Summary of devising a soundtrack
During the whole process of putting together my single camera drama, I will be doing all the soundtrack production work. As well as working out what sounds I need and where I need them. All my sound will be recorded live on the day, using a clip on shotgun microphone. This could cause me some problems as I will be recording some diegetic sound in outside, possibly windy environments. So as part of my contingency plan, I will record some ambient noise before the actual scheduled shoot on location , so that I will have an idea of how windy it could be. As well as assessing other noise which my microphone may pick up. This will help me to understand which settings I need to apply, another part of my contingency plan on recording diegetic sound is that if the sound turns out really muffled or hissy, I will re -record my actors dialogue in a sound proof room, with padded walls, so that the dialogue will bounce off each other and sound very clear. This process is known as ADR, standing for additional dialogue recordings.
Sound is a very important aspect of the mise-en-scene of film and television production. It is a component which I will be taking very seriously for my single camera drama. In our sessions with Paul and Darren we have been analysing sound in various films such as Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, 28 Days Later and Hunger. As well as this we have also been looking at the technical aspects of sound and it's relationship with the visuals.
In groups we did some brainstorming and individual research of how sound would be applied to differ t genres of film and television. Below is an example of how sound would be applied for an action film.
As you can see on the top left of my diagram I have used the word 'busy'. The reason I have wrote this is because this is the word I would most associate with the mise-en-scene of the action film we have made up. It is the word which would best tonally describe the scenario, something which creates the atmosphere surrounding the narrative, keeping a clear idea of the relationship between sound and visuals.
The Audience
Generally audiences listen to sound is a few different ways, for example they can listen to sound via earphones, speakers and surround sound system speakers. Surround sound speakers are usually the sound which are used for cinemas and home cinemas.
Definitions
Below are various definitions of types of sound which are used for film and television.
Spotting
The term spotting means pointing out in the pre-production and post-production where various different sound effects and other effects will be placed in the sequence order. During post-production of a film or television show, a rough cut of the entire piece will be done in post-production. This is where the entire piece will be cut together will all the clips. But no sound or any effects, the director and composer will then sit down and watch through the rough cut. They will note down in the rough cut, whereabouts all the sound is needed and how it will be undertaken. This could range from ADR recording, foley, non-diegetic etc. In their notes they will write down all the cues needed for individual pieces of soundtrack. For my production, during post-production I will first just start off with cutting together a whole rough cut. I will then watch it all through and make notes as well as placing markers as to where I need different pieces of sound.
Locked picture
The locked picture means when there is a scene in the post-production stage of editing in which all the editing has been completely finished. Meaning all effects, colour grading, sound etc have been finished. I will make sure that when I am in the stage of my post-production, I will just do a rough cut of the whole single camera drama first and then once my rough cut has been completed, I will move onto adding in all the sound, colours and effects. The reason I am just going to do a rough cut first is because I will then be able to spot whereabouts I need to add in my soundtrack. It also means i won't have to keep rendering. Something which takes a very long while.
Wild track
The wild track is all the ambient noise which is recorded on the day, it will be helpful for me to record the ambience of the location environment I will be filming on the day. This is because it can add more to the muse-en-scene, as well as making it more realistic and naturalistic.
Diegetic sound
Diegetic sound is all the sound which you can see in front of you on the screen, for example dialogue which is spoken by the cast. It is the sound which can be heard by the characters and it usually implies a reaction from each of them.
Non-diegetic sound
Non-diegetic sound is all of the sound which you cannot see on the screen, this consists of all the music which is played over the top of scenes. It also makes up all the creepy, happy, tense sounding music which is added over the background to add drama, making the narrative flow at a better pace. Non-diegetic sound is also described as being a sound which is coming from a source which is outside the narrative.
Ambient sound
The ambient sound is all the background noises which you do not usually always hear with your senses, however these are the sounds which make up the environment and makes the production more realistic. Examples of ambient sound would be, the birds in the trees, cars, sirens, air conditioning, the wind, the sea, etc. Basically wherever your environment is , there should be ambient sound to accompany the surrounding so you feel as if you are there.
