Audio Skills

Audio Skills Outline - George Dupays and George Beattie

When originally deciding what we wanted to record, we came up with the idea of a mundane documentary style recording, showing an average day for a working class man. However, when reviewing our idea, it seemed more fictitious then originally planned, as it is more spontaneous then we thought. We wanted to completely change the genre from documentary to fiction, as we want a freak accident to happen at the end. Our plan is to record a mundane lifestyle of a man getting up and going to work, but on his way to work an accident happens. The tracks will consist of various everyday sounds apparent in a working mans morning routine such as:
The alarm going off
Yawning
Getting out of bed
Turning light on
Turning on the shower
Brushing his teeth
Zipping up his trousers
Removing clothes from coat hanger
Putting on shoes
The toaster popping up
Spreading butter
Biting on food
Boiling Kettle
Slurping his coffee
Clipping up his briefcase
Kissing his wife goodbye
Closing and locking the door
Walking down drive/path
From here we plan on using everyday sounds from outside as he simply walks to work. We will use common sounds heard in the morning until the freak accident stops all sounds around, adding tension, and ends the recording. the sounds we plan on using outside include:
Traffic
Conversations
The wind blowing
Car horns
Construction and building works
Footsteps
Panting due to walking
Gun shot
We intend to leave the audience on a cliffhanger after the accident, with ambulance sirens fading into the background as it fades out. This should keep the audience pondering on the recording long after it is finished.
The sound recording equipment we plan on using are the matarantz, the shotgun microphones and the contact microphones to acquire acute sounds with great detail.

Sense of Space

Initially we had the idea of capturing the atmosphere of a skatepark in the form of a time lapse reflecting the gradual change from the desolate early hours to when it peaks at mid-day portraying the sounds that would be apparent at these times. However this proved to be an unachievable idea as the skatepark was never completely empty nor was it extremely busy and so we felt it would be hard for the audience to distinguish the different times of day, so we decided to go for a more narratively structured piece outlining the characters journey to the skatepark followed by a variety of sounds that attempt to capture the variety of movement found at this place of recreation, ending in a failing trick attempt leaving the character concussed. We felt this twist the end would maybe come as a surprise to the audience leaving with them to think about after the presentation, crashes being a prevalent part of the sport and culture, something that must not be forgotten. My inspiration is shared by my work partner Tom as we both enjoy residing at the skatepark to escape, though I ride a bike I feel the two sports are similar in many respects, the sounds associated with a bike are heard throughout our work.

My influences:


















Raw Clips from James Beattie on Vimeo.





Filter by Gravis from Gravis Footwear on Vimeo.

Salaryman by Jake Knight

It is clear from the beginning of this film that the director delves into themes of depression and repetition, we see the main protagonist carry out his mundane daily routine, displaying no sense of emotion, his lack of character deems him almost robotic. I believe the director is trying to express the insignificance of this mans life, the camera angles help to justify this as they place the character in a labyrinth of entrapment, though there is natural light sources, no sense of naturalism is apparent .

The main focus of this film would be evidence that the technologically advanced city of Tokyo has consumed this man, his job rules his life, his future is bleak and his connection to society is as miniscule as meeting colleagues at a printer.

This was my favorite film out of all the pieces shown, the extreme wide shots evoke a contemporary style of film making and something I personally enjoy, every scene is composed carefully dramatically warping the audiences perspective. The use of a desaturated colour palate suggested that the soul of the man has slowly began to displace its self from his body.

In terms of subject matter I believe the film was successful, as the elements of the films design relate directly to the theme. We are able to spectate this mans life from a distance, the camera angles retain a certain amount of composition that constrains us from interpolating ourselves into his experience. The location promotes this theme of insomnia, we never see the man sleep, and when he is motionless he is abruptly forced to continue until he reaches his destination, work or home, both of which resemble a prison like form. His block of flats have no colour, each no different from the other, his metropolis of lifelessness.

I noticed that not one of the shots used in this film moves, each and every scene derives the use of a tripod, however it enhances the angular scenery producing a geometric impression. Frequently the non-diegetic sound of a camera and a sudden flash on the screen reveals itself, thus relating to the camera placed around the mans neck, this small aspect of post production indicates a key element of the piece. The use of narration creates a greater relationship with the protagonist, we understand this mans inherent thoughts, subjecting more detail and our limited point of view becomes multidimensional as he reveals his suppressed feelings.

Portrait Of Place

Prior to shooting our project, myself and Henry Vinten sat down to discuss the way in which we would go about creating our piece. First off we decided to investigate the area of Edale through the use of google maps, this gave us a head start when it came to planning our route through the moors. Coming from a rural area of the Midlands myself I could relate to the environment we would later explore. Using the combination of google maps and images we were able to establish what ideas wouldn't work when it came to the actual filming. After much discussion it was evident that the idea of a journey would best suit this exercise, it gave us a vast amount of freedom to experiment, much like the film by 'James Watson'.

Dartmoor - Philip Bloom Comp from James Watson on Vimeo.

