Train Spotting

I have to say I think this is one of my favourite films. I have selected a few clips from youtube and am gong to talk about them indvdualy. In the opening the soundtrack is contepmry to the 80s where the film is set. This immedatley helps to set the scene, anchoring the time period helped defined by the clothes and cars. I find it interesting that the soundtrack does not date the film, I think it's because music has been chosen that will always be listened too. Compare this to another film I have talked about 'clockwork orange' although it is set in the future it is so cobviously seventies, although it is a film that will stand the test of time due to it's brilliance. For the opening of trainspotting I think the music was chosen really well. It sets a pace. The driven bass line mirrors the thud of the characters feet as they run through the streets. It also works well with the narration. The short stacatto voice matches the music and I think that it help to build this exiting and upbeat begginning. This scene is a good example of perspective. In the interview room the voices have been made to echo. This creates an illusion of a large cold empty space. It also help to emphasise that space between the interviewers and spud in the literal world but also it is a metaphor for how faar they are apart interms of income, education and class. It shows that they are two different types of people. The echo also makes the space sound cold, showing the interviewers frosty reception to spud.

The days I recorded all the things

As outlined in the previous post, for this first exercise I have needed some foley recordings and I did this in two stages. First I used the studio in the protools room. For the footsteps I used a tray of dirt which had a slab of paving stone layed over it. As I also previously mentioned we couldn't get the television to work so to try and get the footsteps in time, one person sat at the computer and oved their hand in time to the footsteps so the other could step intime to that. This was somewhat successful as the footsteps weren't completley out of time but it needed some youch up in the edit. For the chopping board I used a piece of wood and a piece of metal that I found in the 'box of tricks' in the corner of the studio. I used thesame technique as with the footsteps to try and get them in time but again they were slightly off so needed to be editied. Sounds I also got in the studio were of when The character cuts himself. A variety of exclamations. I also got some breathing for the opening shots. The otherthings that icouldn't get in the studio were either done outside or in my kitchen. I wanted to try the technique of recording atmos with two tie clip mics. I wanted to use this for the shot of walking through the city. Therefore I attacked the mics t the collor of my jacket and walked through sheffeild centre. Unfortunatley for me this didn't work as well as I had hoped. the sound wasn't dense enough to fit with the scene which looks crowded and noise and the recording I got didn't have enough going on in it. For the sound effects that were used in the kitchen I used my kitchen. This is includes the fridge, when he's moving thigs around on the worktop, the tap and walking across the floor. For this I simply recreated the sounds by doing what I saw on the screen. With the help of Stephen who held the mic. I found recording the foley a lot of fun and also I think it was a successful process in term of getting what I needed for the exercise.

Foley and spot effects

Foley-recording and putting in spot effects. During this project, I have had to record quite a bit of foley. I began this process by creating a list of all the sounds I needed. I then split them into two separate list, what I could do in the protools studio and what I would have to do at home. I made these descisions mainly based on available reseources. For example it would be difficult to record the sound of a running tap or the inside of a fridge in the studio. Although I woldn't be able to recreate the silent surroundings of the studio at my house there is certain advice in Ric Viers 'the sound effects Bible.' This has been a great resource for me in creating sound effects. I have to say that on first viewing of the solaris clip I did not realise how many tiny details I would end up taking into account. I enjoyed recording the foley. It was an intresting learning curve. I learnt that you have to be inventive in how you record things. For example the footsteps. Recording these outside on real concrete would not have worked as there would have been too much interfering background noise, rendering the clip unusable. However in the studio there is a slab of paving stone tyle material. I plced this on top of the tray or dirt as i though that this would crate a deeper and more realistic sound than the slab being places straight onto the carpet. I have learned that you have to perceiver until the sound is right or else the sound is not believable meaning the audience is brought out of the story world and doesn't believe the story anymore. One problem I had when recording the foley in the studio was that we could not get the television to play off the USB therefore it was a bit harder to do effects such as the footsteps and the chopping board. his has meant that in the edit putting them in has been a little more time consuming as they don't match well enough. For example when I was putting in the sound of the chopping board be ing sliced on, i had to cut up the clip and mark up that part of the clip in order to place the sounds at the correct moment.

