Friday, 2 December 2011
Sound Person's Journal
Sound team: Jaspreet Hanspal, Ahmed Khan, Sahir Ahmed
Jaspreet's Sound Person Journal:
My findings from contributing to sound has been a learning curve for me, as I have discovered how crucial sound effects can prove to be in improving the quality of your work, and how vital it is to have naturalistic sound to create ambiance and atmosphere, and make the video more realistic as a whole.
Finding the sound effects was difficult as it was hard to find a suitable/realistic sound effect to match actions such as footsteps, heartbeat, and the door opening and closing. We also had to find an iconic tune to include in our video, as this is a marketing strategy I wanted to include as Director. At last we found our sound on YouTube, and decided to use a file named 'scary music' which sounded like the 'harry potter' theme tune. however we thought this suited best, as it sounds like a trinket box playing, which corresponds with the age of the little girl, hinting to the viewer the film is going to be about this little child, creating an enigma.
We used programmes such as SoundCut Pro, Clip-art (on word), Youtube and Soundcloud to find our music. We mainly used SoundCut Pro and YouTube, as it was easy to transport the files onto our film, and we used Media Converter (mediaconverter.net) to convert the video file from youtube to an audio file for our production.
Despite finding all the sounds, some worked and some did not. So I had to go and find new sounds with my team, and add them to the production. At the last minute we had to make changes, with feedback from the post-questionnaire I conducted. We eliminated the 'crying' sound for the catchy scary theme tune, as we wanted to create recognition for the little girl, and create suspense for the audience. We also included the heartbeat to also create intensity. In the end, I think the sound has really heightened the quality of my film, and I believe it has definitely improved from the 1st draft successfully, I am very happy with the results!
Sahir's Sound Person Journal:
Being part of the sound crew for our production, has provided me with key skills which I may be able to use in the future for my own advantage. Being part of the sound crew meant that I, along with my other group members, had to find appropriate sounds for our thriller, which would be appropriate, sound effective and sync in with our film. We all found suitable sounds and sampled them with our video and came to a group decision on which ones we should choose. The two main resources we used to find our sounds were Soundcut Pro and YouTube. I made sure that the sounds I used did not have any copyright issues related to them, and this was not a problem with sound cut pro, as all the sounds on there are default sounds already imported into the sofwares' data. I had to make sure that when I was looking for sounds, they did not sound too unrealistic as this would make less like a Horror/Thriller. I found alot of sounds, however many of them did not fit into the guidelines we set out for our sounds to have, therefore I had to scrap alot of them, and proceed with a selected few. We did not find sounds for the effect of Ahmed's footsteps, therefore I came up with the idea of going out and recording certain sounds to make our sound searching alot easier. Hence, later on, Jaspreet did the same with Ahmed after realising how convenient that would be. Our film was a film which needed to put the viewers in suspense, therefore we needed to find a theme tune which effectively went with our story line. Jaspreet and Ahmed found a great theme tune, which was somewhat like the Harry Potter tune, and decided to use it as our opening theme tune. I had a listen to the tune, and acknowledged Jaspreet and Ahmed on their great sound finding skills. All in all, being part of the sound crew had made me a more all round cameraman and media group member, and has given me key skills which I would be happy to use in the future, and would enable me to fit into a film-making cast/crew much more easily.
Final Copy- The Three Wheels of Horror
We decided as a group to try and initiate even more suspense and horror, so we made very last minute changes to try and enhance the build up of tension; we added a new sound effect which substantially heightens the suspense as it is both loud and overwhelming, and eliminates any distractions from diagetic sounds which are unnecessary, such as the running, or the echo in the corridor. Furthermore, we decided as a group we would keep the 'crying' sound, as we felt removing it made no sense as to why the little girl was sat in the corner, which would confuse the audience. Also the crying sound added an abstract feel to the scene, as an enigma is created. We felt as if this new and improved version of the film is more able to meet the expectations of the audience, and capture their attention all throughout.
By Jaspreet
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Influences for our film sequence
The reason as to why I took inspiration from The Exorcist was because it put across classic conventions of a horror film, however had a twist, which is what i was aiming for in my film. The inspiration for the antagonist also came from this film as the little girl is recreated in my own film in a more contemporary way.
However, the element of SAW ties in with my film too, as the character 'Billy' (Jigsaw's puppet) is also transcended in the makeup and props. Billy uses a tricycle, has a white face with a painted smile and dark vicious eyes. I wanted to take inspiration from this as I thought this would be the best way to make a little girl scary and vicious looking. Furthermore, I also took inspiration from the storyline itself, as I myself agreed with Jigsaw's principles: to punish those who have no respect for themselves or others, and thought this was a good way to distribute a moral message and provide entertainment to the audience. This is the USP of my film also, which can interest my target audience to watch it.
2nd Draft- The Three Wheels of Horror
The 2nd Draft- we are still unsure about the production
We are considering we should get rid of the 'breathing sound' and add more sound as in some places the sound becomes lower in volume and gets cut off.
We are going to continue editing to therefore produce a 3rd and final draft.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Weekly Updates- Week of 28th November (week 10)
Final week!
This is the final week, and we held our last group meeting together. We discussed what was left on the production schedule that had to be completed by this week, and I distributed these roles to each member.
