Journal - 20/12/12 Soundtrack and Editing

The website we used to choose our soundtrack was https://audionetwork.lgfl.org.uk this was to ensure we avoided copyright. Before looking at soundtracks we discussed the idea's we had on what tone, pitch and speed we would expect the soundtrack to be like; we all had a slight idea about what we wanted, such as the tempo increasing in speed to suggest a build-up in excitement and an action which may be about to happen. We felt we needed an upbeat tune which would present the characters enthuastic trait and the genre. When searching for our soundtrack we used the key word 'spy' to see what type of music fell under this category, here are some that we analysed:

City Streets: This music was of a techno style and suggested an adult nature which instantly established it wouldn't appeal to our target audience. We really liked the modern feel it had to it and expressed to us our film was set in present time, so we then understood we needed a modern sound to complement our film footage, typography and overall style.

Agent X: When listening to this soundtrack my group didn't like the heavy bass and male domination expressed. It is inappropriate for our target audience and doesn't integrate with our genre of comedy.

Alone In Love: Even though members of my group liked the romantic feeling of this soundtrack we discussed the fact it was a jazz piece mainly recognised in the 1960's era, therefore defeating our modern idea. The low toned instruments also added a sense of sadness and took away the upbeat feel we wanted.

Follow That Car: This was our favourite soundtrack as it had an upbeat feeling which expresses a sense of excitement and a positive outcome to the audience. It also works well with our target audience as we needed a childlike comical tune which would guide you with our images. A member of the group mentioned it reminded them of a couples dance in which it would represent our underlying theme of romance; the fast pace also exceeded our expectations and presented our genre well. Overall we are highly satisfied with this soundtrack and will be using it in our title sequence.

Editing

We went onto editing today because we was unable to get to the location our next shoot would be at. We began by converting all the footage and then placed them in chronological order to give us an understanding of we what had already filmed; as we were doing so we were constantly referring back to our storyboards to ensure we were being accurate. The main focus of this editing session was the speed of our clips, either speeding up or slowing down. I feel it went well because we was able to see the small progress we was making in filming all of our footage.

Below is our flash light test before editing

 

Lesson Notes - 14/12/12

Typography

The aim of this  lesson was to understand what typography, design and the way in which the titles appear communicate to the audience.

Throughout the lesson I considered these connotations: Genre

                                                                        Style/ Mood

                                                                                          Possible narratives

                                                                                          Production values

                                                                                          Themes

Regular way of the order of the titles:

1. Name of studio
2. Name of production company
3. Producer name
4. Starring  - Starting with main characters
5. Featuring - Featured actors
6. Casting director
7. Composer of music
8. Production designer
9. Editor
10. Director of photography
11. Producer
12. Writer/Writers
13. Director

Now I have a good understanding in the way in which titles appear, I feel I will be able to apply this to my title sequence and consider the order of my cast and featured actors.

Analysing Typography

 

Catch Me If You Can



- Titles integrated ( Apart of the action.)

- The sequence is stylised and modern which works alongside Jazz music

- The geometric shapes, colours and lines are influenced by Saul Bass's style and             

techniques.

- Moves smoothly which makes the sequence flow with elegance; movement also suggests a sense of travelling may be involved.

- Suave and sophisticated

- Informal, representing a non serious character; it also foreshadows a humorous aspect

- High production values

- Sans Serif

- Typewriter hints the era of the film is 1960's and the significance of the object

 

I really enjoyed this title sequence and the way in which a range of things such as the genre and era can be identified through the typography used. From this sequence I have taken into consideration how important the typography is and want my title sequence to represent the protagonist and genre through the use of typography.

 

Seven

 - Distorted typography represents the characters state of mind

- Sharp lines foreshadows violence, weapons and suggested murder

- Handwritten giving the audience a sense of the character and suggests a mental illness ( Not stable.) Also gives us a theme of identity.

- Colour of typography is dull and faded looking, this foreshadows a fading character or death.

I like the typography used in this title sequence because it immediately suggests violence and the movement of it allows to identify the genre is a thriller. I really like how you are able to identify so many key/ important aspects of the film just through a simple thing such as

typography. Although now i realise it isn't as simple as I first believed it to be.

Lord Of War

- Not integrated

- Subtle

- Small scale

- Russian Military

- Square suggests not friendly

My most favourite thing about this title sequence was the camera angle, I really like the way in which the audience gets a point of view from an object; the bullet.

 

Forest Gump

- Serrif 

- Similar to Times New Roman

- Constant position, colour and font style. Suggests a continuous character trait.

