François Bayle introduced the term acousmatic music in 1974. This term designates a music of images that is "shot and developed in the studio, and projected in a hall, like a film", and is presented at a subsequent date.
In cinema, acousmatic (or "offscreen") sound or voice is heard without any obvious on-screen cause. A typical example is the narrator of the story. A common technique in horror films is to unnerve the audience with an ominous acousmatic sound effect, then shock them by revealing the terrifing cause.
External links
- [1], excellent definition and essay by Francis Dhomont
Last updated: 05-16-2005 14:23:02
