EVALUATION

For the first task, I chose the Lost in Translation scene as I thought the fact that there was seemingly little sound to be recorded upon watching it would be hard to create. As the clip has no interaction with loud sound and obvious foley, I wanted to see if I could find the right balance between foley and soundtrack. I took inspiration by another one of Sophia Coppola’s films ‘Somewhere’ [1] where the film is incredibly pensive and lingering, with not many words said. This minimalistic approach which Coppola favours, is true for both films, with the sound design although using restraint, still being memorable. You can hear the main characters breathing and little sounds that are usually overlooked or ignore in the mix, like the sound of the embers on the cigarette he smokes. I took this technique as inspiration; of finding the little things to record and put high in the mix such as breathing and footsteps that are far away on film. 

I recorded the foley sounds in the protools studios with a Marantz 661 and a Sennheiser 614 which I felt was incredibly important to do as the foley sounds were to be so fragile in the mix; they had to be incredibly clear. The problem I had with recording was that I felt that the recordings may have been too quiet, as I had to increase the gain on the compressor a few times for my recordings. Also a problem with faulty mic stands meant that I had to hold the mic while I was recording my own footsteps which made the recording not as clear as I would have liked. Another problem I ran into was the fact that the protools is still not completely soundproofed; as I tried to record in the studio, people that opened the door of the room was audible on the microphone which was annoying as many continuous recordings I recorded were ruined by this.  

However, I was pleased with the accuracy of the footsteps I created and the initiation I took in tying a paper strip around a mic stand to imitate Charlotte tying it to a tree. Another recording I am glad I factored in was the recording of the material I found in protools for the brides dress as it would not have been realistic enough if you heard her footsteps but not her dress. 

During editing the scene, I immediately ran into problems that could have been otherwise fixed mainly due to faulty computers but also due to the fact I had nearly forgotten about have to save properly on Soundtrack Pro and didn’t Save Collect so lost my files. I had to restart the project nearly three times before I managed to find a computer that worked. I found editing the footsteps of the project quite difficult as although I had some good recordings, the one file I needed kept corrupting so I had to re-do one sequence of footsteps multiple times. Also, manipulating them so they match perfectly with the picture was challenging as people don’t walk in perfect synchronisation so I had to keep chopping and changing the footsteps until they fit. A technique we were taught in a workshop proved useful though, as we learnt how to use the wet option on Space Designer on the footsteps to make them echo. I used this technique as Charlotte walks into the temple, increasing the wet setting as she comes closer to the camera. I also used the gain Channel EQ to make it so her footsteps start quietly when she is walking up the stairs, as she is far away and then get gradually louder as she comes further towards the camera. This technique was great as it created a sense of space in the scene, so the footsteps weren’t just monotonous. The song that I chose for the scene, SWEET SOUL by Trans Atlantic Rage/Balogh, I thought was very fitting as it was very atmospheric and tonally moody enough to create that air of mystery that is wrapped around the scene. Ultimately, I would have liked to create my own soundtrack on Logic so I could vary the tones but I ran out of time. I felt that my problem in this project was planning as I found that I nearly ran out of time for the edit due to problems with clashing edits in other modules. I recorded the foley early but  the edit was almost rushed in a way and I did not spend as much time as I would have liked to have on it. When I presented the film, it was noted that the sounds that I had intended to be quite high in the mix such as the footsteps, wind and tying paper to a branch were quite hard to hear. This was due to the fact that I leveled on headphones as I didn’t have enough time to level on speakers, again due to poor planning on my part. This was disappointing as I had tried to take influence from Somewhere in making little sounds that aren’t usually noticeable quite high in the mix so that the audience recognizes these as things that add to an otherwise silent mix which is unusual and something new for the audience. However, I didn’t execute this but took heed for the major project as to definitely mix on speakers for the major and future projects. The fact that I needed variation in tones for the soundtrack was mentioned too as when when Charlotte had visible reactions to something, this needed to be highlighted by a tone change to create a deeper sense of emotion for the audience so they connect with her. Overall, I was glad with my recordings, but I was disappointed with the amount of time I had given myself to edit which prohibited me from getting the best mix that I had envisioned. The things that I took from this edit were to allocate myself more time to edit and also to mix on speakers instead of headphones, while making sure the levels I recorded at were correct. 

