Sound Foley!

Foley sound effects are everyday sounds added in post production to enhance the quality of audio for films and other pieces of multi media. There are a wide variety of sounds that can be added to great effect. These include smashing glass, hooves of horses on the floor or even car engines revving. The best foley sound effects are extremely well integrated into a film so that the audience do not even notice that it has been integrated in to the piece after the fact. It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these crucial background, movies feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable.


Sound workers who use sound Foley to create an effective looking film have to be very precise . The props and sets of a film do not react the same way acoustically as what is being shown in real life will actually make. Without Foley sounds, the film would be very dull, an would not nearly be the hit that it has the potential to be. Foley sounds help to make a clean audio, and remove unwanted sounds, for example plains flying overhead, as they can disrupt the flow of the film.

Problems With My Original Opening Sequence Filming

After uploading my original piece of filming for my opening sequence, I encountered several problems that would cause me to rethink about the structure of my film, and help me decide to re-film the piece.

From the start, I saw that the location was very bland and dull. I was pleased with the church, as it helped to show the reason why the boy was not enjoying himself. However, after he left the church, the scenery was very one dimensional, and the route he took was very dull. The reason for this was that he simply skated along a straight path, that for the most part was empty.


Another problem that I faced, and was perhaps the most important change I will have to make was the fact that the boy I used to skate in my video was a very poor skater, and seemed to wobble every time he pushed the skateboard. In the next cut of the film, I am going to film someone who has a lot more skating experience who has skated in tournaments before.


For the most part, the camera was static, and there as not a large enough variety of shots that I used. This was the case as a result of under planning the whole shoot. I did not think in advance of how I could best represent the vibrancy of the sport, and show the athletic ability of the skaters. I believe that now that I have planned further in advance, and in more depth, I can get a wider variety of shots that will create an effective and professional look to the film.

In the post production front, I was pleased that my soundtrack (Run Boy Run by Woodkid) suited the mood and genre that I was trying to achieve in the film that I will create. One area that I can improve on the editing front is lining up the climax of the film with a suitable note in the soundtrack.


Although the camera appeared to have a blurry appearance on the shots for the practice shoot, I have since fixed the camera in the settings, and the shots are now HD quality.

Opening Sequence Idea

Thrashin Opening Sequence Analysis

SE7EN Opening Sequence Analysis

SE7EN

The opening sequence of SE7EN acts as a prologue for the film. In this sequence, the film introduces the killer "John Doe", who is played by Kevin Spacey. In the sequence, the film is shown to be a disturbing film with quite a dark atmosphere.

The film is directed by David Fincher, who is a world renowned actor. Traditionally, Fincher has directed films that are quite dark and twisted, but always seem to be brilliantly made. Se7en is no different in that sense, as it has done incredibly well.

The main characters in the film are Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, who are all incredibly well known actors, which shows that this film had a large budget, and was appealing to the masses of these actors followers.

In this clip, we can see that there is a quite disturbed man, who is clearly preparing to commit a crime of some sort. We can see this through him crossing peoples faces off which is a common thing for villains to do if they have intentions of murder. We can also tell he is about to commit a crime, as he is slicing off his finger prints using a scalpel knife, which shows he does not want to leave any evidence that would link him to the crime he will commit.

In this clip, we can only see "John Doe's" hands, so we do not get a real idea of what he looks like, or whether or not he is socially active with anyone. From what we can see though, he is quite a disturbed individual. He is first of all slicing off his finger prints, and then goes and sows up a book, so he is clearly mentally not there, or has a strong belief in whatever it is he is fighting for.

The location plays a big part in building suspense in this scene. The reason for this is that it is set in a dark room that is lit by one light above. This gives the film a spooky mood from the offset, as we can see that this villain character is a secluded character, who will lurk and prey on the weak.

The sound track in this clip is important to this opening sequnece. The reason for this is that if there was not a great

In this clip, there are quick editing cuts which help build up the atmosphere of the clip. The reason why these quick cuts help to build up a tense atmosphere, which will truly capture the audience is that it helps to build a picture of the killers mental pattern, and shows his mental instability.

This clip reveals the genre of this film almost instantaneously, as the music and shots help to build up a feeling of tension. This film obviously falls under the genre of thriller, and potentially horror.

