COMPOSING FOR FILM:

Composing Music for a Film:

Tips:

Immerse Yourself: You could start by watching a film through once. You will then discover the story and you could then watch the film again to start seeing different things and you will get into the rhythm of the film. 

Feel the Product: You could have a film play in the back when you are doing things such as house work or sending emails. Your brain will then get used to it more. 

Watching the film without any sound: You could play the film without any sound by putting the film on mute. You will get to see more details and notice other things. The style of filming and video will then stand out more.

Select the correct instruments: The instruments in a film are chosen depending on the atmosphere. The instruments you have chosen may have been used before and then  at this point the video will dictate to you what is required. 

Sticking to the feeling of the film: When composing music for films it is about the emotion. You have to make sure that you really understand the emotion that the producer is trying to emulate. The emotion may vary from one second to another. 

Don't ask for feedback: When you in the creation process, somebody's feedback may not be helpful. You will need to be confident enough to know exactly what you're going to create in terms of emotion and intention. 



The Dark Knight: 

Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan worked together to create the soundtrack of for The Dark Knight film. Nolan started off the process by sending Zimmer still images of what he has visions of the character being like. Zimmer would then look at the stills and then begin to put together a huge amount of sounds that he thought might work. Nolan would then listen to all the sounds and then they would come together and decide on what works well. 

Hans Zimmer began by creating many different sounds that might be suitable to use for the sound of the joker. He would create a nine hundred bar recording with hundreds of different sounds. He then refine the sounds down to only a few that would really work. He took an idea and tried to refine it to the character with just only two notes. This was all completed with experimentation by trying out different sounds and creating different sounds. 

Zimmer didn't want to create a happy blockbuster, he wanted to be thew creator of something that people would hate. He wanted to create a minimal sound. A sound that you could listen to for one second and the audience would know the Joker was lurking around a corner somewhere. 

Final Score:
When listening to the final Joker score I can feel a sense of power. I can feel the tension rising as the sound goes on. The sound makes the viewer feel that the Joker is lurking around somewhere and that it is with them whilst they are watching the film. I think that the final score does work and that the Joker is known by that sound from the film. 

Final Video:

Final Video:

Research into Foley and Sound Effects:

Foley Sounds:

A Foley artist is somebody who adds the sounds to TV, films and video games. They recreate all the sounds that is lost during filming. They create sounds such as kisses, skin touches and the sounds of different animals. Foley artists are needed so that the sounds in films can be enhanced to make the film better. They are also needed because when the sound is lost during filming the foley artist can recreate the sounds that should be there.

To start with the foley artist starts with the footsteps of the leading characters. They then move onto the background footsteps which is then followed by a 'prop pass' which provides the sound for anything that moves on screen.

A foley artist needs to be good with their timing. For example, if they are watching a clip that they need to add sounds to they need to get the timing of their foley sounds one hundred percent correct. The artist also needs to have a creative mind as they have to think up ways of how to create way to recreate the sounds. The sounds will need to sound realistic without the audience knowing that the sounds are not the real thing.



Using real sounds can fool the audience into thinking that they have heard the sound before and using the real sounds can be easier to fake. The real sound will sound more accurate when it goes behind the filming. If you were using a library of sounds the sounds may not be exactly how you want them to be and ma not be the length that you want them. Also the sounds from a library may not be as convincing as the sounds that are real and you make yourself.

When watching the clip from the Robin Hood film I saw that they created the sound of the sounds being drawn out across a piece of metal. They also created the sound of the horses hooves that ha been layered with some metal chains. The foley artist was making the horse noises with his mouth and by breathing strangely. When all the sounds came together the sound mix did sound realistic and like a horse galloping away. All of the sounds created were made with items that could be found around the house. There were chains clanging about, stomping on some sand and some horse hooves to get the sounds of the horse.

Research into Recording Ambient Sounds and Dialogue:

Ambient Sound:

Ambient sound is sounds that can be picked up by a recording camera or microphone. The sounds are in the background and haven't been recorded on purpose. For example, people talking in the background of a school sequence would be ambient sounds. Other ambient sounds may include, birds tweeting, the sound of as busy road or the sound of  building work being carried out. 

Ambient sounds can be recorded by using a microphone such as the 'zoom mic' or can be recorded when filming using the film camera. Using a microphone will mean that you will get clearer sounds. 

Why a microphone will get better results:

1. The microphone can get up close to things such as the actors mouth which will produce a crisper sound. 
2. You can record several times with a mic to get the sound, instead of filming over again. 
3. On a mic you should record at least 30 seconds of ambient sound to get a good result. If doing this on a camera you may use up more space on your storage card. 
4. If the sound you want to record is a little way away the microphone can get up close to it where as the camera may not pick out the sound you require. 