For the major project, I chose War of the Worlds because after watching the scene, I felt like it would be both challenging and interesting to recreate the sound of an alien that sounded like it was moving through a space. I initially wanted to experiment with recording foley sounds working with water and machinery such as a scanner with a contact mic to create the sound of the alien but due to factors such as also doing sound for a poorly scheduled narrative strand documentary, I basically ran out of time to record these sounds which was incredibly disappointing as I knew I had ran into these problems in the last project. Fortunately I had already been researching alien sounds by watching prominent sci-fi films such as Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind for ideas on how to create my alien sound. I watched a video called ‘Ben Burtt on Lightsaber Sound Design’ [2] where the composer of Star Wars talked about overlaying different sounds and creating a sense of movement and space which inspired me to use this exact kind of technique in creating the alien sound. I created the sounds of the alien on Logic using a pulsating drone for the alien and created the opening of the aliens head with a standard instrument which was a violin that had been synthesized, taking inspiration from Wendy Carlos, who stated that ‘to polish my craft, I tried to synthesize known instruments like the violin, drum or oboe.’ [3] 

For the foley, I created breathing, various different footsteps, a rat scurrying and a mirror being put down in the protools studio, this time making sure that no one would come in and interrupt my recordings like they had done on the last project and I booked a working mic stand from stores so I could record the sounds clearly with having to hold the microphone as well as create the sound. 

After I had all the sounds, I put them into Soundtrack Pro to edit them and level them. As the levels had been far too low in the mix in the last project as I had worked on headphones, I decided to completely work off of the speakers in Edit 6. For the alien to sound like it was moving, I decided to use the technique of volume change like I did in Lost in Translation to show the alien getting closer and further away. I also decided to use the technique of panning which I had never tried before. I read about the technique of creating space and how sight and sound help each other to create a sense of realistic movement and space in film. ‘...In Top Gun, when jets fly left to right across the screen and then exit screen right, what may be perceived aurally is the jet flying off-screen...the mulitchannel film sound system does not have the capability to accomplish this effect technically, but it is nonetheless perceived because of vision overwhelming auditory spatialization.’ [4] 

I used the technique of panning left to right when the probe whipped its head from left to right so it felt like you were moving your head along with it and could see what it could see and increased and decreased volume for tenser moments when the audience believe that the probe is going to catch the humans. For the foley I recorded, I used reverb on nearly all of the tracks to give it again, a sense of space so that it is believable that they are in the cellar. I increased the gain significantly for the alien and the foley sounds I recorded because my last project was too quiet. I felt that something was missing from the drone of the alien because although I had panned and volumed it to make it sound like it had a sense of space, I feel like I hadn’t added enough layers to the sound like I had originally planned but then like my last project, ran out of time to rectify this before presenting. 

It was commented that some of foley was a little loud and we had a discussion about the loudness of foley for cinematic purposes but the main problem was that my alien sound needed something else on top of it to make it not just have one continuous droning sound. After the presentation, I re-edited the sound so that the alien had another metallic buzzing sound on top of it that heightened and lowered in volume to create a greater sense of space in the cellar. I also added a low humming sound when the camera zooms in on the pulsating lights on the alien probe, taking inspiration from the film ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ [5] where there is a close-up of the spaceship and a low humming sound is also heard. I also lowered nearly everything in the mix so it wasn’t as loud as to create a more realistic sound, as the people in the cellar would be trying to be quiet as not to attract the alien.

Overall, I thought think that I put a lot of effort into the scene and tried to research other films in that genre for influences in the scene. I tried to find a sound for the alien probe that  would scare an audience due to its loud, minor key synth presence. I used many techniques to make the probe feel as realistic as possible such as panning to create a sense of space and to create tension when the audience thinks that the humans are to be discovered. I used a fast increase in volume to strike tension into an audience when the probe looks right into the camera or whips its head quickly and I feel like this scene would appeal to any sci-fi genre fan as I took influence from sci-fi films and tried to make the probe and foley as realistic and spatially aware as possible. 

