ASU2 Reflective Journal
To begin my ASU2 project, I am taking the animatic that I created for ASU1 and now I am going to be creating the foley sounds to accompany the piece. I have made a brief list of the sounds that I will need to use to tell the story. I will also be creating a sound list and discussing my foley sounds I have captured throughout this unit.
Animatic Sound Notes
Opening Scene
Wind Sounds/heavy gust of wind
Footsteps walking on flat land
A sound to represent 'Yokai'/blue light
Sound of sword/clothes rustling together as yokai walks forward
Girls armour noises - as she lifts head
Sword swing coming down
clothes rustling
gasp/call/shout
Girl falling to the ground/and armour
Yokai stepping forward and sword swing up
Sword swinging hard down/smacking the ground
Girl reaching for sword
Stand off
Girl panting/breathing
Shield being raised
Sword and shield colliding
Girl falling to the ground
Yokai step forward and sword swing -into ground again
Very quick/board swing of sword
Girl moving out the way/armour
Shield bash into yokai
Sword knocks out of hand and onto floor
Yokai falling on the floor.
The assassin - fight in the woods
Once upon in the West
This my first sound list created which I will now aim to create. I have rented from the university a Tascam and Shotgun mic to record foley sound. I will be recording different sounds at different times of day, such as wind sounds/footsteps on different surfaces to see how the sound is affected by this.
While discussing my ASU2 project with my class and in individual tutorials I have been made aware of the importance of creating an ambience within my piece, as it will set the atmosphere for my story and bring to life the world in which I aim to create. To achieve this, I will be going to different locations (again different times of day also) to test this, in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of using ambience and what effect it will have overall in my film.
After the guest speakers and sound creators came to the university they have inspired me to be mindful of the power that sound has over film,story,tone and characters. I understand that to achieve an engaging moving image, sound is not to be forgotten. With this in mind, I now am going into this unit inspired to be creative with sound but also to use it as a tool to tell my story. With characters such as the ‘Yokai’, using sound to introduce him and his spirit pushes that element of fear and realism of his character. I am going to be experimenting with different instruments/tools to create a dramatic and specific sound for the ‘Yokai’ character that I can use throughout my film.
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Recording My Own Sounds
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I have been using the tascam and shotgun mic from the University to record sound. Having the equipment and going out to capture sound has made me think about how important/creative sound can be. For example, I started to record a coffee machine as it was grinding the coffee, as I was recording the sound I closed my eyes and imagined what else this sound could be and how it could be interpreted. Could it be a monster/demon? An object moving, someone in pain? With that in mind, I have continued to use the tascam and shotgun mic in order to create a library of sounds.
I have also been experimenting with outdoor sound, the atmosphere at different times and locations. This has enabled me to understand my and look and my own work, and how important sound is to a film, and the overall tone. In these tests I record sounds at different times of the day to help me understand how different sound is at these times and how this will have an effect on the overall tone of my film. I have created a folder and labeled each sound recording with the time and location.
The footsteps I recorded I experimented using different textures such as flat grass, walking over twigs that had fallen from a tree, to create a snapping sound as I walked on them. I thought about how I could use this and potentially manipulate the sound in post production to create a more irrey tone. I then did the same with recording my own footsteps on to a pebbled surface. I thought about how maybe I could combine the two in order to create a textured sound, I will be testing this out when I will be putting my sound pieces together with the animatic.
I then recorded sound at 2:30 in the morning, again to test the difference with tone, environment and wind sounds. I enjoyed this sound recording, I got a completely different vibe of tone and environment when listening back to this recording. Although there was some background noise of cars, I again was thinking about how I could change this recording and give it a whole new meaning.
In order to create more crisp and clear sound for the fight sequence, I need to use the sound recording studio to use the ‘dead space’ in order to capture just the sound that I need. I have been thinking about what I could/should use in order to create the sound, such as when the sword makes contact with the shield, the noises the characters might make in relation to what they are reacting to.
Over the next week, I will be researching into what materials are best to use, I will be creating a list of the objects I have used to create each sound. I will then book out the sound studio to make my recordings.
