sound edit

Sound edit.
The first task to be undertaken when I started editing was to work on the interviews.
I began by cleaning up the interview with pat. On this the only thing to do was balance the EQ in order to take out some of the background noise. There was however only so much you can do. There are parts of the interview where customers came into the shop and obviously this couldn’t be helped. In hindsight it would have been better to have Pat outside or in a different location. However we had to make the best of the situation as she was working and we couldn’t really take her out of the shop. However I have managed to work around this. There is still a bit of background noise but the dialogue is clear and it’s understandable which is the most important thing. The only real problem I encountered with Pat was the rustling which was caused by her scarf. I did try to take it out but there wasn’t anyway to reduce it with out spoiling the interview.
Our interview with Sophie was probably the clearest. The location of her studio was perfect, as it was quiet with only really faint background noise of cars outside. This wasn’t a major problem but a little bit of noise reduction and it was sorted. So again all I needed to do was make it sound a little warmer and make sure all the levels were OK. With Sophie’s way of speaking she varies her volume greatly so sometimes she was peaking. Therefore I have used the compressor and brought the volume of some parts down.
The vox pops, although clear recordings did have quite a high level of background noise. This however is a fact of street interviews and it does give some context to the scene. We were careful to find a spot that relatively quiet. So in the edit I have used channel EQ to take some of the low rumble of the main street away.

sound lof from liverpool

Sound log
1. Atmos-East Village-Chef super lambanana-rifle mic
2. Atmos-east village-Cage super lambanana-rifle mic
3. Atmos-road across from Docks-rifle mic
4. Atmos-Docks-Beatles experience-rifle mic
5. Atmos-Docks-waters edge stationary-riflemic
6. Atmos-Docks-Waters edge travelling-rifle mic
7. Atmos-Queens way Tunnel-Rifle mic
8. Atmos-parking super lambanana-rifle mic
9. Atmos-outside theatre-rifle mic
10. Atmos-Docks back of museum-omni mic
11. Atmos-Docks outside museum-rifle mic
12. Interview-Pat Part 1-tie clip mic
13. Interview-Pat Part 2-tie clip mic
14. Interview-Sophie Green- Part 1-tie clip mic
15. Interview-Sophie Green-Part 2-tie clip mic
16. Atmos-Sophie’s studio-Rifle mic
17. Atmos-Sophie’s studio while drawing-rifle mic
18. Atmos-Sophie’s studio shuffling papers-rifle mic
19. Atmos-Sophie’s studio shuffling papers-rifle mic
20. Atmos-Sophie’s studio while drawing-rifle mic
21. Atmos-Sophie’s studio while drawing-rifle mic
22. Atmos-Sophie’s studio while flicking through book
23. Interview vox pop-Asian girls-rifle mic
24. Interview vox pop-french girls-rifle mic
25. Interview vox pop-green shirt boy-rifle mic
26. Interview vox pop-three lads-rifle mic
27. Interview vox pop-geordie man
28. Interview vox pop- Blur haired lady

Liverpool.
So we have come to the end of the two day shoot in Liverpool. My first reaction is to say how well it went. We managed to get everything done that we intended to. The interviewees were brilliant and in my opinion gave us plenty of material to work with. I think the quality of our material is also of high standard, meaning that this should get a better end result.
Starting the second day of shooting as early as we did was definitely a good decision. It gave us a greater scope. It meant that not only that we had lots of time to get around to all places we needed too but we had time to go to more places that we had initially planned. We were able to stop at any rouge Lambanana’s we found and film them. This again means we have plenty of coverage when it comes to the edit. Another point from the effective time management is it meant we weren’t stressed or panicking about getting anywhere. This meant that we could work effectively without any added stress. This had defiantly reiterated to me that time management is key in an effective shoot as it is an added pressure that can be avoided with careful planning.
I have to say that I did enjoy this shoot. I feel that everyone in the team did well at their designated tasks. Especially Grace as producer, who I feel made sure we were all as organised as we were. I think that we worked well as a team. The only thing I have to say is that I feel there was a little lack of communication with regards to starting and stopping filming and sound recording. I think that from this I have learned the importance of communication. This is causing me slight concern as there may be small section where the audio and video don’t sync up properly. This is a bridge we’ll have to cross when we come to it. It’s not causing any major concern as I know everything that was needed was recorded and then some.
As we were using a DSLR to film on, everything was recorded on a marantz rather than being recorded on a mic that was plugged directly into the camera. For the ‘sit down’ interviews I used the tie clip mics in order to get as clear audio as possible. When we recorded the vox pops, using the tie clip mic was not a very effective choice. The problem when interviewing the general public is that they tend to feel uncomfortable around sound recording equipment. The last thing that they need is someone they don’t know trying to set them up with a tie-clip mic. It can also be time consuming; we needed this to be quick fire as the light was going by this stage. Overall it seemed a better idea to use a rifle mic on a boom pole. This is obviously even more intimidating than the tie clip mic. For this reason we kept it hidden while trying to coax people into being interviewed. We managed to get a few good interviews this way and the people said a lot of really good stuff.

