An exemplification of Michel Chion’s theories in the Audio-

Visual Scene
This paper will demonstrate an understanding of a leading theorist, Michel Chion`s
work, giving reference to multiple film texts and how they exemplify his theories.
Particular attention will be paid to Chion’s notion of acousmatic sound and how the
perception of the diegetic realm is affected. It will be argued that Chion’s terms such as
the non-diegetic and pit are insufficient when understanding music’s positioning in the
narrative space within the given examples. Reference will be made to scholars whose
concepts provide a more effectual approach to film music analysis. Particular reference
will be made to The Ben Winters and Anahid Kassabian research, which also
establishes limitations but in addition offers solutions, to the existing issues within
Chion’s theories.

The acousmatic
As Chion (1994: p.72) suggests, acousmatic sound1 can progress over two contrasting
circumstances; ‘either sound is visualized to start with, and subsequently acousmatized,
or it is acousmatic to start with and is only visualized afterwards’. These both affect the
perception of the diegesis in very contrasting manners.
The opening scene of The Usual Suspects (Singer, B. 1995) is an excellent
illustration of the second instance of this theory. In this scene, the first bookend2, the
character Keaton can be seen lighting a cigarette, a dripping can be heard in the space,
with no indication of its source, it is then de-acousmatized seconds later, revealing the
source to be petroleum leaking from a barrel. The switch between off-screen and on-
screen spaces are signified by changing tone color, which alter the audience’s
understanding of the sound’s positioning in the narrative space; it creates a mysterious
and dark sound perspective, which dramatically affects how one perceives the diegesis.

1
Chion Expands upon Pierre Schaeffer’s theory of the ‘acousmatic’, which was used to describe the
listening of musique concrete; Chion applies the term to film sound analysis.
2
A bookend sequence refers to the connection shared between the opening and ending sequence in film
or story telling. The opening scene generally has slight alterations to the final scene to create anticipation.
Once the ending sequence has been seen, the viewer feels a sense of closure, as with the above
example.

1
For example, the filmic world could be perceived very differently if the source of the
dripping was shown to be water.
The next shot depicts an anonymous character, introduced first by the sound of
urination and footsteps, followed by dialogue. The character remains unknown, with the
frame focusing on the lower part of the body. The inability to identify the cause of the
sound creates what Chion (1994: p.72) describes as a ‘mystery of the sound source’.
The separation of the sound from its visual counterpart, allows the viewer to interpret
the character’s appearance, thus allowing imagination to take part in the depiction of the
diegesis, making personal experience unique to some extent. Chion refers to this event
as active off-screen; it raises questions of its source and ‘engages the spectators
anticipation’ (Chion, M. 1994, p.85) of forthcoming events. The unknown individual is
also introduced through non-diegetic Pit music3. John Otterman’s underscore4
establishes a narrative cue, exposing the sinister motivation of the character,
furthermore, it alters the emotional perspective of the narrative; Annabel J. Cohen
(2009: p.254) provides the following notion:

The audience member extracts information from ‘non-diegetic’ sources to generate the
emotional information he or she needs to make a coherent story in the diegesis.
The underscore in question expands upon the narrative, adding an extra dimension.
The viewer may subconsciously take the extra material and use it to create emotional
meaning and in the given case, form a foundation for the diegesis. Towards the end of
the scene gunshots are heard, again they are acousmatic, active off-screen, however,
they imply the apparent murder of Keaton, which for the perceiver, allows the question
and interpretation of the visual scenario 5.
The use of active off-screen sound urges the scene onward and helps Singer
maintain obscurity throughout the scene, and consequently sustains suspense
throughout the entire film, before de-acousmatizing all on the final scene.

3
Chion refers to ‘pit’, as music that joins the image from a ‘non-diegetic position’, outside the diegesis.
4
See Keyser Appears, (Otterman, J. 1995) for underscore.
5
See the opening scene of Fight Club (Fincher D 1999), for a similar bookend and use of active off-
screen. The viewer is unable to see the characters face but again we hear his voice. The individual
holding the gun is kept anonymous using active off-screen sound.

2
 The question of music’s position in the diegesis

Chion provides the idea of diegetic and non-diegetic,6 which appear to be inadequate
during analysis of the following examples. The simple belief that music is either, ‘in or
out’ is ineffective, it does not allow for any ambiguities and is not always the case as
Anahid Kassabian (2001: p.42) notes:

This dichotomy is insufficient; it cannot comfortably describe music that seems to fall ‘in
between’ these categories, much less account for its different character.

