Final IB Film Reflection

     Now that I have edited the film and had it critiqued by both Mr. Bomboy and my peers, I now recognize what could have been done to improve the sound within the film. At the time, I thought my logic regarding utilizing the boom mic & shotgun mic combination in the bowling alley had been sound. The intent was to capture desired sound (lines) while also recording background noise such as the dropping of bowling balls and the bumping of balls on bumpers. Even so, I did not seem to factor in the background music that would be playing within the bowling alley. While we could have at least asked to see if it would be possible to have the music shut off for a bit, we did not particularly feel comfortable doing so. In the editing stage, I did my best to be rid of background noise and humming (i.e. in the classroom scene in which the air conditioning can be heard buzzing in the back, so much so that it detracts from the lines being delivered).

      While working on this project, I discovered that a lot of background editing may be necessary in order to clean up the sound...I was grateful that I was able to do this, because it ended up saving audio clips that I originally thought could not be used. However, next time, for lines in which heavy dialogue is the focus, lavalier mics will be used to record so as to have sole recordings of primarily just dialogue. If sound effects are needed (or simply desired to get a feel of the location in which a scene takes place), I will go back and use a boom mic at the same time to only capture the effects. The strongest portion of good sound in this film is the car scene. The car sound effects, music, and voice overs made a wonderful combination. I couldn't be happier with the outcome of this scene. I would like to learn ducking though, so as to be able to drop out the music when the voice overs come on so as to highlight their importance to both the plot and how heavily these thoughts weigh on the character of June.

Slumdog Millionaire Reflection

         This film addresses globalization primarily through it's depiction of India. By having the lead characters (Salim, Jamal, & Latika) begin their lives in the slums, viewers get ample amounts of exposure to this environment. We see these children have hopes of coming into fame or earning lots of riches in their future, so much so they are naive to the danger that may come to them. The most prominent example is when Jamal tells Latika that he will sing the best for their caretaker & become rich. To later see that the men blind the best singers so as to bring in money for themselves, it is clear that their money does not come from an honest place. Later in life, Jamal and Salim get money by pretending to be tour guides and feeding off of Western ignorance. This conveys that they will truly do whatever is necessary to earn funds. There are various other examples of this throughout the film, emphasizing the issue of poverty. However, when the two boys grow up, (Salim specifically) is shown to be drowning in riches. Jamal, on the other hand, still struggles but his situation out of the three main characters most shows Western problems. To be on a game show that is shown to many and gives them hope, just as the film star Jamal used to look up to (that he meets earlier in the film as a young boy) brings joy to the Indian people, Jamal does so for his community. He is able to gather families around televisions to watch him succeed. This shows that the bit of westernization included within this film is to be perceived as positive.

Slumdog Millionaire

Indepdent Study

Subverting of Genre film

In our Road Film genre subversion, Small Indifferent Neena, the role I was assigned was sound designer. In this project, rather than focusing largely on sound effects, I wanted to play around with vocal audio. We utilized three different types of recording methods: voice over, lavalier mics, and a shotgun mic. Each had different pros & cons that I will be able to keep in mind for our next project. For example, some of the scenes with the shotgun mic still had ample amount of background noise despite the use of the foam over it. This teaches me that, for next time, I will have to pay more attention to this when playing back clips so as to either figure out a different method of recording or adjust the shotgun. In regards to the voice over, I love the clarity and quality of the audio. 

While editor was not my official job, this was my first time using color grading. I found it to be interesting and an effective way to convey a certain feeling within the film. There were some scenes in which the lighting was purposely edited to be a bit darker than in other portions. Those with more prominent lighting began when the main character began to become inspired by the other characters within specific scenes (i.e. the boys talking about sports). This, along with the music I chose, greatly shifted the meaning or vibe that I wanted viewers to pick up. As sound designer, I liked having this other element to play around with to get across a certain message or theme. Working with someone who has already chosen a color scheme for our next project will be exciting because we can work together to come up with a desired mood. 

There are many things I learned that I believe will allow me to improve future films. I intend to continue to use voice overs (they have definitely been my favorite thus far). Next time, I will pay more attention to filtering out excess or extremely prominent background noise that takes away from the quality of the sound. While I don't feel that the entire thing has been tainted (otherwise we would have re-done it), I do feel that there are specific scenes in which the sound quality is much better than others. I think this film served as a perfect practice for future projects because it emphasized issues regarding sound I had not previously taken into account.

Production Check #6

For our film, the next location we intend to shoot is the bowling alley. We have retrieved a release for ABC Lanes. I am excited to not only begin shooting here, but to begin collecting sound as well. I have many things planned - most of which will be in need of the use of a boom mic. The sounds I am most excited to record are bowling pins, the dropping off a bowling ball, and feet on the polished bowling alley floors (just before the lanes). Other interesting sounds could be the swivel of chairs (at the food bar where we may have our actors sit). I think these effects will add a layer of depth to the film. I intend to record lots of different sounds so as to allow each of us to have a variety to choose from when in the editing process. I do not know if music will be playing in the back of the alley, but so as to make sure we have clear sound when our actors deliver their lines, I will be using the lavalier mics. Hopefully things will go as planned, because I truly believe the sound effects within the bowling alley are bound to be the best within the film.