Unit 38

Sound-Unit 38

Sound Recordist- Has the job of recording the sound on location during production using the boom pole.
Sound Mixer- Mixes (balances) sound during post production.
Foley Artist- Mimics/recreates the sounds that are happening on screen.
Composer/Score writer- The person who comes up with the music.
Sound Designer- in charge of all these job roles.

What do we record?

• Dialogue- Individuals, Groups
• Real World Action
• Background/Atmosphere- Animate (something that moves), Inanimate (something that doesn't move)
• SFX(sound effects)-Foley, Real world

There are two types of sound, sync sound (must be in time with the video so we can understand it) and non sync sound (these sounds don't need to be in sync with the picture for it to make sense)

Sound mixing- Balancing all your sounds

Wild Track-A recording of ambient sound (background noise)

Where you record is important, this is your 'environment'.

How do we control what we record?
shutting out sound: 
-Choosing the right microphone- Lavia (clip mic), shotgun mic- omni-directional, directional-cardioid.
-Mic Position- Has to be above or below the character being recorded in order for the mic to pick up the actor/actress's voice.
-Muffler/dead cat- This is used when filming outside to block out any unwanted access noise i.e. cars driving past or people shouting in the streets.

ADR- Additional Dialogue Recording

Mixers, Recorders & Monitors (Mixers do not record, the mix the sound.)
-Studio mixer
-Field mixer
-Field recorder

Video Editing - Unit 16 & 21

Final Cut Pro - Non Linear Editing
                      - Professional - Video
                                            -  Audio
                      - Non Destructive = FCP doesn't harm the original footage
Linear - In order
Non-Linear - Not in order

Work flow-The order in which you will work

• film (create clips=visual footage)
• Memory Card (drag clips into the blue BTEC drive)
• Ready to Edit (drag the clips to the scratch drive)                        

Danny Boyle research

Danny Boyle-Auteur


“Slumdog Millionaire”, Danny Boyle’s latest film, is in selected theatres at the moment and everyone should make the time to see it. It’s been a beguiling career for Mr.Boyle. He’s one of the most stylishly distinct filmmakers working today. A “Danny Boyle film” is truly that. Going through each of his films provides a unique pathway of the ups and down, artistic consistencies and changes creating a unique body of work for this ‘auteur’ director.

Boyle amplified the cinema language established in “Shallow Grave” creating a blistering assault of music, imagery, violence, sex, drug use, and above all rich British humour. In fact the Scottish accents were so strong an alternate toned down dialogue tracked had to be used for the U.S. release. The film’s opening scene, a rambunctious running chase through the streets of Edinburgh - a device Boyle would reuse in subsequent films – sets the pace early on. Boyle’s ear for music helped make the new wave/Brit pop soundtrack as successful as the film.

Boyle’s works are always positioned from the male viewpoint, yet remain accessible to audiences of both genders. The inclusion of female counterpoints in each effort assists in this regard, ensuring that whilst the lead may be masculine, the overall film is balanced.As commonly occurs in filmmaking in general, Boyle’s films posit a male point of view. Every one of his lead characters are of the masculine persuasion, from Ewan McGregor’s troika in Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary, to Cillian Murphy’s duo in 28 Days Later and Sunshine, and including Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach, Alex Etel in Millions, Dev Patel in Slumdog Millionaire and James Franco in 127 Hours as well.


Boyle’s collection of creations bear the obvious hallmarks of his influence – in speed, in sound, and in continued collaborations. The constant combination of all three across his resume contributes to his auteur style beyond standard elements of theme and narrative. In functional rather than formative aspects, Boyle’s preference for frenetic imagery, pumping soundtracks and a familiar cast and crew has left a significant impact upon his body of work, linking disparate efforts from Shallow Grave to 127 Hoursacross the last twenty yearsSimilarly, the soundtracks of Boyle’s oeuvre match his visuals, favouring the electronic and rock genres. From Leftfield’s musical stylings in Shallow Grave to the iconic use of Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and Underworld in Trainspotting, Boyle’s films each champion absorbing soundscapes. Although the pop-peppered mixes in A Life Less Ordinary and The Beach are similarly striking, and John Murphy’s 28 Days Later and Millions scores are emotive, Sunshine provides a perfect picture of the director’s acoustic arrangements. Courtesy of a hybrid of Murphy and Underworld, the resulting music is so resonant and riveting that it is impossible to imagine the film without it – a feat again achieved with Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman on the subsequent Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.

Film Choices

Main Films

-127 Hours

-Trainspotting

Supporting Films

-Slumdog Millionaire

-Trance

Comparison films

- 127 Hours-Cast Away
-Trainspotting-Requiem for a dream

Lighting and production

1) tell stories

2) aesthetics-visual beauty

Different types of production

•single camera production-on location,gets more out of your actors, spend more money on the one camera so you get good quality film

 •multi camera production-filmed in a studio I.e. Coronation street. Mass produced, want to spend as little money as they can, multiple cameras on the action do it can be cut from camera to camera.

Light

-hard light=direct light.

-soft light=diffused light.

When shooting, you should film with the sun behind you as it will illuminate  your frame with light.

Although, if you're looking at getting a silhouette effect, shooting into light would be better.

