Directions Unit - Sound Design

Today I learnt about sound design and how adding pieces of audio as one soundtrack can heighten a piece of film. If you are shooting and editing a piece of film from the image side you also will shoot and edit the sound as well concentrating on specifics like footsteps, gun shots and announcements.

A sound designer would originally be a team of editors that had no creative input in the project but after the 1970's the demand was higher due to better sound quality so it became a more important process with a sound supervisor overseeing and being mainly responsible for the films sound design. Some productions would require as many as 50 different tracks throughout a film for example action genres but more commonly they require between 5 - 20.

There are 7 Main types of tracks and the first is Dialogue. This is all the spoken parts recorded from the shoot itself unlike a voice over that would be on a separate track.

Sync is all the sound recorded from the shoot that isn't dialogue for example somebody walking.

ADR (automatic dialogue replacement) is all the dialogue that is re - recorded after the shoot. A lot of high paid Hollywood films will use ADR to make their dialogue more clean and crisper although some films don't use it to seem more authentic.

Sound FX are elements added in post to heighten what we are seeing on screen. These can be something like a car explosion to a creaky door closing.

Foley artists are people who record live sound effects using props and items to recreate the sound shown on screen for example if a horse is trotting, coconuts are usually used to bring the sound out rather than the sound on film.

Atmos is short for atmosphere. This is sound helps to heighten atmosphere from a particular location. An example of this would be a rumbling background noise and tension built by sound effects.

Music is key in almost every film. Its used mainly as non diegetic and composed to help the audience feel what they are meant to be feeling. It can also heighten emotion for example a sad part of the film will have soft strings which will add to it and can even make the audience cry. It can also be used as diegetic by music coming through a radio, record player or car stereo.

Sound is edited together just like images used on editing suits like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere or on more specialised suits like Pro Tools or Nuendo. In the final stage The Mix takes place where all the seperate tracks are mixed into one final track completing one sound track.

Directions Unit - Director Research: Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle is a well known and successful British Director. Through his life so far he has directed over 20 films and TV dramas winning many awards such as BAFTA's and Academy awards for his work. 

Born October 1956 in Manchester, England, Boyle studied drama throughout his education. After graduating Bangor University for English and Drama, he joined a theatre group called 'Joint Stock Theatre Company' where he fell in love with directing. He moved to 'The Royal Court Theatre' to direct his first play 'The Genius' before moving onto 'The Shakespear Theatre Company' to direct 5 more plays. 

In 1987 he moved on from plays and decided he wanted to direct behind a camera. This made him branch out into television starting as a producer. From there he went on to direct TV episode's such as  For The Greater Good and Inspector Morse. After watching Apocalypse Now he was inspired further and felt his heart for directing laid in films. 

In 1995 Danny Boyle released his first directed feature film called Shallow Grave, a black comedy crime film staring Ewan McGregor. This film went on to be the most commercially successful British film of the year and won the BAFTA for best film. It also showed off to production company's his many talents leading to full commission for the hit book adaptation film, Trainspotting. 

Over the years Danny has gone on to direct many more films throughout his career including Slumdog Millionaire which won Eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Main Film Credits:

Shallow Grave (1994)

Trainspotting (1996)

The Beach (2000)

28 Days Later (2002) 

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

127 Hours (2011)

T2 Trainspotting (2017)

Directing Trade Marks: 

Boyle has many trademarks that show his style and common themes he includes in the majority of his work. He is a very versatile director that has explored directing over many different genres including Drama's (Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire), Horror (28 Days Later) Thriller's (127 Hours, Shallow Grave) and Sci-Fi (Sunshine). This is unusual for a director as they typically stick to one genre but this shows the vast range between his work. 

