Evaluation for sound Ben Volonakis

The role I played in the project was in charge of sound. Sound can do anything to a series of shots, it can build suspense, or throw you right into the deep end of pure immersion and you do not resurface as you are submerged in a storm of sounds and vision.

The genre chosen for our project was a war film - In terms of sound, this genre demands sounds to be loud like a battlefield - this meant that it was going to be an attack upon the senses, and to engage the audience within the fight, with gunshots and shouts and rustles etc. Many of which were picked up by the camera originally, but in some areas, the sound was buffeted by the wind, or just was not clear enough.To correct this, I added mp3 sound effects of gunshots, and cut sound or, using final cut's timeline, lowered the sound levels in places so it couldn't be heard so it could run smoother than straightforward cutting.

The timeline resembles what I wanted it to be - a huge collage of sound to emphasize confusion and danger with gunshots and ricochets and shouts and cries from the soldiers. To accompany the editing done by the editor, I wanted to make the audience feel like the soldiers were in trouble and threatened by the German MG42 position by including constant gunfire from the MG42 with powerful shouts by the Germans to intimidate and be generally and conventionally scarier than the ‘goodies’ of the scene. 

In research, I watched many war films like ‘letters from Iwo Jima’, ‘days of glory’ and sections of the ‘band of brothers’ movie; specifically the battle of Brecourt and Carantan, where I was inspired to go against my previous urges to include a mix of soundtracks, as this would just take away the sheer realism that the rest of the group had tried so hard to create in the project. In fact, without the use of music it created much more interest and belief in the film, whereas they would probably note the music, and that kills the belief a small amount, but in a war film, you must make sure that the audience bond with the characters upon the screen – and therefore the more realistic, the better.

The only thing close to music was an ambient and atmospheric drone to build tension – it also acts as a foreshadow to action, and the change in music from silent rustling and hushed whispers in the night scene brings the audience in that extra bit closer, and makes them pay attention to what the squad leader has to say. The drone also has a dark edge to it, strengthening the foreshadow of death and warlike destruction mentioned before.

War films are generally action packed, with so much action that adrenaline kicks in, and you are on the edge of your seat, completely engaged with the film – and sound could be used to channel extra excitement through exaggerating peaks and still keeping some buzz from action in troughs in the storyline. What I expected, and what I am sure we achieved is that there is never a dull moment within the battle, thanks to the ongoing gunshots and ricochets which makes the soldiers seem as if they are surrounded by deadly bullets. 

In many war films dialogue is not a huge feature - the focus is more upon the guns, the soldiers and who gets killed or kills. Again, me and my group fighting yet another urge to fit a longer story so the audience is lead through a bit more talking than the average battle. However, we had to fit the whole sequence into 2 minutes, so, using sound bridges and shouts without the audience having to see every word come out of their mouths, It makes the sequence more compact and easier to gain impact. and it also adds depth and makes the sequence flow without breaking up the action for a soldier to say something. with action flow, you have to let it snowball, or it will not reach a climax, and that will make it somewhat more boring.

In a nutshell, the sound I wanted to add was an exciting, action filled, noisy, atmospheric ball of sound that is thrown into the ears of the audience from the second the play button is pressed. I wanted a thrilling war atmosphere to accompany and compliment the editor’s, director’s and the cinematographer’s work to add that extra quality to the sequence. 

Evaluation For Cinematography

Melissa Pitout

Our film was based on world war two, where we had the British army land on the German land and invade them the next day. The sequence we shot would be taking place at the middle/ soon after the beginning of the film, because it shows the British landing on Germany and the start of the invasion soon after taking place. During this sequence one of the German men is shot by one of the main protagonists in the sequence, this would help the audience get more of an idea of what else is going to happen in the film. For this scene I wanted to create a lot of tension and a build up of suspense, as well as anxiety in the sequence.