Developing my soundtrack
If I was to describe my soundtrack for my single camera production I would say it will be dark, intense, eerie and dreamy. The soundtrack for my film will help to tell the narrative of my single camera production The Fall of Man because each scene focuses on a particular theme and this theme will be accompanied by various pieces of non-diegetic sound. The main theme throughout the whole ten minute drama is the darkness, connoting how society is collapsing and human nature is rebelling against itself. Hence the tile The Fall of Man, depicting how the end causes the fall of the human race. Now this whole theme will be covered by a constant non-diegetic piece of dark ambient music. Without this piece of soundtrack the narrative wouldn't flow as smoothly.
There will be a short sequence in my film, where it will just consist of cutaways of a desolate town and parks. These shots will help to create a picture for the audience of what society has become of, I will use a ghostly non-diegetic echo soundscape, mixed with the ambience of the whistling of the winter breeze. Sound used for this sequence will help to represent the collapse of a society, as well as echoing the souls of those that have died due to a newly horrific incarnated world.
I will try to keep the non-diegetic music as part of my soundtrack to a minimum during all the diegetic dialogue sequences, the reason I am choosing to do this is because I feel as commonly said less is often more. My dialogue sequences all carry a dark tone to them as all the conversations spoken between characters involves words about the fall of society, missing girlfriends, ill health etc. And this is itself works well just on it own, with live diegetic recorded sound. So if I kept using a non-diegetic soundtrack for every conversation, it would be less effective. Therefore only for particular words and glares will I use the dark non-diegetic music. This use of soundtrack will be used more for establishing different locations and dialogue free scenes. This is so to keep the theme consistent throughout, helping to keep the narrative flowing while the dialogue is on standby.
Analysing sound in a scene
During our lessons with Paul and Darren, we have looked at various different scenes from different film. Analysing the use of sound and how they impact the tone and feel, as well as their relationship with the visuals. One of the honourable mentions which I am going to briefly discuss is the opening 10 minutes to Saving Private Ryan. A scene which we watched various times, looking at the way director Steven Spielberg made use of it. So the opening starts off in the present day, we the audience are following an elderly man down a cemetery , while a load of onlookers follow him to pay their respects. The sound is all very instrumental and we feel a certain patriotic emotion, it is quite clear that this man was involved in The Second World War, as the visuals help us to understand this. Whenever there is a cutaway to the American flag or the cemetery , the orchestral sound goes higher pitched. Clearly focusing on the elements that made the war, paying homage to the fallen men. The non-diegetic sound in the cemetery does really help to kick off an emotional ride for the narrative. When the camera starts to zoom in on the elderly man looking at a particular gravestone, the non-diegetic music starts to fade out and the ambience/diegetic sound of crashing waves starts to fade in. The sound gets louder and louder right up until its zoomed fully in, once we hit his eyes, the scene cuts to the Normandy Landings.
The scene cuts to the past, specifically D-Day on Omaha beach. All non-diegetic sound is gone, the visuals are very de-saturated and murky. The sound starts off with the sea coming in, this almost connotes something is coming. Which is true in this case, because the Americans invaded to push Germany out. The relationship between the visuals and sound is very much in sync, as both work with each other. There is no non-diegetic sound at all during the large war scenes on the beach, all that can be heard is the ambience and diegetic sound of warfare. For example bullets flying, soldiers being shot, screams, running, mud, everything harsh sounding to the ear is played. The effect of this with the visuals is that it all sounds and looks very disturbing. Because we are stripped bear of all non-diegetic sound it seems so realistic to the real event, almost like we are actually there. Spielberg is also trying to make it as life like as possible, so that he can pay tribute to the men that fought, so not to make it feel all Hollywood and fun. Something which a lot of war films do, in which they use heroic and atmospheric non-diegetic sound to make warfare seem exciting.
