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.

Independent Study #5