Tonal range

-brightness at the top of the frame(highlights)

-mid tones, anything in between the frame

-shadows darkest at the bottom of the frame

Exposure

-we expose the lense to light. We control this exposure with an iris

 

Genre

Genre

Genre means type: 

-horror

-sci-fi

-romance

-drama

-comedy

-action

-fantasy

•generic conventions

A generic convention is when you relate a particular prop/scenario/ setting to a certain film genre I.e. If I saw a gun or an explosion, I would think of an action film.

To identify generic conventions, you must look for:

-typical narratives:structure of the story/character types

-typical micro elements:lighting, costume, font, colour, props, etc

-typical themes: good vs evil, crime and punishment, achieving goals, etc

•Hybrids

Some films are not simply one specific genre. Hybrid films seem to be a mixture of different generic conventions from a number of different genres I.e. Shaun of the dead: romantic, horror, comedy

Narrative

Narrative 

-structure

There are two different types of structure:linear and non linear. Linear means 'straight line' so there is a 3 act structure, 'beginning-middle-end'. Non linear means not in a straight line... Think 'pulp fiction'.

Other ways of describing structure are:

-EQUILIBRIUM

-DISEQUILIBRIUM 

-NEW EQUILIBRIUM 

Equilibrium is how the film starts, normal life. Disequilibrium is the problem that happens in the film that the characters have to then spend the duration of the film trying to fix. New equilibrium happens after the climax of  the film, the final battle, confrontation that happens in order to solve the problem, and life can return to normal and the resolution can occur.

-Character Types

Hero: saves the day, but sometimes not the stereotypical hero we see in most films, they may have a conflicted or complex past, may not be mortal or ethical, but they save the day in the end... More of an anti hero.

Victim/damsel/princess: anyone that needs saving

Villain: the cause of the problem, the aggressor.

-Enigma codes

Enigma means puzzle. This is anything in the film that is a puzzle to the character and audience. We have to go on a journey with the character to solve the puzzle. An enigma is something that keeps you guessing I.e. a clue.

-privileged spectator

When the audience knows more than the character in the film

Hard light image

Unit 26 film studies-sound and editing

Sound

Diagetic

-sound in the film I.e. Dialogue

-ambient sound (natural background noise)

Non diagetic

-sound which is added on after I.e. Soundtracks/music

VO=voice over

Sound bridge-when the sound 'bridges' over to the next scene

Contrapuntal-the sound doesn't fit the image I.e. Open your mouth to scream and a bell rings, or your watching a horror scene and happy music begins to play

Clip 1-the matrix

-non diagetic sound

-diagetic dialogue

-sound bridge

-ambient sound

Clip 2-500 days of summer

-non diagetic sound/sound track 

-ambient sound

-contrapuntal sound

Clip 3-mean girls

-ambient sound

-non diagetic I sound/soundtrack

-diagetic dialogue

-voice over

-contrapuntal

Clip 4-casino royale

-non diagetic soundtrack

-ambient sound

-diagetic dialogue

Editing

-shot transition-cut, fade, dissolve etc

-shot duration-long:short time

-parallel action-two things happen at the same time

-montage-showing narrative quicker using lots of short shot durations together

Rocky IV

-non diagetic soundtrack

-ambient sound

-montage

This scene gives us an insight to the main points of this film and the main characters life. The speed of the montage and the soundtrack makes the audience feel 'pumped' and excited to watch the rest of the film. Also, the soundtrack used fits in with how the main character feels, determined.

Man on Fire

The clip we have analysed is man on fire. In the beginning of the scene a panning shot has been used, this pan is used to show the business of the setting, it also gives the audience an idea of what is happening in the scene(A club). A high angle is also used for this shot, it shows all these people as underdogs to the events which will occur. This makes the events seem mysterious and also shows the audience that the people in this shot are unaware of potential danger. In this scene the director has used a range of camera shots, such as:

-Close up of props and facial expressions, when switching from close up to close up, fast editing has been used, this shows the atmosphere of the location. It also helps build the tension within the scene. The fact the close ups are used on props shows their importance to the scene. The close ups on facial expressions shows characters reactions to what is going on, making the audience feel uneasy and can relate to the characters emotions.  

-High angle in the club, this shows the audience how busy the event is. It also shows the audience that all the characters dancing are unaware of what is going to happen.

-Point of view when a character is unlocking padlocks and chains off a gate, this represents secrecy and shows the audience the characters have something to hide. It also shows danger as the chains in the scene could also represent handcuffs. 

The lighting and colour wash are very low key and gritty. The low key lighting shows the audience that the main character within this scene is undercover as the darkness shows mystery and secrecy, the secrecy of the fact he is undercover but also the secrecy of the danger/events. The gritty colour wash gives an 'uneasy' and 'all over the place' feel for the audience, making it hard to concentrate on one specific part of the scene. It also shows theres mulitiple scenes of action taking place. 

The costumes used within this scene are quite 'thug like' as most characters in the scene have low waisted jeans and tend to be wearing bandanas. This is also quite casual but shows the audience the seriousness of characters and events. 

Off screen space is used when cutting from shot to shot of the main character when he is trying to get information out of a man who is tied up and blindfolded. This builds tension for the audience as they dont immediately see the reaction of the characters during the conversation.

The setting is a club setting, which is a typical setting when action takes place as the audience see clubs as mischievous as when people go to clubs they tend to go to drink. Also clubs tend to be busy scenes because its loud, the fact its loud links to the action as the other characters cannot hear whats going on, creating tension and mystery.

Scream scene

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=yEjmOpOAVOg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyEjmOpOAVOg%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

first post

This is the guy who inspired me to go down my chosen career path.