Producing pre-production materials
Different Equipment
There are many different methods of sound equipment which I can potentially use for when I record sound on location. For example there are RODE external boom microphones which I can use. These plug into a sound recording device which can be attached to your belt. The problem with this method of sound recording is that you have to keep all the sound synchronised together, this can be very tricky to edit in the post-production. The way to keep the sound which is being recorded in sync with the visuals, is to use a clapper board. This can leave a 'clap' which will indicate when about you should cut the visuals and sound together. So that I do not have this hardship of synchronising the sound, I will not be using any type of external boom sound equipment, because this will require a lot of unnecessary editing, as well as having to hire a crewmember who will have to hold the boom mic for me. Below is an image of the Rode NTG 3 boom microphone, this is one of the more popular choices of boom microphones
Now aside from the external boom mic on offer in the college and for buying, there are also clip on shotgun mic which can be used on DSLR cameras. These are very portable and easy to use, you just have to plug the mic into the cameras plug in mic audio jack. Once plugged in there are various different features which you can use. There is the 0db setting, this should be used for indoor environments when you want to pick up dialogue the best, this also reduces background noise to a minimal. The -10db setting should be used for outdoor environments, especially when there is a lot of wind. This is because it helps to bring down the background noise, while keeping the dialogue as level as possible. The +20db setting should be used when you want to best amplify the background noise, especially for say situations like a music concert or just the general ambience of an environment. This shouldn't be used just for dialogue because it will sound very very muffled, as the background noise will over power the dialogue. The high pass filter (hpf) setting, is a switch which can be used for when the outside sound is extremely loud, this setting will try and cut out the background noise even more than it already has. However this setting will slightly lower the main dialogue but it will keep any ambience to a right minimum. Below you can see an image of the different settings on the Rode Video Mic Pro.
I have decided that I am going to use a clip on shotgun mic for my single camera drama, after looking at various different models. I have purchased the RODE Video Mic Pro. The reason I chose this mic was because out of all the clip on shotgun mics in my budget of £100-£150 this one had all the best reviews. Some of the aspects that made me purchase it were, it has a good direction; focus. Meaning when you point it at your subject, sound will sound really clear. It is also really portable and easy to use, as well as having various different functions which can be used for indoors and outdoors. As well as having a high pass filter which can cut out all ambience wind noise. This was really important to me, because I want to film a fair few scenes near a lot of trees and this could attract a lot of wind, so a hpf setting is imperative.
File types
There are different file types of sound, these are AIFF, MP3 and Wave. High quality sound files are often created through MP3 files, a very attractive pro to an mp3 file is that it is easy to compress, as well as being convenient and popular to store your music. The reason that MP3 files have a powerful compression is because they strip out a lot of different sounds in a song which the ear cannot hear. The difference with an uncompressed music track is that they are bigger than an MP3 file and therefore take up more space, whereas an MP3 file is 11 times smaller. Other benefits of MP3 files is that because they are small files, they are easy to send and don't use much storage. As well as this , they are also easily playable on many different platforms. A drawback of these files is that piracy is high and the MP3 market is slowly in decline because so many people download them illegally, breaching all copyright laws.
An Audio Interchange File Format, short for AIFF is an uncompressed file which has fairly large file types, as well as keeping to a high quality of sound. A very useful positive to an AIFF file is that it allows for a lot of leeway on editing. It also allows for flexibility in copying, other post-production activities and changing file formats. An AIFF file also acts as an Apple Mac equivalent to a Wave file.
A Waveform audio file format, short for Wave are a generation of file which is one of the oldest. Originally they were a complete uncompressed digital copy of a file. Because of this they have a lot of popularity because they have the best quality because they haven't gone through any changes, minus of course that they have been outputted. These files are large in size so this can be a drawback to them, a positive with a Wave files would be that they are good to have because they let you have the most flexibility. Wave files are also perfect for making copies of as they have their "first generation" status.
Relevant issues connected with soundtrack
In terms of a soundtrack, there are various different rules with using music. Public domain music means that it is out there openly in the public, for anyone to use for their own use without a worry of copyright infringement. Reasons why songs go in the public domain could be because the rights have expired or the artist has chosen to exclusively release the song into the public domain. Sometimes a copyright never existed.
Songs which have a copyright on them (generally most songs) are not legal to use on your own personal videos, including short films and other home videos. If you are not profiting from your video and you credit the artist then you are within your rights to use their song. However you must stay within these rules. Although if you do wish to submit your video/film to any festivals or get it known making it your work piece which can be sent off, using a copyrighted song or soundtrack would be a bad idea. This is because many competitions and places you send it off to may not agree with using their song. So therefore I will not be using any copyrighted songs because I do not want it to put me in bad reputation for opportunities in the future.
