Bernard Herrmann

  Bernard Herrmann was one of the most distinctive and influential composers in the industry. His work includes the violin sequence in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and the experimental score present in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Herrmann was known to be a perfectionist, as well as very demanding - for example, when creating the score for Psycho, Hitchock's idea to have a Jazz sequence was ignored.

"[Good film music] ...can invest a scene with terror, grandeur, gaiety or misery ... propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down."

- Bernard Herrmann

  "The saxophone theme from Taxi Driver has become musical shorthand for the American urban environment."1. 

References:

1. http://www.bernardherrmann.org/articles/blog-herrmann100/

John Carpenter

"The horror in music comes from the silence"
- John Carpenter

  Escape from New York (1981) was not only directed my John Carpenter, but he also recorded and composed all of the sound, which is a similar story for a lot of his other work. In an interesting article (http://thequietus.com/articles/07784-john-carpenter-interview), I read that Carpenter composed the score for his first film 'Dark Star' because it was "cheap and fast". Since then, he has progressed into forming sound design for a number of memerable pieces such as The Thing (1982) and Halloween (1978).
   Carpenter stated in an interview: "You can do an orchestral type of score using a synthesiser". He forms a lot of his compositions by syncing the footage with a synthesiser and improvises as he plays. Collaborations with John Carpenter have included composers such as Dan Wyman and Jim Lang. A lot of his work is derived from an electronic style, to which he feels "drives and underlines certain moods and tempos".

Click here to listen to extracts of sound from Carpenter's 'Escape from New York'

Trainspotting: Opening Scene

Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996) presents a really interesting sound design for its opening scene. The monologue narration by Ewan McGregor's character Renton, contrasts with the upbeat style of the soundtrack. 

The track that defines this opening scene creates a British connotation that the audience can relate to. The well known monologue used within this section of the film, forms an initial background story to the character, as well as providing the audience with a mood and atmosphere that is carried throughout the rest of the film. 

The cheers of football fans as there is a goal, takes the scene out of context and puts you into the character's mindset.

I think that the levels in this scene are very good, as when the narration comes in, the non-diegetic soundtrack diminishes in volume in order to make it clearer for the audience. This opening sequence sets the mood for the film and feels relatively uplifting despite some of the subjects that arise within the monologue.

Major Project

For my major project, I have chosen to do the sound design for the opening sequence of Delicatessen (1991). I want to do this piece because when watching it for the first time, I envisaged the kind of sounds I would need, and the interesting atmos tracks that could make the first scene as eerie as possible. Below is a copy of the initial list I made of sounds that I need to record:

• Outside (empty) atmos track
• Wind
• Door opening/squeak
• Door bell
• Sharpening of knife
• Breathing
• Wrapping tape around arms/newspaper
• Scrunching of newspaper
• Van engine
• Peeling paper from window
• Van driving (slowly)
• Big inhale (breath)
• Rustling of paper bag
• Footsteps on wooden stairs
• Finger running across knife blade
• Hand on railing
• Huff (breath)
• Opening van door (with voices?)
• Footsteps on concrete
• Gear stick
• Lifting
• Bin lid opening
• Inhale of cigarette
• Emptying of bin
• 'Ah' - Dialogue of cigarette burn
• Rustling
• Bin moving
• Worried breathing
• door 
• Bin lid opening slowly
• Laughing
• Vocal reaction
• Big slice/chop on chopping board
• Squeaking chains

  Various elements of sound will present different perspectives. For example, the sound of the bin van will be fairly muffled as it needs to sound as though it is coming from outside. To do this, I will use the 'Channel EQ' effect on Soundtrack Pro. Reverb is another effect that I will use a lot, for aspects of the scene such as going through the pipes. I plan to add an echo to the sound of sharpening knives and either creating a pan or diminishing the volume to alter its perspective.

  The sound of the bin moving from outdoors to in, will sound as though it is coming from within. Therefore, the sound of elements such as the doors bell, will be muffled, along with 'huffing' to make it appear as though he is being dragged inside.

  I would like to have a classical song to open the piece, overlaying the atmos track. This could then sound as though it is coming from the radio when inside the store, and become fainter as the camera moves through the pipes.

  Overall, I plan to record as many tracks myself as possible, using either the protools or workshop studio. 