As my roll in the group was the cinematographer, I looked at other war films to pick up ideas on what we could do in our sequence, to give of a more intense effect. The two main films that influenced me were ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (Steven Spielberg), and ‘Band Of Brothers’ David Frankel. These two films influenced me because I thought the use of cinematography, was highly effective and got the audience involved the whole way through.   

 For cinematography, I was influenced by a lot of the camera work used in ‘Band of brothers.’  I liked a lot of the camera worked in the first few sequences. As it enhanced the effect it had on to the audience.
The first camera shot that I really liked in ‘The band of brothers,’ was the use of a mid shot, looking as though it was coming form another soldiers perspective (, image 1 below shows this). This shot used hand held camera movement, which involved following the rest of the soldiers from behind.  I thought that this influenced the genre because it got the audience more engaged with the action taking place, as the shot made them aware of how characters are feeling during this time; tense and scared. It also increased the pace of the sequence, which linked in with the narrative sequence. I liked the effect that this had on the audience, so I decided to use this in our own sequence. The next shot that influenced the sub genre, was a close up of the soldiers feet, also being used with held hand camera movement and it was also combined with a quick paced cut, this helped the audience feel tense, and we wanted to have the same effect be used in our film, so we were highly influenced by this shot, and used something similar in ours. 

Image1- ‘Band of Brothers’                              Image2 –‘Band of brothers’

    

I have developed my narrative through the cinematography, by using close up shots as well as well as the use of mainly held hand camera movement, to give the sequence a distorted feel to it. This way, it fitted in with the narrative, as war films are needed to be quick paced, in order for the audience to see everything going on in the sequence. However, we also used a range of slower paced camera movements at the beginning of our sequence. A close up shot of the binoculars, and a steady camera zoom out to see the soldiers face. We wanted to use steady pace movement at the beginning of the sequence and make the movement quicker to develop the speed of the tension within our sequence, to highlight the narrative structure. These shots such as the steady close up, also helped to introduce certain characters, as well as show importance of our characters used as individuals, this close up that was used was influenced by Steven Spielberg’s ‘ Saving Private Ryan,’ as this shot showed the importance of the character as an individual, but soon after this shot came a long shot, which showed the audience the importance of the characters as a group. We used a similar technique in our sequence, to show the significance of teamwork in war films.

Images below influenced by saving private Ryan- Steven Spielberg (similar shots used in our sequence to develop the narrative structure, in our sequence.  

 

 

In order to develop our narrative in our sequence as a group we would discuss what we thought would look good for our narrative, and talked about band of brothers and saving private Ryan and used similar, ideas to give off the same effect, this then would engage the audience more, and keep them interacted with what was going on.
We also talked about camera shots and what camera angles would look best where in order to keep the narrative simple but complex at the same time. For example a high angle used in our sequence to suggest weakness for the character, and quick paced camera movements to illustrate the genre. We would then watch what we have done and see if it needed to be re-done, and what transitions would look god to help increase pace, or slow down pace, but for the transitions to fit in with the camera movement. We also talked about weather or not there should be use of slow motion in some areas, and the use of fades combined with this in shots such as a character falling down after being shot to give off a bigger effect.

                                 When it came to adapting and changing our planed on the day of filming, we ran through the whole sequence      and talked about what camera angles would look best where. We then filmed the camera shots, angles and      mo               movement, and watched back our sequence, and discussed whether or not the camera movement looked good en               enough or not. If it didn’t we re-filmed our sequence and tried something different, until we thought the sequence      flowed. 

I wanted the audience to be greatly effected by the use of cinematography that we used. As there was a great range of different camera shots and angles in the sequence. I wanted the audience to engage with characters, and get a sense of how they feel is specific parts of our sequence. For example a close up used to introduce a main character, and long shots used to show the importance of the group, a similar effect that Steven Spielberg used in ‘Saving Private Ryan’.
I think that it would be important for the audience to engage more with the characters as it gets them involved, so the use of cinematography for our specific genre is highly important.  

