Production: Tuesday

If you remember our production schedule for Tuesday we had the following things to record. We initially had a little problem with setting up the sound recorder correctly. Once that issue was sorted we had a location issue, Hallam Hall was under some kind of refurbishment. Our back up location also fell through because there was building work going on in one of the more deserted stairwells. Not giving up we managed to find an abandoned class room in the basement of Harmer (Level 0) which we were able to use undisturbed for around and hour before a class was one. We managed to find another one with the same acoustics and used that to complete the rest of our shooting schedule. Unfortunately, the adjoining room of our last location was occupied so we couldn't record a few things such as the scream, also the rain made it impossible to get a few crunching leaves effects.

Pre Poduction

Coming together again before we were due to start filming recording our sound clips me and Rhys finally decided on what base storyline we were going to use, we did this by coming up with a few possible script ideas for the three secenarios and decided which one worked best and was most effective. As well as this we also came up with a shooting schedule and a real script for the actual recording.

Pre Production 2

As well as the supporting documents below we also did an Equipment List and Sound Log before we started production.

Tutorial Feedback

During the tutorial, we went into detail discussing our ideas with Esther, how we intended to approach different aspects of the Dream Sequence.

We went through our step by step plan and he came up with a few questions such as

How we were going to come in and out of the dream?

Would the audience know it's a dream?

How to transition most effectively between the different locations.

How we were going to incorporate the use of a narrative to make it clear to the audience what was going on.

Perhaps even considering taking a different approach to the same idea. i.e.:
-Hypnosis: Having someone count them into or out of a state of hypnosis
-Accident: Life Flashing Before Your Eyes type story, which is more emotional and can help the reader relate to the text more, perhaps a rewind of significant sounds to have them coming out of that state.
As well as these points she also gave us some technical advice to consider:
Where we were going to place the mikes
To have a range of takes using the different mikes and to try them with different pitches (voice)
Get both morning and evening sounds
Have perhaps one sound element to signify the transition i.e.: Bird Call
Create Emotion.

Me and Rhys then went away and discussed the topics that came up in the tutorial, and looked at the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Though still loving the original idea we understood some of the weaknesses, at the same time we were quite drawn to the idea of hearing a person as they're slipping away from life but this too would have it's complications we would have to work round, such as the prominent use of a heart monitor machine.

Therefore i came up with how a ini script might work out for each of the scenarios in preparation for our next meeting, the good thing about all three ideas is that they were all linkd. We could still use our base ideas, in terms of the sounds we wanted to record, but all we had to change/play around with was how we were going to come in and out of the situation and what kind of narrative...if any we were going to use to help communicate with the audience.

Supporting Documents

In preparation for our up coming tutorial we prepared the above. A Sound timeline and a page of ideas. The page of ideas is how I come up with what i want to film/record. Its my form of a mind map.

Project Planning

The brief for this next project is to create a 3minute sound only piece entitles "Sense of Space"
As we were watching the sound clips the vague idea of having a story about a person coming home and going to sleep, and us hearing their dream came to mind. But no specifics were in place as it was just a fleeting idea that stuck with me.
We then got into our pairs and I explained my very brief idea to Rhys who liked it and said that there was a lot we could work on with that. We then agreed to meet up and talk about our plans further.
In anticipation for the meeting I started researching a few sound ideas that we could develop and incorporate into our own idea. The ones that stood out included:



I liked the idea of the realism, being able to put yourself inside the dream and the experience.
As well as this when we met up on Monday he brought a step by step plan of what would happen in the audio sequence, adding and moulding the idea into something we could easily work with, as well having some unique sounds to help it stand out.
Rhys particularly found inspiration from Beneath the Forest Floor by Hildergard Westerkamp- which was one of the sounds we listened to in session, the idea helped him come up with an idea for a nightmare section we could add to the dream sequence.
We wrote a Sound Time line together and discussed a little about the locations and time frames that we were looking to record, upload edit and finalise in.
All in all i would say it was a very successful planning session.

Questions and Answers

We watched listened to number of sounds today in session. Sound is never something that II really ever think about when I'm making movies though it is essentially 50% of the final product, next to the visual element of course. So having a assignment that was based solely on sound was a bit daunting.

The sounds we listened to that i am going to analyse include......
Meat Factory Ear Worms by Richie Beirne; http://www.rte.ie/radio1/curiousear/1189669.html

How Many Layers are included in the "Sound-scape"?
There seems to be a maximum of three or four sounds happening at once. The narration, usually the sound of the song that keeps being mentioned, then in most cases the general atmospheric sounds of the meat factory. It depends on the situation.

What ambient or "Atmes" tracks are included?
The sound of the meat factory namely.

How does the "Dynamic" range of sound work/help create a sense of space?
It helps to put yourself in  the actual story/situation, you can imagine the sound of a backbone being sawed in half, see the guys still drunk from the previous night stumbling out of the car in the early morning. You can get a sense of the surroundings and it works well in the sense that you don't feel as though you have to sift though to many sounds to try and pin point what's happening. It just is happening around you.

