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The final week of the course was dedicated to sound and how it can be used to provide a sense of realism in films. Danny Hambrook, the lead educator for this week, described the roles of the Production Sound Mixer, Sound Editor, and Sound Designer and introduced us to a range of films, including Rush (2013), Le-Weekend (2013) and The Curse of The Were-Rabbit (2005), all of which required very different approaches to create believability. In addition, composer John Keane also described some of the ways a music score can be used to influence a character's psychology and actions, as demonstrated in his work on the film Wives and Daughters (1999).

The following notes were taken from an interview with Danny:
Recreating Sounds

- For Le Week-End, wanted real sounds of Paris
- A chaotic feel in relationship to the dialogue between the main characters
- This included the sounds of the crowd, the traffic, the station/metro
- Went into restaurants, walked past public market traders to record authentic sound
- Possible to use library fx and record crowd sounds in studio, however it's harder to replicate the true soundscape with real perspectives and movement
- For budgeting or schedule reasons, some library fx may have to be used
- In Le Week-End, real sounds were recorded in and around the streets for a naturalistic sound that suited the style of the film

The Need For Credibility

- Rush, set in 1970s, is about Formula 1
- Wanted to be true to the real sound of the cars as possible as the film would be watched by fans
- Could lose credibility in the film if the car sounds were in any way diminished by the use of modern-day Formula 1 car noises
- Visited historic car events all over Europe to locate specific vehicles
- Collected real sounds by attaching several mics to each car
- Once collected, the sounds needed to be integrated into other sound elements of the film (music, dialogue, commentary)
- "Just as visual features in a period piece need to be accurate, or at least credible for the viewer, so too does sound"
- In modern sound editing, many recorded sound effects are enhanced by sounds that have no direct connection with what is seen on screen
- Require clean effects and more than one option for layering. Otherwise, you can get distortion
- When filming, the focus is on the quality of the actor's voices
- Atmospheric sounds need to be recorded before and after a scene

Using Sound To Make Animation Feel Real

- Wallace and Gromit - The Curse of The Were-Rabbit was a continued house style from the first film
- The house style involved slightly quirky sound effects
- Sounds were manufactured - not synthesised but organic
- Some processed vocal effects
- "What gives something reality in an animation film is often the sound"
- The sound gives an object or event more reality
- Connects animated characters to their surroundings
- Foley can be used in order to create new/pre-existing sounds

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With Composer Nathan Johnson

Nathan Johnson is not your typical composer. Bridging the realms of sound recording and composing, he has created his own unique approach to film scores. For Brick (2005), Nathan gathered a variety of household implements and recorded their unique and unusual sounds. From radiators to wine glasses, each element was brought together and intermixed to create a playable, found-sound modern orchestra. For Looper (2012), he used a similar approach. Only this time, he combined his field recordings with live instruments, even going as far as to develop his own. By cycling sounds at various speeds, and then looping them, he formulated a score that would put even the most intense action film to shame. Interestingly enough, I watched Looper a few months before taking this course. I remember feeling agitated, restless, and on edge. Only at the time, I didn't think to attribute this to the score. But somehow, on some level, I could feel these familiar sounds. Although indistinguishable once mixed, the essence of them remained.

Notes from Nathan's Vimeo Series:
Scoring Looper

- Not a heavy melodic score
- Avoided traditional action movie score
- Inspired heavily by Ben Burt (Star Wars)
- Created a virtual orchestra
- Spent a month gathering found-sounds
- Starting point for Looper were sounds inspired by drums
- Wanted imperfection - a broken world in line with the film scenes
- Recorded live performances of playing on various materials
- Spread sounds across a keyboard so that they could be played melodically
- Pitched fan sounds to create a synth (fluttering, undulated sounds)
- Required a single theme to ground the film and provide a point of reference
- Introduced string and orchestral elements
- Recorded violin of Eric Gorfain - scratched tones, dissonant string voices
- Combined all elements together

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Week 6.14: Sound Recordist/Sound Designer Task

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Week 6.14: Sound Recordist/Sound Designer Task

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The Hill Farm Extract

For the final task of the course, we were asked to create the sound for a scene from Mark Baker's NFTS graduation film, The Hill Farm.