I noticed that I don't have to use many effects on the foley as I had simply recorded the real world sounds as they were. One thing I did was to put EQ on the sound clip of the news. I recorded this on a microphone standing the other side of the room, however it still did not sound right. In order to combat this I used EQ and some reverb. Both of these were to make it sound like it was in a bigger space and being listened to from a distance.

I enjoyed this part of the project aswell as learning from it. there is a lot to recording the sounds and making them believable and it is an incredibly important part of the sound design and the film as a whole as it makes the film a more believable piece.

Session 'working with actors'

This practical session really consolidated what e had learned in the previous session which we shared with cinematography. In stead this time instead of recording onto a camera we recorded into a Marantz with a Wendt mixer. I think it was useful to go over this equipment again and I think it was useful again to work with the cinematography group as a crew more like you would get on a real set in the industry. I think that it is important that we learn like this as it help to be prepared for this set up when when we go out into the 'real world'. It is also helpful for making our shoots for other projects run more smoothly as Sound and camera learn to work better together. This makes us more efficient and understanding what they are doing makes life a lot easier when on set. this session was good experience and consolidated everything that I learned in the previous sync sound workshop. It was good to work in a similar fashion but of a marantz as more and more, DSLRs are being used on shoots and it is not easy to record straight off them with a mic.

Tradition music, synthesisers and melodeons

I was searchig on youtube for the clockwork orange opening scene for some revisio, I stumbled up on this. It's a giggle but an introduction to a more serious point of research for my work, and the direction I would like to go in.In all it's silliness it does give rise to some interesting ideas about the fusing of two ideas. For me this is something really interesting. I was thinking about how people start to develop their own styles and for me I think the idea of mixing old and new is something that I'd love to encourperate into my work. One example of this is Martynn Bennet, a musician who is one of my main inspirations. I love how he merges spoken word, traditional scottish music and electronica. A sadly missed figure of progressive traditional music, Bennet opened my eyes t a different world of sound. I think that in filmic terms this is incredibly interesting, as it can give an edge to what you're making as any sound should do. I think though it carries such a strong themic idea of moving forward from the past and how the world is changing. Along this theme, referencing again the worrk of Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire in the early days of Synth Technology, I love the idea of how they worked, getting hands on rather than how we do it all through computers. I love that sound that is so typically seventies but I'd love to try something with that sound. It's so unique and goves a quality so unearthly. I think in film it could do so much and even merging the ideals af some one like Martynn Bennett and Derbyshire or Oram could create something that is so new an unique and would give a film a soundtrack unline anyother.

Logic Session

This session was very informative and I learnt a lot. Before this session I was uncomfortable using this sort of technology, I have always preffered to create music in reality with instruments. Now however I am much happier using it and I think that it can be a valuable tool in creating the sound design in a project. It is cheaper than an orchestra and it's very versatile. Aswell as the ability to create music easily and edit it as and when without having to organise getting an orchestra back again if there is something not quite right. I am not saying that logic and such technologies should replace orchestral scores in films but for the sort of projects we do at university I think it is an incredibly valuable tool. I also like the fact that it can be used to create tones and drones which can add so much t a project. Putting in a low frequency synth drone can make a project so much more effective. helping to draw the audience in and keep them on the edge of their seats as it gives an extra level of sound and registers in people's minds that there is something not right or just create a very dramatic mood. this was seen clearly in the opening of drive when in the music a single low tone with a few effects of reverberation and delay made the scene so much more dramatic and tense. Music in film is so important because it is a vary effective emotive tool and you can easily provoke an emotional reaction from an audience with music os I found this session incredible informative on how we can do this in our projects.

Samuel Beckett - Embers [1959]