If I had the chance to go back and ask Alfred Hitchcock a question about this opening sequence, I would ask him why he used such a selective bunch of shots, of just the mentally unstable, and did not try and use all of the array of acting talent that they had on show. I would also ask them what it was that made them decide to go with the soundtrack in the background.

The titles are integrated incredibly well into the opening sequence of se7en. They flow smoothly and fit in well with the shots being shown. The titles also help to emphasise to the viewer what genre of film it is. It does this through its jagged edged letters, which represent a blade and show almost the instability of the characters within the film.

Casino royale opening sequence

The music in this opening sequence is modern, and maintains a good beat, hence keeping the audience entertained

The shots used are cleverly cut together and are relevant to the genre and title of the movie. The movie name is casino royale, and all of the shots have some sort of relevance to gambling or casinos. We also Can tell that this is an action adventure film, as it has fighting and guns being fired.

In this clip, I believe that there are two men fighting, and there is a clear cut relation to gambling or casinos, as we can see all the roulettes and the card symbols used.














The characters in this clip are both wearing suits. This clearly shows that they are wealthy individuals or are going to somewhere where they need to appear smartly dressed.

The fact that the men are using guns in this opening sequence helps us to understand what type of film this is. The reason for this is that we can ascertain whether this will incorporate a lot of action.

The modern and current song used in this opening sequence helps to build an atmosphere, as it shows that there will be modern gadgets and vehicles used etc. It also makes it appear more exciting to the younger generation.

Psycho Opening Sequence Analysis

PSYCHO

for the Psycho opening sequence, Alfred Hitchcock collaborated with one of the legend's of film titling who was Saul Bass. Although the graphic design for Psycho on the whole appears to be simple, the synchronization of the moving images makes the film seem very powerful and exciting. The opening sequence is highly effective, as it relies on the brilliance of Bass's titles, and let them create an effective title, and the background movements fit in with the systematic movements. The opening credits cost a very minimal amount of $21,000 which shows just how even opening sequences with low budgets can still make a great introduction to a film.

Bass's designing of the titles incorporates the theme of aggression that appears later on in the film. He does this by the formation of names on the screen, and as they disappear, their is a violent dispersement. The graphical element of the line in this sequence is relied on heavily and alludes to the fact that the story may stick to a conventional thriller, along that line, and will have the same levels of suspense as the sequence alludes to. This theme often is used in Western films, bu tthe change to a thriller film suggest that there will be action and excitement throughout the film which will appeal to a large majority of people

In Term's of Mise-En-Scene, there is almost no examples of its usage, however in this sequence, it is not needed. Traditionally, companies had to use people, as they did not have access to more advanced CGI methods, however 'Psycho' was a ground breaking piece of cinematography in the sense that it went against conventionality, and used a more advanced piece of graphics with moving names and shapes, and as a  result, the piece, which was created in 1960 has remained a timeless classic, and will remain for many years to come.

As a result of the lack of props and characters and even location, the sound and shapes used are critical to this piece. The sound is brilliant, and is fitted perfectly to the genre of movie, which is a thriller. The music is all non diagetic, and is created from the recording of a strings orchestra, and particularly the screeching sound of an out of tune violin. This uneasy soundtrack is clever, as it alludes to the sadistic villain being mentally unstable, which we find out towards the end of the film.

The black and white titles shows that the film is a classical film from the time period of the 60's, and create a sense of class to the titles.

The transitions between the titles are very cleverly cut. They almost show a puzzle like system whereby the names have to find their way to fitting with each other, a bit like the opening sequence has to find its way of fitting in with the film. It also shows sophistication and a new level of internal editing as it builds up people waiting for the name of the film as it finds its alignment.

If I had the opportunity, I would ask Bass and Hitchcock, why they decided to use the moving lines and names, as opposed to using characters and build up of suspense shots from the film. Although I have already seen this film, if I hadn't seen it, I would guess that the film was a thriller and a horror in a sense, due to the eerie music and also the name of the film, as Psycho suggests that their is a mentally unstable individual involved, who is most likely the villain.

The titling of this film gives us a good indication of what type of film it is, firstly as it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock who is traditionally a director of thrillers, also the vast amount of people involved in the film shows that a lot of time and effort was put into making as good a film as possible.