The brief for this task was:

"If you have software (such as Garageband or Audacity), we’d like you to download the clip (use the links just below the video player) and create the sound effects for it. Use whatever you can find to create the sounds you want."

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Week 6 Sound Task: Creating my own soundtrack

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Inspired by the work of Nathan Johnson, I decided to record my own sounds and used them for the basis of the scene.

After also watching the work of the Foley Artists involved in A Quiet Place, I discovered how unlikely objects create not only atmosphere but also reality - sometimes even more so than the real thing! For instance, when it came to recording my own sounds, I found that the camera shutter so often heard in films rarely has any relation to the noise of a modern camera - something which should be obvious but yet.. isn't!

I stumbled across an idea for my own shutter 'click!' after my sunglasses fell on the floor. The plastic, sharp tone was exactly what I was looking for. However, I also discovered that in some cases, particularly where texture was needed, it was better to try and emulate what was seen on screen (at least, as closely as possible). For the sound of the animated man stroking the bear's paw within the scene, I recorded the sound of a body brush on a suede jacket and found that it worked really well.

Some of my recordings were:

- Vocals (initially I thought to create voices for the characters - yet found this distracted from the ambience of the cave)
- Shuffled paper = footsteps
- Nail tap on desk = footsteps
- Thump on hollow desk = bear bumping head
- Nail scratch on denim = bear claws
- Whistle = bear snoring
- Body brush twist on jacket = paw stroke
- Sunglasses click = camera shutter
- Candle lid drop = camera lens drop
- Laptop case shake = fast footsteps
- Birds
- Moving water
- Stone dragged on concrete = bear growl/breathing

After recording my sounds, I searched an fx library in order to create the ambience in the cave. In order to avoid using the native sound of something, I tried to reimagine them with alternatives. Some of the recordings I used were:

- Deep underwater dive = cave echo
- Monster growl = bear
- Thunder = bear
- Running in a basement = footsteps
- A noisy old elevator = cave reverberation
- 'Boing!' = comedic bounce
- An earthquake = bear walking

Overall, I'm pleased with the sounds that I created as they masked into the soundscape and blended well with the more realistic recordings. I aimed to keep to the simplicity of the scene to avoid overwhelming it, keeping the balance between the fictional world and reality. With week 6 having such a strong focus on the believability of sound, it was refreshing to create something organically and put everything I've learned to the test. If anything, I feel that sound is something that I intend to work a lot more on, particularly as its nature can be as fictional as the story it frames.

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This week we have explored the role of the Editor in film and the decisions that need to be made in order to capture what is needed to tell a story.

Justine Wright has helped us to identify how time and space can be manipulated in film and some of the ways that feature films are structured. As an Editor, Justine has cut films such as The Iron Lady, The Last King of Scotland, and Locke. By identifying the transitions in time and space, we can control the time in a film - something that rarely takes place in real-time. By then condensing scenes together, we can move around in the space of a story and provide the viewer with a more dramatic and engaging experience. In order to create this effect, an Editor requires multiple styles of shot at his/her disposal, such as a wide shot, mid-shot, close shot, and cutaway shot. Their job is to then decide which order to place the shots to best convey the actual plot and the intention of the Director.

The following notes were taken from an interview with Justine:
Transitions in Time and Space

- Classically, you start with a wide shot and then gradually move in tight until you're in the most emotional part in the scene
- Move out again until you're back into a wide shot
- Use a wide shot to enable the audience to see the layout of the scene and to see where the characters are in relation to each other. Once established, cut in tighter on people
- "We'll always know where we are in the space within the scene"
- The assumption of the Editor is that they are a technician that assembles the film
- Their creative role is deciding how the footage can be put together to tell the story. They play with time and space
- The viewer takes for granted that sequences can expand or compress time
- Stories don't need to be told in order
- As viewers, we are accustomed to filmmakers filling backstory or showing sequences out of order for dramatic effect. Can jump about in time or even be presented with two time periods simultaneously
- The editor can restrict or expand what is shown to give us information withheld from the characters
- Editors can change our perception of physical space through the choices they make

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"Imagine a scene in which a character, who is drinking at a party, is thinking back to things that have happened to him earlier in the story. How might the filmmaker present this to the viewer to convey the character’s thoughts and feelings?"