Sound design from a script

Script to screen, thinking about sound design This session was based on how to think about sound design from the script. We came up with a list of things, showing how sound tells the story and how sound effects the perception of what is on screen. • Mood/tone • Genre • Pace • Drama • Locations/atmos • Effects • Music • Designed sound • Style • Period We were then given a script that we had to think about the sound design for. We were given clockwork Orange. We decided to do the first two scenes. This is what we came up with Dialogue: Voiceover Mood: dark/dystopian Location: Milk bar; futuristic/sickly Atmos: people talking; diagetic music, electronic and repetitive, playing along with the conception of what futuristic sound s like. EQ on music to make it sound like it is in a club, maybe layer a few tacks to make it sound like there are to rooms. The voice over should be over the music to make it sound like the Alex is out of the film like he is talking directly to us, making it more creepy. The Tunnel Foley of footsteps, have reverb on them that gets lower ass the characters near the camera. The same with their laughing. The Tramps singing should have some reverb but not too much when we are close to him. This will give perspective. The voice over should have no effects on it again making Alex seem like he is out of the film. The sounds of the tramp being beaten should be very real and maybe eve over exaggerated to high light the mindless violence depicted. This will help to show how the characters are the ‘baddy’s’ even though they are the protagonists. This lesson was great in terms of helping with the projects we are doing at the moment. How to break down a script and be able to think more about the sound before it comes to post production. One problem I have had before it not knowing what the sound design should be before seeing a finished edit. Which then leads to a mad rush. However now I eel I have more knowledge that will help me in this process.

Requiem for a Dream

Darren Aranofsky is renound for the sound design in his films. Requiem for a dream is no exception, I found it incredible. The film itself is brilliant. I really enjoy Aronofsky's work, there is something wonderfully sickly in the aesthetic of the film. The sound helps this. The soundtrack for one, is fabulous, It adds something almost other worldly to the film. This idea helps with the idea that people are fading with their drug addictions. The haunting strings and low wailing voice make it fit so well with the suffering that the characters go through in the film. The minor key just grabs the audience’s attention, you can tell that the film is going to be a downward spiral for the characters. One example of great sound design I want to point out is In Sara’s Kitchen when the fridge ‘talks’ to her there are several loud points in the film and this is one of them. It makes you jump and is shocking, when a lot of the film is, not quiet as such, more subdued. I think this is a good example of sound helping to tell the story. It shows how strongly this is affecting Sara, it makes the fridge seem like an enemy. The sound help turn an inanimate object into an antagonist, this is a great example of how the sound design is so effective in this film. I also liked how the drug scenes seemed really hazy and realistic. The sound when they injected or took drugs seemed real and unaltered but then the sound design became warped. I like the symbolism of this, and think is shows well that the drugs are doing to the character’s body’s. Again it dies in with the idea of a downward spiral. This film is obviously a portrayal of how the drugs are dragging the lives of the characters into the dirt and the sound design follows this. It helps to tell this story, making it more believable and more effectively heartbreaking to watch. The idea of this sickly aesthetic also comes into play here as during the drug sequences this dizziness and strangeness peaks in these parts making the film more odd and scary for the characters. It shows there complete loss of control when thy take something. I really enjoyed the film and I think that the sound design is an integral part of why it’s so effective. Even though it was extremely depressing I would watch it again because it was a great film, I did have t o go and watch Miranda afterwards to cheer myself up though.

Perspective

1/11/12 Perspective. In this session we looked at perspective, how sounds change and are different depending on where the characters are in the film world. Also how to create this using soundtrack. We looked at a scene in the godfather. The footsteps, changing sound and pace help to build the tension it help to create the illusion of moving through a real 3D space rather than a sat. It changes the perspective, meaning that the viewer is more absorbed in the world. Equalisation helps to create perspective in the scene, again it helps to create an illusion that this is real and not a constructed world, it helps the audience believe the story. It also helps to understand what’s happening in the scene, where people are, and how they are moving around with in the space. Sound is telling the story when you don’t see anything on screen that gives away what is happening. Also the building of the sound to help build the tension, low in the mix, there are drums they’re not obvious at first when you’re not listening for them but you brain subconsciously pick up on them. Again this helps to build the tension in the scene. Lost Highway is another film that is a great example of this, the party scene especially. It shows how equalisation works. There are subtle changes in the balance of the music that show the movement. It makes s the sound more 3D more than being flat and only one level. The levels of atmos are also interesting, the sound of the party is quite low in the mix, and the prominence is in what is happening to the main character. The Bar for example the clinks of glasses and the pouring of liquor where as the sound of people is died down this shows what the character is focusing on. Again here is an example of sound helping tell the story. It is helping to show what the character is focusing on. The sound is a window into the characters mind with out having to resort to something such as voice over. The removal of sound is as important as putting more sound in. We also learned the technicalities of frequency and how that can make the sounds on screen seem 3D. I found this session extremely helpful. It not only gave me more ideas on the exercise it also helped me in the process of the sound design in my Drama film. It made me think more about how important it is to make space seem real in film.