He will often open with a scene from the middle of the film then continue from the start allowing the audience to watch the narrative unravel to that moment. A good example of this would be in Slumdog Millionaire. The film opens with the protagonist sitting in the hot seat playing the Indian television version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with one question away from winning the Million. When the scene is played it then flashes back to the start of his life and the journey he takes up to that point in his life. By doing it this way we understand what the film is about and it entices the viewer into wanting to know more of how he got there. The opening scene can be viewed below.

In terms of scoring his films they often contain at least one track that is recognisable and has been popular in chart history. A few examples are Underworld - Born Slippy (Trainspotting), All saints - Pure Shores (The Beach), M.I.A. - Paper Planes (Slumdog Millionaire), Bill Withers - Lovely Day (127 Hours), also noticeably varied in genre. He does this to connect with his audience but when he does score classically he often uses John Murphy Like in 28 Days Later and Sunshine. 

Boyle will sometimes use dreamlike sequences in his films to heighten the intensity at certain moments. This is done in train spotting numerous times to convey how the characters are feeling when high on drugs and is also done in 127 hours when the protagonist is hallucinating.

 

I chose this director to research as I believe I can learn from many elements of Danny Boyle's work. He has shown how he can adapt to an array of genres but I am focusing particularly on how he has created a very British feel to his more earlier work like Trainspotting and Shallow Grave. I love how he has created a very compelling drama's which keep viewers hooked but they also have a very real and gritty style to them. I will take this research into consideration when looking at my own work. 

Directions Unit - Locations

I will need 3 locations for my film and these include a house, an orchard and a hospital waiting room.

For the house I originally envisioned my dads house which is a large converted barn which would fit well with the characters lives it has great space which enables me to film some good camera work and reflects the background of wealth but unfortunately this is not possible anymore so rethinking I will use a house in Bearsted of another family member which gives me great scenery and will create a modern and realistic feel to the film. It also reflects a nice family home with wealth to emulate their success with money.

The hospital waiting room is going to be much more difficult since I can not film in an actual hospital so I have decided it will be filmed in one of the lecture rooms at The Maidstone Studios. Using props and rearranging furniture I should be able to show this scene is located in a hospital.

For the outdoor scene I have found a field near by which would work perfectly with what I am looking to do. I am in current contact with the owner but I'm still waiting for it to be approved.

I have thought very carefully before choosing these locations. I want the film to look genuine and for the audience to see that I have thought about the decisions I have taken in the terms of story and style. I also wanted the locations to be within reasonable distance of each other to make travel easier and to fit in with the time as I have three days to film. All my locations are located in Maidstone and have a driving distance of approximately 10 minutes apart.

Red pin - Maidstone studios

Green pin - House and Field

(6 min Driving Distance)

Directions Unit - Director Research: Tom Hooper

Tom Hooper is a British/ Australian director who directed many TV shows over the years and more recently started directing feature films. He has won many awards for his work including an Emmy, a BAFTA and an Academy Award.

Born October 1972 in London England, Hooper had a love for making short films and studied at Oxford University. Whilst he was there he loved directing short plays and managed to secure a few jobs directing Television commercials.

Once graduated he started directing tv shows including Biker grove and cold feet. After some recognition he was given the chance to direct the first two episodes of the high budget period drama, Elizabeth I which he won an Emmy for.

After he had done TV work for over 10 years and gaining success in the field, he moved on to directing feature films like The Kings Speech and Les Misérable's which had also won him and the films numerous awards.

Main Directing Credits:

Biker Grove (1997)

Eastenders (1998 - 2000)

Cold Feet (1999)

Elizabeth I (2005)

The Kings Speech (2010)

Les Misérables (2012)

The Danish Girl (2015)



Directing Trade marks:

There are many directing trade marks that Tom hooper uses. He works with hand held cameras creating the slightly shakey style to give realness and edge. This is something I can take into my own film as I want to be able to convey the seriousness of it all but make it seem gritty and as if we are actually standing there with them watching the argument unfold. With the use of handheld I can create this look giving the realism im going to try and make.