In the future, I will have to allow time for projects as the two tasks I did in this module could have been better if I had had worked in more time to spend on them. I will use the new techniques I have learnt such as panning, reverb and automation to further my abilities in future projects.

Bibliography

Somewhere, 2010, motion picture, American Zoetrope, distributed by Focus Features, United States. [1]

Ben Burtt on Lightsaber Sound Design, 2007 [online video] Last accessed 20 December 2012 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0WJ-8B6aUM&feature=player_embedded [2]

JACKSON, Blair (2002) Wendy Carlos, March from A Clockwork Orange [online] Last accessed 17 December 2012 at http://web.ebscohost.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0cf5c595-8d8d-4eaa-a8cc-6542f5dfc793%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=125  [3]

TOMLINSON, H (2010) Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition, Influence of Sight on Sound Localization [online] Taylor & Francis Ltd. Last accessed 20 December 2012 at http://www.dawsonera.com/depp/reader/protected/external/EBookView/S9780080517407/S42  [4]

 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), motion picture, EMI Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures, United States. [5]

WOTW varnishing

Today I re-edited my clip by adding a shimmering, buzzing sound  called Moonlight Shimmer in Logic on top of the drone I had used on the alien to make it seem more realistic and alive and not just one drone sound. 
As the note was not a continuous one, I dragged it along in the piano roll mode so that it would now be continuous and I could edit it in Soundtrack Pro.

A screenshot of dragging the midi along in Piano Roll it was continuous.

I bounced the single track and put in into Soundtrack Pro and edited the volume so it sounded like it was getting closer or farther away to create a sense of space in the edit.

In this shot, it illustrates the use of volume I created to create presence and a space for the alien probe.

For the part where the camera closes up on the aliens light pulsations, I took out the synth noise I had used before and got a synthesised humming sound off of freesounds.com to use so it sounded like you could hear the inner workings of the alien's cogs, humming away. I faded the noise in and out with volume as that part is only brief but I also increased the pitch in Pitch Shifter II to make the hum more high-pitched as the original file was quiet low and couldn't be heard over the drone sound I already had.

Screenshot of the sound I used.

I increased the pitch in Pitch Shifter II to make it audible over the drone and faded it in with volume.

I also lowered the volume of some of the foley that I used as it sounded a bit too loud in the Void and as I had discussed with Ron, the fact that the people would be trying to be quiet in order to hide from the alien is an important one to consider in sound for film. 

WOTW presentation

The presentation was good as everyones standard of work was much higher than our previous project and everyone had spent a lot of time on their projects. War of the Worlds had been edited by three other people but we had all taken a different approach to the alien sound and foley as well.
The main problem with my clip was as I had feared, that the alien was just one continuous note that pulsated and moved with pans that needed something else to make it seem alive. 
Luckily, I can re-edit the film and add this into the mix.

EDITING: Soundtrack Pro

I started by first creating the atmos for the basement of the scene by finding a basement tone atmos off of the network and setting it as my basis. The soundclip itself was a little too heavy but it was the only one on the network that I felt gave the sense that it was recorded in a echoing cellar so I lowered the volume of the clip right down so it was just there in the background. 

At the beginning of the scene when the alien probe comes through the hole in the roof, there are raindrop dripping through the roof. I got two rain dripping sounds off of the network, one with continuously heavy dripping, like the drips pictured on screen and the other just single drips falling and echoing onto the floor, making it seem like they are falling in a cellar. I put them both playing continuously through the scene, the heaving dripping very loud at first to signify the water dripping from the hole but when the camera moves away from that, I set them very low in the mix so they only be faintly heard. The single drips I played at a medium level all the way through because I thought they were a little flair that helped you to believe that they were in a trashed cellar. I also made one of the drips quite loud for when the alien turns his head at 0:50 as an almost trigger for the alien turning its head as well as the man and the girls shuffling. 

The volume gently lowers as we get further away from the dripping hole in the roof.