Notes:

- Match cuts
- Party as background noise
- Song reminding the character of a moment in time
- Character turning (spinning 'back in time')
- Camera 360 arc in MCU
- Close up of character to show they are 'in their head'
- Focus on a single light and using it to flashback
- Cut or use of a cue to remind character of their past
- Flashback could have different colour correction/brightness (dream-like)

Answer:

I would show the character sitting amongst a group of people, perhaps friends that have featured a lot in the film, and zoom from a LS to a MCU as they look down on their drink. A shot of the somewhat full drink swirling in a glass would follow. As the character looks up again in a MCU, we would then shift to his POV as they see someone they recognize walk into the room. The people at the party surrounding this character would 'disappear', and we would capture a CU of their face and eyes meeting 'ours' (main character). This event is, in fact, a flashback closely mirroring our initial scene and we realise this as we focus back on our main character in a MCU, who is now happy, lively, distracted and laughing, whilst surrounded by equally vibrant friends. I think the overall nature of the story could contain themes of addiction/alcoholism and its effects on the relationships we have and lose. Perhaps the opening scene could demonstrate the loss of this person (character 2), from our main character's life and how he changes in the wake of the relationship falling apart.

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Editing From Someone Else's Footage

For this week's task, I will be editing the rushes from a scene in Bait (1999) by Director Tom Shankland.
The aim is to create the most effective version of the story, thinking carefully about the transitions between each clip and adding the appropriate music that has also been provided.

The background story is as follows:

Clint, aged around 7, has been making a packed lunch for himself and his unemployed father. After packing the sandwiches in a plastic box the pair set out for the local town where the dad has an appointment for a job interview. Arriving at a local café, dad buys the cheapest snack possible, and asks the waitress to keep an eye on Clint while he goes to an amusement arcade across the road for the interview.

The scene starts with Clint alone in the café, except for the waitress, who is working at the other end of the room. He looks out of the café window to see if he can see his father returning from the interview. As his father has been gone some time, Clint grows anxious. Suddenly, he decides to leave the cafe. He picks up his sandwich box and runs to the door; at that moment a vagrant enters, and Clint retreats to his chair in the café. The vagrant is hungry and has his eye on the boy’s packed lunch.

Things I need to consider:

- What is the overall mood or atmosphere of this scene?
- What’s going on in Clint’s head? Is he frightened, confused, distressed?
- Does he give his lunch box willingly or out of fear?
- Is the old man or Clint aware of the waitress in this scene?
- What kind of music best suits this scene?
- How will you control the pace of this scene?

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Week 5: Editing From Someone Else's Footage

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Week 5: Editing From Someone Else's Footage

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NFTS Explore Filmmaking Week 5 Editing Task

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When editing the rushes, I decided to establish the scene through the use of the street with the car passing. Although it may not be the cafe, itself, it symbolizes Clint's inner world and his unease of being left alone. When Clint looks out of the window after seeing the car (or intuitively picking up on it passing by), I decided to cut back to his disappointment of him missing it... or perhaps having imagined it. The following MS of Clint grabbing his lunchbox reinforces his restlessness and quick thinking. The vagrant then enters the door, establishing the space of the scene, beyond what Clint's perspective has previously hinted. I decided to follow this shot with a MS of the vagrant eating, seen through the eyes of Clint. The CU of his hands tentatively hovering over the food follows, putting the audience on edge. The MS of him glancing in the direction of the waitress follows. I deliberately chose not to establish her in the beginning for two reasons - one, I felt that in order to isolate Clint, we needed to see him as vulnerable and alone, and two, so that she could be established at this exact moment. I wanted her to be a presence within the scene, within her own individual world. The MS quickly transitions back into the CU of the vagrant's hands, now more confident. The tone then shifts again as he looks directly at Clint (MS), and at us, as the watcher. Clint glances towards the waitress and yet realises she isn't aware. The music shifts from a peaceful track to one of fear (I disguised this with the noise of bottles). The vagrant approaches, moving towards the camera and 'filling the space' on the screen. He feels vaguely threatening. His arm then quite literally 'reaches' across the space, breaking the distance between the two characters. A brief cut to the waitress follows - a silent communication now exists between the two. An agreement of "she hasn't seen us". Clint reluctantly slides over his lunch box, the shots uncomfortably longer than they need to be, acting as the slow realisation, or acceptance, of what has happened. The tension then builds to its peak as the waitress begins to stand up... she could look at any moment, therefore transforming the circumstances. A MS of the vagrant ensues, again he crosses the distance between the two characters, leaving the same way he came in. A match cut of the door closing then illustrates the two realities of Clint and the waitress becoming one. A LS of Clint illustrates the distance, the impersonal interaction between the two of them. A CU of Clint at the window, ignoring the waitress, follows as we see him talking under his breath. The shot mirrors the beginning and yet, Clint now looks out of the window for a completely different reason... I decided to end the scene with the waitress walking away to coincide our reality with hers. If not for the perspective of Clint, we too would be unaware of the events within the scene.

