The use of sound in films

What role does sound play in film-making ?

Sound plays a very large role in the film industry today. We cannot underestimate the importance of sound in films . There are three different types of sound used in film : The human voice, sound effects and music. Sound is used in film to heighten a mood, provide us with information about the location of a scene, advance the plot and tell us about the characters in the story.

A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film.
Some films which are considered to have the best scores/ soundtracks are: Lord of the rings, The Sound of Music, Saturday Night Fever, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs etc.

In the short thriller film I will be making I will be using a variety of different sounds to create different moods and effects throughout, and to provide us with detailed thorough information about the characters .
For example we will be using dialogue in the film to provide clues and information about the characters. This is also to prevent confusion for the audience. The dialogue spoken will be used and expressed in different tones . For example words may be spoken with more aggression than others because it is a thriller and tension will want to be made to entice the audience to continue watching.
In our film, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds will also be used . The type of non-diegetic sounds that will be added will create a sinister effect. This is the type of effect we would want the audience to experience as it fits the story plot of a psychological thriller and will make their nerves tingle.  These sound effects will add to the mood of the audience and will provide us with more detailed information about the location at where it is being filmed. For example at the end when the van door shuts quickly, we want their to be a very loud bang which will create a mysterious effect of being trapped.
The type of music we have planned to use in our thriller film will hopefully make people fall to the edge of their seat . We want the music in our film to be very successful . We ideally want the music to change throughout when different things occur to create different moods. For example when the girl gets captured in our film and people are hunting for her , we want the music to get deeper and faster . This is to create an effect for the audience of a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. We also want the music to help signal to the audience that she is in great danger .

ONE PAGE PITCH

One Page Pitch

Working title: Behind the mask

Length: 120 minutes

Deathly Wish Productions

Thriller type:  Psychological thriller

Target Audience: 15-40 years old and both sexes


Even though we have a specific age category for our film, it is oblivious to know that people in society won't follow it, meaning that some people below and maybe the majority above will more than likely watch it . We know that ere will be people from a range of different backgrounds, cultures, lifestyles, incomes and levels of education. Potentially our audience is mainly going to be from a high level of education as we understand that generally the higher educated are mainly more mature and will process the meaning of our film and the seriousness of it . Personally we don't think our film is for a serious film goer who goes to film festivals and occasionally the art-house theatre as it's a really serious matter that occurs frequently in society life today.

Our tagline will be : Will she ever return?

We have chosen this tagline purely to put the audience in suspense and to leave them with the rhetorical question, this creates a red herring and a narrative enigma, and this could build up more tension for the film itself let alone the topic.

A what if ?

What if a murderer escaped prison and he ran to Pilsley through Tupton where he becomes quite manipulative and can persuade people to follow and do things for him, then suddenly a survivor or an escape has reported his crimes and caution has been taken.

The story synopsis: Receiving nasty threats, all on oovoo talking about the stranger who is messaging her . I meet a random male and then out of no where a man drives up to me in a van . The male pushes me and mugs me . I get kidnapped.

Visual Realisation: We know of many different films that have explored the territory of the psychological thriller 'Lovely bones'. This is where we get our main ideas from as it involves kidnapping .  However ours won't take be situated around a school, as we will be situating ours in many different places such as Pilsley, the 5 pits trail, a van , etc.

The reason we chose this specific topic for our film is for many reasons one of them being that it is incredibly important that we get across to civilians in society that messaging/meeting people is very dangerous in real life today . We chose to do this as a film rather than a TV series because I feel like there are many TV dramas in this period and some previous, illustrating the point we are trying to tell everyone but attempting mix it up a little . Even though this particular matter is always reiterated by many different film production companies and TV dramas, but we feel that by young children creating and thinking o this serious matter shows that potentially even though the younger generation don't show any interest in the subject, it doesn't mean they don't take into account the seriousness of the situation.

