ABSTRACT
The sound diegesis separates that which audiences hear from what characters hear. Most of the time, what characters and audience members hear are one and the same, though this is not strictly the rule. Indeed, non-diegetic sounds, which only audiences hear, acknowledge the audience’s presence. Typically films do not explicitly acknowledge the audience’s eavesdropping. Films that draw attention to how a film was made will always pull the audience’s attention away from the stirring of emotions or the character’s plight. Sounds are typically added, removed, augmented, manipulated, and re-mixed to fulfill the willing suspension of belief contract with audiences. Part of the sound team’s responsibility is to craft a sonic experience that makes sense based on what the audience sees. The non-diegetic sounds that characters cannot hear thrill audiences.
