Photography by Connor Fieldsend
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
Films that considered sound recording
Birdman (2014) - Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Sound recording by: Adam Sanchez
Birdman is a film about an actor (Michael Keaton) that is making his comeback by directing and starring in a Broadway play. The film is shot as a continuous take but is cut in some scenes (invisible editing). The boom operator would be present in the rehearsals of the scenes as the operator would need to know where to place the mic at what time. The operator would be as important as the cameraman. If the boom operator did not know where he should place the mic it would cause a problem in post-production; some dialogue would be quieter than the rest of good capture dialogue.
In Stubborn I would ask the director to go through the scenes about three times to get what movement I would have to make to capture the best sound possible. Sound is important and I need to same level of sound capturing for each character, location, subject etc.
In Stubborn I would ask the director to go through the scenes about three times to get what movement I would have to make to capture the best sound possible. Sound is important and I need to same level of sound capturing for each character, location, subject etc.
Hunger (2009) - Directed by: Steve McQueen
Hunger has one of longest takes in film history. The conversation between characters Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender & Father Dominic Moran (Liam Cunningham) lasts 17 minutes. I appreciate the sound operator as he/she had one of the biggest tasks of not getting the boom pole in the shot. We can see that radio mics were not used as Bobby is shirtless and I'm sure Father Dominic is not wearing one also. Again, the rehearsal of the shoot would have boom operator heavily involved as if the boom is in shot then they would have had to start again.
Lost River (2015) - Directed by: Ryan Gosling
Sound recording by: Gail Carroll-Cole
Lost River used sound recording in a very interesting way. I went to a Q&A with Ryan Gosling & Matt Smith back in April, they revealed some interesting way of capturing sound and recording Automated dialogue replacement (ADR). Actor Matt Smith recorded some ADR off his iPhone to give the film a more experimental & more personal feel. I think the ambient sound in Matt Smith's narration created realism for the viewer, even though some audience members would not of noticed it. Having watched Lost River again after the Q&A, I did notice some unconventional techniques for a feature film by a well-known Hollywood actor. Ryan Gosling was inspired by the likes of David Lynch, Derek Cianfrance and Nicolas Winding Refn.
Source: imdb.com
Source: imdb.com
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Stubborn Script - My notes
Audio
equipment needed:
·
Zoom H4N
·
XLR Cable
·
Rode boompole
·
Shock Mount
·
Rode shotgun
mic
·
SD Card 16g
·
Batteries AAA
x2
Sound recorder script
notes
All rights reserved
‘Stubborn’
By
Connor
Fieldsend
Pre-Title Scene (No sound for this
but ambient sound for Post)
INT.
Multistory car park
The man walks up a flight of
stairs.
Post-Titles
EXT. Park
bench (location depends on availability)
[Revise script for recording. Only one Zoom H4N will be used and I
will need to get the best quality audio I can for post-production. The script will
be revised so I will know where to move the shotgun mic at what time This is
one location.]
Man
no.1 enters the frame from the right after the camera tracks towards the park
bench and halts at a wide shot, the man sits down.
Man
no.2 enters from the left a few seconds later, sits down on the left of the
bench. He lights a cigarette and taps his foot anxiously as he looks toward the
house he’s just walked from. Mumbled chitchat is heard in the background.
Man no.1
What’s
wrong? Nobody’s looking
Man
no.2 turns back to Man no.1 and slowly offers him a cigarette.
Man no.1
You know
I can’t smoke, that escaped your memory?
Man
no.2 breathes out a puff of smoke, heavily.
Speaking
softly
Man no.2
You’re
such a stubborn shit.
Ignoring
his remarks, Man no.1 carries on.
Man no.1
So what
got you smoking again after vowing so much last time not to?
Man
no.2 pauses, looks at him in wonder.
Man no.2
You did!
And all this funeral bollocks!
Man no.1
Shit
reason. Next.
Man
no.1 shakes his head.
Man no.1 (CONT’D)
Why would
I make you smoke again? Your own brother?
Man
no.2 frowns and leans towards him.
Man no.2
Are you
serious… Because you’re leaving us all behind. Your family.
Man
no.2 regains his posture.