Lighting

Lighting in film

There are many different types of lighting used in the making of films. This is to create certain feelings for the audience and effects. Different types of lighting are used in different types of films, depending on what genre it is . For example, some types of lighting are listed below:
- 3 point Lighting (back light, key light, fill light)
- Artificial Lighting
- High Key Lighting
- Low Key Lighting
- Back lighting
- Underlighting

As a group, we managed to take some great pictures of some different types of lighting :

NATURAL LIGHTING

Natural light is just the lighting that is beaming down from the sun, enabling everything to stand out in fabulous colours and tones.

LOW KEY LIGHTING

The lower the key light the more shadowy the effect. The shadows created by LOW-KEY LIGHTING work well in mysteries and horror films such lighting has become a convention of those genres.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING

We used a blue lense to create this shadowy, mysterious effect on our model Lauren. It is a deliberate use of lighting to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect.

HIGH KEY LIGHTING

High Key Lighting is used to create a brighter effect . High key lighting is often used in comedies and musicals to enhance a sense of liveliness and happiness.

Screenplays and scripts

What is a screenplay?
A screenplay is just the script of a film that can be used as a short, brief guide to follow instructions. This includes a detailed description about the setting, locations and stage directions. These are always written during the pre-production stage of the making of a movie.

What is a screenwriter?
A screenwriter is just the person that writes the screenplay with thorough detail. They must always include the basic outline of the film on the screenplay that can be simply and easily followed by the rest of the movie crew for example: Directors, Producers, Editors, Cinematographers . Screenwriters always have to meet their strict deadlines with high standard work.

What is the difference between a script and a screenplay?

Most people just think and assume that scripts are only used in theatre production and screenplays are used in the film industry . A screenplay is always written to be played on a screen. For example a movie, television or computer screen. But a script can be written for more things such as : a movie, television, computer screen, stage plays, video games and radio programmes .

A screenplay is a script for a film that includes acting instructions and scene directions. A screenplay is usually written in a 90-120 written document written in the font Courier 12pt on "8 1/2 x 11". It is written in this same font every time because its a timing issue. One formatted script page in Courier font equals roughly one minute of screen time.

A screenplay can be an original piece, based on a true story or a previously written piece, like a novel, stage play or a newspaper article .

Professionals that work on the set for example: Film directors, producers, set designers, and actors all translate the screenwriters vision using their own individual talents.

How to write a screenplay/script?

When writing a screenplay and a script you have to include the location, setting and time of day that it will be filmed. This gives the audience the geographic location and era in which the story takes place. By clearly describing the location and place that the film is taking place, it will immediately engage the audience in the plot so they won't wonder where and when the story takes place.

In screenplays, key characters are introduced and a short description about who they are and what they look like is also used. This is so the audience gets a brief idea about who they are, this is to stop confusion. Key dialogue between characters and details about their actions and expressions are put on a screenplay. This is so the actors and producers of the film don't get mixed up and confused about what they have to do next. Details about different camera shots/angles/movement are also used and put on screenplays. This is to avoid confusion and to be used as a simple guide that can be followed for direction about what comes next.

Jaws Screenplay:

"Jaws" has to be one of the most famous, popular, well-known horror thrillers ever made. The American thriller film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. The storyline of 'Jaws' is that there is a giant man-eating great white shark that is frequently attacking people that are visiting the beach on Amity Island, a fictional New England summer resort town. The local police chief, a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter all go on the search hunting for the vigorous creature.

I have studied the opening scene of the 1975 Steven Spielberg production 'Jaws'. This gave me a clear insight as to how the scene follows the screenplay . The screenplay for the well-known film was written by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. The video below is the opening scene clip that I have studied called "Chrissie's Last Swim'.

Have a quick watch and see what you think...

The photographs below are images of the 'Jaws' screenplay that I have studied. I have annotated them with brief notes to widen my understanding about screenplays, especially this one.

Have a quick read and see what you think..

It is clear that from the first page of the screenplay there is a large focus on the setting . For example "blue light in the center of the picture" and "The quaint little resort town". These settings are described with a large amount of detail. As well as this, it is clear from the screenplay sound is an important aspect as that is mentioned a couple of times on the first page of the script e.g "Sound of the inner spaces rushing forward".