While being at home, I have been using my phone to record various sounds that are needed. As outside is quieter than usual, I recorded a few more atmosphere sounds that I could overlay with other sounds that I have personally recorded or sourced (BBC Free Sound) to create the overall tone of my film. In one of my recordings, I was able to record clean sounds outdoors, with little to no sounds of traffic/planes or the general public. Although there are birds singing in this recording, I will be experimenting with breaking up the sound piece as to have more control over how the sound is describing the location of the story. However, I am aware that I want the sound not to be ‘too happy’ and inviting. I want the sound to build tension and a feel of an ‘unknown, fantasy world’ but with realism in order for the audience to engage with the piece.
For the next part, I gathered different household objects to record different aspects of the animatic. First, I used the list I created to keep on track of what needed to be recorded and then began my recordings of slightly more detailed elements that I needed to have in the piece to bring it altogether and most importantly to make the animatic more ‘alive’ and much more of a story. I used my phone to record clothes rufferling, but literally rufferling my own. The sound of the sword was recorded by using one of my chopping knives and running it along a blade shaper..
I found trying to find different objects that were within my home to create the noises, really enjoyable and a fun creative process. I am happy with the results so far of the sounds and I have found working with Audition a great way of working with sound and the possibilities that come with that. As a result, I have been working on footsteps fading in the sound of the Yokai walking towards the girl before the fight. I am experimenting with adding the footsteps before you see the Yokai to build the tension and anticipation. The next stage is to start layering the sounds that I have recorded and sourced and to piece it together.
I chose to begin with the opening scene, and end it just where the Yokai appears and walks towards the girl to begin his attack. I thought this was a good place to start, as I can really play with the sound and the idea that I need to create tension from the get go. At the beginning of the piece I added short, snappy breaths to suggest there is something happening from the start. Also to capture the audience's attention and fill them with questions about what is happening in the scene and to get them invested in the story/characters. With the opening scene, there was also enough visual imagery to work with to score sound to. Such as the footsteps of the yokai walking around the woods before he sees the young girl. The young girl running towards the dead body on the floor, her breath, her armor. One area that I would have liked to explore more in detail with giving the Yokai his own unique sound. Although, I did create a small soundbite for him, using my own personal recording of a motor sound and changing it in Audition to create a dramatic, erry, tension building sound, which I am really happy with. I would have liked to be able to carry out more experimentation in order to make a more informed decision about my sound choices for the Yokai and open up more possibilities.
Here is the first run through of the soundtrack that I have created. All the sounds that are on this clip are all sounds that I have recorded myself while being in isolation.
On the track, you hear;
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Bird song - I recorded this using my phone, during the afternoon.
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Footsteps - Recording myself walking on various textures, grass,stone/gravel/pavement.
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Footsteps/clothing - Shaking a coat up and down
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Irry sound (played as Yokai approaches) - Manipulating the sound of a motorbike I captured with the tascam in Audition and looped the sound.
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Sword/armor sounds - Knives and various kitchen objects rattling together.
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Here I have included my own personal library of sounds that I have used to help create my submission piece. The tracks are labeled, and are a mix of tascam and mobile phone recordings.
For reference, the sound I used from the BBC free sound website was the breath noises at the beginning of the soundtrack.
BBC Sound Effects Archive Resource • Research & Education Space. http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/?q=breath.
Final Sound Piece
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Here is the final outcome, I have worked with the very opening scene to my film. Although my intention was to create a full sound piece for the whole of my animatic. I have created a 30 second sound piece, that I hope achieves an atmosphere and tension within my film. I know this is not exactly what I first intended to create, overall I am happy with the outcome and see it as something that I can build upon
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I have enjoyed working in Audition and changing the sound recordings, laying them together to achieve a work in progress. This is the stage that my work is at, the recording and the sound work I have created for this animatic is the foundation for me to work from. From producing this work, I have a more clear direction of the role of sound in my film, and how it can tell the story alongside the visuals. I am looking to explore sound as a major part of my final film that I will produce for the master project. Reflecting on this sound piece, I wanted to create the sound of a village nearby that has just finished defending their home from an invasion. I know that I have not achieved my original intention, as I was struggling to create the sounds needed for it seem believable. I will be working towards achieving these sounds I feel are needed to set the foundation of the story.
In this sound piece, I also wanted to cut all the environmental sound when the Yokai starts to approach the girl. As I am aiming for the sound to achieve that then the environment that he is in, is aware of his presence and it drains all the sound out from the woods. I feel this has come across, but again I know that this can be approved, by having more layers of sound that set the tone to the environment and then to suddenly cut them out, only to hear his footsteps and armor approaching.
