P + P – Progress Report – February

13421070 / April 10, 2016May 7, 2016 / Contribution, Individual Reflection, Process Management

All the films we’re working on have now begun shooting except Descent which has not confirmed a shooting schedule but does have it’s location confirmed and actors onboard – The audio team have carried out the requisite location recces and have received preliminary dates for which we’re awaiting a confirmation. Issues stem from matching actor availability with the possible shooting dates, but communication is good with the production managers of the film, contingencies have been discussed and are in place should it begin to fall behind schedule.

All the supervisors along with various team members and composers have organised and met with their respective directors and teams multiple times to feedback on the direction for sound design, based initially on director notes or conversations. All the pieces of work now have a more or less solid creative direction underpinning them on which the team has collaborated through a series of creative meetings and script read-throughs, largely at my insistence, in an effort to head off the production process for each film becoming the isolated province of it’s supervisor. Supervisors retain the final say but ideas for films are sourced collectively, and our composers are assigned and largely briefed regarding each film’s musical requirements by the supervisor who then decides whether to allow the composer to deal direct with the director on their film. I will also be pushing for feedback on composition to be a similarly collective process where desirable as the projects continue. [GR1, GR2]

In pushing for this more collaborative approach across the group, I am attempting to set the agenda for something akin to an Omni-Gaffer communication management strategy. This is a concept I picked up during a brief research foray into the literature of the Prince2 project management system, a recognised qualification for managers in the UK. A major project with a larger team would likely have a written and structured system of making sure information is properly shared, and collaborative outcomes and the structure’s to facilitate these collaborations would likely be properly stratified and reported upon, which ‘…facilitates engagement with stakeholders through the establishment of a controlled and bi-directonal flow of information.’ (Managing Successful Projects with Prince2, 2009, 239) [PER1]

As Descent is filming later, I’ve tended to fall into the role of firefighter for the other supervisors who’s films are in motion and have been called upon several times to cover location shoots, move equipment and perform administrative tasks (like booking equipment when other people are on set). Creatively, I’ve managed to get a headstart on some of the atmosphere’s for Immort which will be used to explain our audio direction during a spotting session with the director this week and as a base for future work, and am collaborating as a writer performer on one of the compositions for that film. The following week (which is likely the one before which shooting will commence for Descent) will also be spent building audio devices which might be suitable for use in Descent. [IN1]

Planning research into the foundations of the ‘company’ style structure has been my focus but I’ve fallen behind in carrying this out – thrashing out a ‘formal’ agreement (in the context of academia at least) between the members of the organisation who are carrying out these services is the next priority here. We’re all tracking our hours of work on any given project and intend to ascribe some kind of goodwill value to each component and phase of the project throughout it’s life, which we intend to be the ‘currency’ in which we’re trading. I must be wary of how easy to get caught up in administration and practicalities, and end up taking my eye off the ball of the academic side of the project.

My hours spent on the project for February have broken down roughly as follows, not including academic aspects such as blogs or research –

Total hours = 42.5
Admin – 14
Meets – 11
Creative Work – 8.5
Other – 8

There have been issues, but they’ve generally been minor and have been overcome with a combination of good judgement, forward-planning and luck. If we have to have one, our main issue so far has been facilities and equipment. Pressure on these is massive, and failure on set of key pieces of equipment relied upon for location audio work has caused several production problems and extra administrative work. The next hurdle on the horizon in this sense will involve the post work facilities bookings, which are already becoming a bone of contention because of the perception that we are using facilities at our institution inefficiently.

Reflecting, it is noticable that these issues lead practically to a carousel of phone calls, time sensitive emails, time spent replanning the projects and interruption when working creatively, which collectively mean I find myself spending more time problem-solving than doing the creative pre-production work for the films I have involvement in.

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KEY POINTS –

Overview of situation generally for the project and specifically for the film Descent –Professional practice, Process Management.

[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.
[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)

Collaborative creative process – Process Management

[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.

Researching wider project management literature and concepts – Research

[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.

Reflection on outcomes / efficiency – Individual reflection on learning and team role.