Another thing that I have learnt from the script is what 'EXT and 'INT' mean. These are used as short codes to describe location. 'EXT' means exterior which means outside , and 'INT' means interior which in other words means inside. 'EXT' is mentioned a couple of times on the first page of the screenplay, this suggests that some of it is filmed outside.

It is evident that the different camera shots, angles and movements used also are very important in the screenplay. They are located on the left hand side , mainly on the second page of the screenplay, alongside with numbers which mean a change in scene or a new location.

What's changed from the screenplay to the film?

Usually in the production of any film/movie screenplays are only used as a guide, not to be followed completely with no changes or add-on's being made. Sometimes certain scenes are added to create suspense, tension or to help build the characteristics of a particular individual. In addition to that, sometimes scenes are cut out to minimise and shorten time if its too long . Also extra scenes may be added to extend time if running low . Some camera shots are not added in the actual opening scene that are mentioned in the screenplay. For example on page two of the screenplay, there is apparently a close up shot in scene 6 of Cassidy trying to kiss Christina. However, from the opening scene it doesn't actually seem to happen. The film director may have thought that this scene was unnecessary and wasn't worth putting in.

Also within the opening scene, Christina hangs on a buoy to try and save herself , however in the screenplay, there is no mentioning of this actually happening and 'buoy' isn't mentioned either. This is added to create a hopeful feeling for the audience ,however this doesn't last long because Jaws attacks her shortly after.

Conventions of the Thriller Films Genre

ABOUT THRILLER FILMS

The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, gaming and television having numerous sub-genres.    A thriller film usually consists of a battle between the protagonist (the leading character or one of the main characters) and the antagonist (a person who competes/struggles against). The aim of thriller films is to keep the audience alert/awake and on the edge of their seats . The story shows a chain of bad events that keep happening throughout , this builds up tension and suspense for the climax. The aim of the protagonist is to restore justice, while the antagonist seeks to destroy it . There are many different types of thriller films, for example: Action thrillers, horror thrillers, psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, romantic thrillers, supernatural thrillers and more.

Low key lighting is frequently used in thriller films. This is because it produces dark shadows on screen, creating a sinister tone. It also creates a sense of horror and spook for the audience . Low key lighting is created using the key and back lights. When they are used together they create a sharp contrast between light and dark areas on screen. This creates dark shadows which is a common technique used to make thriller films. This is because they create dark tones. The image below taken from a South Korean mystery thriller shows how the dark and light tones contrast from each other creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Top lighting is used to make thriller films seem eerie and spooky. Top lighting is where light is placed above the object of character. This is a useful technique when features of a figures face want to be highlighted so they stand out more to the audience watching . It has been frequently used in horror thrillers in the past to create an eerie and sinister effect on the subject the light has been directed on. The image below shows an example of a top lighting shot that has been taken.

Quick cuts are used all of the time in thriller movies. Quick cuts are used to speed up the pace of the film. Thrillers also often use quick cuts to create tension for the audience. It can be used to convey a lot of information very quickly. In thriller films , quick cuts are used mainly in action sequences. It is the most used convention in thriller and the most effective convention. The fast cuts lead the audience to think that there is some sort of danger, but it doesn't allow them to get the full picture. It creates confusion for the audience and leads to the asking of questions.

Tension music is used in thriller films to bring the audience into the movie, and feel like they are the ones actually experiencing the danger and suspense for themselves. Tension music can also be used in thriller films as a build up to something that might happen or is going to happen. It makes the audience quite confused and ask frequent questions as they don't know if they're expecting something or not.

Diegetic sound of breathing creates an eerie realistic effect for the audience watching. It helps the audience actually feel like they are in the film, experiencing what actually is happening . It creates tension for the viewer and an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Changes in the angles of shots is also frequently used in thriller films. For example, a lot of close up shots and extreme close ups of the protagonist character are filmed. This is to show their emotions, it can also be used to focus on props to aid the narrative. The shots of the antagonistic character will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity e.g a shot of the back of them or a silhouette . Reveal shots are often used in thriller films because they build tension using dark, deep sound effects and music making the audience question what is going to happen next  .

