Audio in film is generally divided into three main forms: music; dialogue; sound effects. But this is a restricted partition that does not reflect the heterogeneity of each form, and the complexities of the audio-visual phrasing as not appears in film. While much work has been done on music (see particularly Gorbman, and Kasabian) which provides the understanding and critical approach to film music with levels of detail and complexity. Gorbman, for example, proposes a model that includes a principle taking ion account music’s narrative functionality, what she calls “Narrative Cueing”, delineating music’s capability to provide referential/narrative/connotative cues: indicating point-of-view, supplying formal demarcations, and establishing setting and characters, as well as “interpreting” and “illustrating” the narrative events (1987, p. 73). Her models contains another six principles, but principle four could be equally applied to dialogue, and to sound effects.
Equally, the established diegetic/non-diegetic dichotomy is also applicable to dialogue and sound-effects. Even more interesting is the idea of applying what Kasabian terms “source-scoring”, music that lies “in-between” dramatic scoring (non-diegetic music) and source music (diegetic)and can move freely between the two ‘worlds’, to dialogue and, especially, sound effects (2001, p. 45).
Let’s take dialogue: the act of characters speaking or, even more precise, characters in the act of utterance. Because dialogue can be further dissected to allocate specific and complex varieties, with a more precise designation of functionality within the audio phrasing:
VO: voiceover - either from a diegetic or non-diegetic character.
Non-verbal utterances: screaming, yelling, moaning, sighing etc. Sometimes these types, qualities if you will, of sound can drift into sound-effect, much like the fluid interrelations that exists for source scoring.
Interior Monologue: again this has source scoring capabilities, like Raol Dukes musings while roaring along the highway towards Las Vegas in the opening of Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Terry Gilliam (1998)
Driving to Vegas in a convertible, Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) start to hallucinate when their drugs begin to take hold.
Or, even better in the Hitchhiker sequence from the same film
Voices/Accents and other manners of speaking and speech patterns.
Non-English speaking characters talking without subtitles: like the Native American characters in Dancing with Wolves; or Fictional Languages, like the extra terrestrials in Arrival.
Next, let’s consider ‘Sound Effects’; again, they can be inside/outside or ‘in-between’. They can also move between sound effect and music, and Gorbman’s Narrative/Referential/Connotative principle applies.
Spot Effects/Isolated Sounds: the sounds of objects, and everyday items, and flora and fauna. Real and specific sounds.
Speciality Effects: sounds that are created for objects that are not real.
Foley Sounds: the movements and actions of characters interacting with the diegetic environment.
Background Ambiences: the sound of a place, or a room, or any other types of environment. Here there is plenty of ‘room’ so to speak for moving ‘in-between’ ambience and music, or other sound forms.