Tag: IN3

How to navigate + interpret this blog

13421070 / / Process Management

This post explains how to navigate and interpret this blog, and provides some useful links.

The video of Descent is available below via Youtube.

A stereo .wav of the audio track can be downloaded here –

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mjuk0ill37mgev0/V4%20-%20DESCENT_ST_FULL_050516.wav

 

Markers please note –

It is easiest to navigate this blog via the pages tabs.

Each post ends with a summary of the relevant learning outcomes it attempts to address with reference to marking criteria document.

Learning outcomes are numbered as per the original synopsis and overview of the project post, and the sections or paragraphs of any given post which address a specific learning outcome are annotated throughout.

All posts which address a specific outcome can be accessed using the wordpress tag for that learning outcome. All these tags are available at the bottom of this and the original synopsis and overview post.

 

 

 

P + P – DESCENT – Footsteps, foley and less is more

13421070 / / Descent Contrib., Learning Outcomes, Research - Film Audio

(Outcomes – IN3 + GR5)

This is a quick blog describing how a small piece of advice can make a big difference.

Whilst I was working on the footsteps for the first kitchen scene in Descent, Ronnie Fowler stuck his head into the sound theatre. I was moaning about the job at the time, and he pointed out that there’s no need to slavishly detail scenes with incidentals like footsteps, and that doing so can actually be distracting. He suggested using fewer sounds, and concentrating on establishing movement or augmenting actions only, in the time-honoured fashion of less being more, echoing the advice of Wyatt and Amyes who point out that ‘Often in foley, less is more and lots of foley tracks running together can seem chaotic. The foley editor’s skill is in achieving a high degree of naturalism whilst focusing attention on those sounds that are actually important.‘ (Audio Post Production for Television and Film, 2004). [IN3]

An example of this principle at work is the first thirty seconds of this clip from Battlestar Galactica’s 2006 reboot –

Whilst you might at first argue that deciding what’s realistic in the context of science fiction might be somewhat complicated, Battlestar Galactica draws stylistic influence from gritty WW2 films such as Das Boot. Practically speaking, the central character’s feet are ruthlessly dropped in and out as required and are in no way consistent across a scene which is generally very busy in the audio dimension whilst other characters are given no audio presence at all as they pass the camera, and everything is subordinated to the dialogue regardless of the level of activity elsewhere in shot. [IN3]

Taking inspiration from this example and the advice referred to above, I revisited the foley edits for Descent and minimised my use of incidental foley wherever possible with much improved results. [GR5]

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Key Points

Advice and research into better implementation of foley FX – Research

  • [IN3] To better my understanding of sound design with at least some reference to the science fiction genre – (Sound Effects Editor)
  • [GR5] To produce soundtracks comprising of foley, SFX, dialogue, music and atmospheres to client specifications that synergistically support the other components of their films.

P + P Other – World Building – Street Scene

13421070 / / Contribution, Individual Reflection, Process Management, Research - Film Audio

(Outcomes in this blog – <IN3> – <PER 1 + 3> – <GR 1, 2 + 5>)

I very much wanted to tackle the sound design for the futuristic, post-nanotech city scene from Immort as part of my work on this project, and was able to make a start on this as the film was being shot thanks to early provision of an animatic of the film. Below is the evolution of the scene from my initial mockup to the picture lock version handed over to the supervisor who also mixed the film.

Immort’s supervisor had initially produced a detailed sound design plan for the film, which formed the basis of my initial approach to the scene’s construction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOPA2XrnVUg

I looked immediately to Blade Runner – which includes the great street scene of sci-fi film with an insanely complex audio mix carried out by Graham V Hartstone – but the feel for Immort is intended to be different in terms of the behaviour of the characters. Lot’s of the specific things seen on screen in Blade Runner have their own tiny, almost momentary sound narrative set against the extreme bustling of the city defined by sirens, wails and pulsing humanity. By contrast, people in Immort’s world are quiet and contented, even if they are constantly beset by their connectedness thanks to their constant HUD’s. My initial mockup backdrop tried to hit similar notes to Blade Runner in the sound of humanity being strongly signified, though it’s very difficult without the specificity of actual picture available to work from. The mockup below is constructed almost entirely of heavily manipulated samples, with a couple of simple keyboard drones from Protools soft synths. It’s ugly, but gives an idea of where I was going. <IN3>