MCPS-PRS is a collection organisation of copyright in the United Kingdom, they partake in the collective rights management for musical works. Their job is to collect royalties for their members, whenever the artists song is publicly performed, as well as if a recording of them is broadcast. Remaining profits left over after operating costs are given to the copyright holder, e.g. the artists.
Sounds needed
For my single camera drama, all my diegetic dialogue will be recorded on a clip-on shotgun microphone. With ADR being my contingency plan if the sound turns out poor, I will then gather a library of non-diegetic pieces of soundtrack which will be needed for my film. I also need various foley sound effects which help to make my project more exciting and realistic to watch. Below is a list of scenes which I will need non-diegetic music for.
Opening sequence - tense/exciting music to make chase for dramatic and engaging
Dream scene in yellow field - dreamy ambient sound needed to make the scene seem more dreamy
Army scene - dark non-diegetic sounding ambience music, makes it more tense and disturbing
George turning into a 'marked one' - tense and dramatic sounding non-diegetic sound
Luke appearing in window - jump scare sound effect needed to make it more dramatic and to shock the audience.
Foley sound effects needed
Weapon foley needed for army scene - a sound effect is needed so that we know they are handling machine guns
A pistol weapon foley sound effect is needed, so to show that the character of Liam is handling a pistol
Sound effect needed for when George dials his phone and for when there is no signal when he tries to make a call.
There are a couple of different ways in which I will get these sounds, first of all in class we was told about a website where you can get royalty free sounds which many professionals use for their projects. It is popular amongst indie filmmakers and it is called Freesound.org , I will also be using some royalty free non-diegetic sounds which will help to enhance the drama for my more intense scenes. For the army flashback scene in the film, I will be recording some ambient sounds on the day with my Video Mic Pro. I will just turn the camera on and plug the microphone in, using the +20db setting to pick up all the sounds of the environment, this ambience will just help to add to the realism. The +20db setting is useful because it cuts out all unnecessary sounds which the ear wouldn't usually hear and it amplifies sounds which the ear can usually hear around its perimeter.
Planning sound on location
House
For the main scenes of my single camera drama, the majority will be shot in a house. This is a good location where I can fully plan for sound. I will be recording all sound live on the day, using as previously discussed a RODE Video Mic Pro. I will be using the 0db setting on the clip on shotgun microphone, so that I can get the best possible quality of diegetic sound being spoken by my actors. I will make sure to also use the high pass filter setting, so that it will cut out as best as possible the air conditioning and other small house ambient sounds. In case the sound in post-production doesn't sound very clear, I will re-record the sound in a padded room with my actors re speaking the dialogue. This process is known as ADR, I will use a clapperboard for some scenes. The only reason for this is it can be a part of my contingency plan. In which if the sound is poor quality, I can re record it all and then use the sound of the 'clap' to sync the re-recorded sound together with the visuals.
Both fields
For the other two locations in my film, I will be filming at a couple of fields. One is right next to some woods and houses and the other field is next to a main road. Now luckily the field which backs off of a main road I will only be using for a non-dialogue dream sequence of the character Lucy and George, so no recorded sound will be necessary. However on the other location in the field, next to the woods and houses I will be recording quite a bit of sound as this scene (which is the army flashback scene) will consist of mainly diegetic sound. As well as some non-diegetic music and ambience. The past couple of weeks have been quite windy and there is a lot of bushes and trees, so there is a high chance that the sound of rustling wind will be picked up. To avoid this I have done quite a bit of researching of the RODE Video Mic Pro which I have purchased, as I have already said in research, this portable clip on microphone carries various different settings. When I film on location in this film, I will make sure to use the -10db setting with the high pass filter switch turned on. This will minimise and cut out as best as possible all the sound of wind and annoying rustling of the ambience of the location. My contingency plan for sound on this location will also be the same for the house, in which I will use ADR in case the sound turns out poor or unusable.