Overall, I enjoyed editing the scene and watching the varied examples created by other students. It hadn't entered my mind that Clint would willingly give away his lunchbox and that the scene could be one of kindness and generosity. After seeing the original cut, I was pleasantly surprised to see how different it was from my version and ultimately, how an Editor can really shape (and transform) a story.

The original cut (courtesy of NFTS):

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This week, Corin Hardy has taken us through the process of breaking down a scene, with a detailed case study of one of his music videos. As an award-winning filmmaker and director, Corin's work is inspired by 1970s storybooks, horror films, and 1980s Spielberg cinema. His career in film began with his debut stop-motion short film 'Butterfly', which he released in 2003. The film took 5 years to make and was shot on 16mm film. Created in his garden workshop, Corin planned, wrote, designed, and built the sets. A story of loss, death, and told in an abstract, fantastical way, it uses real-life elements to create a world that mirrors our own.

The following notes were taken from an interview with Corin:
Storyboarding

- When breaking down a script, use the outline of the story and decide what the core idea will be
- If it's a dialogue scene, find what the most important part of the story is
- Whose perspective are we seeing the scene through?
- How will you cover it? What type of camera, angle, lens?
- What will the atmosphere look like?
- Storyboarding pre-imagines everything that is going to happen in the scene, and how the scene will fit together with other scenes in the film/music video
- Use thumbnail storyboards to look at details in the script/within the treatment of the music video. Create a first version
- What could this look like? What angle am I going to shoot from?
- How much information do I need to show?
- What am I going to reveal?
- When the scene is pieced together, look back at it. Revise it
-  "It helps my clarity and vision of what I'm trying to put together in that scene and decide what story base to tell"
- Another important reason to storyboard - It helps convey the story to the financiers/record label/producers and to present how confident you are in the story you're telling

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From Script to Shoot - Storyboard

Devlin’s cover of (All Along The) Watchtower

Things to consider for this task:

- Who will the camera be on and why?
- What will the actors be doing?
- When should the camera move?

The script extract:

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Task: Storyboarding pages from a music video script

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Task: Storyboarding pages from a music video script

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Devlin’s cover of (All Along The) Watchtower

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Q) How close were your decisions to Corin's finished video?
Consider how Corin changed the order of events.

Cutting up the 'detective and girl' scene made it fit more seamlessly into the overall tone of the video. Having the scene appear at the end, as per the original script, gives it a level of mystery that the fast pace doesn't mix well with. Cutting it up prevented any massive emotional or narrative jump for the audience.
In my storyboard, I decided to keep the structure true to the script and therefore, my tone resembled 'the calm before the storm' and the slower, more anxious actions of two people on the run.

Q) What do you imagine would have happened leading up to the events of the video?
Corin imagined the video as a final scene in a feature.

I imagine the story would be based around the overall dynamic of the friendship between Ed and Devlin and perhaps, what inspired the events of the robbery. I also feel that the story would focus primarily on Devlin and his family, as so much of the video is centred around the torment of him leaving them - especially under such serious circumstances. Developing these relationships further would align the audience with less central characters. The video never discloses WHY Ed and Devlin executed the robbery and this leaves their actions open to various interpretations. A backstory to their reasoning would determine whether they acted out of need or greed.