Man no.2 (CONT’D)
You’re at
least coming with us to the funeral before you go.
Man
no.1 turns away from him, looks at the house. Quiet.
Pauses.
Apologizes bluntly.
Man no.1
Sorry.
Man
no.2 turns away from him. Has a puff of his cigarette.
Man no.2
No you’re
not.
He
turns to man no.1.
Man no.2 (CONT’D)
You have
it all now. No troubles, plights, enemies… parents. You don’t even have a life.
Man
no.1 lowers his head and grins.
Man no.1
Very
funny… Christ, you smell like an ashtray!
Wafts
the smoke dramatically.
Man no.2
Yeah?
Like I give a shit what you think. You didn’t even wanna be here.
Man
no.1 looks amused.
Man no.1
Remember
when we were younger and you used to run up to nan and steal her fags then snap
them in two, calling ‘em ‘nasty-cigs!’
Man
no.2 laughs under his breath. Taps the cigarette ash.
Man no.2
Not as
funny as when you were 8… eyeing up Arnie’s arse cheeks on The Terminator,
proper leaning towards the telly. Gay boy.
Man
no.1 replies swiftly.
Man no.1
Yeah
well, that phase never stopped.
They
both laugh.
Man no.2
I can
remember seeing you playing Terminator when you were in year three and
shouting, “bring me Sarah Connor!” I tried to tell people you weren’t my
brother ‘cause you were embarrassing me so much.
Man
no.1 smiles.
Man no.1
Christ,
those were the days. I always shouted to Mr. Daniels that ‘I’ll be back’ every
time I went for a piss.
He
remembers something; smiles widely.
Man no.1 (CONT’D)
Remember
how Mum used to always love parents evening because Mr. Daniels would be there.
She basically cheated on dad with her mind.
Man
no.2 shows a small grin.
Man no.2
I can’t
remember that as much, we were three years apart in school. Remember?
Man
no.1 shrugs.
Man no.1
Ohhh
yeah. I guess time’s not a big part of my life anymore… you could say.
Man
no.1 looks down. Man no.2 lets out a deep, shaking breath out of sudden
frustration and anger. Man no.1 looks up and notices, but doesn’t say anything;
he just looks at him.
Man no.2
Can you
not just tell me why you’re not coming to the funeral, please?
Man
no.1 replies quickly.
Man no.1
I’m
scared how they’re gonna react, alright?
He
wipes his eyes. Man no.2 shakes his head in more frustration; says nothing. He
puffs the last bit of smoke from his cigarette, stubs it out, and quickly
produces a new one from his packet. His hands are trembling as he lights it up.
He finally replies to man no.1 in a quiet, vicious tone.
Man no.2
You
didn’t see mum and dad during the few days after it happened; they were crying,
I mean really. Fucking. Distraught, Ben.
The
camera focuses on Ben’s (man no.1)
pale skin.
Man no.1
Whole
truth?
Man
no.2 gives a stubborn reply.
Man no.2
Yes. Yes.
Man
no.1 stays silent for a brief moment.
Man no.1
Fine, I
guess I’ll go. But only if you promise that I’ll see how regretful mum and dad
are when they treated me like that. To them, I was like the Antichrist for
liking men. They never believed in what choices I made; only in that twat with
sandals in the sky.
Man no.2
But they
were speechless when they found you. And so was I, you selfish prick.
Man
no.1 looks down. Man no.2 softens up and closes his hand over man no.1’s
shoulder. Man no.2 lets out a deep breath. Man no.1 nods and says nothing; he’s
agreed to go to the funeral. Man no.2 smiles wanly, his head is down.
Man no.2 (CONT’D)
I love
you, Ben.
Brief Cutaway (flashback)
Man
no.1 steps up onto the ledge of the building.
Return to the main scene
Man
no.1 speaks in a silent and soft tone of voice.
Man
I’ll
always be there for ya.
After
the camera switches to a wide shot opposite the two characters on the table
(different to the regular wide shot seen beforehand), another man, wearing all
black, approaches the bench/table. He’s silent and walking slowly until he
reaches the two people. He speaks in a low voice to man no.2; ignoring man no.1
completely.
Man no.3 (Man no.2’s best friend)
You
ready, mate?