A HISTORY OF TITLE SEQUENCES




Titles In Silent Film








Words were essential in films of the silent era. Film titles were used in the first silent films made. letter cards (or inter-titles)were also used at this time. These two methods were used to create context. The lettering artist was the individual who found himself in charge of making these letter cards. The lettering artist worked with the scriptwriter and the director to make a film with good continuity, of which the audience could easily follow. The film's main title however was very different. The reason for this is that it is very difficult to create a new idea, which had not already been copyrighted, and this main sequence helped to show whether or not it was following the law.


Here is the main title from D.W. Griffith’s “Intolerance” (1916). Many directors and viewers of this film believe this to the be the best film of movie of the silent era.


Film titles and letter cards had to provide important information to the viewer. Artist used mono-stroke letter forms, as it was an easy style of font to read for the viewer. One key characteristic of this silent era was the white lettering on the black background. There is no technical film making reasons for this, it merely looks better than black writing on white background.



These are some more film examples of this lettering technique.

SPEAKIES MOVIE TITLE SEQUENCES




As movies grew more popular, their titles developed. Movie producers invested large amounts of money into film production and sometimes made a terrible film by rewriting the inter-titles. Ralph Spence, who was known as the“film doctor” (1890–1949) was the highest-paid title writer in film, earning $10,000 a picture for his one-liners.


During the 1920s and 1930s, modernism influenced European cinema, many of these aspects of visual sensibility were bought to the US by film-makers who were escaping Europe from the Nazis. Studio's operating in Europe and Hollywood also created 'Vernacular' title sequences, as they were very popular amongst viewers. They tried to convey the message of the movie through the “dressage” of its main title. E.G. blackletter fonts in the opening credits were used to evoke horror, ribbons and flowery lettering suggested love, and typography that would have been used on “Wanted” posters connoted a western flick.







Here is a title still from the oldest surviving feature-length animated film “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” by German animator Lotte Reiniger

preliminary task final evaluation

After doing this preliminary task exercise, I have learnt a lot. Primarily, a key aspect that I realise I have to improve is my time keeping. I was pushed too much in a space of time that was far too short. I also learnt that it never hurts to go over the top when you are shooting. Luckily, I was well covered in terms of my shots, and so could piece together all of the shots to make a fluid action. Another key factor that I learnt through doing this preliminary task was how to use continuity editing. I learnt the fundamentals of match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180* rule which all made a big difference to the continuity of my piece.

After doing this task, I have learnt many new skills. One skill in particular is to see all of the shots in your mind before they are actually shot. This helps me as I know exactly how it will turn out when it is filmed. I also trace the steps that the character is taking so that I see what they will be seeing.

The feedback helped me as it showed me that although people believed my film was good, it still had areas to it which could have been much improved.

If I had the chance to redo my preliminary task, I would do a few things differently. After seeing the comments made on you tube, I can see clearly that although there was good build up, my piece was not dramatic enough when it came to the dialogue section of it. However, I believe this could be made better if I get better actors in to act out the scene. I also believe that if I had the chance to redo this task, I would manage my time better as although we did have a short space of time to make this movie, if I had controlled my timings better, then the film could have been better.

my preliminary task video

Equipment Used

For this task, I used a sony H47D Handycam.
I used this camera, as first of all, I owned one. I also used it as it was easily maneuverable, which was essential in a task like this when I had to show movement and move the camera to create the effect of match on action.

The editing software I used for this preliminary task was IMovie, this was an easy to work and easy to access piece of software. I enjoyed using IMovie and would definitely use it in future editing projects that I have

Character List

For this task, I will be using two people.
These people are Robin Masters and Liam Grace.

Robin Masters in this piece is playing the role of the doctor. In this piece, he is supposed to be a calm and collected individual whose purpose is to tell the patients of their illness. The doctor in this piece also has to show limited emotions, whilst still being compassionate with the patients condition.
However, my character seemed lacking in a lot of these areas, as he was not specialized to the task athand. Thus I will be using a different actor for my final piece if the film does convey similar conventions.

Liam Grace plays the role of the patient receiving the news that he has cancer. In this piece, his character has to take the news in whatever way he seems fit. In this case, Liam acted very stressed, and was talking to himself. He also portrayed anger, at the fact that the doctor was unsure whether his condition was curable.