Delia Derbyshire

  "Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 - 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music and musique concréte. She is best known for her electronic realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop."1.

  She began her work as a BBC Trainee Assistant Studio Manager. Delia had interests in both the theory and the perception of sound. Her work on the Doctor Who theme is what she is most known for. Ron Grainer even said "Did I really write this?" to which she replied: "Most of it".
  "Derbyshire also worked with the composers Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Roberton Gergard (on his 1965 Prix Italia winning 'Anger of Achilles'), and Ianni Christou, doing sound treatments of their orchestral music. She was also assistant to Luciano Berio at the 1962 Dartington summer school.
  On being told at the workshop that her music was 'too lascivious for 11 year olds' and 'too sophisticated for the BBC2 audience', Delia found other fields where the directors we less inhibited - film, theatre, 'happenings' and original electronic music events, as well as pop music and avant garde psychedelia. To do this she encouraged the establishment of Unit Delta Plus, Kaleidophon and Electrophon, private electronic music studios where she worked with Peter Zinovieff [composer and inventor], Dacis Vorhaus and Brian Hodgson". 2.

  Delia once applied for a job at Decca Records and was told by the company that they did not employ women in their recording studios. I think that her success in the industry since then has proved them to have made a mistake. 

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire

2. http://www.delia-derbyshire.org/

Sonic Deception

A tactical deception unit named The Ghost Army during World War II used Sonic Deception in order to create scenarios that the enemy would believe. Every day activities found at armoured and infantry units were recorded as sound effects that were then played to be heard up to 15 miles away. The sounds were recorded using Wire Recorders and played back on powerful amplifiers and speakers.

Binaural Recording

  Binaural recording involves the use of two microphones in order to gain a stereo sound. This effect makes sound appear more 3D and often means that an audience become more engaged in a film, as the perspective of sound is more definitive. It is better heard through headphones, as it is more noticeable than speakers.

  The first Binaural unit was made in 1881 and was named a 'Théatrophone'. "It was an array of carbo telephone microphones installed along the front edge of the Opera Garnier. The signal was sent to subscribers through the telephone system, and required that they wear a special head set, which had a tiny speaker for each ear."1.

  'Planet B' is a science fiction drama by BBC Radio 7, that used binaural sound in a trailer that promoted its second series: Click here to play. I think that this sound design is really interesting and makes you feel like someone is in the room with you. Although I would like to do something like this for my major project, it requires the use of headphones and we tend to 'screen' the projects using speakers. Maybe this would be an interesting concept for my final year sound design.

 Another good example of binaural recording, would be the 'virtual haircut':

    This works so well, as the sound seems as though  it is constantly moving around you. It is explained in the recording how it is created, through using two microphones at either side. The concept of having a 'virtual haircut' is imaginative, as it is something that everyone has had experience in, meaning that they can relate to the sound and subject in greater detail.

 References

1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_recording

Workshop 14/03/2013

  After looking at everyones work and giving feedback, we looked at the opening scene for 'Apocalypse Now' (1979), as regards to it's atmos track. Although I haven't seen the full film yet, I think that this opening sequence sets it up really well and makes me want to watch more. The sound of the helicopter is slightly muffled, giving the illusion that you are in someones head. This sound is then layered on top of the music, creating a sort of 'beat' that fits with its tempo. This music really works for the opening, as the lyrics "This is the end", resonate with the picture on screen. 

  John Carpenters 'The Thing' (1982) uses the motif of an ongoing beat throughout. This, in turn, highlights the mood and tone of the piece. The beat becomes increasingly layered with other elements, adding to the tense atmosphere. I think that it is the bass notes of the sound that makes it unnerving to listen to as an audience and the repetitive beat increases the feeling of apprehension. The track was composed by Ennio Morricone, an Italian composer whom has written the music for over 500 films/television series.

A good example of levelling is in episode one of 'The Walking Dead'. The atmos track creates a sense of emptiness as soon as the scene begins. Although the sound of a bird is heard every now and again, it is never repeated and this is what makes it so realistic in a sense. The atmos is subtly always changing, also adding to the realism, and increasing the tension. When closer to the action, the levels increase, in turn involving the audience more into the core aspect of the scene.