Man
no.2 finishes and stubs out his cigarette.
Man no.2
Yeah.
Man
no.2 gets up from the table and walks away with his friend (man no.3), leaving man
no.1 behind at the bench/table. He doesn’t look bothered at all.
Brief cutaway (flashback)
Man
no.1 jumps off the ledge.
Return to the main scene
Man
no.2 continues to walk away from the table. The camera looks back at the table
and shows that there’s nobody sat there, despite man no.1 being there moments
ago.
Fade into black; credits role (the
end)
Revelation: Throughout the film,
the shoes that man no.1 is wearing are the same ones as the man who commits
suicide in the flashbacks (wearing the same clothes). The person that man no.2
has been talking to throughout the film was dead, and he knew he was dead because
they’re siblings and man no.2 loved him the most even when he came out to his
religious parents and they partially and indirectly resulted in his suicide.
Extra Note: the cutaways for the build-up to the suicide don’t
have to be implying the jumping off of a ledge, as this was the first idea.
There could be other cutaway scenes depicting a different suicide instead, with
possibly a bottle of pills or a bloody razor, just to allow for interior shots
in the flashbacks (cutaways).
How to use Zoom H4N
Using on the device
- Turn monitor off (when possible). Having it on for long period of time could interfere with the recording.
- When recording in 'mono' press 2 & 3 on the left of the device. Go into menu by using the scroller on the right.
What the numbers on the left mean:
2-Microphone (output)
3-Microphone (output)
Select '1' (input) on the device
A Microphone goes into Part 1 for recording sound.
'Phatom' power needs to be on to make the microphone work.
Click 'Rec' to format the sound files.
Always Rec format - WAV48KHZ when working with video
Also select 24bit in the menu
Select '1' (input) on the device
- Make sure Mono mix is off
- 1/2 mix in the menu is off
(In that order)
A Microphone goes into Part 1 for recording sound.
'Phatom' power needs to be on to make the microphone work.
Click 'Rec' to format the sound files.
Always Rec format - WAV48KHZ when working with video
Also select 24bit in the menu
Note - you may want to reformat the device when you use it to swipe any audio which is not
apart of your project.
Information taught in University seminars 2014/2015
Rite (2010)
Directed by: Michael Pearce
The Father character is the main protagonist who is seen as a working-class British man who loves football. The son character is a 'alternative' person who is the opposite of his Father. In the film we sees the Dad trying to connect with his son by asking questions about his appearance and whatnot. I found this interesting about the dialogue is very realistic and the audience does see that the Dad is trying to understand and connect with his son. The young man is very quiet with his Dad as they don't have much in common and this shows throughout. The son hints his sexuality to his Dad but the script does this so subtly and it feels very refreshing in the style this is done in. What I felt was surprising was how the Dad kept the news of his son's preferences in sexual relations; his son answers 'Black'. Despite the film not going down the race route, I was surprised that the Dad did not kick off with the answer because of who the Dad character seems to be a typical middle aged person that would care about his son being involved with a person of a different race. This is probably my own ignorance that came up with this suggestion, I will try not to judge a book by its cover.
Some of the scenes in Rite fit well into the typical British Hooligan films that have made a presence known since 2008, The extras in the pub had the biggest impact on me and I enjoyed looking at the realism they gave. Each one of them looked like they along there and made the scene seem believable.
The use and not so use of sound in Rite was impressive. The scenes in the interior of the were brilliantly recorded and again I'm praising the dialogue for it's realism and fluency. There is a particular scene in the short film where the Dad picks a fight with one of the locals in the pub toilet to show the audience his anger about losing the football tickets. The scene did not feature any sound, however without it it felt more violent than it would be with it.
The conclusion of the film is of the Dad accepting his son's sexuality and taking responsibility for the people he cares about and the choices he has made. This is a well crafted realization short film that delivers a strong message.
Some of the scenes in Rite fit well into the typical British Hooligan films that have made a presence known since 2008, The extras in the pub had the biggest impact on me and I enjoyed looking at the realism they gave. Each one of them looked like they along there and made the scene seem believable.