When we got our feedback, we were rather happy, many of the people in the classroom said that the cinematography was effective, and that our sequence had many different camera angels to keep them interested throughout the sequence. Some people said that it would have been nice to have a few more close up shots of the amour to get the full detail, which might of added a slightly bigger impact on the effect of suspense. They also said that it would have been nice to have more panning camera movement to get a bigger view of the surroundings the characters were in, instead of using a hand held movement throughout, to illustrate the establishing shot.
Many people said that although we used a lot of hand held camera movement, it was rather effective, and it increased the pace of the sequence, which, had a build up of suspense.
An example that someone liked was the use of the mid shot of the shoes running and the camera following, as it looked like it was from another soldiers perspective, and the hand held camera movements made it look more realistic, and it gave them a sense of anxiety   

Sequence and Director evaluation - Screenshots Needed

AS Film Sequence Evaluation - Screenshots needed

   The part I played in the process of creating our short film was that of director. This meant that I had to brief the actors on the day of filming to create a chosen effect during scenes, and help choose the appropriate setting along with choosing some of the props. This also meant being in charge of the ‘Mise en scene’. The most prominent emotions that I wanted the characters to portray during filming were desperation, unity, a level of discipline, and specifically in the last segment of our sequence, I wanted to show fear and weakness in the character who cannot bring himself to shoot the final German soldier. I then wanted to have that contrasted by the ease in which the officer who is with him, guns down the fleeing German, to show the greater experience and power in military hierarchy.

   The genre of our film is War and this meant that I was given some specific requirements to include in my direction. First when we found our filming location, I went to see it with another member of the group to think about where the scene would take place. To one side of the area there was an obvious train track, so we had to structure the filming on the other side of the field near a small grouping of trees, used as the forest in our first scene. I also talked with our editor, who was luckily part of a re-enactment group about authenticity of props we could use to give the audience a more realistic performance, allowing them to focus more on the emotion of the piece rather than the authenticity. On the direction of acting, I watched several war films including “Hurt Locker”, “Letters from iwo jima” and “Saving private Ryan” to get an idea of common emotions. The discipline and control combined with the subtle desperation of the soldiers when things on the battlefield get tough was a common factor through all of them, and as I said earlier, these were my primary intentions.

   Being the director, I had a large impact on the narrative, as along with the other members of the group we watched a number of assaults from “Band of Brothers” films. After I put forward to the group my intentions, and we adapted a storyboard we had all contributed to, to have moments which could make these main emotions obvious.

   With the attitudes of the actors set, I wanted the audience to respond in a similar pattern to the change of the soldiers. At first, the drop and the alerting of the Germans should make the audience feel on edge, but the calm and direct nature of the higher officer should make the audience feel relieved. This feeling of relief and confidence should carry on into the next scene where I tried to tell the actors to seem focused and ready for the mission they were being briefed on. When the attack starts, the audience should feel excited with the action going on, seeing the aggressive Germans opening fire, and the soldiers embarking on their flanks. When the two officers towards the middle of the scene get shot down simultaneously, the concern that I made the officer show, and the further opening of fire, were intended to give the impression of desperation, and for the audience to feel the desperation whilst watching. When the grenade is seen being passed down the line, the feeling of anticipation should be at its key moment for the viewers, and as the soldiers approach during the action, the anticipation should continue. However, when the rookie soldier is seen to pause, I directed him to shudder and hold his gun, building tension for the audience, and have the return of desperation as the German sprints away. But then a huge relief and feeling of triumph should return when the officer with the rookie soldier shoots the fleeing German. I directed the officer to deliver the last line of “Next time, don’t hesitate” with a stern but understanding tone, to give a lasting effect of sympathy and relief when the audience see the relief in the rookie.