I had to change approach after discussing with Immort’s supervisor during the session in which I constructed it. He’d just come off set for the film with a better interpretation of the directors requirements and the outcome of the actual shoot for the scene. His location experience with the film told him that the extras would be considerably sparser than first implied, so lots of humanity in the audio pallette would likely not work. We arrived at an idea of generally quieting the people with bursts of the sound of their personal soundtrack as they pass-by, and the base layers defined by the unearthly hum of a nano-technological city. <GR5 + PER1>

My first attempt at following this direction up was done to a rough, no vis-fx rough cut of the film, and can be seen below –

Seeing this actual picture, the visuals turn out to be much more down to earth. Both budget constraints and a lack of extras mean the scene has ended up much sparser and near-future than the one I initially envisioned even if we discount the lack of VFX in this cut for the moment. As such I retooled the atmos more in the direction of Invasion of The Body Snatchers (the 1978 version), muting the drone of the people and trying to bring out a sense of disconnectedness (largely using manipulated foley FX and further samples, in line with the protaganists desire to be unplugged from the matrix and the suggestion of enslavement to their technology causing them to take greater care as they move around the real world. <GR5>

Instead of solid footsteps the extras feet are muted and shuffling, for which I referred to multiple scenes from Bodysnatchers like the scene linked below which dispenses almost entirely with ‘human’ foley even in crowded scenes to emphasise the distinction between the protaganists and the masses. This feel was fortuitously enabled by the incredibly well regimented ‘crowd’ at the end of the scene. There is a nod to the Blade Runner approach however, in that the HUD’s of some of the extras are momentarily given life in the audio realm as the protaganist passes them. <IN3>

Finally, this work was passed over to Immort’s audio supervisor in stem form and was incorporated into his final mix of the scene, which is backed by a music track to heighten the sense of chase and sounds which relate to the new visual FX absent from earlier cuts. <GR1 + GR2>

Reflecting on this work, I think the whole process here demonstrates once again the power of picture over the audio dimension and the importance of finding synergistic balance between them. As such I think I may have wasted a little time attempting to construct anything useful for this scene from the animatic and should have foreseen that the production would not achieve the levels of production they desired, though the early work was still very useful as an opportunity to dissect the scene’s from Blade Runner and Bodysnatcher’s critically and take lessons from them, and it certainly informed the final piece in an overall positive way in the end. <PER3>

Furthermore, the process is an example of the way the group of audio producers collaborated on aspects of the films. If I had been limited to working on the film I supervised, which was shot entirely in one location, I would have been unable to build, experiment with and compare and contrast the atmosphere work in various films as I did here, a process with which I was able to usefully fill time prior to the arrival of work on my own film, which in turn benefited the group outcome. <GR1 + GR2 + PER1>

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Key Points
Examination of Blade Runner and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers as reference for work – Evaluate similar works

  • [IN3] To better my understanding of sound design with at least some reference to the science fiction genre – (Sound Effects Editor)

Construction and evolution of the audio for the scene – Application of skills and conduct in production

  •  [PER3] To expand my knowledge of the theory of and audio techniques deployed in films similar to or influential upon those we will deliver.
    [GR5] To produce soundtracks comprising of foley, SFX, dialogue, music and atmospheres to client specifications that synergistically support the other components of their films.

Reflection on the work – Individual reflection on learning and team role + Process Management.

  • [PER1]  To develop a better understanding of the pros and cons of business structures, processes and agreements which might enable film audio producers to collaborate on multiple projects.
    [GR1] To professionally operate as a small to medium size company (or other recognisable business entity) in the audio production / post-production field might.
    [GR2] To organise and fulfil an operating strategy and schedule which deals with multiple productions simultaneously, and which maximises efficiency and minimises issues or risks to delivery.

