So I could work on something other than a spreadsheet I set out doing a mini soundscape for Unmerciful.
This started with me and Mirella heading into the studio to do some recordings of the cards, plus the recordings of the door, leaves and general movement. The rest of the sounds used within the piece are sources online due to the fact that until very recently (like last 7 days recently) we didn't have a sound recordist and due to other commitments I wasn't able to go out and record foley myself.
Me in the studio.
From here I spent a few days in Protools getting the general layout (mostly the flashbacks as, for now at least, I don't have a lot of sounds for the office). I played around with the atmospheres I could create using different card noises, joined with the glitch effects that the cards in the film triggers. I tried to keep the guns to a minimum aka when they are actually stated in the script. As I have said previously I don't want this film to sound like just another war film because it isn't. This film is about the aftermath of war, war is the cause of the story not the story it's self. So you have children laughter, crunching leaves, enhanced everyday sounds such as writing, doors and clocks.
I also added a music track behind it. Testament of Youth is a huge inspiration for this film and has orchestral music behind it, not all the time but enough to make an impact. I originally ruled out composing music for films this year because last year it didn't go so well. However when listening to the piece without music it felt hollow, like something was missing but I knew just adding more sounds wouldn't make it better. So I started messing around on the piano whilst the track was playing.
I originally had this piece spanning around 3 octaves but it was drawing the attention away from the sounds which isn't what I was going for. So I took some advice from James (from last years project) when he was telling me about an animation student who had composed an entire track from 2 notes. Simplified it. Then it just seemed to fit. Now I won't be composing anything for the actual film but I won't rule out searching for some music to enhance the sounds around it - war zones might not have music but offices/houses do.
Testament of Youth is one of my all time favourite films, visuals stunning, a literary masterpiece in it's own right and the sound design is phenomenal. The soundtrack is one of my go to pieces of music to listen to when I'm working. Whist this movie is a war film the sound design is actually quite beautiful. Orchestral music, lighthearted with a significant piano track. The sound design shows the horrors of war but that isn’t the main focus, it primarily shows the mindset of the main character Vera.
I actually wrote a review of this film when it first came out so here it is!
'When I first heard around Testament of Youth it was because of actor Colin Morgan, who I’m a huge fan of (See he's in the Merlin project and The Tempest project - I'm not crazy, he's just a great actor who apparently has similar interests as me). But for me to go to the cinema and watch it (therefore spending £10 on a ticket – it’s a serious commitment!) I have to do a bit of research around it first. I knew of the book before the movie was even brought up, a librarian recommended it to me when I was in school after I said I felt Private Peaceful didn’t capture the whole story, however I never got around to reading it. To 13 year old me Testament of Youth was just a sad story about a time I really had no interest in.
During my research I found out more about the principle cast and watched some behind the scenes footage so I knew what I was getting myself in for, plus I also knew not to get attached to many of the main characters. A mistake I’ve made too many times.
In the woods just before the 'meaningful' conversation.
My first opinion of the film was it was amazing; it captured the essence of Vera Brittins voice perfectly, almost poetic.Cinematographer Rob Hardypossibly over uses soft focus just a bit but other than that I think the cinematography was outstanding. There are 3 scenes that stick out for me
(well from my memory) the first in which Vera tells Ronald that she wants to be a writer and Roland becomes the first person to tell her that she should write. It’s rather minimalist, a two shot between Ronald and Vera in the woods but he shot is so tight on their faces with soft focus it is the literal viewing of ‘nothing else in the world exists’.
The next shot is the eye opener for me.It’s a crane, tracking shot of Vera when she has made her way to the front line, it follows her making her way through the lines of men on stretchers in between the medical cabins. She seems pretty nonplussed by the situation having ‘turned her mind off’ at the recommendation of a fellow nurse, however once she has made her way to the clearing the crane starts zooming out, Vera comes to a stop yet the crane keeps going and going, showing rows and rows of injured men. It’s the final wide shot that really indicates the reality and the brutality of the war, something that the director seems to have skirted around.
Finally we return to the soft focus, tight close up, this is nearing the end of the film and shows Vera beginning to rebuild her life. It shows Vera back at Oxford being shown a new life by her new tutoring partner who also served as a nurse in the war. You see Vera walking around under a blossom tree, admiring the world around her for the first time since she first saw Oxford in person.