The drips get louder as the alien goes back through the hole to create a sense of space.

I then began with editing the footsteps and putting them into the mix. Although I had been watching the video while recording the footsteps, it was hard to record them exactly in time with the video so I had to heavily edit the footsteps so they sounded realistic. I matched every step they took to an step I had recorded and also used other footsteps for the other man who is hiding with them in the basement. 
I used a small scuff of the foot I had recorded on the concrete for the scene at 0:50 where the man and the girl have to duck so that the alien won't see them. I thought that putting a small noise in the mix would be the reason that triggers the alien's cause for turning its head and investigating where they are stood. 
I put reverb on all of the footsteps, upping the wet of the soundtracks giving them an echoing effect so it sounded like they were running around in a basement. 

This shows the amount of chopping I had to do to the footsteps, the volume I used to lower the sound as they walks away from camera and the EQ to make it sound like she is is in cellar.

For the people running around the basement, I realised that when I recorded the footsteps, I hadn't thought about their clothes making a sound around when they moved. Luckily, I had recorded cloth in the protools studio when I worked on the Lost in Translation clip so I edited in the material sound, quite low in the mix, so that when they moved, so did their clothes. Although it was a small factor in the mix, it did make a difference and made the sound more realistic. 

This screenshot shows how low I had to have the material in the mix as it wasn't overly obviously and as the recording had been originally quite loud, I decreased the gain on Compressor so it wasn't overbearing.

For the breathing, as I had took many takes, I didn't really have to edit or cut out the breaths at all. However, as the girl is a very little girl, I felt that my breaths weren't pitched high enough to sound realistic so I used the pitch effect and used Pitch Shifter II and upped the semi-tones for a higher pitched version of the sound so it then sounded like a little girl breathing. I added in the breath for the man very low in the mix for the scene when they are hiding behind the mirror because I felt that if the volume was too high, it wouldn't be realistic as they are trying to be quiet to hide from the alien. 

This shot shows the Pitch Shifter II and how I used it to increase the pitch so she sounded younger and how I increased and decreased the volume when she came in and out of shot.

For the rat scurrying across the floor, I used the rat feet foley I had recorded at a very low volume with some distortion added to it. I decided that I wanted to have a rat squeaking sound because this coupled with the rat's movement, I felt, would draw the alien away and also it was a nice little effect in the mix. However, I couldn't find anything on the network that I couldn't use for a rat squeaking so I used a free sound I found online of baby chicks chirping and then edited it by pitch shifting it up to sound like a rat squeaking. 

The internet page where I found the sound.

I increased the pitch in Pitch Shifter II so the rat's squeak sounded more high-pitched.

For the alien shutting its metal visor down, I didn't have a sound for so I looked online on freesounds.com and found a metal hubcap rolling on the floor then falling and used this for the metal sound of its visors clamping together but quite low in the mix.

The internet page where I found the sound.

For the mirror sequence, I decided to only use the sound of the mirror being put down that I had recorded instead of using the scraping of the mirror being moved around as well. I did this because I felt that the people moving the mirror wouldn't want to make any sound to attract the probe to them so I just used the sound of the mirror being put down and added a little reverb to it so it had an echo to it, as it is a heavy object in a cellar. 

Here I added a little reverb to the mirror but upped the dry so it sounded like it was actually being put down it front of the camera and not echoing heavily throughout the scene because it wouldn't in real life.

For the part where the alien's eye focuses on the girls shoe, I used an actual camera shutter sound of zooming into something because even though the probe appears to be futuristic, I felt that the zooming sound was still electronic enough sounding to use for the alien. I added some reverb to it though to make it sound more threatening and lowered the frequency with a Low Pass Filter as the original sound was brassy.

I lowered the frequency because the original sound sounded a lot harsher and brassy and also put reverb on so that the metal echos a little when the metal lids close.