Sound in Documentary

Sound in documentary.
Considering my role in this production is sound I have decided to take a look at documentary purely in terms of it’s sound. By doing this I have been able to think more methodically how I’m going to go about my job.
Sound is definitely of upmost importance in a documentary. It is a powerful emotive tool within any film. When a documentary s just telling a story with no persuasive agenda the sound design aids the story. If it has a particular mood, the sound weather it be music or dialogue is imperative. Good sound is make or brake. The dialogue pushes along the narrative or reinforces certain points the filmmaker is trying to create. There fore its clarity and quality is of upmost importance. Because a documentary is factual and the audience need to believe what you’re telling them, the sound needs to seem ‘real’. There fore the use of Atmos is important so the illusion is not broken and the audience is drawn into the story or argument the filmmaker is putting across. In a persuasive documentary where the filmmaker is trying to put a point across and make you believe it and using sound design to create an emotive and powerful piece is very important. For example if a documentary is trying to create one person and the ‘villain’ and the other as a ‘victim’, the sound design is integral to how you feel abut these two characters. Therefore it can chance the tone of an entire film. So the sound really is important to Documentary.
The way of the Morris. (Tim Plester & Rob Curry)
Possibly my favourite documentary ever, thee use of sound is something that I find interesting. I know I’ve talked about this before but I feel this time I’m coming at it from a slightly different angle. In my opinion the sound design is both rich and deep. It is integral to the Film’s effectiveness as a whole.
There is a broad range of sound used. The most obvious is the interviews. I think the tequniques that Plester and Curry employ are effective. There is a mix of set up interviews and vox pops. This is a style that I think we are going to follow. This way we will get a mixture of opinions and views. In terms of interview techniques there appears to be a range of mics. Tie clips and most likely a rifle mic and boom pole. For set up interviews and vox pops respectively. I believe that this will be the most efficient way of doing things on our shoot in Liverpool. For both speed and quality of sound. Also if I was to try and set up members of the public with tie clip mics for quick fire interviews I think it would make them uncomfortable as they will already probably be nervous. It will also be time consuming where time is a precious commodity on this, or any shoot.
In terms of sound design, I really like the use of Digetic and non digetic Music. There is a great balance and methodical use of the music recorded at the dance outs and then either music from old records of music just recorded for the film. Another point here is how the sound helps to keep the film moving. The pace I feel is very driven, it’s not sedate. Given its subject matter I think it helps to convey the one of the films main points that Morris dancing is not just for boring old farts. It also helps with the effectiveness of one of the films most important sequences. When the dancers go to the war memorial suddenly the rhythm and pace that has been built up in the film stops, it is in some ways jarring but is incredibly effective. It makes the scene all the more poignant and thought provoking. This sudden silence is as well I think a great metaphor for what the war did to Adebury. Before there had been this deep folk tradition with music and dance and laughter. Then the war stopped it all. When the film them picks up the rhythm again it shows how resilient the village has been in coming back from this great tragedy that befell them. The way in which the sound helps to portray this, is, in my view a very inspiring thing.
So the main this to take from this is the fact there is more to sound then the simple technical aspects. This is of course incredibly important. Bad sound design can lead to the complete failure of any film. Due to all this, I am able to understand that the quality of the recording as well as the way in which they are put in the final are of equal and upmost importance.