 

RESEARCH – Dubbing Mixer

13421070 / / Descent Contrib., Research - Film Audio, Role – Dub Mixer

(Outcomes – IN1,2,3 + PER3 + GR5]

“…dubbing is the Cinderella art of film-making, it’s all but invisible to the general public yet the final responsibility for the sound of Prince Charming’s approaching footstep rest firmly with Cinders rather than with the Ugly Sisters of picture or sound editing.“ – (msteer.co.uk)

Even though my group are collectively handling a number of films and may not strictly enact a given role on all of them, group members have each chosen an industry specialism to enable our research. In my case, this is the role of the Rerecording or Dub Mixer.

The term ‘dub mixer’ originally evolves from the early days of celluloid and audio tape editing, abbreviated either from the process of ‘doubling’ reels of audio to sync them with film images or from the process of rerecording actors voice in sync with their dialogue on screen (I recall Betamax home video recorders with an ‘Audio Dub’ button that enabled the user to replace the soundtrack of a given tape), the latter of which was once referred to as ‘dubbing’ but has now been redefined as Additional Dialogue Replacement or ADR. The same term became ubiquitious for any tape to tape rerecording process as time passed prior to the advent of digital, but has tended to be referred to as a Rerecording Mixer in more recent times.

“They are primarily responsible for ensuring that film sound is correct both technically and stylistically.“ – (media-match.com)

The dub mixer’s process requires the bringing together of all the audio ‘elements’ (dialogue, automated dialogue replacement, foley, sound effects, atmospheres, and music) of a given film, and the creation from these of a final audio soundtrack, as well as any other mixes required by the client for other purposes such as the music and effects components often required to enable distribution to other territories. This means a dub mixer is responsible for creating the best representation of the film’s audio aesthetic whilst maintaining both the most potent dramatic impact and the correct technical specifications for it’s intended distribution and / or audience. [IN2]

Dub mixing is fundamentally a final stage process which means it is often one performed under the tightest pressure both in terms of time and, potentially, financially. Graham Hartstone, who has an impressive 60+ year career and mixed many of my favourite sci-fi films from the 80’s and 90’s, points out that “...They’ll spend as much time and money as they’ve got rewriting and reshooting, but when it comes to dubbing they expect the mix to happen right the first time.“. If there is one thing I will be carrying away from my interactions with industry professionals during my time at university, it’s that this is a truism in the film-audio industry generally.

As with many audio industry jobs in the digital era there is more definition to a given role when focusing on instances of it that occur further up the food-chain. Re-recording mixing can still be considered a profession in it’s own right in big budget Hollywood, but in the case of small and medium budget films the dub mixer will also be a sound designer, foley artist and / or a location recordist. This is the case as the role applies to Descent – the film I’m supervising on behalf of our faux-company – in which I will inevitably have had a hand in much of the pre, production and post audio work. I expect the pre-production aspect is the most useful for the handling of that film’s final mix, since I’ve also carried out the liason with the director and been instrumental in translating their ideas into a sound design script for the film and so have as good a knowledge as anybody of their desired outcomes, as well as having directed at least some of the aesthetic choices for the audio of the film by advising them. [IN1]

Furthermore, final mixing at the high-end of the business is a process which is often sat in on by the movers and shakers of the film production team, usually the director/s and producers. I’m not a great believer in this when working solely with music, as I prefer to follow Mixerman’s Zen And The Art of Mixing technique of completing a ‘first pass’ mix and then allowing the band to have a listen and feedback on the decisions being made. Adapting this preference to the much more complex world of film audio, I completed the first pass mix of Descent and then allowed the director in to give their feedback. [GR5]