He also uses distorted wide angle lenses. although the effect looks really good I do not have the equipment or resources so I will have to use a standard lense but I like the idea of distortion so I may contrast slightly higher when it comes to shooting the film.

Directions Unit - Steve Finn - Directing workshops

Over the past few weeks we have been working with Television director Steve Finn to understand more about directing. The main thing he taught us about was blocking. This was very interesting for me as I have never realised the art and process of actually blocking a scene.

Through several workshops we were asked to read a script. From this we looked and planned on how to block the screen with the use of people on the course and props. I had a scene where it was at a dinner party and an argument was happening between two women in the kitchen. I decided to make it more interesting than two people just standing having an argument by using props for example one person was setting up the table and was putting things away in the fridge whilst talking. I also looked at the position of the people and as got them to move around the scene rather than staying in one place.

I have learnt a lot from these workshops and will take this on board when shooting my own production.

Directions Unit - Mapping My Shoot

Today I did a lot of planing to get some Ideas of where I was going with the production. I work best breaking it down with post it notes so I decided to lay out a map of the different things I needed to think about.

I broke it down by adding category headings that I needed to think about in one colour like costume, props, locations, scenes etc. I then could expand by adding notes and ideas to them in other colours helping me to understand what direction I was going in.

 I found this method very effective and I now have some understanding of what my production is going to look like. 

Directions Unit - TV Drama Research - Run

I decided to watch the series Run to help with research for my production. It's a one off British TV drama with 4 episodes focusing on one main character in each one. The series looks at how one persons actions in their life can affect another although they seem far disconnected to each other.

I particularly wanted to focus on this TV show due to its style and the way it has been filmed. The majority of it is done hand held which gives a really nice edge and gritty feel to it. It makes the program feel more real and as if you was standing there witnessing what was happening in front of you. This is something that I am highly considering using for parts of the film where I need to fit the same effect. I feel I can really tone it down and make it very serious by approaching the filming hand held.

The series uses a lot of fluorescent and white lighting which also adds to the realism. It creates the effect that they are under real street lamps and reflects the poor area where the series is set. Although it fits perfectly for this drama, I am setting mine in a more wealthier place and in a family home so I will use less white lights and more warmer lights like tungstens. The use of shadows are casted a lot in the program and this has got me thinking about if I want to use that in mine. With the back or profile of them lit up and the other side completely dark it creates a really dramatic statement of the person and I feel this could be something I could do in my production to make the characters stand out and look bold. 

Throughout the whole series there is very little in terms of non- diegetic audio. It almost gives it a documentary feel and this is not something I am trying to achieve. The one thing about this part I will take from it is the fact that when they speak with no audio it is very clear and as a viewer you listen intently to what they are saying and this could work well for when the argument takes place.

Overall this is a really interesting drama with some exciting ways I have taken from it that I feel will benefit my production

Directions Unit - Casting Call Pro Advert

I have put up an advert on the website Casting Call Pro to find two actors to play the part of Frank and April Wheeler. I explained the basic outline of the plot and the dates for when and where the filming will take place.

I have also put a precaution note that this film will involve roles that will be challenging and themes of abortion will be expressed so if actors are interested they should be comfortable with the demand the roll entails and to read the script before accepting the part. I also explained that this is not a paid role as it is a student film with a very minimal budget but they will have a copy of the final film within 6 months of completion.

I have also put up a character description so that the actors applying will know the type of person I am expecting to cast. Once I have all the applicants I will assess their show reels and cast accordingly  to who I think will be the best fit for the roles.

Directions Unit - Adapting and finalising a script

I have chosen the scenes I am going to re do for my film and the next stage was creating the script to how I envisioned it. I used a website called Celtx which is primarily used to write scripts in a professional format so that I could end up with a great product.

As I was writing the script, although I am doing this film in my own way, the content is very similar to the original scenes. The dialogue is virtually the same with a few tweaks and the visual actions are very similar but I wanted it to be like this so I could keep the story and essence of what was already created whilst filming it in a unique way to show my take on how I can adapt it.  