P + P – Progress Report – March

13421070 / April 1, 2016May 7, 2016 / Individual Reflection, Learning Outcomes, Planning, Process Management

(Outcomes – GR1, 2, 3, 4 + IN1 + PER4)

With completion of our final shooting day on Thursday 24th March, production has now wrapped on all of the five films we’re working on, and even with two shoots substantially over-running their initial dates and requiring numerous reshoots we are currently on track for picture-locks for all of the films more or less on time – all of them are scheduled for today, basically. We have also made inroads into some substantial aspects of post production for three of the films over the last few weeks, mainly due to a policy of consistently badgering editors for work in progress cuts of the work which have enabled the members of the team not tied up with location work to make a head start on post-production. The team have also been extremely effectively covering one another for location work, with boom ops and supervisors operating interchangably based on who’s available on any given day. [GR1,2,3]

Amusingly, in terms of our expectations vs the reality of production, the most outwardly-organised group of film-makers with the most ambitious ideas in pre-production have ended up being the most heavily behind schedule, whilst the production team with whom we had a horrendously complex experience last semester that caused their project to overrun by some months (and from whom we half-expected issues this term) ran an extremely efficient shoot which completed without need to recourse to their contingency day and without any significant issues whatsoever. [IN1]

Composition is as good as complete for one picture and underway for two others, with work in progress scratch-tracks having been demoed to the relevant supervisors and the rest of the team for feedback purposes in all those cases. Supervisors have remained in close contact with both directors and editors (in some cases these are the same person) for the films they’re managing, and we are now beginning a process of adapting the initial audio plans for our films to the reality of the pictures as they arrive. [GR1,2]

The sci-fi leaning films are the best examples of this process. Since it is extremely difficult to realise a convincing sci-fi vision with little experience or budget, the two films with sci-fi themes have tended to underplay the futuristic elements visually a little. This leaves more room for the audio to do the work of signifying and world-building, but also requires a deft directorial stance not to allow the audio to undermine the visuals where these haven’t quite matched the director’s initial vision. The picture must always dictate the audio and even if the director’s original vision for a scene was much more interesting from a sound design perspective it’s necessary to rein in the largesse at times. [GR4]

In terms of my own contribution, I’ve been on-set for three of the five films including managing the entire location audio operation and subsequent transfers and admin for Descent, have contributed considerably to sound design and foley aspects of Immort and Feel Good, such as they are completed at the moment. As we’ve got into the momentum of production with the crews, administrative requirements for the project have thankfully slackened off somewhat. [PER4]

My hours spent on the project for March have broken down roughly as follows, not including academic aspects such as blogs or research –

March Total = 101
Admin – 16
Meets – 7
Location – 52
Creative Work – 24.5
Other – 1.5

Our main issue this month has been facilities, as mooted in February’s report. In order to alleviate the pressure on our favoured workspace our institution took the insane decision to cancel 12 of our 38 booked sessions and drastically shorten another 8. This destroyed our post-production schedule at a stroke, and created a veritable storm of admin in planning and rebooking work. We tried to rationalise this into real world terms as if some kind of technical catastrophe had befallen the facility, but practically we have lost any hint of a margin for error on the part of any of the films and experienced another ballooning of administrative time for the project as a consequence. [GR1,2]

The main impact of this complication in terms of the team was morale, since most of us were flat-out on set with little time to think about the ramifications or spend time replanning our post work for the films. As the situation here is now somewhat fluid (it is impossible to say whether the Sound Theatre will actually be available to use for two days of each week until we get to the day), we are setting our work priorities on a week by week basis, with desired outcomes for each film set at the production meeting at the beginning of said week. We’re confident we can manage the films as long as they remain on schedule which, at the present time, largely appears likely.

In the interest of staying ahead of the game the priority for each supervisor going forward is now to decide who will be performing the final mixing of each of their films and where this person will be performing said mix, and then setting a deadline for it’s completion, the latter preferably in confluence with the director of their film. Aside from the benefit of a solid deadline, this will enable a process of centralisation of the data from aspects of audio production for each film which is now being split across multiple people in different environments (our composers are tending to work at home, for example) which will hopefully avoid too many data management and compatibility issues as the aspects of the films come together. [GR1, 2]

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KEY POINTS –

Overview of situation generally for the project and specifically for the film Descent –Professional practice, Process Management.

[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.
[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)

Breakdown of work carried out in March – Contribution

[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.

Collective creative process – Process Management

[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.

Contribution specifics – Contribution

[PER4] To contribute extensively to multiple film productions.

Reflection on process of adapting audio plans and outcome of facilities issues– Individual reflection on learning and team role

Project Overview, individual film synopses and Learning Outcomes

13421070 / February 7, 2016May 7, 2016 / 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.