In film production, the term diegetic refers to a sound that occurs within the story itself that the characters supposedly hear, whereas non-diegetic sound refers to background music or narration. For example, the tune played by the pianist in Casablanca is diegetic, while the stirring background music during the training sequences in the movie Rocky is non-diegetic. Diegetic comes from a Greek word that means narrative. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Diegetic and Non-Diegetic”
I was reading a text about film appreciation and came across a word I didn’t know, which is diegetic. D-I-E-G-E-T-I-C. I don’t know what that is.
Yeah, it was news to me. It comes from a Greek word that means narrative. And diegetic refers to something that occurs within the story itself.
So, for example, if you’re watching the Casablanca and the guy is playing the piano in the bar, that’s a diegetic experience, whereas narration or external music is non-diegetic.
So when Rocky Balboa is running up the steps in Philadelphia and there’s that music blaring, that’s not really happening in real life.
Right. So that’s non-diegetic and diegetic.
Perfect. I love having a word for that.
I know, right?
Yeah.
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