Why 'hard cuts' are ill advised for ambient sound mixing.
In film hard cuts is a change from one scene to another without any sort of transition. They are mostly not recommended if they are not used for a certain effects. This is because they can ruin the atmosphere that the audio creates in the scene beforehand.

When filming shots for a film you will be using a film camera. But when it comes to ambient sounds it is advised to be using a microphone. There are advantages of recording at your required location rather than relying on a sound library such as freesound.org. If you record on site you will get better results as the sound is there and will be what you want to be in your film. If you rely on a library the sound may be of bad quality or not what you want. Also an advantage by recording on site is that you can record for the amount of time you require. A download online may only be for a short period of time and you cannot extent it. So recording on site will mean you can record for as long as you require. 

The Hunger Games: 

When recording sounds for the Huger Games Movie the sound director will go out and put two large mics out on the jungle floor and place another seventy ft away. He will then record the sounds that come from the jungle. They also use a piece of software called Atmos. It is a professional piece of software for sounds. If you had a standard tv with normal resolution it would be basic but Atmos is described as a tv with very high definition which means that it the best of the best when it comes to sounds programes. 

 Recording Dialogue
It can be hard recording dialogue when out on site but there are a few tip that can help:

1. When recording dialogue the microphone should be placed as close to the actors mouth as possible. This will mean that the dialogue will be clear and crisp. 
2. Getting several takes of the speaking. This will mean that you will get a good recording out of the takes that you have recorded.
3. You should record at least thirty seconds of sounds. This is useful so that you have a good variety of sound to choose from when you import it. 

Looping: 

Loop recording is when a sound is recorded continuously to an endless tape or computer memory. The process is a never - ending one and the process continues to record at the beginning and erases the previous recorded material and then replaces it with the new material. 

When recording a conversation ambient sound is important as it can break up the conversation with background sound. For example, when a conversation is happening the main focus is on the people talking. To make the shot seem a bit more natural the shot could have natural background sounds in it. Such as:

Others talking, birds tweeting, traffic sounds, cars. 

When on site it may become difficult to record dialogue. It may become difficult if the weather is bad. For example, the wind may be very strong and you may not be able to hear the dialogue that is being said. It can also be difficult if it is a nice day but the actors are too far away from the mic. To resolve this the shot may need to be reshot in a different way so that he sound can be heard. 

Use of music - legal considerations

Right of Use:

What is the difference between publishing rights and recording rights?

The people who own the clip or soundtrack determines how the song can be used. If the copyright is owned by a publisher and the song is sold or covered then fifty percent of the earnings go to the songwriter and the other fifty percent goes to the composer. This only applies if the music has been written down or recorded. 

How would you go about clearing a piece of music for use in your film?

When looking for a soundtrack to use for a film I would research into who made the music. For example if it was sung by Beyoncé I wouldn't try to get permission to use it as there would be no chance to even get granted access. But if it was recorded by a local band or singer I would look into seeing if they had it for sale anywhere before asking them for use of it for my film. I would also look into copyright of the soundtrack to see who owns the soundtrack. If the soundtrack I was after was by a local singer or artist I could offer to buy them out. This would mean offering them a one off fee to buy their track. It would then mean that the track would officially be mine to use.  

Can you use music in your sequence if the composer has died?

If the composer or artist has been dead for over seventy years the copyright of the soundtrack will have been extinguished. This means that you will be able to use it but it is also useful to double check if anyone owns the track now. For example, a record label may still own the track. Even though Michael Jackson has died his music is still owned by a record company. This means that his music cannot be used unless they give permission to use it.

What is incidental music?

Incidental music is music that is often played in the background of a film. It is normally used to create tension or build up atmosphere in a scene. Below is a video which contains incidental music from the film Prometheus.



Creative Commons:
Creative commons is a non profitable organisation that enables the sharing and use of film and soundtrack through legal tools. It is free and easy to use and it provides a simple and standardised way to give the public permission to share creative work on the conditions that they choose. There are six types of licenses available:

1) Attribution:
CC BY
This license let other people remix and tweak others work and use it for your own work or even commercially. This license is recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licenced materials.
2) Attribution - ShareAlike:
CC BY-SA

Like Attribution this licence allows others to tweak and remix others creations and use them in their work but ShareAlike only allows this if the editor credits the creator in their work. If somebody created a new remix of a song and it got lots of downloads the creator would have to be credited as the original creator of the soundtrack before it got edited and changed.           

3) Attribution - NoDerivs
CC BY-ND
This license allows creations to be redistributed for commercial and non- commercial use. This can only be possible if it has passed as being unchanged and is credited to the creator.

4) Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Like the other licenses the editor must credit the creator when uploading their new work. They cannot use their new work commercially but can use it non-commercially.

5) Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA            
This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

6) Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA            
This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

The Creative Commons exists so that people have legal rights when it comes to people trying to manipulate their work and say that it is their own. It makes the original creator feel at ease and feel they are safe with their works online.

My Music Choice:

In my sequence I chose to use a soundtack which I found from Dolby.com . I liked the track as it had a good beat which would make my sequence sound modern. It has a mid tone and can be used for almost any short film or sequence. The genre of the music is happy or upbeat. It fits well in my sequence and doesn't sound out of place.

When going to download the soundtrack I had to fill out a form with my details and then I would receive an email in 24 hours which would contain more instructions to download my required track.

Below is a screenshot of the email I received which meant I could use the track in my sequence:

Links that were used for help:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/before-you-start/music-rights
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/before-you-start/legal-faqs#musicvideo

http://creativecommons.org/about

Music In Films

Role of Music in films:

• Music in films generates the mood in a film and it can create an atmosphere which can help tell a story. For example, an upbeat soundtrack could create a happy atmosphere.
• Music also triggers an emotional response in the audience. An example of this could be when Puss In Boots shows his large cute eyes In Shrek and the sad music is playing. The music is making the viewer of the film feel sad or upset at that moment n time.

• It also informs the audience about locations. For example In the James Bond film 'Skyfall' Bond travels to many destinations and the viewer can tell where he will be going by the music that is played. If an Indian track was played we could predict that Bond may turn up in an Indian market for example.

• The music in a film can create a character motif. This is when we may not see the main character or main piece of action. For example, the shark in 'Jaws' is shown only a few times. This is because they didn't have CGI when the film was made. So when the shark was about they used tension music to make the audience the shark was present but they didn't visually show it.
• Music create an audio cue for the audience. It can help the audience predict what may be going to happen in the film.

In the Submarine Clip there are many different instruments such ass a piano, orchestral instruments and some woodwind instruments. The tone of the music is soft and the music has a 'Andante' tempo to it. (Andante means Walking Pace in Greek)
The music in the clip create a reflecting mood during the montage and the backing music gives clues about Oliver's mindset.
The music is 'Classic Timeless' which gives the indication of the timeless themes of identity. The character Oliver in the clip is trying to find his identity and purpose. The music reflects his emotions with his restlessness and busy nature. It also punctuates and amplifies the typing action of Oliver on his type writer. The soundtrack also accompanies his thought process and what he is feeling in his head.

Sound Timeline:

Sound Timeline:

On a sound timeline sheet I have added when my Ambient sounds, sound effects, dialogue and music occur during my sequence. I have also added each scene number to the timeline so it is clear when each scene starts and ends. I have used different colours on my timeline so that it looks bright and so that you can see when each item starts and ends.

Tidying Up after we've Finished:

Laptops: 

During the project I had lots of different documents and clips on the laptops desktop. As I am now finished I have moved the documents and clips away from the desktop and into my Project 1. 

Digital Folders:

I have a folder named Project 1 in my alias and I have my documents and clips in there nicely organised. 

Red Project Folders:

Our folder is now organised and everything Is in separate plastic wallets. All the different documents are in order and presented neatly.

Work Schedule:

During the project we have been keeping a schedule. We have a written schedule and a digital schedule online using Trello. We have used Trello more but have used the written one also. 

After Effects: Fire Effect

Fire Effect:

In After Effects I have added a flame effect to my character. To complete this I watched some tutorials and had help from my other group members. 

I firstly watched a tutorial online and then followed the steps to create the fire effect. There were a few steps that were confusing but my group member Ben gave me a hand. I then added the effect to my premier sequence. 

Eye Colour Effect:

The eye colouring effect was the hardest effect to do. There was much more involved and I had to follow many different steps. To get this right i had to create null objects and track the motion of Ben's eyes. After that I had choose an appropriate colour for Ben's eyes. I did have some difficulties tracking the motion of the eyes as on of the eyes kept dropping down. To solve this I re did the steps to get it correct. 

College Sign Change:

In our clip we wanted to change the name of the college. To do this we needed to create a Proxy Still of the clip in Premier Pro. Once the Still was created I opened up Photoshop. I then added the sign using the shape tool and text tool. Once I was happy with my sign I saved it for Web and as a PNG file. I then imported the Photoshop file into Premier and put the file on top of the original clip. 

Final Project Piece

I exported my Premier Project and then entered the necessary presets. I then logged into Vimeo.com and uploaded my final video.  

First half hour of the lesson:

In the first half hour I downloaded a song from MobySound which I got permission to use. 