When writing the script, although similar to the original, I was envisioning it in my head of how I would do the shots and how I will film the actors in their new settings to create my version of the scenes which will show a great modern and more realistic view to what has already been created. 

I finally finished the script and sent it to Simon who looked over it and made sure that this was going to work filming wise and as a final piece. After a few days the script has been green lighted and I am therefore able to move forward with the process of the project. 

Directions Unit - Lighting Workshop

Today I learnt about how to light a set when shooting a scene. The main focus was about three point lighting and the different types of lights that can be used.


The three point lighting structure is one of the most effective ways to light a set.

As seen from the diagram, the first light you set up is the key light. This is the main focus light that highlights the subject the most. Typically from the front, it lights up the subject in either a soft or a harsh way and is one of the most important things to get right as it defines the tone you are trying to create.

Next is a fill light. This does as the name says and fills in the shadows not covered by the key light. Its often a softer light as otherwise the overall lighting of the set will be saturated and to bright. although it is soft, if it is too dim the key light will make the subject stand out in a dramatic way and is less realistic so its important to get the balance right for the way you are wanting to shoot.

Lastly is the back light. This light points towards the back of the subject to make sure they are not blending in to the background. It can also illuminate there hair and clothes and gives definition in shoulders so that it gives a more realistic approach.


ARRI lighting is the first type of lights that we looked at. These are a great for lighting a set and you can use three of them to create the basic yet effect 3 point lighting structure. They also have 4 shutter panels that can be added to direct the light in certain positions.

The next lights we looked at were LED Panels. These are a great additional light to add to the set. They illuminate the subject but the lights are generally whiter and not as warm as Tungsten lighting. 

Lots of things can be done to add effect to the lighting used. Foam Boards can be used to bounce light off of them creating a softer light onto the subject. It stops the light being so harsh and not as direct. Coloured gels can also be placed over the lights (particularly the ARRI lights) to create different glows and elements of colours. An example would be placing blue gel over the light to create a cooler temperature and orangey yellow will create a warmer temperature. Red, purple, orange, green and other colours can be used to add dramatic effect. 

Scrims are another thing that can be used to change the way the light hits the subject. In front of the bulb there is a slot that the scrim can be placed. We looked at the mesh ones that when put in front of the light it dims it slightly allowing the light to still have power but not as harsh. 

Below is a few Images taken of me when I had a go at 3 point lighting and how it can dramatically change a subject. 

Contextual Studies - Jessica Jones (metaphor and meaning)

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unrelated meanings that share similar characteristics for example to say stabbed in the back. Someone is not physically being stabbed in the back but its describing the feeling and is associated when someone has been talking ill of you behind your back.

An Allegory is an extended metaphor usually connected by several metaphors on more than one level, usually literal and symbolic. When looking at the film Alien it is seen as a feminist/Freudian allegory using the implied sexual metaphors and the fear of reproduction.

An Allusion is an indirect or passing reference that doesnt particularly mean to be a metaphor. Its often used as homage or nod to a related show or film inspired by past work. Similar to this is an Analogy. This is a literally comparision without further meaning whereas a metaphor is more detailed.


Metaphors in TV and film will nearly always be a visual representation in a way of symbols and references without being too complicated. They are broken down if there are to many to obtain in one go but there is enough detail to understand and regonise.

With Jessica Jones (the 13 part netflix drama series) it contains a very dominant narrative about power and control between characters. It contains rape, PTSD, child abuse, addiction and superpowers to interpretate the trauma and struggle going on in a characters head. The series uses mind control to symbolise abusive relationships. When Jessica has her PTSD visions of a man licking her face then disapearing it shows the control he has over her from a previous abusing relationship.