Vera as a character is highly intelligent and stubborn, at the beginning of the film she is in constant argument with her parents over her perusing her degree in English, the only thing she has ever wanted. When she arrives you see the joy on her face, the sheer pleasure of being there and you feel it through the smooth yet quick camera movements making the audience feel fully immersed in Vera’s mind. When I came home I mentioned to my friend that if you don’t connect with Vera’s Character within the first 20 minutes then the rest of the film won’t have as much ‘clout’ as it ought to. I mean that in the sense that the camera movements mimic her train of thought immersing you in this world, exactly how reading her memoirs in the 1st person would do.
I also mentioned that the film skirted around the gruesome brutality of war, something I didn’t realise when watching it, I only realise now having looked at some reviews, critics are using this against the film but honestly, I didn’t miss it.I believe that war films have become pigeon holed when it comes to showing gore and active combat, now there was no shortage of blood in my opinion and you see your fair share of severed limbs and dead bodies. But something that must be addressed is this is a honest and detailed retelling of someone’s life that was deeply effected by war, not a war story with a female lead.
I also read that people thought there wasn’t enough ‘raw emotion’, again I have to disagree. It is my personal belief that those who think that people must completely break down and cry immediately when a loved one dies have not had to experience it for themselves, much less experience more than one at the same time. Peoples minds work in different ways and shock and outright denial cause delayed reactions and this is what I think we see in Vera. However something most people seem to have overlooked is Vera isn’t the best at talking, within the first 30 minutes of the film she has already had a huge argument with her parents, and been pretty rude to the others in her life, with her actions speak louder than words. To deal with her grief of Roland being sent to France she drops out Oxford to become a nurse, when Roland dies she doesn’t react until she has found some hidden letters in his desolate uniform, when Victor dies she moves to the front line, when Edward dies she runs into a field and submerges herself in mud to try and connect to his experience – she delays her grief by trying to be as useful as possible.
Now I have no idea why this film is still on my mind at 3:00am it may be because I admire it, it may be because I see far to much of myself in Vera than I care to admit but most of all, I recognise that today I witness the slow demise of a young woman as she became haunted by experiences that still happen today. And I don’t think that has quite registered yet, hence the post-film daze.'
Back to present Rachel;
My opinions on this film haven't really changed and this film has greatly influenced how I approach Unmerciful in a very positive way. War might be in the cause of the story but its not the main character - sometimes I need reminding of this.
From Creative Skill set I've discovered some of the key jobs needed to be a 1st AD
'They are also in charge of a department of other Assistant Directors and Runners.'
I've been working along side Phoebe on bother productions and also speaking with Anne to find some first years who would she thinks would be a good 3rd AD and good runners who want to get some new experience.
'Overall, they provide the key link between the Director, cast and crew, whilst also liaising with the production office, and providing regular progress reports about the shoot.'
I've been to the majority of the production meetings (when the script started becoming finalised) and have provided regular updates within my role, predominately my concerns over time needed to shoot.
'Before the shoot, the Firsts' main task is to create the filming schedule, working in careful consultation with the Director. When drawing up the shooting schedule, First ADs must also be aware of the budget, cast availability and script coverage.'
For both films the preliminary shoot schedules are complete, Wallpaper maxing out at 8 days shoot, 30 pages of schedule.
For Unmerciful, due to a change in budget, I've brought the shoot down to 4 days. Only 2 including actors covering 6 pages.
'Preparing the storyboard, overseeing the hiring of locations, props and equipment and checking weather reports are all key pre-production duties for Firsts. '
I collated all the storyboards for Wallpaper into one big PDF and named each shot/scene to match with the shot list for easy referencing. I also made a PDF and named all of the storyboards for Unmerciful.
This is as much as I could do for now, as the scripts are still going through minor changes I'm holding off producing any more documents that are going to have to be changed in the coming months.
The documents that are left to be produced are;
Day out of days; List of crew needed for each day.
Line Script; Break down of each shot in conjunction with the script supervisor to make sure that all lines are said within the scenes.
Crew/Actors list (with photos): Not essential as I know most of the people on set, but it will be useful for some of the newbies. I remember being on set and forgetting everyones names it wasn't fun.
Script re-breakdown; I've been breaking down all drafts of the script between 1st AD and editor for a long time, however now the the scripts will be changing after assessment (Hopefully not dramatically!) I'll be re-breaking down the scripts as the final drafts are sent to me.
Being a 1st AD currently is pretty much collecting as much information as I can about the scene, equipment and crew as possible and making an education opinion on how we should shoot these scenes. As soon as I believe my role is complete for pre-production I will hand all the information I have over to my 2nd/3rd AD and they can finish off all the paper work needed on the run up to production.
