Final plans

All of our original plans have essentially gone out the window. We decided than it was going to become a little cliché and would easily become a series or random shots and ideas and we didn’t want that.
We have now decided on a final plan but this has come through several stages of development. We wrote down loads of words, flicking through book stopping on random pages and picking out words. From doing this we stumbled upon the word suffocation. From this we thought about all the connotations of the word. Through this we came up with the basic idea of society suffocating out human emotions and desires. As it is important for us to have a strong theme, we saw this as a way to be free within an idea but still have a central idea to relate to. From this we came up with several shot ideas that were visual metaphors for being unable to express your emotions or true feelings.
Shot idea 1. The first idea for a shot is t have several people with black tape over their moths to symbolise being unable to speak.
Shot idea 2. To have a circle of people with tights over their heads to show being enclosed. The tight are a physical barrier for the thought that will not be aired to the real world.
Shot idea 3. To have someone with a plastic bag over their head with the camera inside to show literal suffocation that would relate to a figurative suffocation of words.
From this the idea evolved again when we saw a verse of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘the Raven’ on Stephen’s can of energy drink.
‘Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.’
The line,’ Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before’ really struck a chord with us. The idea that there are thing that we dare not say, dare not even think. Also the idea that in the poem the protagonist is being tormented by this raven was something we were interested in. This then formed into our final idea.
The main outline is to have a main character who has a voice inside his head who is tormenting him to do the things he really desires. Having cast Ben our main character is therefore called Ben. We are going to create a physical manifestation of this voice by filming Ben being that ‘little man’ in his own head. This is where we intend to employ the use of lighting that is not generally considered as a convention. We will film in one of the performance studios so we have a completely black environment and then using colours of light we will create moods of anger and sadness or loneliness in order to show the inner workings of this character. We also intend to be inventive with the use of sound. It is integral and will help to create this atmosphere of tension that is between Ben and his inner self. We hope to break away from normal conventions with this use of lighting and sound and also in the edit by making the cuts in places that will make everything seem unhinged.
Now we have a final plan we can now start filming!

'Om'

At first glance ‘Om’ is not a particularly complex piece of work due to its short length. However in my opinion there is an awful lot wrapped up in just under two minutes.
The Most apparent feature in this film is its use f representation and in turn how it plays on our expectations due to cultural connotations. The opening shot paint the picture of a Buddhist monk meditating. The slight wispy curl of smoke indicates a stick of incense burning slightly off camera. The orange robe fits with the universally accepted dress of a Buddhist monk. As does the shaved head. The continuous ‘om’ that plays out in the background help to round off this idea of a meditating Buddhist monk that has been laid out. This image brings to mind then several different elements that would go along with a meditating monk. Ideas of peace and tranquillity that the Buddhist religion is famed for.
The film then moves on to reveal slowly that this is not a tranquil Buddhist monk, but a Skin head, in a barbers shop. These two groups of people are polar opposites, their only connecting feature being a shaved head. In doing this the film makes one question their own judgment. This is what appears to be the filmmaker’s intention. It is also a seemingly brief study of how powerful semiotics can be in a viewers judgment of a character. The ‘skinhead’ does not say a word but already we judge him. When he appears to be a monk we assume he is a peaceful person, full of love for the world and everything init. When he is revealed to be a skin head, signified by his dress-a Fred Perry shirt, braces, shaved head- we see him as a violent racist thug. SO this is in some ways a play on the old ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. However I believe there is a deeper meaning than simply that. I believe it is more about representation of characters within film. Sometimes characters have to be introduced quickly and the best way to do this is through representation. This again reinforces the idea that we assume things about this man from simply seeing him, the film appeared to be saying how powerful visual impressions are on a human’s judgment of character.
This is an incredibly effective film, in only a short space of time it manages to portray an incredibly strong message. More than portraying a message it make one consider their own judgements of people. What’s more it also challenges the idea of basic filmic conventions of representation being an effective method of introducing a character, as here it is clearly shown not to be. In addition to this the film is genuinely comic. Which is something that is not especially common place within the school of experimental film. I would also say that ‘om’ definitely falls under the bracket of experimental film. It, as has been shown, challenges the conventions of ‘normal filmmaking.
Taking this film in an inspirational context, it is definitely something we will draw on. The use of lighting is something we are especially interested in. The way the skinhead is the only thing in the show lit ageist a black background is something we want to use in our film.