Both of the characters in this piece are students at ,y school. I decided to use these two individuals in particular as they were interested in the prospect of acting and learning how to improve.

Location Of My Preliminary task

I decided to shoot my preliminary task at this location for a number of reasons. The first reson why I shot it here was that it was easily accessible, and there were no privacy laws in place that stated shooting in this area was illegal. I also shot here as this is the location of my Dad's offices. This meant that `i would be able to shoot for as long as possible without having to worry about being asked to leave, nor would I be toying with the elements.

original preliminary task idea

Preliminary Task Script

                      "THE NEWS" SCRIPT

                                                           by

                                               Dorian Masters

                        Robin-

get out of car in parking spot and lock it. Wide angle shot from ground level.

Show a shot of the building.

High angle shot from 2^nd story window of him walking towards the door.

Point of view shot of him pressing the buzzer.

Wide angle shot from slightly elevated position on the stairs, of him entering through the door.

Match on action shows him walking up stairs from behind.

He arrives on landing and through a close up shot of his hand, we see him knocking on the door of the doctors room. We hear a quiet ‘come in’ amidst the noise of the surgery.

Wide angle shot shows him open door and walk in.

POV shot of Doctor from Robin’s perspective.

Doctor greets him and tells him to have a seat. Wide angle shot of both people.

Dialogue begins.

                                    Doctor-

I don’t know where to begin. It’s about your blood test that we took several weeks ago.

                                    Robin-

What’s the problem?

                                    Doctor-

I’m afraid that you have a rare case of Adrenocortical Carcinoma.

                                    Robin-

what are you trying to say?

                                    Doctor-

Adrenocortical Carcinoma is an uncommon form of cancer, but that is not to say that it cannot be treated.

                                    Robin-

That makes no sense, you have to be wrong, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do anything harmful to my body.

                                    Doctor-

I’m afraid that it is nothing to do with how you treat your body, sometimes even the best of people get it.

                                    Robin-

So what does this mean?

                                    Doctor-

It is a form of cancer that forms on the adrenal gland. The location is just above the kidney.

                                    Robin-

I don’t care where it is, am I going to live or not (aggressive tone)

                                   

                                    Doctor-

now we have caught it at an early stage so there is around a 50% chance of surviving past the 5 year mark, if the surgery goes to plan.

                                    Robin-

why, why me! (lone tear runs down face), its always me. He stands up and breathes deeply, wipes the tears from his eyes and say’s to himself, you’re going to be fine (repeating twice), and walks out of the room, wide angle shot, with the scene ending with door closing behind him.

180* rule and Shot reverse shot

The 180 Degree Rule: states that two characters in a scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If you don't follow the 180 Degree Rule, or break it intentionally, it disrupts the scene disorients the audience. When you break the 180 line, a person who was originally facing left in a scene is all of the sudden facing right.

Shot Reverse Shot: is a filming technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

In this scene, we must see three emotions in particular, these are denial, anger and sadness/ regret.

My Story Board for the Preliminary Task

This story board shows the event of a man finding out that he has got cancer. He is visiting the doctor at his surgery. I have stuck to a simple narrative, as in this case, the story and the shots used will create a large impact hopefully on the viewer, as it is a sensitive topic for all.

final preliminary task idea

180 Degree Rule

180 Degree Rule - Moviemaking Technique from Peter John Ross on Vimeo.

The 180* Rule

One of the most basic continuity rules is the 180 Degree Rule.

The 180 Degree Rule states that two characters in a scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If you don't follow the 180 Degree Rule, or break it intentionally, it disrupts the scene disorients the audience. When you break the 180 line, a person who was originally facing left in a scene is all of the sudden facing right.

Here is an example of the 180* rule

shot reverse shot example

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is a filming technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Shot reverse shot is the "classical" hollywood style of continuity editing.

Here is an example of a shot reverse shot

match on action example

Match On Action

Match On Action
Match on action means that when something happens in the scene then when there is a cut, the same piece of action must be going on. This is an example of continuity editing and is very important in helping the audience continually understand exactly what is happening

Here is an example of a match on action

Preliminary Task Brief

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.