When I first read the script I was thinking very literally about the soundscape, war sounds v city sounds but then I started thinking more about the perspective of the soundscape. Just as the visuals have a perspective so does sound, I started thinking about Jules' perspective on the situation and what she herself would remember and how her emotional connection to the event would change the soundscape.
For me there is 3 key areas I need to look into for this to work as I planned; London life, Lebanese life and emotional connection to event.
London is pretty easy to figure out, London has a distinct sound within film (however it can sometimes be confused with NYC, I'll watch out for that). The strange thing about London in films is if it is not about the royal family is London as a character tends to take a backseat whereas places such as New York are always seen as a main character. Yes I know referring to places as characters is strange but it makes sense to me, moving on. What I do like about London is it's seemingly politeness in film, possibly due to the American understanding of British customs, the sound in London is not often over powering. The human characters are in control.
Here the character are controlling the scene and the city is just in the background reminding us that they are in fact outside and probably very cold. The quietness can also be seen as a reflection on the main characters mindset at the time. She is completely focused on the other characters in the scene, the city has no real influence on her at this point meaning the sounds quite rightly fade into the background.
I first noticed this when watching Brooklyn (2015) one of my favourite films, simple and elegant the film uses sound to reflect where Eilis's heart is at the time. For instance when she first arrives in Brooklyn the noises of the city overpower her as she is yet not comfortable living there. In fact it isn't until her mini-breakdown happens and she enrols in the college that the noise's start subsiding and softer, less industrial sounds come in such as birds and children. This becomes the norm as she finds the romance she had been hoping for but as soon as news of her sisters passing has her returning to Ireland she experiences the reverse.
When she arrives back in Ireland her heart is back in Brooklyn wit her now husband, so the sounds are industrial and strong. She's no longer as comfortable in Ireland as she once was. This however starts fading into the softer tones but never quite does completely as she moves back to Brooklyn before allowing herself to get too comfortable in Ireland.
I like how in this film the distinction between places is also effected by the characters point in the story, how we as humans perceive sound changes deepening on our mindsets. Those who are consumed by something and aren't present in the moment do not hear anything above the noise. Noise being the sounds the city makes whether you are there or not so cars, airplanes, general public, walking, street lights, boats (on the Thames) and technology (phones, pagers in 2001 and radio). When they become present in the moment conversations happening around them become clear, laughter is heard, nature becomes prominent and their perception of the world changes. They become more observant and welcome in the stimulation of the senses rather than when they are preoccupied and are trying to rid themselves of distraction.
When trying to get an idea of how the flashbacks should be treated I watched The Bourne Ultimatum, how the run up to the flashbacks are treated and the transition in and out.
Enhanced surrounding noise, Footsteps prominent, Industrial sounds, Low music, Heightened senses. Flashbacks loud, Distorted sound, Strange panning (seems distant), No connected voices, Heavy breathing, Echo, Reverb. Poignant change of sound between reality and flash back, sensory overload even when not in shot and always hearing heavy breathing even when not in shot.
I think the war aspect is almost the easiest, everyone knows somewhat what a war sounds like for the media is saturated with it. What they don't know is this one perspective of the war and that's how the audience is going to engage properly. They need to be surprised with what they hear, not because of the sounds themselves but the way they are treated within the life of Jules.
Tomorrow we start shooting for the Unmerciful campaign video, a video that's going to help get the word out online. It's only a very small shoot but we have a lot to do in a short space of time. So I've drew up a schedule to keep us going throughout the day - I've also had to allow time for Bills tutorials as they were re-arranged to this date after we had already booked the studio/actress.
I based this timetable off the timetable used by the 1st AD on my last film My Daughter, I've changed a few things here and there to match our shoot but this is mainly a trial run to see what would have to change on the official shoot dates in March.
As part of my research for Unmerciful I've been looking at actual footage shot during war, this time in Syria rather than Lebanon but they offer similar effects. I've been watching the Youtube/film series Citizen with a Movie Camera which offers a complication of civilian footage recorded within Syria around 3 years ago showing audiences aspects of the war not seen on News channels. As the sound designer I want this world to be as believable as possible and also as close to the truth as I can possibly make it.
'Bring justice to all those whose blood is wasted like this'
'What's life if we don't stand up for protection'
Women getting kidnapped at gunpoint in the street.
At 13 minutes you see bodies lying along the river.
You just hear wind and footsteps.
No reaction.
Stop, stop and go away.
They say it's a fight to the death. Fullstop.