I also created a sound for the Yokai as he is approaching, again to suggest his presence and what kind of character he may be. I enjoyed creating this sound bite, and this is where I got to really experiment with using my own personal recording of being outside, capturing the sound of a motorbike and then changing it with Audition. It has demonstrated to me that it is possible to make creative sounds with sound that might seem pretty redundant. Again, I would have liked to create more sounds and tests to explore more options of what I could make the Yokai sound like, I know that in time I will be able to.
Overall, I am happy with what I have been able to create, giving the circumstance. If things were different. I know that I would have created a full sound piece for the whole of my animatic. I would have used the universities sound recording facilities to create my sound piece therefore allowing me to use and experiment with different objects while also capturing clear sound that I could record in the sound studios. With the restrictions, I was not able to explore my surroundings and have been restricted to using my phone to record sounds. I have found the BBC free sounds to be a useful resource in order to gather and use the breath sound that I needed to finish my piece.
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I really enjoyed this process and this unit. Understanding that sound is an important and creative element to film making and storytelling. I want to take sound creation seriously as through my research and attending the workshops/lectures I have been made aware of the elements of sound and how film scores/sounds have a huge influence on how your film is interpreted. I have a new found understanding and appreciation for sound and how integral it is, especially when it comes to animation. Attaching sound to the animation accentuates the believably of the motion and encompasses the world in which the characters live. By focusing on the sound elements as well as the film making process, and not seeing them separately but two factors working together to achieve one goal. Character development/characteristics through sound is a huge interest to me. By working through ASU2 I have been able to appreciate how sound is key in plot development, atmosphere, tone and tension building within film. As I started this unit, although I was aware I needed sound for my film, I did not take into consideration how much it would be such an important element to my own personal film. Once I was fully engaged with creating sound and mapping out what sounds I needed to create my piece I was thinking about how I would record all the different sounds needed, but how I could take the sounds that I have recorded and push them further and change them to potentially become something completely new and different altogether.
While working on ASU2, I have come across some inspiring videos that aid my own work.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agX7ffZTGRo&t=100s. Accessed 11 April 2020.
‘The Assassin’
Firstly, I was introduced to the scene for ‘The Assassin’. This scene was a great reference for me to be inspired from. The scene is based around two fighters, which takes place in the woods which links directly to my own premise of my film. The sound design in this clip translates over to my own work and the type of tone that I would like to set. The scene's tone is set by just using the sounds of the environment, the wind blowing through the trees, birds etc. This gives the scene a feeling of openness and a focus on building the tension of the action before it happens. It also creates suspension as you hear another character walking in the woods, her footsteps are heard subtle and then becomes louder as she approaches. Again, building the anticipation of the fight, but also asks questions about who this character is, and when will they approach. This is a technique that I have been experimenting with in my animatic and the sound recordings that I have produced. I want the environmental sounds to set the tone of my film but also use it to my advantage to build tension as my Yokai character approaches. Such as, in the beginning of the scene putting in the sounds of his footsteps approaching the girl and gradually getting louder.
Once the fighters have approached each other and begin fighting, the sounds of their blades and their movement are heightened and you really focus on the sounds. Which again, reinstates the action and because the fight happens so fast, bringing out those key sounds of the blades and their body movement during the fight allows you to focus on the action more and make it much more dramatic.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDy5j0c6TrU&t=390s. Accessed 11 April 2020.
Another clip that I have found to be useful for inspiration. Is the TedX talk ‘The beautiful Lies of Sound Design’
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This video has inspired and shown me how creative sound designing is, and that with experimentation and a willingness to be creative, you can achieve amazing, diverse and innovative sound production. If you are willing to put in the time, and to try and test different objects and push it to the limit, you can uncover interesting sound design.
Murch, Walter. In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing. 2nd ed, Silman-James Press, 2001.