Priduction meeting no.1 experimental film

Planning session no.1
So, yesterday evening, Charlotte, Stephen and I held our first planning meeting for this project. Beforehand each of us had done our own research and come up with a few different ideas. In addition to this we each brought our own ideas of what experimental film meant to us. As it is such a wide spectrum it was important to us that we made sure we were on ‘the same page’ so to speak.
We each showed a few examples that we had come across in the process if our research. This gave us all an idea of what the others had in mind when it came to experimental film. It also helped to give some context to the ideas. By doing this before we got into the real ‘nitty gritty’ of the planning process we gained a good bedrock for what we were talking about. We all knew what we were dealing with which made life a lot less difficult. One overriding thing e got from this discussion was that in our film we did want a strong idea of a structure. Some films we had seen had seemed to come under the banner of being a lot of random images placed together. In some cases this does work and work well but or us it is important to have not necessarily a narrative but some strong thematic structure.
When we had shared our examples we discussed them. Between the three of us we picked out what we did and did like about them and also began to discuss what we wanted our film to be about. Also how we are going to approach the idea of ‘experimental’. Obviously for us as with most if not all experimental filmmakers it involved working outside generally accepted filmic conventions.
As the brief stated we should base the film on either a word, an object or a poem , having read a short poem ‘how many miles to Babylon’ and always having had a fascination with sleep and the dream world it leads to I was keen to do some thing with this. When Stephen mentioned the idea of Lucid dreaming I was happy to interject my ideas at this point. From this we came up with several different idea that all revolved around the ideas of dreams and gaining control of them. For us this is an exiting route to go down, as within the grounds of experimental film there is a large scope to really explore the dream world without being tied down with such conventions of a narrative structure that makes complete sense. Dreams after all are usually lacking in this department.
So after a good few hours of a Skype call we have a strong idea to start from, we have decided to go off and individually come up with a few different ideas based on this.

list of sounds

All sounds were created by us unless otherwise stated. numbers refer to the track number on the maranz
69 Kettle boiling
70 Making cup of tea (pouring and stirring)
71 Toaster (hum and pop)
72 Microwave
73 Chopping
74 Putting plates down on hard surface
75 Wine bottle being shaken
76 Wine bottle pouring
77 Glasses clinking
78 Cutlery scraping on plates
79 Glass bottle crashing into bin
80 Banging saucepans
81 Small water splashes
82 Washing dishes
83 Pages rustling
84 Lighter clicking
85 Sucking on bottle
86 Mother cooing
88 Times tables
89 Playground rhymes
90 Giggling
91 Pen clicking
92 “Oi, my mate fancies you!”
93 Whispering voices
94 Peck on the cheek
95 “Let me refer you to my manager”
96 Footsteps
97 Sigh
98 Dropping change
99 Dropping bag of change
100 Drunken shouting
101 “Oi, get your tits out love”
102 “We like to drink with Abi...”
103 Laughing with friend
104 Breathing
105 Coughing
106 Dropping boxes
107 Squeaky bed
108 Typing and clicking
109 Alarm Clock
110 Shower
111 Shouting up stairs and hoover
Sounds sourced from the internet.
Ticking Clock-Sound Jay.com
Car interior-Sound Jay.com
Club Music-breezy street by Composed by:Scott P. Schreer, BMI (33%), Ernie Lake, BMI (34%), Adam Kapit, BMI (33%)
Published by: Freeplaymusic, BMI (33%), Songs of 912 Music, BMI (34%), Main Lane Music Publishing, BMI (33%)

Sense of space evaluation

The first section of this piece introduces the character to the audience. We wanted to show a very generic set of facts that would be found on a birth certificate. This has two purposes, firstly it introduces the character. It shows the listener who she is, it is, in essence, an establishing shot. Secondly in terms of a ‘sense of space’ it is the ‘top layer s to speak. These facts form images in the audience’s mind, which are backed up by the layers of sound.

