Diegetic music

Windows 10
Audacity 2.3.2

Hi all,

Was wondering if anybody had any tips on recreating diegetic music sounds in movies.

Like this scene from That Thing You Do! in the appliance store

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EdOdfCM1hM

Or these scenes from Christine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8BfSnbFxj4&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqo4zEI8OGD0tj5M5nSaz3u7&index=7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tViKxkHMvZE

My top 2 tips would be:

  • Get the timbre and ambiance right. Sound from a transistor radio will be quite “thin”, a telephone will lack bass and treble, sound from another room will be muffled, sound in a bathroom will be echoey…
  • Give visual clues. Example, cut to close up of radio as it lights up. Example, person visibly tunes in the radio.
    “Hey, listen, can you hear that ice cream truck?” Cue: Distant ice cream truck sound