Pockets

Pockets.
I think this is my favourite documentary that we watched in the seminar. Its style and subject are both appealing to me as a viewer and inspiring as a filmmaker.
I really enjoyed the way that it was like snapshots. Of a place, of people, their minds and lives. It was rapid and quick fire in a sense as it gave you a lot of information. However it was edited together in a way that the pace was sedate and pleasant to watch, you didn’t feel like you were being bombarded by information. The information was effectively conveyed in a way which gave us a lot of it but in a way that wasn’t too much for the viewer to comprehend.
It was just a really nice piece. Stylistically it looked great. It was soft and bright which really fitted the subject matter well. It wasn’t a dark or brooding piece. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was fun but it had lightness to it. Still it was a broad piece. Thought provoking. I saw it as a picture into people’s minds and lives rather than just simply their pockets. It was like a little window into people’s minds. Therefore it helps you see the wider world in a different way. It was like a little pause in the hustle and bustle of the day to stop and think. I think it was a really lovely piece of work that was mostly positive. I think it’s something we are going to aim for tone wise. We all enjoyed this documentary immensely

Critcal evaluation of the finished experimental piece 'The Raven'

In the end I am quite happy with how this piece turned out. I think that it fits the brief and that we made a good attempt at an experimental film. This is not to say however that there are not faults with it.

First the actual content of the film. I feel the films most striking feature is the use of lighting in the scenes where the Character Lewelyn, the voice in side Ben's head, is lit by lights with red and blue filter. The brief, being one that asked for experimental gave us free range to try different lighting structure and colours more than we would have been able to in a standard drama or documentary that would simply ask for three point lighting. We looked for different ways to create meaning in this piece and the lighting is a key example of this. In film conventions it is widely accepted that s character who is dimly lit or in the shadows is either hiding or 'in the dark' or ignorant of something. Similarly a well lit character is usually accepted as a knowledgeable, powerful or a good person. Here we have subverted this slightly. The well lit character of Lewelyn is obviously the opposite of a good person, therefore a polar opposite of what Ben is perceived or sees himself to be. So here we wanted to experiment by lighting Llewelyn well where as Ben is darker and duller. This then symbolises that Ben is receding, into the Darkness whereas Lewelyn is coming into the light. Therefore the message conveyed is that Ben and Lewelyn are in a sort of competition for control and as Lewelyn becomes brighter Ben becomes Darker. This is reinforced by when Ben takes the tablet Lewelyn recedes into the darkness showing that for a short time he is being pushed back into the darkness and quietened down. This however is only temporary. What this also does is anchor that Lewelyn is a fixture of Ben's imagination.
One of the other major experimental elements to this piece is the editing techniques we decided to employ. One of the standout effects is the ‘bad TV’ which creates the effect of a TV with a bad signal. As well as this we used the sound of static over the top of any dialogue. This was in order to convey the message that whatever Ben was saying was being impaired or was weak. The signal was interfered and weak therefore the same can be said for the character of Ben. One thing I really enjoyed with this brief was the ability to experiment so much with the use of editing and lighting it meant we were able to tell a story in a different manner. Instead of it being said explicitly the story is hinted at through our use of lighting, after effects and sound design. Personally I found this incredibly interesting. The chance to experiment in this way was something that had previously not been something I had had much interest in. However now I have a whole new appreciation for this discipline and the scope that it has. There is so much that you can do with it and not be hindered by any of the ‘normal’ filmic conventions.
Another point on our editing is the pace, I think that we achieved a pace that was driven enough to keep the audience’s attention but was not quick enough as to be off putting. We did use flash cutting but it was sparsely but this was in order to create a sense of drama and tension. Conveying to the audience the element of the film where Lewelyn is taking over Ben’s body. Again we were given free rain to do this due to the experimental brief.
The Sound design is also something that makes the piece strong. My favourite element in this is the Bird song. The conations of bird song are of peaceful mornings, and of nature’s beauty. Here it has been manipulated into something grotesque which moves along the story. By going against the cultural connotations of bird song and createing a garbled mess that when linked to the images created a strong message. The idea of trying to block something out but in effect making it worse. It also creates this feeling that Lewelyn is getting angrier. In general the sound is well put together and thought out in my opinion
In General I am very pleased with the outcome of this project; I feel it is a well rounded piece that fits the brief. It tells a story but does not rely on narrative conventions. Instead it uses light, editing, and sound to tell its story. Recounting something with out the need for explicit story telling.
I think the main thing I have taken away from this project is a new appreciation for experimental film and filmmaking. Before I am ashamed to admit I was a little sceptical but taking on the research necessary has made all traces of this scepticism vanish. I now have a wide understanding of Experimental film as a ‘genre’ or category. In addition I feel that this project has shown me a different approach to filmmaking. And in particular story telling. Before I had mainly seen narrative in terms of the familiar theories and conventions. Now I see and understand how to create a strong structure that does not reply on implicit dialogue of conventional narrative conventions.