In these clips you hear how unaffected the civilians are. They're breathing doesn't hitch when a bomb goes off. They don't say a word when faced with a row of dead bodies. They go out and brick by brick pick up the destruction left behind. They shout their loyalty and pray amongst the carnage.
It's so bizarre watching this from an outside perspective because it seems fake. It doesn't seem real and as a Sound Designer I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it real. I can however make the audience empathise with the characters and I think that's going to be my aim rather than re-creating a war zone perfectly.
As things start to finalise here is a provisional version of the shoot plan - currently I working on getting a re-draft of the script before I finalise any dates but the shoot is currently scheduled to start March 6th. The day after the shoot for Wallpaper is due to finish, so it's going to be an intense few weeks for me an the crew but needs must. I'm planning shoot dates based on scene and actors needs right now but once I get storyboards/equipment needs etc in place this could change. Right now it's just nice to have an outline to work towards.
For two of my projects this year I'll be working within sound design, one being a film the other being a sound installation. Sound is something I always seem to gravitate back too and the idea of being able to immerse myself in it this year is very interesting but at the same time a bit frightening because - sound is just so important.
Shakespeare's New Globe
Shakespeare's Globe from an audience POV
For this project (as it currently stands, it will probably change in the near future) I will have to go out and speak with members of the public. Since it would just be me I'd have to use a zoom with a rather small microphone attached to it. Whilst the voices of the public are very important to the project it only makes up around 1/3 of the sound design I have in mind.
1/3 Voices of the public telling me their favourite/ most memorable shakespeare quotes.
2/3 Soundscapes encapsulate the individual pieces (so The Tempest will have water, Henry V will have war/battle sounds etc)
3/3 Sounds of the entire world, bringing the piece together by bridging the gap between Shakespeare's London and modern day London.
Science on Sphere (SOS) an installation method used in galleries, tourist attractions and Universities created by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)
This will then trigger projections on a globe - but that's for another blog post.
Mirella's Film (Playing Cards)
The current synopsis is surrounding Syrian refugee and a caribbean girl born and raised in London, this story will surround them meeting whilst playing a game of cards and the cards played with trigger different flashbacks surrounding their lives. Whilst when first hearing this idea I wanted to keep music to a minimum Mirella let me listen to arabic hip-hop, which at first sounded very strange to my ears but it's grown on me. Although I still think that the nature of the film doesn't need a lot of music it did make me realise that I have a lot to learn.
As written in David Sonnenschein's book Sound Design;
'Hearing is passive and listening is active. While hearing involves receiving auditory information through the ears, listening relies on the capacity to filter, selectively focus, remember, and respond to sound. Out two ears together allow us stereophonic reception, helping us perceive distance, spatial relationships, and our place in the world.'
A huge proportion of this film is going to rely on sensory empathy something that sound design plays a huge role in and it's very important I get that atmosphere correct. Creating this soundscape will rely heavily on being able to listen. Listening to people's stories and interviews. Watching films immersed in that culture already. Most importantly it involves remaining silent. As a creative person it's very easy to run off with ideas and make them your own. However at this stage in development that would be the worst thing for this film because these characters don't reflect my life; I'm not the first generation of my family to be born in England, I'm not bi-lingual, I rarely leave the country to see other cultures close up and the horrors I've seen are no where near the same as the horrors the characters know. Yet strangely enough I believe this makes me the perfect candidate for the job.
All of the decisions I make as a sound designer will be made through research and sheer gut instinct, the same instinct the audience will be using to immerse themselves in the final piece. If I don't connect with the character neither will the audience, if I feel a certain way about a scene the audience may have a similar reaction.
OK so the obvious issue here is I don't speak arabic and I'm certainly not going to learn within the next year so a lot of this research is going to be trusting the opinions of those who do. But at the same time I'm not a huge fan of using music with lyrics during films, I think it distracts people from the actual action on screen (unless that song has been composed for that film in particular). Instrumentals will be fun to work with though especially considering the severity of the subject matter, juxtaposing them during certain scenes will be very interesting.
For now I'm going to go back to my research and follow closely the steps within this book (this book was a life saver last year so I trust it's judgement, along with some others) it takes me through the first script reading, to visual maps, sound maps, to experimenting and the final master.
Welcome to my blog, here you will find everything I'm currently working on during my degree along with some... insights into my mind. I guess that what you could call it, insight.
Also please bare in mind all opinions written on this blog are correct at the time of posting however, you know people grow up, some of them might change. Don't hold me too them.
