Diegetic sound within a movie sequence

Clip: Kill Bill volume 1- “Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves.”

What Diegetic sound is used?

Within the clip shown, the main character, known simply as “The Bride” (as she was badly injured at her wedding four years earlier by an assassin group), fights against O-Ren, the woman who is the head of Yakuza, and was part of the four man group who injured the bride at her wedding. In the clip, there is no dialogue as the two characters take part in a sword fight. There is very dominant music that is played within the clip, which is very noticeable. It is almost comedic and makes the scene more dramatic in a cheesy kind of way.

Diegetic sound is used however. Within the clip, you can hear the swords of the two characters clashing together. This is diegetic as this is sound that can be heard within the kill bill universe. I think the clashing of the swords is used so the scene does not become too distant for the audience with the very dominant music, and so we can still experience the scene somewhat. If there was just music played, the scene would become too distant for the audience as we would not experience much of what is actually happening within the scene (which is in this case the sounds.)

When The Bride is struck with a sword, we can hear her cry out and this moment the music suddenly stops. This adds effect as it suddenly propels us into the eeriness of the actual environment.  

Clip: Black Swan- “Attack it.”

What Diegetic sound is used?

Within this clip, Nina Sayers is dancing in preparation for a performance of the play “Swan Lake.” She is following the instructions of her director, Thomas Leroy. In the clip Thomas shouts instructions at her, and what she needs to able to do in order to properly convey the black swan in the play. Unlike the clip from Kill Bill, this scene uses entirely diegetic music. Everything from the background music to what is said on screen is diegetic as the characters in the scene can hear everything.

I think this is very effective, as we know that as the music in the background gets louder, the tension in the room increases, as Nina tries harder and harder to become the black swan. As we as the audience know that she can hear the music, it makes the scene tenser, as we can imagine her stress building and building. The shouts from Thomas also casually interrupt the background music and create tension, as it again conveys the increasing tension in Nina, and we fear they she may suddenly “snap” from the tension of it all. The fact she can hear all of this while dancing helps show the various emotions she must be feeling, and makes her routine seem more difficult as she is being pressured by both the increasing music and the shouts from her director.

Clip: Silence Of The Lambs- Quid Pro Quo

-No Clip Available-

What Diegetic sound is used?

In this clip, the main character Clarice is forced to participate in quid pro quo with Doctor Hannibal Lecter, in exchange for information on Buffalo Bill. This scene uses a lot of dialogue, and has little background music. I feel this is important as if the background music was too loud, then the audience would miss out on the very important dialogue that is being exchanged between the two characters.

It is really important that the audience listen, as what is said is important to the overall story arc of the film. Unlike Black Swan, the background music in not diegetic. This means that not all sound that can be heard in the clip is diegetic. Like the clip from Kill Bill, the music in the background in non-diegetic, however the noises that the character’s make (the dialogue) is diegetic. However unlike Kill Bill, in this clip the music does not dominate at all, because as mentioned the dialogue is very important.