Sound exercise

In the following video entitled 'Snitch', my co-workers Leon, Elijah, Tino and myself create a short film which emphasizes the perils of drug dealing whilst displaying different sounds.

In the scene 1, the main antagonist (Elijah) alerts a policeman (Tino) of a drug deal which is about to take place at a nearby premises. This scene makes use of dialogue. In scene 2, we are then introduced to the customer (Leon) who is getting ready to meet his dealer (myself). In the duration of the sequence the instrumental to Dr. Dre's Still D.R.E is played. This is commonly known as background music but is generally recognized as the 'soundtrack' in media terms.

This is continued until the scene the policeman comes in and we hear a record scratch. The last thing we hear is a 'soundtrack' appropriately entitled 'sad piano solo' plays until the end of the film.

Diegetic Sound

Dialogue is part of a category of sound referred to as diegetic sound. This is sound that both the audience and characters can both actually hear. Different examples of diegetic sound are dialogue sound effects and music from the background (eg. radio or television or music produced by characters themselves as part of the plot).

Non-Diegetic Sound

Soundtrack is part of the contrasting category non-diegetic sound. This is sound only heard by the audience. Examples of this are narrator's commentary, sound effects, which are added for dramatic effect and mood music.