Creatively, the dub mix of Descent owes a deal to the film Hannibal from 2001, which was mixed by Doug Hemphill who was also responsible for Blade Runner (aspects of which I have discussed elsewhere). Hemphill has a huge list of other major credits with a slight lean towards sci-fi and fantasy titles, and for Hannibal he found himself dealing with a mix of 160 channels with a 96 fader Neve console, of which over 60 were dialogue. At the time, this technology created a flexibility which –

“…allowed him to create internal sounds within the characters’ minds…where he would completely strip the high-end from the sound. This process allowed Hemphill to create a muted sound, allowing for effects that suddenly and dramatically disappear into the background before coming back into full sound.” (mi2n.com)

Descent has used similar techniques to Hannibal in it’s sound design and construction, as I have discussed here. [IN1, 3 + PER3]

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KEY POINTS –

Overview of Dub Mixer / Rerecording Mixer role – Research.

  • [IN2] To develop a better understanding of the craft and industry of a Dubbing Mixer, and to contribute to the dub mixing required for presentation of the artifact – (Dubbing Mixer)

How this applies to OG Audio + Descent – Individual reflection on learning and team role.

  • [GR5] To produce soundtracks comprising of foley, SFX, dialogue, music and atmospheres to client specifications that synergistically support the other components of their films.
  • [IN1] To successfully manage the provision of service by the business for the film Descent with regard the assignment of resources, specialisms and working time, liason with the director, editor and producer on a practical and creative level, and communication of information on their needs and requirements for the piece, in order to appraise the efficacy of the collaborative approach to working on the piece – (Supervisor and Company Officer)

Research into dub mixing of films relevant to those in our workload – Research, Similar items

  •  [PER3] To expand my knowledge of the theory of and audio techniques deployed in films similar to or influential upon those we will deliver.
  • [IN3] To better my understanding of sound design with at least some reference to the science fiction genre – (Sound Effects Editor)

Project Overview, individual film synopses and Learning Outcomes

13421070 / / Contribution, Learning Outcomes, Project Overview

Semester B – Audio Project 2 Group Members

Alice Asbury – aliceasbaudioproject2.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk

Gareth Bailey – gbaup3semb.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk

Anthony Belcher – ap2anthony.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk

Rory Hunter – roryhunteraudio.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk

Matthew Jones – aptwo.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk

 

Project Overview

The students will collaborate to provide audio services ranging from location recording, post-production sound design / mixing and music composition to five films as a research exercise focussed on managing and completing multiple projects in an appropriate way.

The five films consist of two 15 – 20 minute short films, one 10 – 12 minute short film, one 4 – 6 minute short film and one 3 – 4 minute animation. The films are detailed below along with the relevant group member designated as it’s project manager. This person will act as main point of contact for their designated director / producer, will direct the overall sound design of the piece, and will manage the allocation of resources to the project.

The entire group are jointly responsible for the final quality (with reference to individual and collaborative contributions to the soundtrack of the films) and delivery (with reference to individual and collective contributions to the day to day running of the Omni-Gaffer Productions ‘business’) of all five films as one artifact.

 

Film Synopsis and Details

Remember – Garden Gnome Films

Dilpret Rall – Director/Producer/Editor

Olivia Thompson – Camera/Producer/Editor

Client Sound Requirements: location sound recording, music composition, post-production sound design/mixing.

Synopsis (15 – 20 minutes):

Remember is a film that tells the story of a man’s life told by his family and friends. Arthur is a strong and caring man who is tragically put into a coma after an accident. In hospital he is visited by his friends and family, they share stories around the bed and paint a vivid picture of his amazing life.

Audio Project Manager: Anthony Belcher – ap2anthony.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk
Feel Good – Big Blue Bear Productions

Fiona Shaw – Producer

Thomas Love – Director/Writer

David Devine – Writer/Location Sound

Kane Brookes – Cinematographer

Client Sound Requirements: music composition, post-production sound design/mixing.

Synopsis (15 – 20 minutes):

Feel Good is set in a near future where a ground breaking discovery has made it possible to bottle and market emotions.