With addiction we see it mainly through substae abuse giving the metaphor of control and loss of control. Jessica uses alcohol as a coping method and former soldier Simpson abuses red coloured pills that give him super powers. Also Jessica's friend is a drug addict. With surveillanve there is a lot of evidence that this is used through metaphors throughout the series. There is a lot of voyeurism  and with her job as a private detective this is linked to stalking and reading people's actions.

Directions Unit - Testing my Ideas

Today I showed a group of people at the university my ideas for the production I am planning to shoot. I explained who the director was and the history of his work and credits. This gave the group an idea of who he was at what sort of films he had produced. I then explained the style and trade marks he has including his common theme of a disfunctional family and his dream like cinematography.

After the group had a good idea of my director and the way he films, I showed them a compilation of clips that I am looking to recreate. This went down very well as they said there is a good balance between dialogue and visionary scenes as well as strong and compeling content.

Although the group felt this would be a great idea they were all in agreement that this would need to be done sensitivly and as proffesionally as posible to make it work. I have taken these comments on board and I will ensure I cast the right actors in order for the production to carry through at its best. Although the seen is mature and strong I believe with the right camera directions, casting and editing (particularly with the non diegetic audio) I can produce this project effectivly.

Directions Unit - Presenting My Director and My Scene

Sam Mendes

How It all Started

Sam Mendes is one of the most succesful British directors of modern times. Born in 1965, in Reading, he was the only child in the family and had a love for english writing, possibly influenced by his mother who was an author for childrens books. When at University he joined the Marlowe Society and directed several play's which sparked his love for it. After graduating with a first in English, by the age of 24 he was directing his first west end play and went on to direct many more before continuing his work into films. 

Directing Credits

Here are a few of his most notable work where he was credited as a Director.

Theatre -

Oliver! (1994 - London Palladium)

The Blue Room (1998 - Donmar Warehouse) 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013 - Theatre Royal, Drury Lane)

Film -

American Beauty (1999)

Road to Perdition (2002)

Jarhead (2005)

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Away We Go (2009)

Skyfall (2012)

Spectre (2015) 

American Beauty was his debut film which recieved great praise from critics. It went on to win many awards included a Golden Globe, BAFTA's and the Academy Award (Oscar) for best director. As well as Directing he also produced films and television aswell. 

Directing Style
Sam Mendes films are nearly all drama's. Aside from the two James bond films a general trend in his work is focusing on the struggles of family, particulary in the middle class. An example of this would be in American Beauty, it focuses on the Burnham family as Lester (Father and Husband of the household) goes through a mid-life crisis. Revolutionary Road shows the issues of Frank and April Wheeler as they reach for a life long dream of moving to Paris but children and Frank's job make it more and more difficult. Lastly Road to Perdition is a gangster film which shows a mob enforcer who takes revenge on another memeber who has killed his family whilst bringing up his son at the same time.



In terms of editing styles, Mendes commonly opens with narration at the start of a film and some of them end with narration too. In American Beauty, Jarhead and Road to Perdition they all do this helping the story to come full circle.

Road to Perdition - opening and ending

Jarhead - Opening

Jarhead - Ending

American Beauty Opening

American Beauty Ending

He also has many dream like sequences in his films as well as long drawn out panning shots to give dramatic effect. This happens frequently as a reveal showing the audience the whole picture as more of the scene comes into the frame. With sound he generally works with Thomas Newman for a theatrical and haunting score which often drowns out all diegetic sounds in points to create effect and feel the emotion he is trying to create.


My Scene
To emulate a piece of Sams work I chose something that trademarks Sam in nearly all his films. This is a dramatic ending that creates impact and leaves views talking about that moment after they have watched it. I have taken 3 clips and put them together. The first sets up the situation they are in followed by the remaining 2 to create a powerful ending.

The clip contains a vast amount of different camera angles and editing and I wanted to create my version of this. Although the story and its content will be similar I wanted to shoot it my way creating it in a modern setting of England with a different vision of camera work and cinematography creating a more realistic approach.