   Most of the feedback that I gained about my work was good, as it showed the viewers had understood my intentions. The fact that I have been involved in theatre in the past and directed in musical events in and out of school helped me describe what I wanted from the actors clearly and precisely without confusing them.

editing tasks for week

Tasks to be completed by editor by the end of the week

 Day 1.  to have a whole rough cut with all shots needed in sequence including small editing snips
 Day 2. to have sound fitted with the editing so it makes sense and wind got rid off so there is no disturbance
 Day 3. to have shots and meanings that i have discussed with harri are in the sequence and the rest of the group understand the story and cuts i have made.

Sound Aims to be done by the end of the week.

As soundman, Im going to look at including non-diegetic sound like music, and diegetic sound like shouts, gunshots and more detailed sounds like rustles etc.
But what we also must acheive is do get rid of the annoying wind in some scenes. Other than that, most of the main sound aims are on track to be done by wednesday. by thursday music can be added and the wind sound will be gone. magic. working with mitch, we can sync up the sound lag.

Director

To do:

• Help with the editing to allow the parts that I thought were best directed to feature prominently in the finished sequence
• Start writing my evaluation of the aspects of directing that went well and had room for improvemeny

Notes on evaluation so far:

• I shall upload onto here some of the directed shots I was heavily involved with, and also screenshots that inspired me from other films I have looked at
• I was proud of the work done as the storyboard was accurate to the final product, and the acting was realistic and appropriate
• I thought I could have tried some different directions on a certain shot, but we managed to cope with the shots we have got

To be continued...

Aims for cinematography this week

Things needed to be done for cinematography  

• Although i have finished with the actual filming, i will need to help out with the editing, and see if i am happy with the camera shots in the order they are in, in order to see if the sequence flows. I will also help the editor, perhaps with transitions, and suggest what transitions look better when moving into different shots. 

• I also need to start my evaluation this week, on cinematography, and talk about where i got my ideas from, and why i chose those particular shots, as well as why i chose the camera shots from particular sequences. 

Shots that we really liked in the sequence
and we thought we effective: 

• We liked this close up shot of two because it introduces the audeince to the characters.It also gives the audience a feel of relationship within the characters. It also then creates sympathy for them, and gets the audience more involved with what is going on in the sequence.  

I liked this mid- long shot because it got other characters involved within the frame. It then shows the importance of all the characters and the role they play in the short film sequence. 

The use of this mid shot was used to create sympathy for the characters. As it enhances the friendship they have, and the team work needed in the film extract. It also engages with the audience more as the camera movement is held hand and the camera moves closer to the action taking place. This makes it almost look as though the camera is from another characters perspective., having a larger effect on the audience as they see how importance team work is in the genre. 

music tracks

Some pretty epic music for some scenes - try to listen all the way through, some bits might be better than others.
- use stuff like this to take inspiration from in creating music for the film
use of army drums, drones etc;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DWyuWh7gPA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wM7oPmAcyE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdNuchx1OGA&feature=related

I know they are off the same game, but they will work well with a war film.

comment, expand upon this shizzle :p
Much love

Music

taking a page out of band of brothers' book, we might not include music to add a certain realism to it, but i do have a good load of bare war film tuneage if we do choose to include music
Im thinking of adding a drone to build tension in 'troughs' and faster paced music at peaks - on top of shouts, gunshots whatever to make a really immersing sound overload.

What went well with the cinematography

What went well in cinematography   

On the day of the filming, it went great everything went to plan, we got loads of filming done and the weather was really good. Everyone turned up on time for the filming and we got loads and loads of different camera angles. 

Pictures to show the cast and what went well... 

We got loads of different camera shots angles and movements to go into this sequence making it look far more interesting and captivating.