When it comes to the sounds that are in this section, we aimed to show many of the sounds that are associated with babies. So, we have the sucking on a bottle, a cooing mother, the splashing of bath water e.t.c. This creates another layer of the ‘sense of space’, building on the spoken word. However we wanted to go deeper than this and create a sense of space inside Abby’s head, in other words, show what she remembers from these years in her life, making it more related specifically to her not just any baby. This is why we included the bangs and crashes when her Father’s profession is mentioned. They show the sounds of the shipyard, and therefore the industrial area she comes from and a sound she would associate with her early years. It also further introduces the character as it shows her background. From this we can assume she is working class and lives close to the shipyards, having heard these sounds and associating them with her child hood. We are creating these ‘memories’ for her which in turn adds to the sense of space.

The atmos in this section is from a hospital, or rather it is a train station pretending to be a hospital. As it was logistically difficult to get a hospital we decided that the train station would be a suitable substitute. There is the bustle of people in the same echoey environment and the squeaks of trolleys and cases are playing the parts of moveable beds with wheels in need of some WD-40.

The next section represents Abby’s childhood. Again we wanted the audience to relate to it so we used the idea of a primary school assignment and wrote it in the style of how a young child would write. This gives context to the section, placing it with in this era of Abby’s life. It also universally resonates with any audience member who has been through primary and will have had to do this kind of writing. The one thing I think I wasn’t happy about with this section was the voice, I think that we should have somehow got an actual child to read it and failing that used the EQ to make it sound more immature.

To give this section a sense of space, we used sounds that can be associated with primary school. So on one level we have more spoken word in the background, the resciting of times tables and playground rhymes the feature of any primary school. Then under this we have the noises of school. The hurried scratching of pencil on paper by enthusiastic pupils, the scratching of cutlery on canteen plates. This all adds to the idea that the listener is there, by using these sounds they remember from child hood.

Then gluing this all together we have the underlying atmos track, of canteen or classroom. While we were recording in the winter gardens we cam across a school trip eating their lunch. Recording them gave us this layer of sound of exited, chattering children that we needed to complete this section.

We then reach adolescence. For this again we have gone with the ‘typical’. Using a teenager’s diary entry to show this part of her life. Again spoken word sets the context. The gushing diary entry of a teenage girl who is hopelessly besotted.

The sound effects here reflect what is happening or has happened during the day. Abby is replaying the day’s events as she writes them . This firstly anchors what is being said. Secondly it helps to create the idea of being inside someone’s thoughts, being able to hear their thought process.

The atmos here, the continuous scratching of pen created the sense of being there with Abby we are almost spying on her. Also the idea that this is all she can hear further shows the adolescent mind she is solely focussed on this one thing. Stressing and worrying about it and far too busy to be concerned about anything else going on around.

Now we have the young Adult Hood. We have used a C.V because one of the things that makes this era stand out to people in going onto their first proper full time job. And again the spoken word places it in context.

The sound effects here have a slightly different role. Some of them contradict the C.V or at least give it a slightly different spin. We did this because apart from adding an element of comedy it also shows what this period of life is like. There are to sides to people generally. There is the serious one, the professional who wants a job. But then there is the fun lover, after a good time. This will resonate with the audience and also help them engage through it’s comic value.

The underlying atmos track here is typing. This shows the idea of growing up and becoming more professional as it id a parallel for the scratching pen of the previous section. So now we are progressing through Abby’s life.

The penultimate section is Middle age. Here we wanted to create a sense of drudgery so we have gone for a to do list. This has a couple if uses. It obviously shows this monotony. It gives away a lot about Abby’s life. It shows she has children, it shows she is a house wife.

The sound effects here are creating the space around Abby, again we hear what she hears, which help to create the sense of space inside her head and of her life.

The underlying track, the ticking clock, really anchors this idea of monotony, it relentless ticking shows the continuous overturn of these things Abby has to do in her daily life.

The final section is old age. Here we have decided to make it more sombre slowing the pace. It is our intention to take a more serious tone. The will here is to really extenuate the idea of creating an idea of being aware of your own mortality.

The sense of space in with in Abby’s home. So we have her pacing back and forth and making tea. The background is silent apart from this. This is intentional as we thought that this should be quiet part of the piece. Everything in her life has slowed down. There is not the same hustle and bustle around her as there was. She has become more solitary.