Conclusion:

As I completed Task 1 with simple sketches, I wanted to try something more visually complex... so for this task, I decided to create a storyboard with photographs*.

After watching the Bafta Guru video with Maria Djurkovic last week, I was fascinated to learn about how colours come together to achieve the overall feel of a film. What surprised me most about this process was that Maria draws an amalgamation of sources and inspiration together to achieve this and not vice versa (i.e. colours were not specifically chosen beforehand).

"The colours that you choose are all about the world you're creating".
- Maria Djurkovic

I found that as I completed this task, the colours of the music video came to life within the storyboard, not only mirroring the original video but reflecting my own personal choices, too. I think displaying a storyboard in this way is something I will continue to do, whilst I continue to develop my drawing.

*Please excuse the watermarks (images courtesy of Canva)

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Lighting Task

This week's final task was dedicated to creating my own scene using a camera and creative, DIY lighting solutions.

Over the latter part of the week, we explored the role of the Director of Photography, in charge of both camera and lighting teams, and therefore responsible for producing the overall 'look' of a film. Through this task, I aimed to be creative with available resources and to develop a story in an abstract, meaningful way. I was inspired by the music of Arcade Fire and for years, had wanted to develop my own scene around it.

The brief for this task was:

"Using whatever equipment you have to hand, we’d like you to film a very short scene with just one character, in which you use lighting to create an effect of your choice."

- The scene can be silent or have sound, can be single shot or edited.
- No expensive equipment is required
- You may wish to start in a room with no natural light so you can control everything

Things you may wish to achieve:

- Movement
- Character
- Warmth or cold
- Atmosphere
- A sense of a particular genre

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Created with LED lights, an LED lamp, a mirror and baking paper for diffusion

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As we are currently in lockdown, I decided to design a story around the concept of our first moments on earth. I'd read somewhere that babies are born with limited vision and could only perceive objects very close to their faces. Afterward, I remembering thinking about how overwhelming that must be, for we take our own sight completely for granted, to the point where we quite literally believe in what we see. Not only this but to be introduced into a completely 'new' environment - a hospital (something that adults themselves can find disorientating and uncomfortable at the best of times), made me think of the first few moments of life and what a strange place it is to welcome us. Inspired by this, I wanted to create a story told from the perspective of a newborn and the images that would be conveyed to them - a world of bright lights, distant voices, footsteps, and... air.

I developed a blue/yellow colour palette and worked my shots around two instances of natural light, a sunny kitchen, and a dimly lit living room. I aimed to convey the cold, harsh light of a hospital, intermixed with the loving presence of something else... something intangible. The movement, I knew had to take place around the periphery of the camera (mostly due to the fact that it would be limited to the ceiling/upward shots). I opted to show glimpses of people passing by, moving with intention and ease, sometimes edited in slow-motion to indicate tiredness and different times of the day.

In particular, I found the essence of the film was captured in the editing stage. By using two heartbeat recordings, I layered them to move in and out of sync, almost as an anchor for the viewer - a familiar sound in an unfamiliar world. I then intermixed this with chatter, establishing some kind of room tone. Overall, I'm really pleased with the result of the film, in particular the opening shot of blue light flashes - created with LEDs and a water bottle.

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The focus for Week 3 has been on locations and settings and how they impact time management and budget.

In order to maximize on a location, particularly within a public space, a filmmaker needs to prepare and manage locations in a way that provides not only ample coverage but an opportunity for flexibility if (and when) unprecedented issues arise.

The discussions throughout the week have centred around the argument for and against a 'locked set' and how to bring authenticity to a scene, whilst getting clean sound.

For this task, I was provided with an extract from the short film 'Stanley Pickle' and visualised the setting without any background information.