Directors Task

Even though most of my targets were met on the day of filming, I still have a few more to complete in lesson. By Thursday I will have:

• Bought in an SD card adapter to allow the footage to be used more effectively
• Analyze the footage against the storyboard and work alongside the editor to include the more realistic and appropriately directed pieces

This will help our finished product be AWSOME!!

editing task for end of week

my task for end of week is to get a sequence that is roughly in order so we have a understanding of the order and length the sequence will roughly meet.
also i will be hoping by more the end of the week to start cutting the footage down into its fina cutting form so that we get cleaner shots and the sequence isnt in a coomplete rough form.
another aspect will be looking at is having the footage all uploaded completely and all in the final cut program ready to edit and get into a rough cut.

Sound Aims

Aims in terms of sound are:

• Add MG-42 gun sounds and  cut them to fit the 'burst' fire.
• Use 'ambient sound' to create atmosphere
• Cut out annoying shiz like wind 
• Exaggerate things like 'crunches' at paradrop 

• add diegetic sounds like shouts, gunfire,  other war atmospheric stuff.

So im gonna try to get this done by thursday - wind will be cut during editing, but i shall try to fin the diegetic sound about on the internet, and we could make your own foley shouts.                                                           

Aims

What we do now is to make aims to meet before thursday;
As Soundman, im going to get a load of sound effects for us to choose and add to the clip.
Mitch is going to put a rough cut together for thursday, and we will discuss what stuff to put in and what clips to add/cut and ting with Mel and Harri.
Much love

Awesome shizz

Awesome footge here boys and girls! we have managed to get the filming done with alot of time left for editing ad ting much love x

BBFC- Deciding what age restriction we should give our film extract

• As a group we were thinking about what we age restriction we should give our film extract, and looking at the BBFC's requirements for age restrictions we decided that the suited age restriction, best suited is 15. This is because it complied with all the policies for a a 15 film. 
  

  ’15′

  Suitable only for 15 years and over

  No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.
  

  Discrimination

  The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
  

  Drugs

  Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
  

  Horror

  Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
  

  Imitable behaviour

  Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
  

  Language

  There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest  terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
  

  Nudity

  Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.
  

  Sex

  Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely  to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
  

  Theme

  No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
  

  Violence

  Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.
  
  We think that our film suits with the criteria above so we rated it a 15, that was no-one below the age of 15 will be effected by any of the violence or language.
  

 

effective use of after effects and sound

here is a video we think has brilliant use of sound and after effects to give a really good sense of action and stress in combat.

Sounds - guns and ting

http://soundbible.com/tags-gun.html

A whole list of gun sounds that we can use

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwW31u6wYvE&feature=related

MG42 we gonna use in the film - probs best one we can get

Costume and props

Here is a picture of what the costume will contain for the british soldiers included in the film extract, there is a basic uniform of denison smock, 37 pattern trousers, collarless shirt and studded ammo boots.
There are then less basic items like 37 pattern webbing, para beret, scrim scarf, and ammo bandoliers. we then have a lee Enfield rifle which is the basic rifle for british soldiers in ww2. We have chosen this costume as it is 100% accurate in what they are wearing and not inaccurate like many war films can be. this gives authenticity to our film extract and shows small details have been taken into account and looked at.

character profiles

Pvt Lawrence
Lower down in the squad, with no rank hasnt seen serious action before. He has been eager as a child to join up for the war and now its is first time facing the germans.

 

SGT Bass
sgt bass is a veteren to combat and has been in the army before the war started, he was one of the few handpicked to join the newly started regiment.

 

 CPL Coates

Tyrone is a australian that was drafted into the british army, he was from the small town of perth and as the war has progressed has turned into a hardened soldier. He gives morale to the squad and is a man the younger and less exsperiences soldiers look up too.

 

Pvt Sam and colin Higgins

These two men are cousins in which Sam the very young fresh soldier and his very much older cousin Colin who has more exsperience and knowlege of the army compared to his younger cousin. This is Sams first time in combat like Pvt Lawrence and Colin soon realises the cost of war.
PVT S HIGGINS:

PVT C HIGGINS:


CPL T seymour

Seymour is a older genration solider and has seen conflicts on the commonwealth territories of Britian, he like SGT Bass was picked to join the unit because of his knowlege in warfare and tactics but this is Seymours second drop with the unit and has to adjust to the tactics of this modern ww2 unit.