- Subtle and delicate

- White suggests purity and innocence

- The film is timeless

 

Film Studios 26/11/12

The aim of this lesson was to be able to indicate how films are produced and distributed. We also needed to research and decide upon the film studio's we would be using to produce and distribute our film Call Me Mr. Teddy.

We began by listing as many film studios as we could:
- Warner Brothers
- Universal
- Columbia Pictures
- Pixar
- Walt Disney
- 20th Century Fox
- Lionsgate
- Spy Glass
- Lakeshore
- Sony
- MGM
- Touchstone
- Paramount
- Happy Madison
- eone
- New line cinema

Main studios operating today:
- 20th Century Fox
- Columbia/Sony
- Paramount
- Universal
- Walt Disney
- Warner Brothers

What is a film studio and what does it do?
A film studio is a company that produces and/or distributes motion pictures.

Keywords:
Niche - A small group of people with a particularly shared interest.
Synergy-The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects - this saves money.

                                                                   Production System                                             

 What does a distributor do?

The distributor company is in charge of getting the film out to audiences, this involves organising for the film to receive an age certificate by regulation bodies, such as the BBFC and MPAA; arranging exhibition outlets globally and DVD/television rights; arranging for prints of the film, marketing and gaining publicity, and the promotion of the film.

Film Studio Research

Film Studio research task on Prezi

Foley Sound Fight Sequence

This task involved editing and filming a title sequence, once this stage was completed we muted the sound to add Foley sound; this would emphasis the sound created and form a sense of realism for the audience. This task involved editing and filming a title sequence, once this stage was completed we muted the sound to add Foley sound; this would emphasis the sound created and form a sense of realism for the audience. We began by brainstorming potential ideas, after every ones contributions we narrowed it down and then chose our favourite story. We then used a storyboard to plan and layout our idea; I really like using this technique because it presents our idea in a visual form and gives us accurate information we may need whilst filming. After completing this stage we went onto to filming our sequence and then edited it to form a clear storyline involving a long shot, close up and a point of view. Once completed we proceeded to watching the clip several times to understand what sound we needed, we then went onto creating the Foley sound; we did this by using carrots and celery for the crushing of bones, walnuts for the walking stick, creaky door, light switch, phone beep etc. In order to have our sounds in sync with the movement in the sequence we watched and created the sound at the same pace as on screen; I found this quite difficult at first because it was hard to form the sound at the right time, but after some practise it became easier. Once satisfied with the sound outcomes it was time to involve it in the sequence, we did this on final cut pro which made it simple to sync the sound in the right places. Overall this task helped me understand the importance of Foley sound, to emphasis key points and create a sense of realism. I learnt how to create suitable/believable sounds using everyday objects, and this task will help me when creating my title sequence because I now have the knowledge to form, edit and create an effective outcome involving sound.

Genre 19/11/12

The aim of this lesson was to understand how we recognised genre, we began by watching a film titled 'The Game'; we watched it several times - this allowed us to identify key aspects E.g. Setting, themes etc.
To help me discover the main points I used the technique known as 'STINCS', which I had learnt in my previous lesson. 

Setting - 1960's, big house (country house), birthday party.

Theme - Friendship, Family, Love, Loneliness, Neglect, Identity (Father Figure), Childhood, Age and Physiological.

Iconography - Black clothing of a child may represent he is evil as he pushes another child into a pool, this juxtaposes with another child in white which connotes purity - these suggest a positive and negative tone/ personality.
The child is then left standing on his own as the father walks away - this shows how the father wants to be seen as a loving family; as he stood next to his son for a capturing of a photo. However the family is truly broken underneath.

Narrative - The film is about a man who appears to be depressed with negative thoughts, he is trying to escape from his life because he doesn't know who his true identity is. He then makes a decision which changes his life dramatically, in which the results may not be positive. So does the outcome contain a happy ending? - this sets off an enigma to the audience.

Style -Puzzles falling apart is in sync with the film's name, and may foreshadow how something breaks down in the film; whether it be of a person/character we are yet to know. Old style - E.g. the film reel could represent the characters past, maybe regret?
Orange tone - Represents the ageing of something but could also foreshadow a fire.
Music is calm and elegant, this builds up tension and sets off an enigma, the use of a piano is significant because this intrument is created for only one person which reinforces the theme loneliness and could show he is left to play on his own because his father walked away.

How can we tell 'The Game' is a thriller? 
Colours involve mainly black and white, which is dark.
Lighting is also dark and mysterious.
Hint of sinister - child pushes other child in pool.
Child being left on his own.
Splashing of water over face.
Orange toned.

Sound Design - 5/11/12

The aim of this lesson was to be able to indicate what the three different types of sound design are.