There are many different types of thriller films. Some genre types of thriller films are written below with a brief description about what they are and what they are usually about  :

Action thriller:

These types of thriller movies are jam-packed with action that forces you to the edge of your seat. All thriller movies aim to keep you entertained by having a spectacular storyline and an unusual twist to them. The plots of most action thrillers are the same most of the time. They usually contain one of the following: Terrorists, psychopaths, exploration and crime fighting .

Plots written for thrillers usually include heroes, villains, guns and other weapons. Most action forms contain moderate forms of gore and violence such as fight sequences, wars violence, torture and more. Some examples of Action thrillers that have been made are :

Horror thrillers-

Horror thrillers are probably the most famous type of thriller going out there . This focuses on suspense tension and adrenaline whilst having emphasis of fear. Most of the time horror thrillers contain elements of supernatural genre. Some famous productions of horror thrillers are :

 Insidious, The Conjuring, Saw and The Exorcist.

Saw

The conjuring

The Exorcist

Insidious

Psychological thrillers

Psychological thrillers are thriller stories which emphasize the abnormal psychological states of its characters. Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements of and overlap with mystery, drama, action and horror (particularly psychological horror). They are usually books or films. They are usually suspenseful movies and books emphasizing the psychology of its characters rather than the plot; this sub-genre of thriller movie or book. Some psychological thrillers are listed that you may know/be familiar with:
Black Swan, Seven, Gone Girl.

The Fall- textual analysis for Gender

Gender Analysis

^ Please click the following above to view my gender textual analysis ^

Although I completed this as part of my study of the representation of gender for my AS exam, it is relevant to the my coursework as, in planning for this, I will need to consider how the representation of gender is constructed through the use of camera shots, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. This will hopefully enable me to represent characters in a variety of different ways in my film opening.

Evaluation of preliminary task continued ..

What was some feedback that you received from other groups?

Many groups told us that the colour correction in our preliminary task was very good and was one of the best things we did in our video . We increased the saturation and the light intensity which made the colours seem slightly brighter . This is a way of enticing the audience to continue watching because its unusual and different . The same colour was used continually throughout which meant there wasn't a continuity error to do with this .
We were also told that a strength of our preliminary task was the upbeat music at the end. This music comes on as we all walk out the door. The music fits in well with the name "Party Talk". Parties are usually meant to be a loud, upbeat place where there is lots of dancing . We added this music to create a lively effect . Groups told us that it made the video seem more exciting.
We were also told that the rolling script at the end and the fading in/out title at the start made the video seem realistic and very creative .

Some groups told us that the overall video was edited well, however we could have been more creative and open minded about the storyline instead of picking something basic to follow . They said we should've been more creative and imaginative as this would've led us to explore different things.
We were also told that we could've made it slightly longer as our video was snappy, short and over very quickly, approximately a minute . We didn't manage to squeeze in a 180 degree rule shot either and we missed out some camera angle shots because of the timing and how quick it was over .
Another negative was that apparently you couldn't hear us very well in the video. This comment will encourage us to be louder in future videos that we will make, however it could have been a camera recording fault.



