Sound and image work coincidently to create a powerful experience for the audience. In film, everything relates back to the diegesis, particularly what filmmakers want to be recounted, and how it appears to viewers (Chion, 1994). After all, it is the narrative that catches any one person’s attention and pulls them into a world of their own interpretation. When looking at the relationship between sound and image, the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are responsible for creating realistic illusions, however it is the non-diegetic sounds that ignite an emotional response from the audience. Therefore, the purpose of this analysis is to locate and decipher the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds evident in the opening scene from Harry Potter and the
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As commonly known, lightning (specifically the lightening bolt) is a heavily associated symbol within the Harry Potter franchise. Upon first seeing the small flicker of light behind the Warner Brothers logo, viewers automatically link the image with lightening, accompanied with the presumed sound effect of thunder, however this is not the case. It is not until the camera zooms further into the clouds as they transition into a close up of Harry’s eye, that the audience can associate the visuals with camera flashes instead of lighting and thunder. The similarity in these two sound effects is so great that it acted as the perfect opportunity of dramatic transition to Harry’s world. They could also serve as an extra diegetic sound that Harry can physically hear, but it could also serve as an internal diegetic sound, reflecting events in his life that are similar to a thunderstorm, or even a metaphorical way of mimicking his unstable state through an uneven heart beat. In any case, these sounds enlarge the diegetic space through mirroring reality, creating a more realistic story. However, in an emotional sense, the types of diegetic sound effects used don’t always determine the impact that they have on the viewer or the intensity of the scene (Percheron and Butzel, 1980). Hence, for this particular clip, the non-diegetic sounds can be considered more emotionally demanding to the
As commonly known, lightning (specifically the lightening bolt) is a heavily associated symbol within the Harry Potter franchise. Upon first seeing the small flicker of light behind the Warner Brothers logo, viewers automatically link the image with lightening, accompanied with the presumed sound effect of thunder, however this is not the case. It is not until the camera zooms further into the clouds as they transition into a close up of Harry’s eye, that the audience can associate the visuals with camera flashes instead of lighting and thunder. The similarity in these two sound effects is so great that it acted as the perfect opportunity of dramatic transition to Harry’s world. They could also serve as an extra diegetic sound that Harry can physically hear, but it could also serve as an internal diegetic sound, reflecting events in his life that are similar to a thunderstorm, or even a metaphorical way of mimicking his unstable state through an uneven heart beat. In any case, these sounds enlarge the diegetic space through mirroring reality, creating a more realistic story. However, in an emotional sense, the types of diegetic sound effects used don’t always determine the impact that they have on the viewer or the intensity of the scene (Percheron and Butzel, 1980). Hence, for this particular clip, the non-diegetic sounds can be considered more emotionally demanding to the