My further commentary on the piece was that it had a kind of comical element to it that juxtaposed nicely with the actual sounds and effects that he was going for. Also the way the commentary was used was in a kind of trip down memory lane, not scripted and neat, which i also thought worked well with the theme of the piece

...And...

Tunnel Visions by Pejk Malinovsky 

How many layers are include in the "Sound-Scape"?
In this sound clip there was roughly about two tracks at the same time, as the narrators took turns telling us their part of the story nothing to hard. Just like listening to a conversation on the street

What ambient or "Atem" tracks are included?
The sound of the train and the people riding them acted as the main ambient noise

How does the "Dynamic" range of sound work/help create a sense of space?
The only real way I felt that helped create a sense of space was the use of London Underground ambient, other than that whilst the men were speaking in my head I just saw them in an empty room with noting else much interesting around to look at.

This track was good but I didn't feel as connected to it as I did to the first track mentioned, I didn't really take it as seriously and I felt that I didn't really get lost in the actors anecdotes

Feedback

Overall the response we received from the project wasn't one that i had expected.
We had a range of both positive and negative feedback both sides disagreeing with the points of the other.

PositiveNicely Framed
Good Composition of Shots
Peaceful
Blackouts looked like blinks, really good job
Good Pans
Enjoyed the River Pans
Good landscape shots
The bit at the end was great
Contrast between woodland and wide etc
Understood it being "Picturesque" worked well

Negative
A tad pixilated
Check the exposure
Avoid the use of still frame
A little disjointed
The end pan could have reached all the way to the sky
Liked the first split screen but the second one didn't seem relevant
More split screens

Finally I feel that though we did leave an hour early on the production day, that we did get everything that we had intended to film, filmed. We used the film to screen ration of 10mins to 1min of screen time to its fullest and then some. What we didn't factor in was that by filming something for 10mins that would essentially be condensed to 5seconds would effect the amount of footage we captured.  As well as this by that time the weather had gotten significantly worse and therefore any shots filmed after we wouldn't have been able to put into the piece.

Evaluation: Final Edit

This afternoon we finished our final edit and i feel as though the idea we were going for was portrayed really well on film, considering it was such a photographic idea.
In total our movie was approximately 2mins and 57seconds long which is really close to the 3minute goal and considering how jolted our idea got along the way i'm very pleased with the end result.
Using the software to burn the disk i found difficult, but we did our best by reading the instruction manual provided and by even going on to Youtube to find a tutorial. In the end we used Toast to burn our disk. Both worked well when tested and we got to use the skills learnt in the Production Skills session on Monday in terms of the correct way to export and format a movie.

Example of A tutorial we looked at:

Post Production: Screen Grabs

Here are a few screen grabs from our editing sessions, as well as general screen garbs there are a few that show us in the middle of transitioning a shot.

Edale Project - Post Production

We started editing together the footage we had captured and one of the things that stood out was how much everything looked a like. All the trees and the scenery and the river shots. This and how much the weather had effected the shots, because once you put them in sequence an audience can't just immediatly understand that you had to change the exposure and the appeture to make the shot look correct on camera, it just looks messy and unorganised.
We did our best to make this work in our favour as our idea is essentially about the colour and movement of nature, therefore we were able to make some shots look structured. Though at the same time when we had our tutorial it was rightly pointed out that a few shots needed proper organisation so that our theme would come across to the audience.
The editing process itself is easy enough as there are no need for major special effects, just minorities such as speeding up/slowing down shots as well as reversing a few to help the flow as it is a documentary.
There are a few tweaks to be made after the tutorial but ultimatley i was pleased with how it went, i just think it will be a struggle to find some replacement shots because as previously mentioned, a lot of the shots look and feel the same.

Self Generated

There isn't a lot I know about nature, in terms of filming or still photography but as i was going through a few pictured i had taken and edited i did find a few that made me realise that maybe i did know a little something.

The comapison between an old building and how its been surrounded by nature, still stands strong and tall and not been allowed to fade in the background of such greenery.

Part of a 3 piece. How nautre can look adapt and look different depending on its location, in this case a cemetery, It looks dead as you stand in the middle but it grows with life as you look towards the exit.

The shapes made by the waves.

Captured mid movement.

Light shines through and makes everything seem more alive even on a rainy day.

Its rich colour mainly compared to its suburban surroundings

These were mostly about the clouds; Their shapes and movements at various times. Taken when ever i felt they looked most unique. Then i enhanced  to emphasise the colours depending on when it was taken.

How the sky can make any building look so imposing and how its effect is greater when its such an important building. I took it from the back so that the effect is felt before its weightened by the knowledge that its Buckingham Palace.

This one was mostly about the reflection of light and how it makes any object shine.
Though these stills don't show any movement, I think in terms of lighting and colour it's beneficial to the Portrait of a Place project especially because we changed our idea to one that;s a little more photo-graphical in terms of stylistic portrayal.