Presentation of first exercise: 14/03/2013

  On Thursday 14th March, we each presented our finished exercises. Below is a copy of the notes made from my feedback:

Overall, I am fairly happy with my feedback. I think that positive elements of the work include the dialogue, where I feel that I have successfully synced my own recorded sound to the visuals on screen. I could have improved the piece by adding more tone when he was walking alone in the rain. If I were to, for example, alter the perspective of the sound in this scene, it will have put the audience more into his head space and helped them to empathise with him on a greater level.

Solaris Sound Editing

  I have spent a fair amount of time on my sound edit for this exercise, however, there are a couple of elements that on reflection, I wish I had included. For example, there is no sound when he picks up the fruit - something that I think was needed. Another thing, is that there is no sound between when the protagonist speaks and the character over the intercom speaks. I think that to improve this, I could have included something such as breathing, or even a slight bit of music to add tension.

For this scene, I have kept in mind what Neil said about altering a sound for each camera angle. Therefore, for each angle, I have tried to change the perspective of the rain sound, so that it comes from the left, right or central to the character in relation to the view onscreen. I added some indoor atmos to this scene as well because I felt that it needed a bit more depth.

I added markers to each step that was made by the character. This enabled me to correctly identify where to put each of the footsteps that I had recorded. Although when recording, I watched the clip at the same time, there were still some parts that needed to be altered. As well as this I added some reverb. This gave the section a greater relevance to it's space. I recorded the footsteps walking through puddles so I did not have to edit this in.

As well as the footsteps, I also included the sound of rain and a faint atmos track to this section.

When editing the buzzer, I used the space designer to add some reverb, as I think that it needed it to sound more realistic in it's kitchen setting.

 Because I recorded a friend as the voices for this section of the footage, I used the vocal transformer to alter the original pitch. This made it fit to the character much better.

  To give the impression that the voice was coming from the intercom in the second section of dialogue, I changed the EQ levels. This took off a lot of the low frequencies and give it a more realistic sound to match the picture.

  I found matching the voice to the picture fairly easy, as I had my friend watch the clip as he spoke, in order to gain a seamless effect.

  There have been a number of other effects I have used throughout this process. For example, altering the EQ levels in the second clip to make the sound of people walking past the protagonist seem as though it is coming from inside his head. I was unsure as to whether to include the footsteps and rain in this, and in the end decided not to, as I wanted the effect to demonstrate him shutting out the people in the world, not necessarily everything.

  Overall, I am quite happy with the end result, and although I would change some aspects, as already stated, I think I have recorded some useful sounds and edited them in a way that realistically fits with the given footage.

Solaris Sound Recording

  For exercise one, I have recorded various sounds needed for the clip. I plan to use these along with those on the server when editing my piece together. Below is a list of the sounds recorded myself:

• Rain in window (watering can on window)
• Rain (From rustling a plastic bag)
• Footsteps (on wet ground)
• Moving phone around in hand (moving around a tv remote in hand)
• Outside atmos
• Tray moving (sliding deodorant can along table)
• Sliding door (closing cabinet drawer)
• Sliding pan & putting it down (sliding deodorant can along table)
• News on television 
• Tap running in stainless steel sink
• Dialogue for male and intercom character

  Although I have recorded some of these sounds myself, after listening to them back, those such as the rain on a window is not as good as those available on the server, and so I have used these instead.

  When recording the sound, I used a Marantz 661 and a Rifle Mic.

Why I have chosen the clip from 'Solaris'

  I have chosen Steven Soderbergh's 'Solaris' (2002) as my mute clip for Exercise 1, as I think that it gives a lot of room for interesting atmos tracks and isn't too complex. I think that although it could be made into quite a complicated sound design, I plan to simply use sounds that I feel will give the desired effect. I think that often in films, tracks can be over-used and music is overlaid to hide a bad sound design. My plan is to use silence in clips that I feel necessary in order to portray an intended tension, and unnerving effect.

Research

  I have come across a sound design showreel by Marc Weber and really liked some of it's elements. Here is a copy of a link to the video: http://vimeo.com/55023069

  What I found particularly interesting, is the use of modified sound and sci-fi style effects. In the clip from Neil Burger's 'Limitless' (2011) he has altered the perspective of sound coming from the female character, making it feel as though we are in his head, in turn, understanding his emotions in greater detail.