Recording sound on location/Live studio sound
After purchasing the Rode Video Mic Pro, I felt confident that I would be able to record my live sound correctly in the best possible way. I used my previous knowledge of recording live sound from producing a live twenty minute news show in the live studio at college. While working on our live news shows, I was given the role of sound operator and mixer for one of the groups productions, with this job role I had to set up all the sound boom poles, as well as connecting together the camera and vision mixing room head sets. I was also tasked with setting up the clip mics and sorting out sound checks for the cast. This meant I had to get the whole cast and crew to be silent while I adjusted the sound levels, so to make the sound clearer and not muffled. Setting up the clip microphones and shotgun mics helped me to have a better understanding of sound, so when it came to recording live sound on the day for my single camera drama, I had the right knowledge. The knowledge and research I conducted, helped me to use the right db settings on the microphone. As well as positioning the microphone in a directional way, pointing towards the subject it was recording. As a sound operator for the live news shows, I had learnt where certain sound equipment needed positioning and this is something I could apply when shooting my film. Below are some images of the work I conducted for sound in the live news shows.
My Location - House scenes
For the main bulk of my single camera drama, I plan to film all the present day scenes of the characters Liam and George and the dead body in the garden Luke at a house. The house I plan to film at will be my house that I live in, I will be using the living room, conservatory, kitchen and garden to fully utilise my surroundings as well as making the narrative more enjoyable and make it flow easier.
This window in the kitchen door above will be in the very end scene, where Luke is now in a fully rapid state and he is covered in blood.
Contingency Plan
Now in case of any very rare emergency, for example the house gets flooded, a break in occurs, family problems or the house is heavily occupied I will film at my dads house. Failing that I will film in my friends houses.
Transport/Access
This location is in Billericay and it is very nearby to the three actors I will be using for these scenes in the house. So therefore they will walk to my location house , however I will not expect this off of them so myself and a family member will go and pick them up in the car and then drive them home after.
Camera/Sound
For my location in the house there will obviously be various powerpoint sockets around the house. Obviously I will make sure that both my camera batteries are fully charged so that we don't have to stop filming because of a loss of power. So if one of my batteries does cut out, I will charge it up while we are using the other one. I have a shotgun microphone which will plug into my camera, so to make sure I get the best dialogue and I minimise all background noise. To do this I will make sure the air conditioning is turned off and no one in the house is running appliances which could potentially mess with my sound.
Food
Considering we are filming in a house, there will be food supplied and plenty of water to drink incase my actors get dehydrated or exhausted. They can bring along their own lunch, but I will be providing some light snacks.
My Location - Flashback scene
I plan to film one of the flashback scenes where Liam and George encounter the four soldiers, in a large field near a restaurant called The Ivory Rooms in Billericay. The field also backs off of an area of houses called Foxley Close. I plan to film at this area for when the characters of Liam and George are on their skateboards.
Below are a few images I took on location, planning ahead to check the location was suitable for the scene I'm planning.
This will be the alleyway where Liam and George will walk down with their skateboards, in which they then end up in the field where they encounter the soldiers.
The four soldiers will come running over from that tree, Liam and George will be walking across the footpath when they hear gun shots.
Contingency Plan
If for whatever reason that the day I plan to shoot at this location, the location say be unusable for whatever reason. Or the weather has caused a lot of water log or it has been closed off. I will then film this flashback scene at another major large public park in Billericay called The Queen Elizabeth Park.
Transport/Access
This location is in Billericay and is luckily within walking distance for all my actors seen as they all live local in Billericay, however considering they have to bring their prop weapons and wear heavy combat uniform. Myself along with a family member will pick them up in the car and drop them to the location. Once we arrive at the area, it is easily accessible by walking into the field through a bypass walk through. It has a public footpath in the field, so therefore we won't be breaking any laws. It is a regular spot for runners and dog walkers alike so no issues should arise.
Camera/Sound
In this location there won't be any electric power points which I can connect my camera or sound equipment too. However for my camera I will not need to plug it in, I will bring along two fully charged batteries which have at least four hours on them. I only plan to film for two hours so this will be absolutely fine. For my sound equipment I will be in the same situation.
Food
There is a high street ten minutes away from the location so if my cast get hungry or thirsty they can always pop down there. However to save time I will bring drinks and snacks for all the cast so that they don't get exhausted or dehydrated. The shoot isn't strenuous so this shouldn't be a problem.
List of Equipment Spreadsheet