In terms of my practice on this project, I feel I worked well in terms of the group and in terms of my role as producer director. I made sure we were organised and managed to get all our filming done in the given time frames. I feel I acted in a professional manner with regards t timetabling and organisation. In terms of directing, Stephen and my self tended to both shared the directing and the camera work on set. In heinsight although it doesn’t fir our designated role, it worked well, as we were both able to give our spontaneous ideas that gave us extra footage to work with in the edit suite. This was experimental this was no bad thing and we ended up with about 2 hours of footage over all. Although this lead to a monumental organisational task during the capture it meant we were not restricted in anyway by lack f footage. So overall I feel this was a well managed production.
In conclusion, we were all very pleased with this piece and although the brief at the beginning mat have given us a little bit of a headache in terms of ideas, we came up with many and I feel we executed our final idea, in a well rounded and competent manner. Displaying our skills and knowledge of both the medium of experimental film and the equipment used.

'Blue Monday'

Blue Monday-Duvet Brothers (1984)

This piece could be described as a ‘scratch piece’. In terms of experimental film, I find it incredibly interesting.
The concept of the film is something different to what one would expect even for an experimental film. However weather or not it is right to be able to expect anything from an experimental film in another issue all together. The best way I can think of to describe this piece is a collage, a collage of moving images, news reels rather than newspaper cuttings. The images, are from a broad range of sources, and seem to be in several categories. One to represent the rich and powerful in society, images of the royal family, a man burning a bank note with a cigar, vulgar displays of wealth. Then there are the images of the miner’s strikes and the poverty of the working classes of Britain in the late 70s and early 80s. Then there are the images of communist displays of military power and organisation. Then there is the text inter woven with these images. There are many different visual elements in the film. Each adds something to the films overall message and power.
The meaning created by these images is seemingly obvious. The filmmakers are making a statement about the political and social atmosphere of Britain in 1980s Britain. The main point to make here is the idea of juxtaposition to create meaning. Here we have the images of great privilege and wealth against images of striking miners. This obviously shows the two extremes of the economic scale that existed. The images then that are brought in of the Thatcher and the Torie government consolidate this idea. Her government was all about the self and capitalism. The film then is clearly trying to convey the message of the evils of the Tory government and their selfish ideals.
The other message I feel is conveyed in this film is the ideas of capitalism leading to chaos and anger. This is then reinforced by imaged of the miner strikes and clashes between protesters and the police overplayed by pictures of organised military parades of what seems to bean eastern European communist state. This then is clearly conveying the massage that capitalism and selfishness lads to chaos but a communism and the idea of sharing out wealth fairly leads to an ordered state.
Another point that adds to the meaning of the film is the soundtrack. The music is a classic 80s synth pop track however at the time it was new and revolutionary. Much like industry was becoming less and less dependant on the power of men (the miners strikes) the music is not reliant on the talent of several different gifted musicians, it is a more mechanical process. Everything is becoming less organic. Also the actual sound, this driving industrial sound is fitting to the themes, the idea of an industrial nation in disrepair fits well with the ideas of a nation that is becoming more mechanical and electronic and fewer dependants on man power.
What category this film actually falls into is a slightly difficult issue. This film could be described as a documentary, as it is documenting the political culture of the 80s and how many of the population were felling. Its use of stock footage and newsreel fits into the conventions of documentary. The editing and composition however does not. It is much more free. I see this as an experimental film for this reason. Usually while making a film about political unrest, a filmmaker would go to interview people, gain different opinions. This disregards all of these ‘rules’. To me this defines it as an experimental piece. The editing is something particularly interesting. The way the music and clips are edited in a way that fits together makes the film even more effective. The cuts fit to the beats of the music which makes it a lot more interesting for the view and also more powerful. It makes one take notice; the beats in the music and the rhythm are replicated through image. One example of this is when the military procession is crossing the screen; they appear to be marching in time to the music. This creates a more powerful image and is a great example of how these filmmakers have used the combination of music and sound to create such an effective piece.
In terms of inspiration and influence for the project, the editing of ‘Blue Monday’ is something that I think we can draw on. Not the themes or massage it conveys but the way it uses cuts to create a more powerful film. One parallel I have noticed with the provided viewing materials is with the Chemical Brothers’ ‘Star Guitar’ video. The way the beats match cuts or action on screen. The industrial feel to the music, and industrial back drop. Although the Chemical Brothers are not trying to convey any strong political message there are some similarities.
In conclusion this is a vey effective piece of work. It conveys a message concisely while still being interesting to watch.