This short film by James Watson captures the ethereal beauty of Dartmoor's rural backdrop, he composes shots of the moorland in various fashions thus cultivating to bring together a tonal montage of exquisite scenery. The elaborate use of shallow focus throughout the piece allows the viewer to examine the landscapes décor in further detail, substituting the ability to grasp a feel for the surrounding terrain. Subsequently the camera frequently employs the zoom administering the feeling of immersion into this dream like realm combined with pans we are carried effortlessly through this atmospheric journey of enchantment.

The post production values consists mainly of the colour palate, he has chose to increase the contrast levels delivering a surreal appearance, I believe this complements the theatrical soundtrack. The vagueness of the narrative structure has granted a substantial amount of freedom in the arrangement of the footage, however there is a clear distinction between the initial shots and the closing, as the piece finishes with dimmed and opaque style imagery confirming a finale. This becomes reinforced by contrasting shots, such as the small group of protagonists exploring the rock structure, originally we observe them in daylight later they are rendered silhouettes consumed in the ibis.

The pace begins to drop after the film achieves its climax of euphoria, the time lapses reveal this change in speed as the clouds appear to drift slowly across the skyline, the sheep walk away into the distance and we are surrendered to the desolate outlook.

I aim to employ aspects apparent in this film, especially the cuts between shots and minimalist style construction, I feel they drive the audience through the piece at a greater rate so that more images of the landscape can be used, the journey becomes less tedious and more refreshing. I may adjust the colour of my footage so that it becomes more visually pleasant and expressive.




Shot List 


As neither me or Henry had been to Edale before, although the research had been useful, we still had to use a bit of guess work when coming up with a shot list. The following are just starting points on which to elaborate when actually there and able to see what we had to work with.

Long Shots:

Shots of the natural landscape, the hills, fields, far away villages/grouped houses. Both with and without our character moving through them.

Mid shots:

Character moving through a verity of scenes (Progressing further into wilderness). Streams, woodland, country lanes, wildlife

Close up's & extreme close up's:

(For use as inserts) Stone walls, foliage, water or any interesting natural textures.

Two shots that we know we would want to capture were a couple of over the shoulder perspectives, looking firstly up at the hills and then secondly a similar shot, looking back down from atop a hill at the village our character has traveled from. These will be our opening and closing shots, used to express the idea of a journey.




Brief

For this project you will be working in pairs.

The theme for your first project is the production of a ‘PORTRAIT OF PLACE'.

Your project will be shot during one day on an external study visit in Week 13.

Think about the various areas you might explore, and methods you might consider to achieve an interesting portrayal of a place. You can also think about individuals and characters within a place, their personality, world-view, inner thoughts and activities.

The Terminal Bar (2003) Stefan Nadelman

This documentary illustrates one of the toughest bars in Manhattan and how the constant change in eccentric customers influenced its owner Sheldon, being the bartender at the time he had collected a vast amount of black and white portraits.


The narrative is refreshed by this continuous exhibition of photos complete with sub stories of gays, drunks, crooks and junkies. Nadelman has used jazz music to give the short an atmosphere of the city, sounds of objects moving inside the bar are heard throughout to add authenticity. The pace of the editing reflects how the bar never really stopped, constantly transforming whether it be a gay bar to accommodate the homosexual afro american regulars or a venue for the destructive Irish individuals.

To keep the viewer focused the editor has chosen to zoom in on certain photos, inspecting the detail which lies within them, I believe this successful as it demands an active audience during the documentary immersing them into Sheldons life at 42^nd Street. The narrators voice has a low pitch and sinister tone, he sets the mood of the film while establishing photos are shown, it pans slowly around as though we are being read a comic magazine.  

Paperboys (2001) Mike Mills 

In the town of Stillwater, Minnesota we are presented with Brandon, an average american paperboy who gives us an insight to his youth. Brandon enjoys playing on his Nintendo 64 and listening to rap music quoting such artists as Dr Dre, though he is bombarded with messages of violence and get rich quick agendas he carries on as a hard working kid far from being troubled.

Mills juxtaposes a rap song with the footage of Brandon and his friends riding there bikes displaying there innocence in the environment. Though its seems that where they live is a desolate uninhabited town he is content with what he has, Brandon talks about how he saves his money to fund his hobbies, his bike for instance. It seems as though the morals of adulthood are reserved in his decision making however we discover that when posed with a question about the future of paperboys his childish mind flourishes with ideas of floating cars revealing his creative cognition.

Mills uses a handheld camera approach to the documentary giving it a raw feel, none of the shots appear to be composed. I believe this helps the audience to become more interpolated into the subjects life.   

Ludovico Einaudi - Fuori dal Mondo





This song appears in the film 'This is England' by Shane Meadows. The piano/violin notes help to reflect the emotion of the characters during the scene, the pace gradually builds as the diegetic sound is removed and a montage of images showing the effects of the Falklands war are displayed. Close up shots of Combo and Shaun's face are utilized previously to allow the audience to recognise the sorrow felt by each of the characters. 

One Night In Snitchel City from Pass Port. on Vimeo.

A skate video featuring a song called 'Sick' by 'Salem'. I liked the use of black and white as well as the deviant facial masks that flicker abruptly throughout the duration of the video.