To conclude, I think that all in all, this project has been successful, we have met the brief and have made a project that has a real sense of space. I feel now that Abby is a real person not just a figment of our imagination, We have spent such time and consideration mapping her life that she seems real. I think this is a sign that this project has bee successful.

the way of the Morris

Although it’s not relevant to the current sound project I
wanted to mention a documentary I saw at the weekend. Named ‘the way of the Morris’
it is the story of Adderbury Village Morris men told by filmmaker Tim Plester,
a native of the village.
The documentary was incredibly well made in my view. It
clever in its story telling, telling three stories at once. The story of the
side before and after the Great War and how it was torn apart. The story of it’s
revival in the 1970s and the story of Plester himself and his journey into the
world of Morris which runs in his veins. The narrative in the film was both touching
and informative. I found in interesting that the view the film took was one of
fondness when it could so easily have been mocking. Yes it does make jokes, but
Morris doesn’t take itself to seriously anyway. How could it, its grown men
dancing around with bells on their knees.
The way it is shot is also interesting from a production
point of view. It is, to my mind at least shot in a very beautiful and
interesting manner. There are segments
of the film which almost feel dream like, they are surreal and this is where
the narration veers off into the history or some explanation of Morris. These
scenes have a mystical quality, the light is dawn and dusk and gives an
incredibly beautiful hue to the shot and it anchors the meanings of the
narration talking about the strange and distant origins of Morris dancing.
I think that when looking for inspiration and influence in any
kind of film making, not just documentary this film is a great go to. It is a
very powerful film that is a refreshing look at Morris dancing…even if they are
a ring side.

WAY'>http://vimeo.com/20522692">WAY OF THE MORRIS: Official Trailer 2 (HD) from Way'>http://vimeo.com/wayofthemorris">Way Of The Morris on

Reflection 'Film Art, An Introduction's article on experimental film

This article lays out what an experimental film is. As a newcomer to this genre, having touched on it fleetingly in Media studies at school, it is incredibly useful in understanding what experimental filmmaking is. It gives a window into what is expected when asked to make an experimental film.
The article seems to say that ‘experimental film’ is a very loose category and one film might not be recognisably similar to another that also carries the label of experimental. An experimental film ‘challenge orthodox notions of what a movie can show and how it can show it.’ In other words an experimental film looks at the world at a slightly different angle. See something that the conventional film makers might be blind to. Due to this idea portrayed in the article it has shown me than in order to create an experimental film that is effective it is necessary to show things in a way which might not be conceived as normal.
So why make these films? According to this article it is in short to experiment. The Filmmakers may be tired with the convention that they are ‘supposed’ to work with. Some might want to experiment with the medium of film with out having to tell a story. The impression this article gives, in my view anyway is that Experimental film pushes the boundaries of the artistic element of filmmaking. To be able to utilise the form and play on fewer elements in order to really create an artistic peace rather than a narrative told through moving images.
There are other reasons for experimental film however. One may wish to convey a personal experience, a mood or physical quality. The filmmaker may not wish to tell a story in the normal manner of a beginning middle and end. They may want to simply express a view point on a certain subject, without being constricted by narrative conventions. The article effectively conveys the how and the why of experimental film, which is instrumental in understanding the form.
The article them moves on to case studies of ‘Ballet mecanique’ and ‘A movie’. In doing the elements that have been previously discussed are shown in terms of the films they describe. This gives context to both the films, due to the introduction, and to the form in the readers mind as it relates the concepts to texts. Also by choosing one film from the school of ‘the abstract form’ and one from ‘the associational form’ , ‘Ballet mecanique’ and ‘A movie’ respectively it gives a broader context to the varying styles of experimental film. As it is such a wide bracket taking a film or films from only one category would diminish the effectiveness and educational value of this article. Therefore the article because of its broad spectrum is integral to its effectiveness, in telling the story of experimental film.
In conclusion, to my mind at least, this article is great for introducing a new comer to the art o experimental film. It sets up what is expected of a filmmaker who sets out to make an experimental film. Also in the context of this brief, it is incredibly useful for this reason.