  I also like the way stereo recording has been used, as I think that it gives the pieces more depth. It has helped me to understand the importance of this in my own work. I think a lot of the sounds are so effective because they have been added to a piece of animation footage. This means that the possibilities are pretty much endless - forming a great deal of room for development in any sound. I have not had the opportunity to record/edit sound for animation and think that it would be interesting to do so. Especially after watching the documentary on the sound design for 'Wall-E', I have become more interested in this kind of style. I would like to record the sound for this genre also, as I think that it could be fun to come up with different ideas of what to use, and figure out what works and what doesn't.

Breaking Bad Sound Design

  I have been recently been watching Vince Gilligan's 'Breaking Bad', and have found the sound design to be quite interesting and unconventional. After reading an interview with the series' sound designer David Porter, I have begun to understand more, how the sounds are created and why various elements are used.

  Breaking Bad utilises a lot of Asian instruments as a 'backdrop' for Walt because he is often very out of place in a particular setting. A specific piece of sound design that I noticed when watching the first few episodes, was when Walt discovered that he has inoperable lung cancer. A 'tinnitus' style sound from Walt's perception is used, making the audience almost hear what he hears. The dialogue coming from the doctor is muffled and makes us (as the viewer) focus on Walt's reaction in much greater detail. I think that this enabled me to empathise with him and 'lean into' the scene that was unfolding.

  The series uses "Scores that seem to blur the lines between music and sound design".1. In an interview with Porter, he states that this is intentional and often uses sections of the production's sound to include in his scores. He also revealed that the opening theme is the only constant sound throughout.

  Every sound recorded for 'Breaking Bad', is later processed, and I think that this is what makes it so different to other types of sound design. For example, there is a predominant use of vintage and software synthesisers and Porter says in his interview how he is "Likely to end up processing it anyhow"1.

  The vast majority of the sounds used in each episode is hardware as opposed to software, and this surprises me. However, I think that because David Porter processes the sounds it gives them a new dimension and often alters the original perspective.

References:
1. http://www.soniccouture.com/en/news-and-features/breaking-bad/

Session: 07/03/2013

  In the seminar on the 7th March, we discussed what needed to be considered when annotating a script as a sound designer. Below is a copy of the notes I gained from the session:

You must set the scene, thinking about:

• Atmos/Ambience
• Soundtrack/Score (Musicality)
• Dialogue (Diegetic/Non-Diegetic)
• Voiceover
• Foley
• Fx
• Motifs
• Design Sounds
• Frequency
• EQ
• Point of View

  As well as these elements, what locations and equipment that would be needed, as well as equipment will also have to be thought about.

When looking at the of the script of 'Lost Highway' by David Lynch (1997), we, as a group, came up with a list of what was needed (for the first page):

• The atmos of the room - Maybe an air con unit?
• The character breathing
• Foley of doorbell
• Cigarette - Inhale/Exhale, sound of ash (crisp) - Motif = exaggerated notion
• Stereo recording of the curtain's motor
• The sound of his clothes
• Intercom Dialogue
• The wind against the window
• Insects from outside

Every time the camera angle changes - Change the sound!

Session: 28/02/2013

  In the session, we focused mainly on perception and how the perception of sound can be altered to fit with a particular sequence in film. The notion of 'temporalisation' was also brought up. Temporalisation is the 'Influence of sound on the perception of time in the image'.1. Below is some information on Temporalisation that I have found on filmsound.org:

Temporalization    

 Influence of sound on the perception of time in the image 

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One of the most important effects of Added Value relates to the perception of time in the image, upon which sound can exert considerable influence.  

Three aspects of Temporalization:   

• Temporal Animation


Sound can animate an image to a greater or lesser degree. Sound's temporality combines with the temporality already present in the image. Sound and image may move in concert or slightly at odds with each other, (in the same manner as two instruments playing simultaneously.)

Static shots may be inscribed into the time continuum via sound. In the prologue sequence i Bergman's Personastatic shots are animated by the sound of dripping water and footsteps. [ more >]

• Temporal Linearization


In the silent cinema, shots do not always indicate temporal succession, wherein what happens in shot B would not necessary follow what is happening in shot A (Some shots were perceived as happening simultaneous.) The addition of realistic, diegetic sound impose on a sequence a sense of real time, like normal everyday experience, and above a sense that time is linear and sequential.  [ more >]

• Temporal Vectorization.