This was apparent in Good Morning Vietnam (Levinson, B. 1987), where music (mainly
popular 60s rock and roll), occupies a variety of diegetic levels. As suggested by Chion
(1994: p.76), on-the-air sounds ‘enjoy the freedom of crossing boundaries of cinematic
space’; this is evident throughout, allowing large leaps in narrative space without
questioning the stability of the filmic universe.
The music communicates between, on-the-air, and non-diegetic levels. The
interactions are occasionally signified by acoustical attributes, e.g. reverb, amplitude
and filtering, which represent different on-screen causes 7, though the distinctions
between narrative levels are often unclear. Most notable at 1:27.50, the music 8 forms
some questions to its space within the diegesis. The music begins with an on-screen
cue from Robin Williams in the military studio, thus diegetic, but it forms non-diegetic or
pit features, by portraying the emotional information of the scene. However, no visual
source is present, so the music may be seen as taking features from both expressions.
The music seems withdrawn from the ‘here-and-now’ (Winters, B. 2010, p.28)
narrative space during the montage sequence; also, all other auditory elements are
absent until the end of the sequence, which suggests that the focus is on the music.
The music in this case, is used to comment in a contradictory manner, on the
emotional thoughts of the American people, before the escalation of the Vietnam conflict
6
Diegetic is a sound that exists within the story, non-diegetic is external the filmic universe, unheard by
the characters according to Chion. Chion expands upon Claudia Gorbman’s 1987 study of music in film
Unheard Melodies where the terms were conceptualized to define ‘music’s narrative sources’.
7
At 45:00, James brown’s (1965) I Got You (I Feel Good), has a noticeable difference in tone color due to
reverb; this informs the viewer of the on-screen source, the loudspeaker.
8
What a wonderful world by (Armstrong, L. 1967).

3
in 1968. The montage of shots shows the Vietnamese scenery and daily life of the
nationals, and then switches to alarming shots of a riot, a bombing and an
assassination. The visuals portray the reality concealed from public view; yet
contrastingly, the music represents what the public was told, ‘What a wonderful world’.
The music clearly establishes itself as diegetic but as the sequence progresses the
term pit, does not seem fitting, as it is not ‘outside the space and time of the action’
(Chion, M. 1994, p.80). Chion does note the freedom that music and sound has in the
space, yet he does not account for how music may act non-diegeticaly as an expression
of the filmic world`s own emotional state.
The term non-diegetic is also vague when describing music’s space in The
Adventures Of Robin Hood (Curtiz, M. and Keighley, W. 1938). At 50:34, the scene
begins with an on-screen cue of trumpet players, as the scene progresses and cuts
away from the on-screen source however, a richer array of instruments are heard,
which clearly indicate that the music has become non-diegetic 9. The music also retains
the same acoustical properties (studio recording) as the previous on-screen section; the
timpani hit in the end also indicates that the music has become a typical non-diegetic
underscore. The non-diegetic score takes its cue from the on-screen action, which is not
suggested by Chion.
Kassabian (2001: p.47) suggests a different approach to film music analysis, which
‘is able to account for questions both of narrative and of cueing’. The argument expands
upon Earle Hagen’s book that provides an additional classification for film music from a
composer’s perspective10. Hagen presents three categories used when approaching film
scoring, source music (diegetic), dramatic scoring (non-diegetic), and source scoring (a
combination of the two). This provides the ‘in between’ category as presented by
Kassabian, which can accommodate the connection between music and other filmic
occurrences. Therefore the term source scoring seems better suited for the above
examples, which appear to have fallen into the unclear areas within Chion’s theory.
Ben Winters provides the following research, where the argument for a
‘reconceptualization’ of the term non-diegetic is presented. Winter suggests that after
viewing a film, the music appears to be located in the same narrative as the characters

9
It is suggested however that “music can swing over from pit to screen at a moments notice” (Chion, M.
1994, p.81) although not the other way round.
10
See Earl Hagen, Scoring For Films: A Complete Text. (Los Angeles: Alfred Publishing Company,
1971).