Editing is coming to a finish, and all other work is going to be posted today or later on in the week. I am currently writing my Directors Journal, as are my team members writing their own. This week is going to be quite hectic as we have to finalize everything, upload the final draft of the video and finish the production! Next on the agenda is to think about how I am going to market this product, so it can reach wider audiences. I am currently conjuring up ideas and marketing strategies to broaden the popularity of my film, and hopefully it is widely accepted by many teenagers out there! Furthermore, all team members are very happy with the final result, and we are currently finishing up any extra work that may have been left to do.
Overall, the pre-production, production, and post-production have been learning curves for all three of us, and we have learned a lot about making a film, and now experienced it too. We hope to have the final draft of the video up later this week, with the rest of the work!
Weekly updates- week of 28th November (week 10)
This week we made final decisions on the bbfc aswell, and decided to change the bbfc from a 12A to a 15, as after making the video, we found the film may not be appropriate for 12 year olds, instead for teenagers a little older, as scenes are quite sinister and intense.
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Weekly Updates- week of 14th November
This week we made some changes to the sound in the film, after previous feedback from the post questionnaire; and removed the crying sound as we felt this was unrealistic and inappropriate as there was no movement to the girl sat down; therefore showing she is not crying, yet sitting there idle. Instead we slowed down the 'scary music' clip to create a more daunting atmosphere and the repetition of this creates recognition and an enigma for the audience to therefore be more scared and alert.
We also repeatedly used this sound throughout the film, by adding it instead of the 'bicycle sound' we were going to initially use when Ahmed turns around, as we felt this would create a repetitive build of suspense.
These decisions were based on our feedback from the post-questionnaire, and as the sound person, these decisions were vital in order for our production to reach its highest potential.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Monday, 14 November 2011
Weekly updates- Week of 14th November (week 9)
This week we held a meeting on monday, discussing what had been completed the previous week and what needed to be completed this week. My task was to configure graphs for the results of my questionnaire, so that the feedback could aid us in constructing the film itself. Ahmed had continued editing, Sahir, myself and Ahmed made a joint effort to look for sound, this was relatively easy as we were able to confer with the editor, and my team were able to confer with me, so we all had joint consent over sound choices. Furthermore, Ahmed's tasks this week were to complete his log-rushes, and begin thinking about his editors journal. As for Sahir, he had to also think about his cameraman's journal, and begin recalling events and including them in it. As for me, I had to aid Ahmed with the sound, and give him the feedback on what the audience thought, and my personal views on the video too. I told him what I wanted from the video, and what could be done to make it better, and the feedback from the questionnaire was also very helpful. We aim to get the film finished by the week of the 28th, and have it posted as the 2nd and final draft later that week,
New BBFC- 15
Suitable only for 15 years and over
No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.
Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.We had to change the BBFC, as we felt scenes were portrayed to be very intense, and Ahmed (the character) does not represent a positive version of a 16 year old male, so we wanted to address teens who are a little more matured, to accept this representation. The film plot also implies there will be traces of blood and gore, and also torture, so we decided to raise it to a 15. Also, 15 year old's are more likely to relate to a rebel like Ahmed, and learn more from his doings. Furthermore, there will not be any sexual portrayal, it will just border upon torture. As a whole, the rest of the treatment concerning the BBFC still applies, however due to the increase in intensity, we thought this would suit a slightly older teenager more than a teen who has not yet experienced having a rebel classmate who may indulge in drugs, smoking or gang culture.
Weekly Updates- Week of 14th November
Quick update: Image of some sounds we were testing as alternatives-
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| As above, we decided we would use Al Bayan for the title of the film, and use the colour red |
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| As above, we decided we would use a clear font being Calisto MT, we thought this was easy to read for the audience, and chose a neutral colour as black |
Friday, 11 November 2011
Weekly Updates- week of 7th November (week 8)
This week was quite a hectic week, as we had just filmed the week before, and had to begin editing and making decisions on how myself and the editor wanted to utilize the shots taken. Myself and Ahmed collected sound for the production, from Sound Cut Pro, YouTube, sound cloud and other websites to get audio that would fit into our film. Sahir and I also did some more research on sound and found some more clips, as we all had a joint effort in finding sound for our production. This whole week was dedicated to editing and making sure we had good enough shots that preserved the rule of continuity, and made sense to the audience. Furthermore, this week I had got Ahmed to post a rough draft of the video onto the blog, and called a few friends in to watch it; and then fill out a questionnaire i had previously made for feedback on the film. My task for the remainder of this week is to configure graphs and understand what needs too be improved on the video to reach its best potential with help from our feedback from friends. I had also gathered some thoughts about the whole experience of being a director, in order for my directors journal to come together. The meeting we had this week was rather brief but we discussed what tasks needed to be completed before the week ended, and what we would aim to have done by next week.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Group Members- and their roles
AGE: 16
ROLE: To delegate duties and roles, and manage the team. In charge of costumes, documents needed to be signed and verified, props, sound and score notes, and other information needed to be gathered in order to gain insight into the production and the purpose of it.
CAMERAMAN: Sahir Ahmed
AGE: 18
ROLE: To correctly capture and manage all media filmed, making sure camera angles are precise, lighting and location are suitable to be filmed in, and to manage the blog and all other accounts associated with SpineChiller Productions. To also refer and consolidate with the director and editor of scenes and shots captured, so that the production can be formed to the needs of the director and editor.
EDITOR: Ahmed Khan
AGE: 16
ROLE: to successfully edit and reinvent the shots filmed, to meet the expectations of the director and cameraman, to edit effectively and correctly, to a high standard; so that it is believable and sustains continuity throughout. To also refer with the director and cameraman, and decide which score notes will be utilized within the production.