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Cut out the bad bits
Editing is structure, color, dynamics, manipulation of time, all of these other things. [pg 10]
Most with the least
The underlying principle: always try to do the most with the least - with the emphasis on trying. Attempt to produce the greatest effect in viewers mind by the least number of things on screen. Why? because you want to do only what is necessary to engage the imagination of the audience - suggestion is always more effective then exposition. [pg 15]
Past a certain point, the more effort you put into the wealth of detail the more you encourage the audience to become spectors rather than participations. The same principle applies to all the various crafts of filmmaking: acting, art direction, photography, music, costume, etc [pg 15]
1)Emotion 51%
2) Story 23%
3)Rhythm 10%
4) Eye Trace 7%
5) Two dim plane of screen 5%
6) Three-dimensional space of action 4%
Emotion, at the top of the list is the thing that you should try to preserve at all costs. [pg 18]
If you have to give up something, dont ever give up the emotion before the story. Don't give up the story before the rhythm. [pg 20]
Misdirection
What is the audience going to be thinking at any particular moment? Where are they going to be looking? What do you want them to think about? What do they need to think about? And of course, what do you want them to feel? [pg 21]
The editor, on the other hand, should try to see only what's on screen, as the audience will. Only in this way can the images be fed from the context of their creation. [pg 24]
The decisive Moment
The editor's job now is to choose the right images and make those images follow one another at the right rate to express something that is captured in that photograph. [pg 41]
We accept the cut because it resembles the way images are juxtaposed in our dreams. In fact, the abruptness of the cut may be one of the key determinations in actually producing the similarity between films and dreams. [pg 58]
The perfect film as though it were unwinding behind your eyes and your eyes were projecting it themselves, so that you were seeing what you wished to see. Film is like thought. It's the closest to thought process of any art. [pg 60]
Dragnut
If it's true that our rates and rhythms of blinking refer directly to the rhythm and sequence of our inner emotions and thoughts then those rates and rhythms are insights into our inner selves and therefore, as characteristics of each of us as our signatures. [pg 64]
There are places in a conversation where it seems almost physically cannot blink or turn our heads (since we are still receiving important information) and there are other places where we must blink or turn away in order to make better sense of what we have received. [pg 66]
For instance, by cutting away from a certain character before he finishes speaking, I might encourage the audience to think only about the face value of what he said. On the other hand, if I linger on the character after he finishes speaking, I allow the audience to see from the expressions in his eyes that he is proplay not telling the truth, and they think differently about him and what he said. But since it takes a certain amount of time to move that observation, I cannot cut away from the character too early. [pg 67]
You should be able to cut from the speaker to the listener and vice versa in psychologically interesting, complex, and correct patterns that reflect the kinds of shifts of attention and realisation that go on in real life. In this way, you establish a rhythm that counterparts and underscores the idea being
There are places in a conversation where it seems we almost physically cannot blink or turn our heads (since we are still receiving important information) and there are other places where we must blink or turn away in order to make better sense of what we have received. [pg 66]
For instance, by cutting away from a certain character before he finished speaking, I might encourage the audience to think only about the face value of what he said. On the other hand, if I linger on a character after he finished speaking, I allow the audience to see, from the expression in his eyes, that he is properly not telling the truth, and they think differently about him and what he said. But since it takes a certain amount of time to make that observation, I cannot cut away from the character too early. [pg 67]
You should be able to cut from the speaker to the listener and vice versa in psychologically interesting, complex and ‘correct patterns’ that reflect the kinds of shifts of attention and realisation that go on in real life. In this way, you establish a rhythm that counterparts and underscores the ideas being expressed or considered. [pg 67/68]
Where you feel comfortable blinking if you already listen to what is being said is where the cut will feel right.
So there are really three problems wrapped together.
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Identifying a series of potential cuts points and comparison with the blink can help you do this)
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Determining what effects each cut point will have the audience.
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Choosing which of those effects is correct for the film. [pg 68]
Your job is partly to anticipate and partly connect the thought process of the audience. [pg 69]
Digital Film Editing
To a certain extent, every film that you make is a foregin country and first you have to learn the language of ‘that country’. Every film has (or should have) a unique way of communicating and so you struggle to learn its language. [pg 108]
My Thoughts
After reading through this book, I was able to pick out the key points that stood out to me. Such as using the idea of ‘blinking’ to edit in a way to achieve a natural rhythm and flow that will make sense to pace the story and the characters interactions and their actions. This book has highlighted how important editing is to storytelling and how it is its own art form. Which I can appreciate and explore through my own film making.