The use and not so use of sound in Rite was impressive. The scenes in the interior of the were brilliantly recorded and again I'm praising the dialogue for it's realism and fluency. There is a particular scene in the short film where the Dad picks a fight with one of the locals in the pub toilet to show the audience his anger about losing the football tickets. The scene did not feature any sound, however without it it felt more violent than it would be with it.
The conclusion of the film is of the Dad accepting his son's sexuality and taking responsibility for the people he cares about and the choices he has made. This is a well crafted realization short film that delivers a strong message.
Saturday, 18 April 2015
Jungle (2015)
Directed by: Karim Huu Do
The story involves around Drake overcoming his success and how it has impacted his life ever since. Throughout the short, Drake is beginning his journey through coming back home and adjusting to the star he has become. We see this story through Drake's eyes, seeing the people of his hometown (Toronto) living their everyday lives without no problem. The montage shows the individuals home life,work life and the most importantly the privacy they have. One of the most powerful shots of the montage is a woman crying, the audience has no understanding of why she is crying but the deeper meaning that she can show emotion, unlike Drake who is always in the public eye.
The short starts off with a black screen with the noise of paparazzi clanging the name Drake with the additional sound of flash photography. Seconds later Drake appears on screen and shuts the door which transitions to a cut-away of Drake calmly sitting in the backseat of his car being drove around by chauffeur. The reason that I refer to the opening sequence is the use of sound; the audience never actually see the paparazzi but the sound design is effective enough that it seems believable. Furthermore about the sound, there are several scenes that take place in an interior of a car; the quality of the dialogue was impressive as it was very clear.
Source: http://octobersveryown.blogspot.co.uk/
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Treatment
Treatment
- The Other Side of Matthew Street
We are creating a documentary about Eric’s Club in Liverpool. within our documentary
we intend to focus on how Eric’s
club was able to create its own music scene after following the aftermath of
the Beatles and succeeded in hosting some of the well known artists in history.
The documentary is going to be heavily
interview based with all narration done by interviewee’s such as Ken Tetsi (Former co-owner), Keith Mullin (Guitarist from ‘The Farm’), Doreen Allen (Cloakroom attendant) and Jem Kelly (Former member
of ‘The Lotus Eaters’). We
also
intend to film in the new Eric’s
Live although the owner does not have any connection to the previous club we
would to film in there to have a contrast of how it was to how it is now with
possibly archive footage from interviewee’s. We will be filming the interviews at Liverpool Institution for
Performing Arts (LIPA) with Keith as he is a lecturer there and at The Magnet
which is the oldest club in Liverpool founded in 1958 as Doreen performs one of
her club nights there. Some GV of interesting parts of Liverpool like the
exterior of the cavern + Eric’s
and possibly around the centre or places interviewee’s reference along with shots now relevant or have similar
characteristics to that of the era of Erics.
|
QTY
|
DESCRIPTION
|
NOTES
|
|
1
|
Canon 650D
|
55mm lens
Macro Wide
angled lens
FLD Filter
CPL Filter
UV Filter
(All personal
kit)
|
|
1
|
Shoulder Mount
|
|
|
1
|
Canon
XF100
|
Canon
Wide angle 23.4mm Lens
2x
Batteries
Mains
Charger
USB
Cable
|
|
1
|
Audio
Technica AT8015
|
|
|
1
|
Zoom
H4N
|
Digital
SD card
Headphones
|
|
1
|
Tripod
|
|
|
1
|
Dedo
DLH4 Kit
|
3x
DLH4 light
3x
Stands
3x
Barn Doors
3x
Fader
|
|
Job
role
|
Allocated
Personnel
|
Contact
number
|
|
Producer
|
Tom
Woods
|
07403
449621
|
|
Director
|
Tony
Ansell
|
07527
212150
|
|
Camera
operator
|
Oli
Maclellan
|
07443
571190
|
|
Sound
Recordist
|
Connor
Fieldsend
|
07469
202480
|
|
Editor
|
Jake
Aguilar-Friend
|
|
|
Sound
Editor
|
Connor
Fieldsend
|
07469
202480
|
Legal and ethical
Copyright to the music we will be using ‘Revolutionary Spirit’ by the Wild Swans
from Zoo Records.
Health and safety
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