4
when recalled from memory, this suggests that music is not external to the diegesis on
a, as the term non-diegetic suggests, on a recollection level. The basis for this idea is
that the viewing content of the film is not our reality, and should not be compared; the
following example is provided by Winter:

[Music] is an indicator that the universe in which the events we are watching takes
place is not real; and having accepted that, music’s presence seems entirely natural,
rather than a troubling element that needs to be assigned to a separate level of
narrative (2010, p.12).

Winters draws upon Daniel Frampton’s theory of the filmind11, which represents
everything presented to the viewer. It is in a sense, the film’s mind, which is linked very
closely to our own mind, as Frampton states, ‘The filmind creates everything we see
and hear in a film, conjuring it all up’ (cited by Winter, 2010. p.19).
So, the idea of the filmind allows one to theorize music as part of the diegesis. Winter
furthers his argument with the proposition of alternative terms, intradiegetic and
extradiegetic, which seem to be more concentrated on space rather than extra levels of
narrative. Winter (2010: p.28) explains extradiegetic as ‘music or sound whose logic is
not dictated by events within the narrative space’, thus the term may be used for
analysis of Ottermans underscore in the first example; although the characters do not
hear it, the impact it has on our perception of the filmic world is vast. Intradiegetic is
‘music or sound exists in the film’s everyday narrative space and time… it may be
considered to be produced by the characters themselves… or by the geographical
space of the film’ (Winter, B. 2010, p.28). This can account for the music within both
prior examples, as the music establishes itself as ‘within the diegesis’ 12 with onscreen
cues.

Accepting this new approach permits music to be part of the diegesis, whether or
not the characters hear it. His reconceptualization acknowledges music’s decisive role
on how the perceiver creates the diegesis, but additionally how our reality should not be
the construct of the filmic world, irrespective of whether the film appears to portray
realistic settings.

Conclusion
11
See Daniel Frampton, Filmosophy (London: Wallflower Press, 2007).
12
The term ‘intra’ is Latin for inside, or within. So intradiegetic simply means ‘inside’ the ‘diegesis’.

5
To conclude, it has been established that Chion’s notions for film sound analysis are
well grounded and have their benefits, however, certain areas such as the notion of pit
music (non-diegetic), and its movement within the narrative space appear vague. The
previous two examples, demonstrate the limitations within Chion’s model and
description of music’s positioning within diegesis. Thus using Kassabian’s research, we
are able to account for music’s fluid movement, without excluding it from the diegesis
with the term non-diegetic. The idea of screen scoring appears to be better suited for
music that seems to fall in-between diegetic levels. Winter’s terms, extradiegetic and
intradiegetic, may also be used as a substitute for non-diegetic. The role of music can
be accounted for, even if it is unheard by the characters, furthermore, the visual
connection with music can be studied effectively, without imagining it in a world
completely unconnected to the story and the characters. Neither Kassabian nor Winter
dismiss music, but acknowledge the important role that it brings to bear on our
perception and the construction of cinematic diegesis.

References
Cohen, J, A. (2011). Music As A Source Of Emotion In Film. In: Juslin P. N. and
Sloboda J. A Handbook of Music and Emotion: Theory, Research, Applications. Oxford:
OUP Oxford. pp. 250-267.
Kassabian, A. (2001) Hearing Film. 1st ed. London: Routledge. pp. 15-61.

Michel, C (1994). Audio-Vision Sound on Screen. New York: Columbia University Press.

pp. 1-95.

Winters, B. (2010). The non-diegetic fallacy: film, music, and narrative space. Music &
Letters, 91(2), pp. 224–244.

Bibliography

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Gilbert, M. K. (2014). Listening in Film: Music/Temporality, Materiality and Memory. In:

Neumeyer, D The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies. New York: OUP USA. pp.
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Gorbman, C. (1987). Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film music. London: Indiana

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Juslin P. N. and Sloboda J. A. (2001). Music and Emotion: Theory and Research

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 Filmography
Fight Club, 1999. (Film) Directed by David Fincher. USA: Regency Enterprises.
Good Morning Vietnam, 1987. (Film) Directed by Barry Levinson. USA: Touchstone
Pictures.
The Usual Suspects, 1995. (Film) Directed by Bryan Singer. USA: Bad Hat Harry
Productions.
The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938. (Film) Directed by Michael Curtiz and William
Keighley. USA: Warner Bros. Pictures.