As an exercise in mise-en-scène, I considered these aspects:

- Funiture
- Decor
- Colour
- How the production design might reflect the characters

And this is what I came up with:

https://pin.it/2xZFAmo

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Task: Visualising a location from a script extract

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Task: Visualising a location from a script extract

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Initially, I decided to search for specific objects featured in the script. In my mind, I could see a kitchen from a 1950's period - colourful, with plenty of pastels. However, I found this particularly challenging (mostly due to the fact that each image I found lacked the atmosphere I was looking for).

I felt strongly that in order to evoke the morning feeling of the scene, I needed to begin with images of coffee, light, and steam. I hoped that they would form a foundation I could then build from.

Soon, I found myself focussed on the textures and styles of clothing, particularly of Stanley's father. I searched for a worn-in, slightly oversized suit, and soon found repetition in the emotion/stance of the men wearing them - introspective, kind, focussed.

It was from these small discoveries that the scene and particularly, the colours of the scene, came to life. It took on a welcoming, aged quality, full of faded hues and lived-in objects - perhaps, viewed through the eyes of youth.

I feel that this exercise allowed me to explore elements of the script that otherwise may have gone unnoticed if I had jumped into storyboarding straight away - subtleties that enrich the story and make it seem that much more real.

How the scene actually looked:

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Scriptwriting and Storyboarding

This week's task was dedicated to creating a script and storyboard for a scene with a 30-second duration.

The given circumstances were as follows:

- Character 1 is already in a room.
- Character 2 approaches the room, opens the door, and comes in.
- They have a brief conversation in which Character 1 gives Character 2 an object.
- Character 2 then leaves the room.

The scene should consider the theme, story, and set up of the characters.

Whilst brainstorming, I decided I wanted to create a scene that would appear very normal on the surface - something that wasn't overly 'watchable' but might have hidden beauty/meaning, within. I settled on two characters, both of whom are (or appear to be) sleep-deprived parents. The aim of this was to create a false sense of security for the viewer, to disclose information about my characters in a subtle way that would totally transform them by the end of the scene and to show ultimately, how something so 'normal' could become so polar.

By establishing the scene with the cry of a baby, and through the use of sound, the audience would be lulled into a false 'knowing'. The scene would begin to unfold with us as the watcher - as if we too, stand in the doorway witnessing a woman cradling her child. She seems at peace, totally absorbed in the action. This moment of stillness, before Isaac enters, is vulnerable. We do not yet know Isaac, we cannot yet establish his relationship with Jenna. Who is he? and at the same time asking ourselves... Who are we? What role do we play? What purpose does our presence serve?

The small details of the room, particularly the mobile, demonstrate the passing of the time and how steadily, yet peacefully, the morning hours move. As Jenna turns to see Isaac (and us as the viewer) in the doorway, we read her expression with the utmost scrutiny. Tentatively, we prepare ourselves for her reaction. Will she be comforted? Will she be alarmed? It is this moment, this split second, in which the tone of the scene is established. We can now see her 'as she is' and fall into a false sense of security. Once again, the viewer begins to relax into the perceived circumstances.

The two characters interact, exchanging the bottle (object) and Isaac once again leaves. It is only when the audience returns to Jenna, piecing the information they can gather from the objects around the room (photo frames, furniture) that a gradual feeling of unease begins to build. We begin to reevaluate these characters and their place in 'this world' and whether or not they are the true 'occupants'. Something, much akin to a mother's instinct, is telling us that something is not quite right. Whether it's the slightly too quiet room or the way Jenna moves, we sense something approaching... some new information that will completely shatter our perception of her.

It was the image of a mother cradling a child in a world of chaos and disrepair that provided the inspiration for this scene. The bond that connects the two is precious and yet, happens to be solely responsible for all life on this planet. It's the most personal and yet universal thing and it carries on, regardless of time, circumstance, and conditions. The final shot inspired the script, from which I was able to develop a storyboard that worked backward from it. I was particularly focussed on the framing of the shot, with the window as a metaphor for Jenna's perception but not necessarily of her position/outlook. I aimed to convey her grit, her sense of duty, and to make the audience question their own perspective in regard to their initial impressions of her and how this changes and shifts based on new information. The final shot discloses  Jenna's grave circumstances, whilst simultaneously transforming the very genre.

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NFTS Future Learn First Script Jenna Isaac