Sounds orient the images toward a future, a goal, and create feelings of imminence and expectation. Many visual movements in a film may be played in reverse such as images of characters who speaks, or plays the piano. Sound  on the other hand are more oriented in time and hard to play backwards. Sound make the shot going somewhere.   [ more >]

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Temporal Animation

Temporalization depends on the type of sound present. Depending on dentistry, internal texture, tone quality, and progression, a sound can temporarally animate an image to a greater or lesser degree, and with more or less driving or restrained rhythm.  

Temporal animation factors are.. 

• How sound is sustained. 


A smooth and continuous sound is less "animating" than an uneven unfluttering one. Try accompanying an image first with a prolonged steady not on the violin, and then with the same note played a tremolo made by rapidly moving the bow. The second sound will cause a more tense and immediate focusing of attention on the image.  

• How predictable the sound is at it progresses. 


A sound with a regular pulse (such as a basso continue in music or a mechanical ticking) is more predictable and tends to create less temporal animation than a sound that is irregular and thus unpredictable - the latter puts the ear and the attention on constant alert. The dripping of water in Persona as well as in Tarkovsky's films provide good examples - each unsettles our attention through its unequal rhythm. A rhythm that is too regular cyclical can also create an effect of tension, because the listener lies in wait for the possibility of a fluctuation in such mechanical regularity.  

• Tempo 


How the soundtrack temporally animates the image is not simply a mechanical question of tempo. A rapid piece of music will not necessarily accelerate the perception of the image. Temporalization actually depends more on the regularity or regularity of the aural flow than the tempo in the musical sense of the word. For example, if the flow of musical notes is unstable but moderate in speed, temporal  animation will be greater than if the speed is rapid but regular.  

• Sound definition 


A sound rich in high frequencies will command perception more acutely - this explain why the spectator is on alert in many recent films. 

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Temporal Linearization 

Let us take a scene that occurs frequently enough in the silent film: a crowd reacting, constructed as a montage of close-ups of scowling or grinning faces. Without sound the shots that follow one another on the screen need not designate actions that are temporally related. One can quite easily understand the reactions as being simultaneous, existing in a time analogous to the perfect tense grammar. But if we dub onto these images the sound of collective booing or laughter, they seem magically to fall into a linear time continuum. Shot B shows someone who laughs or jeers after the character in shot A. 

The sound of the spoken voice, at least when it is diegetic and synched with the image, has the power to inscribe the image in a real and linearized time that no longer has elasticity. This factor explains the dismay of many silent filmmakers upon experiencing the effect of "everyday time" at the coming of sound.  

Synchresis is a powerful factor in linearizing and inscribing images into real time. 

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Temporal Vectorization

Imagine a peaceful shot in a film set in the tropics, where a woman is ensconced in a rocking chair on a verandah, dozing, her chest rising and falling regularly. The breeze stirs the curtain and the bamboo wind chimes that hang by the doorway. The leaves of the banana trees flutter in the wind. We could take this poetic shot and easily project it from the last frame to the first, and this would change essentially nothing, it would all look just as natural. We can say that time this shot depicts is real, since it is full of micro events that reconstitute the texture of the present, but that it is not vectorized.. Between the sense of the moving from past to future and future to past we can not confirm a single noticeable difference.  

Now let us take some sound to go with the shot - location sound recorded during the the filming, or a soundtrack mixed after the fact: the woman's breathing, the wind, the chinking of the bamboo chimes. If we now pay the film in reverse, it no longer works at all, especially the wind chimes.  

- Why? 

Because each one of these clinking sounds, consisting of an attack and then a slight fading resonance, is a finite story oriented in time in a precise and irreversible manner. Played in reverse, it can immediately be recognized as "backwards". Sounds are vectorized.

Given a comparable time scale (say two to three seconds), aural phenomena are much more characteristically vectorized in time, with an irreversible beginning, middle and end, than a visual phenomena.   

( http://filmsound.org/chion/temporalization.htm)

  As well as this in the lesson, we also learnt about modes of perception:

  There are modes of perception which distinguish the way an audience engages with a film. Walter Murch says that there are two types of sound, these are 'Embodied' and 'Encoded'.

  After being given a sound clip, we were asked to use this to alter the perspective. With this, I played around with the space designer to make the dialogue sound as though it was coming from various places, such as through a phone, in a large hall...

References:
1. http://filmsound.org/chion/temporalization.htm