The term diegetic sound comes from film techniques and sound design. Videomaker also has some excellent resources for videographers within the realm of sound and pretty much all things video, and posts new content covering a wide variety of popular topics and industry trends.įor example, the term diegetic sound discussed in this article according to the editors at Videomaker is basically “the difference between telling how a story unfolds or seeing the story unfold. Neat to have evaluated Baby Driver and breaking down scenes within the movie that use diegetic sound to build suspense. Very cool piece that introduces the behind-the-scenes look of how that sound is created, and what to be aware of when you’re creating that sound (background noise, etc.).
This blog post does a good job of providing a high-level overview of diegetic sound and its importance to every filmmaker. There’s a scene where the team hear ‘Tequilla’ by The Button Down Brass during a shootout. Throughout the film, the diegetic sound becomes an influence on secondary characters and their actions too.
Instead of the music dictating when a specific dance move should be performed, these tunes inform Baby when he needs to make a left turn. The diegetic music combined with high-tempo action scenes is something akin to a musical, but also feels unique. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Edgar Wright used the term ‘diegetic action-musical’ to describe Baby Driver, and it really is the perfect term to describe what Edgar Wright has achieved. Baby Driver: Wright’s Diegetic Action-Musical Those buds almost never leave Baby’s ears The scene wouldn’t work without utilizing diegetic sound. It tells us everything about his world, his job is and how engrossed in his music he has become. In that second, we instantly identify with that character and have been told who the main character is. We’re made aware of his music when he gets to the coffee shop and pulls out his earbuds, causing the music to go quiet. This song underscores a simple three-minute scene where Baby goes to get coffee. Let’s take the ‘Harlem Shuffle’ scene as an example. It also helps inform the scenes around it.
We understand that the scene’s violins are not being experienced by the characters, and are purely for the audience. The infamous shower scene in Psycho has non-diegetic sound to create tension. This includes things like narration by a main character, some forms of sound effects and music that’s primarily there to set a mood (but wasn’t put being played by one of the characters). The counter to that is non-diegetic sound, which is a sound that isn’t part of the on-screen world. It may be heightened so we can hear it clearly, but we still know where the music is coming from. In Baby Driver, the sound is primarily diegetic as everything comes from Baby’s headphones or a car radio. In its most basic terms, diegetic sound is sound where the origin of the source is within the film’s world and would therefore also logically exist for on-screen characters. The sound is an incredibly important aspect of the film’s success, so let’s explore how diegetic sound makes Baby Driver stand out from the crowd. One of the things about this movie that’s getting everyone so hyped about this film is it’s soundtrack, specifically how it is perfectly integrated with the stylized action on screen. In order to block out the constant ringing in his ears, he listens to music on his iPod, which is apparently making people nostalgic for an item that’s still available pretty much anywhere. It’s a stylish action film about a teenage boy with tinnitus, who’s also a getaway driver for a rotating band of thieves. Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is without a doubt one of the most anticipated films of the year.