Evaluate your contribution to the groups work

As a member of this group, I had quite a few contributions towards our preliminary task video. The first included actually starring in the filming as a main character and helping come up with the ideas needed to make our work the best it could possibly be. I was extremely flexible with this and was open to new ideas, and ways we could improve the task even more. I have learned how to stay confident in front of the camera when being filmed, which is a key skill to have in media as you are constantly filming and creating new video tasks . My one key criticism of this part of the task would definitely be that although we were confident with the camera, there is potential to be better and more flexible with the camera without stuttering, giggling, wasting time and forgetting what to say. 
Another contribution towards the preliminary task that I made was editing the video . This was my favourite part as it allowed me to be creative, explore different techniques and become familiar with the software we were using. I used the software Adobe Premiere Pro to do this and managed to add slide transitions, rolling credits at the end , opening titles and altering the saturation/colour of our mise-en scene. The skill I have gained from this is definitely the ability to edit videos whether that includes changing certain aspects of the clip, adding certain/different effects or cutting out pieces of film that weren't of any use or relevant to keep. This will benefit me greatly in the future when I come to use the software again. It has enabled me to go a certain depth by exploring the basic editing techniques . This will now allow me to explore and develop better editing techniques for future videos as I am now familiar with how the software works and how to use it .

Preliminary task evaluation video

This is our evaluation video that answers the following questions :

- What have you learned during the making of your preliminary task.
-  What were the areas of success?
- What were the areas of development ?
- How well did you meet the brief?

Preliminary task video

After about 2 to 3 weeks working on our final preliminary task video that consisted of storyboarding, filming, editing, alternating ideas and more etc we finally got it finished and in before the deadline. For more detailed information on this task, see other posts :  'We had to do the preliminary task twice', 'Evaluation on our preliminary task' and 'Storyboard for our preliminary task'.

Enjoy!

We had to do the preliminary task twice ..

We filmed two different videos for our preliminary task. This is because the first time round , we were slightly unsure on how to use the digital camera . We couldn't find the recording button to begin filming  so we ended up capturing lots or random photos and videos . When we got back to the classroom to put the video together we realised we never took any correct videos so we had to go and film it all over again. This was actually beneficial . This was because it improved our filming and directing skills . We eventually managed to the pull the video together and complete it for the deadline .

Storyboard for preliminray task

This is a photograph of my storyboard that I have completed. This storyboard gives a short, brief explanation about what my preliminary task is about, who it involves and what happens during this short video . This storyboard enables me to stick to the plan of the preliminary task and reminds me of what happens on different scenes and which characters are involved. However the storyboard writing is very hard to see and read what is written. This is because the writing is extremely small. I apologise for that.

If you can't read it very well this is what is written in each of the six boxes representing different scenes :

Box 1- There is a long shot into a medium shot of two girls walking to the door. There is diegetic sound of the girls walking to the door. We also may add in some non-diegetic sound in the first scene too. This could be one of the girls humming as walking to the door. In this scene we will also use a fast blur in to create an exciting effect for the viewer watching.

Box 2- A long shot of the girls walking through the door will be taken. There will be diegetic sound in the background of the door opening and closing . This could also be heard as a creak or a bang.

Box 3- A long establishing shot of the room will be taken. This will be the girls walking through the door and taking a seat with their friends . There will be diegetic sounds of footsteps as the girls walk to their seats. We may also add some non-diegetic sounds of music in the background to make the environment seem more lively .

Box 4- We will take an over the shoulder shot for this scene to show communication between two different people . We will use the 180 degree rule in this shot. All four characters are having a discussion in this scene about who will be attending a 'crazy party' later on that evening . We might add some non-diegetic sounds to make this scene more lively depending on whether we put it in scene 3 or not.

Box 5- We will use shot reverse shot in this scene to show two characters communicating with each other. This is when one character is shown looking at another character, and the other character is shown looking at the first character. This creates an effect to the viewer that the two characters are talking to each other. We will also use the 180 degree rule. The conversation is continued in this scene about the party.  There may be non-diegetic music added in the background too.

Box 6- The characters continue talking for a short few seconds then decide to leave and find out if the rumours are true. Upbeat, dance music will be added a few seconds before the end of the video. This is as the characters leave. The music is lively as it fits in well with the title of the film and the topic we will be talking about. As the characters leave the scene by walking through the door, there will be a fast blur out . This is because it creates an exciting effect for the viewer watching the video. Credits will then come on the screen for around five seconds.

