Diegetic sound is any sound that the characters in a scene could actually hear, because it comes from something inside their world. Footsteps, talking, a ringing phone, a car passing by, or a song playing on a jukebox are all diegetic. If you could point to where the sound is coming from in the story, it is diegetic. This is different from a movie's background score, which the characters cannot hear.

At a glance

Also known as: Actual soundSource soundStory-world sound
Used for: Grounding a scene in a real spaceConveying action and physicalityEstablishing location and distanceOn-screen and off-screen sourcesBuilding realism in film and games
Common tools: Pro toolsNuendoReaperSoundsnapElevenLabsBoom library
Related terms: Sound design Sound effects Foley Ambience

How Diegetic Sound works in Morphic

On Morphic you can build the diegetic layer of a scene with the sound-effects tool by describing the real-world sources you need, such as footsteps on wet pavement, a door creaking open, distant city traffic, or a phone buzzing on a table.
The tool generates each clip from a text prompt using audio models such as ElevenLabs and Seed Audio, so you can request specific surfaces, distances, and moods and refine until the sound matches the action on screen.
Layer several generated effects with your dialogue to fill out a believable space.
Sounds you create are yours to use commercially on paid plans, ready to drop straight into your edit.

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Think of it like…

Diegetic sound is everything a character would hear if you froze the scene and asked them to listen, while non-diegetic sound is the music only the audience gets to enjoy.

How it compares

DiegeticNon-Diegetic Sound

the distinction turns on whether the characters could hear it. Diegetic sound originates from a source inside the story world, so dialogue, footsteps, and a radio playing in the room are all things the characters share with the audience. Non-diegetic sound exists only for the audience and sits outside the story world: the orchestral score, a narrator who is not a character in the scene, and mood underscore are heard by us but not by anyone on screen. The two are constantly interwoven, and filmmakers sometimes move a sound across the line, letting on-screen source music swell into full score, precisely because audiences instinctively sense where a sound lives.

Pro tip

Decide early which sounds are diegetic and mix them to match their source: a song from a car radio should be filtered and placed in the space, not spread cleanly across the mix, or the audience will stop believing it comes from the radio. On Morphic, prompt for the source and its distance so effects already sit in the scene.

Types and variations

Diegetic sound is usually grouped by where its source sits relative to the frame.
On-screen diegetic sound has a visible source, such as a character speaking or a glass breaking in shot, and it must sync tightly to the picture.
Off-screen diegetic sound comes from a source the audience cannot see but understands to be present, like a dog barking in the yard or a train passing beyond the wall, and it is a key tool for expanding a scene beyond the edges of the frame.
By content, diegetic sound spans dialogue, hard effects tied to specific actions, Foley for the small human sounds of cloth and footsteps and props, and ambience or backgrounds that define the room or environment.
A special case is diegetic music, sometimes called source music, which plays from a source in the world such as a car stereo, a live band, or a phone speaker.
Because its perceived origin is inside the scene, diegetic music is mixed to sit in the space, often filtered and placed to match the device it supposedly comes from, rather than sitting cleanly across the full stereo field like an added score.

Common use cases

Diegetic sound is the backbone of realistic scene building in narrative film, television, and games.
Dialogue scenes rely on it to keep the audience anchored to who is speaking and where they stand.
Action sequences lean on diegetic hard effects and Foley so every impact and movement has physical consequence.
Documentary and observational work uses almost entirely diegetic sound to preserve authenticity.
In interactive media the concept is central because players expect the world to respond audibly to their actions.
Footsteps that change with surface, weapons and vehicles, and environmental ambience are all diegetic cues that help players navigate and believe the space.
Immersive and virtual reality productions push this further, positioning diegetic sources precisely in three dimensions so the audio matches where objects appear.
Even in stylized or animated work, diegetic sound is what tells the audience that a punch connected, a phone rang, or a storm is closing in, giving otherwise invented worlds a convincing physical presence.

FAQs

What is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound?

Diegetic sound comes from a source inside the story world, so the characters can hear it, such as dialogue, footsteps, or a radio. Non-diegetic sound exists only for the audience and sits outside the story, such as the musical score or a detached narrator. The test is whether a character in the scene could hear it.

Is background music always non-diegetic?

Not always. A film's underscore is non-diegetic, but music that plays from a source in the scene, like a jukebox, a live band, or a car stereo, is diegetic and is often called source music. The same track can even cross the line, starting from an on-screen speaker and swelling into full score.

Can diegetic sound come from off-screen?

Yes. Diegetic sound only needs a source that exists within the story world, whether or not it is visible. Traffic heard through a window, a voice from the next room, or a dog barking outside are all off-screen diegetic sounds, and they are a common way to make a scene feel larger than the frame.

Does diegetic sound have to be recorded on set?

No. Whether a sound is diegetic depends on its source in the story, not on how it was captured. Foley, hard effects, and ambience added in post are still diegetic as long as they belong to the world the characters inhabit. Much of the diegetic sound in a finished film is created after shooting.

Why does the diegetic and non-diegetic distinction matter?

It shapes how a mix is built and how the audience reads a scene. Diegetic sound grounds viewers in a real space and gives actions weight, while non-diegetic sound guides emotion from outside the story. Knowing which is which helps you place, filter, and balance each element so the scene feels intentional.

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