What is sound design?
Sound design is the creation and layering of dialogue, background noise and other sound effects to create a sophisticated and aural enivronment.
What does it involves?

Diegetic Sound: Sound which exists in the world of the film.

Non-digetic: Sound which does not exist in the world of the film.

Incidental sound/ music: Music added to enhance the feeling/ mood of a scene.

Contrapuntal sound/music: Music which doesn't seem to 'fit' the scene.

Sound bridge: Music/ sound effects which create a transition between two scenes.

Dialogue: Characters speaking.

Voice over: Non-digetic - usually the voice of a character- narrator or their thoughts.

Foley: Enhancement of sounds carried out in editing.

Three main styles
Realism: Natural sounds which are realistic to the viewer.
Hyper-realism: Exaggeration of sounds
Unrealism/Surrealism: Sound which wouldn't normally be heard; doesn't 'fit' the scene (unrealistic)

Key Points
Dialogue track: Dialogue recorded separately
Wild track: Audio which is recorded but is not in sync with the footage E.g. Rainforest background noises.
Foley track: The use of additional sound.
Soundtrack: Adding music

22/10/12

This lesson consisted of the title sequence 'Se7en', we each got given a question on a micro feature which we had to analyse and complete. I was given "What is the effect of the music throughout the title sequence?"

The opening sequence begins with a loud, explosion like sound; this gave the effect of my heart beaten fast as it put me on edge from the very beginning. I feel this impact of the opening creates a foreshadowing of conflict and violence. The repetitive sieve sound reminded me of a slight metal sound and may express violence, the squeaky door then gave a creepy feeling, as if someone is trying not to be seen - opens the door slowly. A constant scratching sound creates a mysterious setting with an uncomfortable feeling. The music could foreshadow the destructive consequence of the film, and the reparative beat may represent the heartbeat of the character, as it doesn't change pace which gives us an insight to the character's personality- not fazed by anything/ use to the things he is doing.

The repetitive sounds also builds up tension, the audience is waiting for something to happen, it could also represent how the narrative is quite repetitive and the actions never ending E.g. Slicing layers of skin off thumb is shown several times. The sound then begins to slightly increase its pace which could foreshadow something is getting closer; this contributes to the audiences enigma because they are yet to discover what it is. Towards the ending of the sequence the only words spoken are "You’re getting closer to God", these emphasises the seven sins and shows how death may be near.

Overall I feel this lesson contributed to my knowledge of the use of sound and showed how sounds can have a deeper meaning than what’s seen on the surface E.g. Scratch sounds may be a representation of violence.

Analysing the title sequence Splice to discover genre

Colour: The constant use of green connotes organic and nature, at first I felt it looked like a close up of a leaf but then I came to the conclusion the colour was representing a scientific aspect which gave us an insight to the genre.

Camera: The camera moves in a smooth, floaty way; this suggests it is free to move which we later discover it is how the creature in the womb moves.

Music: The use of a piano connotes a peaceful environment but is disturbed by the stringed instruments, this juxtaposition could foreshadow conflict.

Personal Notes: Microbe/ bacteria - disease?
                          Scales - sea creature?
                          Alien - science fiction
                          Circular light - birth.. Connects the start and end of life.

Setting: Where/ when the film is set
Theme: Overall mood and tone, what it is really about E.g. Love, jealousy, voyeurism.
Iconography: Costume, Props, Makeup etc - relevant to genre.
Narrative: What the story is about.
Characters: Who are they? What are they like - Protagonist, Antagonist
Style: Cinematography,Sound,Editing.What the film will look like/feel like throughout the film.

I feel 'STINCS' will be very helpful when analysing title sequences in the future because it breaks down each section i need to look at and identify.

 

Introduction to title sequence

A title sequence is a method which cinematic films and television programmes present their title, key production and cast members – utilizing conceptual visuals and sound.

Why is it important to have a title sequence?

It is important to have a title sequence because it covers several points; introduces the genre, gives the audience an insight on the characters and the cast playing them and gives credit to the writing.

First impressions are everything!
The opening title sequence is that films opportunity to make a good first impression on the viewer. A well-crafted title sequence introduces the audience to the tone and theme of the film as well as the cast and crew.

Codes and Conventions

- Details of cast and crew

- Films title

- Introduction to character/ character type

- Indication of place, historical period

- Information regarding mood and tone

- Introduction to the signature theme tune; a good example of this is the pink panther.

- Information about genre

- Sets up enigmas E.g. questions viewers find interesting/ intriguing

- Introduces pattern and types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film

- Presents mis en scene and cinematography that will be repeated or elaborated upon later in the film