Looking for Backing Music:

I have been on 'mobygratis.com' and have found a suitable soundtrack. As the website doesn't let you download the soundtrack straight away we have requested to download it. 

Production Meeting:

Production Meeting: 30/01/14

People Present: 

Ben Harrison
Reece G
Charlie Hall

We have discussed what we are going to do up until the 14th of Feb. 

What has been talked about / decided?

Special Effects:

As we didn't have any effect sin our rough cuts; we have decided to ad them in the forthcoming lessons. We will continue to watch some tutorials in our own time so we have an idea of how to bring our ideas to life. We will then get to work in After Effects to try to get some good results. 

Re-shooting shots:

Some shots have good composition but some are not so good. Some have bins in!! We will need to sort this out by re-shooting the shots. We will look through our rough cut and select the bad shots to re-shoot. We will do this after a few days of attempting our special effects. 

Peer Feedback:

Key points: 

• I need to improve my sequence by adding some more background ground adding some dialogue that got cut out when editing the clip. 
• I also need to cut a few of the shots. The shot of Ben walking into the college is too long so I will cut it down to a suitable length. 

Rough Cut:

Rough Cut from 28/01/14

Organisation:

Metadata: 

When we have been out filming we come back to our laptops and organise all of the clips that we have just shot. I add a brief description of each shot. For example I write if it is good or not and whats going on in the shot. I also add the good/bad tick box to the metadata. This is helpful as I know which clip is good ect. 

Booking Forms:

When we go out to film we fill out a 'AV Booking Form'. This has a list of all the equipment that we can use. The equipment that we require we tick on the sheet. We also fill out a 'Taking out' and 'Bringing back' time. When we return the equipment either Nick or Dave signed off the booking form. 

Work Books:

Before every lesson I fill out my Red 'Work Book'. This is a log of what I am going to do in every lesson. I chunk out what I doing and then at the end of every lesson I write what I have achieved in the lesson. 

After Effects:

On our schedule we are going to add our effects after the rough cut deadline. This isn't ideal as the rough cut should have some trial effects in. But we are going to add in our affects in the next few days. 

To keep footage organised I have put it into folders.

Appraising the Rough Cut

Audio: 

Some of our audio is missing due to the camera not picking the sound up. This is okay as we can re-shoot the clip or just record the dialogue using the zoom mic. At the moment the sequence has some sound effects such as footsteps, car noises and some ambient music. To improve the sounds and dialoge we will re-record some of the dialogue and add some relevant sound effects. 

Special Effects:

On our schedule we have allocated time after the deadline of the rough cut to add our special effects. We should have taken this into consideration as we should have had the effects in the rough cut. But we are going to add our effects  in the next few lessons. The only bad side is that we cannot get feedback on the effects and we wont know how to improve them. 

Sequence:

As no one in our group is the very good at acting the acting in our sequence is average. It would have been better if we got people in to act in our sequence but we had a go at it anyway. The narrative of the sequence at the moment does make sense. It makes much more sense that the animatic that we made earlier in the year. The shots flow and are much shorter than the animatic that was made. I intend to improve the shot that has a bin in. I will also re-shoot the shot of Ben with him hood up. The next shot goes to Ben with his hood down. We need to keep his hood down for continuity. 

Thursday 23/01/14

Updated:

Organisation:

Organisation:

When I imported the first footage to Premier Pro I then viewed the clips and wrote a description of the clip and ticked if it was good or not.

The Weeks' Jobs:

Definition of Matte Painting:

I have two different definitions of Matte Painting and have highlighted the similarities and differences in the two definitions. 

In Green are the things that make the definition unique and in Pink are similarities.

My Definition according to Wikipedia and The Handbook:

In 1907 the first matte painting was created by Norman Dawn. A matte painted representation of a landscape that allows film makers to create the illusion of an environment that doesn't exist in real life.  The matte painting is the section of film that has been matted out.

Meeting 17/01/14

Today we are editing the establishing shots and the shots for the 1st scene. Ben won't be editing on his laptop as he is starring in another groups film. 

Present:
Ben Harrison
Charlie Hall
Reece G

Premier Pro Work Area

Production Meeting:

Today we booked out a camera, tripod and hi-vis jackets. We then went out to take establishing shots of the college to use during the voice over in our film. We got some shots from all around the college and then uploaded them to our laptops. 

Group Members Present: 

• Ben Harrison
• Reece G
• Charlie Hall

Corridor Shot using tripod and dolly.

Reverse Ring Macro Shots: Photography Finals [Floodlight Project]

Macro Shots taken with a £3 reverse ring from Amazon used with a Canon 5D Mark III