Preliminary task introduction

The preliminary task that we have just produced is a short one minute video of someone walking through a door and having a conversation with someone else already in the room. We are creating this short video as it enables us to develop our filming skills with the digital camera and our editing skills on premiere pro editing software. Also by producing this video, it enables us to get to know the people in our group more and find out how well we work as a group by putting this short preliminary video together.

In our preliminary task Charlotte and myself walk through the classroom door on our way ready to discuss rumours with Georgia, Megan and Charlie about a very 'crazy party' that is apparently taking place later that evening . We discuss topics such as drugs and alcohol throughout this video which means an age restriction is tagged onto our video. This is so that it doesn't offend anyone viewing in anyway and doesn't enable young minors to watch this video.
Throughout this video we use a range of different camera shots to create different effects.
Some camera techniques that we used were: match on action, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule.
Match on action was used for continuity in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. This creates an impression of continuity. The action carrying through creates a 'visual bridge' which draws the viewers attention from continuity problems or from slight cutting.
We also used shot reverse shot in this preliminary task. This is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or looking at each other or objects.
We used another editing technique called 180 degree rule. This is a continuity technique that states that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to one another .

We used a variety or different things to edit this video . We chopped out bits that were not wanted and didn't really flow with the rest. We increased the saturation on each of the clips to make the scenery look more warmer and brighter . This is so viewers would be drawn into watch because of the aluminous colours. We added credits at the end to tell the viewers who directed, edited , produced this film etc. We added upbeat music at the end of the video to go with the credits . We chose this music as I believe it fit well with the title ' Party plan'. This upbeat dance music also will lure people into watch as it creates a sense of excitement . We used fast blur in at the start . This was so it created a different, more exciting effect at the beginning . We did the same at the end just before the credits but we used fast blur out instead.

How did the TV drama series 'Utopia' achieve it's comic book look in post-production?

The channel 4 TV drama series 'Utopia' is very different to other TV series that have been produced and released .
One reason that Utopia achieved it's comic book look is because of the bright, iluminous colours throughout all episodes in every series. The channel 4 thriller's hyper-real violence is a use of colour unlike any other TV show. A range of different colours are used in this thriller. The director, Marc Munden, turned to the Technicolour palette of 1950's hollywood in order to replicate the graphic novel's bold aesthetic. For example; they made dull british sky extremely blue through editing, even when it wasn't a bright day. They made the grass greener and the characters eyes brighter using special editing effects. This is because this technique seemed to impress the audience and enticed more to start watching.
In series 2 , the colours  of yellow, magenta and cyan were made bolder in post-production. This seemed to help draw in a larger audience to begin watching the bright drama series.

Final duel video- Knife scene

Different types of camera shots

Over the shoulder shot

The over the shoulder shot is very common when two characters are having a discussion/conversation. This shot helps place the characters in their setting.

Low angle shot
Low angle shots are often used to make things seem larger than what they actually are. The sensation of looking up at them gives an impression to the audience that the object is towering ovee them.

This is also another example of a low angle shot at a slightly different angle.

A Long Shot
Long shots are used to show characters,settings and landscapes at long distance.

Establishing Shot
An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene . This is to indicate to the audience where the action is taking place. It is usually a wide shot or an extreme wide shot.

Tilt Shot/Canted Angle Tilted shots are usually used to show speed or movement in a scene. 

Sunday 11th September 2016

Welcome to my blogsite!

Greetings and welcome to my blogsite!

I have never studied Media Studies before, but I have always had a strong interest in the production of film. Although I am a very keen watcher of films and TV, I still don't really know at the moment how they are composed and created! I feel eager and excited to begin studying Media Studies, as i feel very passionate about it .  So this is what I am looking forward to doing. 

One particular area that I'm looking forward to doing is the editing of the films  . This is because I am very creative minded and I really think I will enjoy doing this .  I am also looking forward to the editing as I believe it's when you can make the most of the film that we have shot .

The task (to create a 2 and a half minute film opening) sounds like great fun that I really think I will enjoy! I have already started thinking of some great ideas the film could be about and some picturesque sceneries that could feature in it !

Hopefully you will enjoy the final film on this journey!