Audio Project Manager: Alice Asbury

 

Descent – Extant Films

Shaun Standring – Producer/Writer

Angelin Selvanathan – Director

Charlotte Hughes – Art Director

Client Sound Requirements: location sound recording, music composition, post-production sound design/mixing.

Synopsis (10 – 12 minutes):

A short psychological drama which mainly follows one character as he goes about his life inconspicuously, however, it soon turns out he has underlying issues that come to the surface as the plot thickens.

Audio Project Manager: Gareth Bailey

 

Immort – dir. Jacob Redfern

Holly Oakes – Producer

Jacob Redfern – Director/Writer/Editor

Nicholas Thornthwaite – Cinematographer

Samantha Dos Santos – VFX Artist

Lyon Owen – VFX Artist

James Smillie – VFX Artist

Client Sound Requirements: location sound recording, music composition, post-production sound design/mixing.

Synopsis (4 – 6 minutes):

Immort, is a sci-fi short film with the dystopian theme of humanity being immortal due to the public distribution of nanobots. The protagonist Sici is dissatisfied with how little control she has over her fully automated life. Through technological experimentation, Sici makes an attempt to end her life. The film questions the purpose of living when you can never die. 

Audio Project Manager: Matthew Jones

 

Catastrophe/Sour Puss – Team Cipher

Esther Langan – Animator

Holly Burch – Animator

Jameela Howard – Animator

Konstantinos Zacharakis – Animator

Natalie O’Connell – Animator

Client Sound Requirements: music composition, sound design/mixing.

Synopsis (3 – 4 minute animation):

Starts with a shot of a cat waking up to the sound of a doorbell. It watches its owner walk to the door, receive a package, then walk into the kitchen. The cat follows her in; where there is a bowl bad tasting cat food is waiting for him. He looks dissatisfied and watches as his owner opens a cupboard and stretches for something at the back of the top shelf. A bowling ball (that is on the top shelf) with a little paw print on it starts to roll down and hits the owner on the head, knocking her out. As she lies on the floor, the cat stares at her stoically. It cuts to the cat washing his paws, then walking upstairs, to the owner’s bedroom. He dresses up as his owner and essentially takes her place.

Audio Project Manager: Rory Hunter



Group Aim

To manage the process of creating the above soundtracks collectively, and to deliver these soundtracks to a good standard and to the client’s specifications.

Group Objectives

  • [GR1] To professionally operate as a small to medium size company (or other recognisable business entity) in the audio production / post-production field might.
  • [GR2] To organise and fulfil an operating strategy and schedule which deals with multiple productions simultaneously, and which maximises efficiency and minimises issues or risks to delivery.
  • [GR3] To provide a professional standard of service in respect to location sound recording and post-sound design / mixing.
  • [GR4] To conceive, compose, source and / or produce music to client specifications that synergistically supports the other components of their films.
  • [GR5] To produce soundtracks comprising of foley, SFX, dialogue, music and atmospheres to client specifications that synergistically support the other components of their films.

Outcomes and Learning in the context of Moving Picture Industry roles

  • [IN1] To successfully manage the provision of service by the business for the film Descent with regard the assignment of resources, specialisms and working time, liason with the director, editor and producer on a practical and creative level, and communication of information on their needs and requirements for the piece, in order to appraise the efficacy of the collaborative approach to working on the piece – (Supervisor and Company Officer)
  • [IN2] To develop a better understanding of the craft and industry of a Dubbing Mixer, and to contribute to the dub mixing required for presentation of the artifact – (Dubbing Mixer)
  • [IN3] To better my understanding of sound design with at least some reference to the science fiction genre – (Sound Effects Editor)

Personal Learning Outcomes

  • [PER1]  To develop a better understanding of the pros and cons of business structures, processes, regulations and agreements which might enable film audio producers to collaborate on multiple projects.
  • [PER2] To develop a better understanding of the wording and content of contracts, rates and rate cards offered in the film audio field.
  •  [PER3] To expand my knowledge of the theory of and audio techniques deployed in films similar to or influential upon those we will deliver.
  • [PER4] To contribute extensively to multiple film productions.