 

 Captain A Looke

CPT looke is a vetren of the british army, with over 8 years of service he has alot of knowlege and exsperience under his belt, CPT looke has always been a officer that leads from the front and believed in lead by excample, this makes him a valuble officer to the rest of the squadand one that is looked up to and admired.

Risk Assessment

Risks 

 Because we are creating our own sequence from a war film, there are quite a few risks, so we decided to write down what we thought were the important parts to keep in mind while carrying out our project. 

1. Set safety- Because we will be outside, we have to make sure that all equipment is kept well out of the way so that people do not get hurt or even so damage the equipment.
   
2. We have to make sure that all equipment doesn't get wet or dirty while filming, this could cause damage and cost the group money.
   
3. Keep equipment within our group at all times so that we are aware of where all the equipment is, this way we will avoid theft.
   
4. Traffic- Make sure that all of us are aware of traffic while entering the main property, as it is near a train track as well as the main road, we are also using friends to act in our film we need to think of their safety too while filming and make them aware of the precautions that we are taking while filming. 
   
5. Setting- We are filming in a location which not many of the crew members are familiar with, so we need to make sure that all of use are located near each other in order to stay safe and kept together so none of us end up getting lost, this will also save us all a lot of time during the process of filming our sequence.
   
6. Weather- We need to make sure that the weather will be alright to film on this day, not because of the characters as such but it's more safety for the euipment so we need to make sure that if it is raining, we need to have an umbrella to keep the camera dry to prevent damage.
   
7. Explosions- We are not planning on using explosions however if we do decide to use any we need to make sure that we are far enough away from them to revent getting hurt, and keping all crew members safe as well.

Dates And Organizations

Dates and Organizations

We have decided that we will be filming this Saturday the 12th of march. We chose this weekend because we thought it was a reliable time and convenient for all of us, an we can get all of it done in time for editing the Monday the 21st. As well as this we have found some private land that will be big enough to hold all of us on the premises, and we will be able to use ammunition legally. Ii will also give us more time and we won't feel the need to rush as much while filming, there is also a rather large amount of land, this means that we will be able to have more shots and do more camera shots form different angles.  

Ideas On Cinematography

Cinematography  

• For our film sequence we felt as though we should look at different film sequences from war films in order to get a feel of what the film should in theory look like. From the extracts that we have looked at we liked the idea from a sequence off the film. 'Band of Brothers', The reason why we liked the look of this sequence, was because it used a good use of camera angels and shot to make the sequence look ,more interesting and realistic.    
•   The image on the top left side of this page in a camera angel that we are thinking of using, this shot consists of panning movement from a perspective of a character moving through the bushes, this shot looks highly realistic, and effective, this will then keep the audience engaged with the sequence.
  

• 

  The image at the bottom of this page is another shot that we are thinking of using, because of the use of hand held camera movement, it creates a sense of distortion for the spectators, this gives them an idea of how the characters feel perhaps, which gets the audience involved more with the sequence, keeping them more entertained.
  
  
   
• This is another shot that we liked in the sequence of 'Band of Brothers, because of the use of the mid shot to show the audience the body language of the characters, to again get them involved and keep them entertained.   

  

• 
  

Sound

A good idea for diegetic sound effects is shouts/conversations within the distance; for Germans, we can use a normal youtube clip of two germans talking or whatever and put it in background as the troops get closer.

We can intensify smaller details in sound, such as rustling of grass, splashes in puddles etc.

Also, we can use a failproof effect called the wilhelm scream - it is good for action/ explosions as it isn't a long drawn out thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdbYsoEasio

^ a nice compilation of wilhelm screams (as if you haven't heard it already!)