
• Sound that does not have an onscreen source.
Sound bridges
• This is sound that continues from one shot to the other. This helps
to create a smooth transition from shots.
Parallel sound
• Sound that complements the image track.
Contrapuntal Sound
• Sound that does not complement or fit with the image track.

Sound key terms