For the alien sound, I bounced the track I had made in Logic and then put it in the Soundtrack Pro project. However, the panning noise and the volume I had edited in Logic sounded much more different in Soundtrack Pro and was hardly noticeable so I had to re-do the entire panning and volume in the mix. However, this factor made it easier for it to correspond with the other sounds in the mix. 
The alien sound itself, I felt although with its panning and volume changes to make it sound like it was moving, felt like it was missing something more to give it that sense of space. I tried very quickly at the end of the edit to try and add something to the project in logic that made it sound better but I couldn't find the right kind of sound and then I ran out of time to really edit it again which was unfortunate. 

This shot shows how I panned the drone sound for when the machine moves around the cellar and used volume to give it a sense of space, depending on how close it is to the camera or to the humans trying to hide from it.

However, overall, I enjoyed the edit and making and finding foley sounds to use and manipulate.

EDITING: Logic

Although I thought I was going to use foley to record the alien probe then manipulate it, I ended up running out of time to so as problems with people not doing their job in my Narrative strand film ended up with me basically working on my documentary every day for two weeks and not having time for recording which was disappointing.
However, I used decided to use Logic to manipulate synth to create the alien, taking inspiration from Wendy Carlos' work.
I started by trying to find a low drone sound for the bulk of the probe as I felt that as it was so large and created a lot of tension in the scene, it needed to be loud and drone like to create a uncomfortable presence. I found a synth sound called Frenchie in one of the synth plug-ins and played it continuously throughout the piece. 
As this continuous drone, would be flat and have no sense of space around it in the clip, I used volume and panning in Logic to create movement and the feeling that the alien probe was moving around the space

I increased volume for instance when the probe's head is close up, and decreased it when it was far away. When the probe hears the sound of the girls shoe, I increased the volume immediately as it swings its head back towards the camera.

I used panning to create movement to the probe, for instance when it swings its head around towards the camera, I panned from the left to the middle. When the probe swings its head from side to side, I also panned from left to right to create the sense that it is moving.

For the alien probe opening its head at the beginning of the clip, I used again, electronic synth sounds to create a sense of presence and fear. I used a synth called FM Beauty for when the head opens, a violin sound called Soft Cutter that had been manipulated by synth to sound static-like for when the blue light turns on and another synth for when the main white lights turn on, which were louder and gave a harsh, metallic echo sound which I chose because it created a sense of dread; the head opening sounds I chose were to make the audience be unnerved by it, because of the immediate loudness of the head when the scene starts, the audience knows that the probe is threatening and I wanted to emphasise this with the static-like, synth sounds.

I used the same sounds for when the head closes and cut the sound off immediately when the head closes apart from the Frenchie synth sound which I faded out gently as it retracts from the basement. 
For the bit where the camera closes up on the throbbing lights of the probe, I used a tubular bell synth which I pitched down to make it sound like the inner working sounds of the alien when you get close to it.
Overall, I wanted to alien probe to sound very futuristic, frighting and threatening and the metallic, throbbing synth sounds that I used, I feel emulate this idea of the alien probe.  

Star Wars - lightsaber sound

As War of the Worlds is a sci-fi film, I decided to go back to the one of the greatest sci-fi series of all, Star Wars. The sound for the films was done by Ben Burtt who in the video below talks about how he heard the sound that fit the lightsaber after seeing a painting of it. He recalls recording the sound of a projector motor that made a 'wonderful humming sound' that inspired him for the lightsaber, but says that it was missing a scintillating sound. He happened to record this sound by accident from the signal from a television set inferring with his microphone. He put together with the hum of the projector and that made the lightsaber noise. Although he had the noise, he had to get the sense of movement, so he played the sound he had created over a big speaker and then used a microphone to move towards the speaker and away from it which created a pitch shift and 'an authentic verisimilar of a moving sound.'

This process of creating a layer of sounds and then creating a sense of movement is exactly what I need to do create my alien probe sounds as I am having difficulty creating a effect that sounds like it is moving. I think I will use a pitch shifter, volume and panning to create the sense of space that the alien needs to appear realistic in the sound clip.

Foley for War of the Worlds

I started by booking out a Marantz 661 and a Sennheiser 14 and recording the breathing of the girl and the man in the Workstation protools studio myself trying to make my voice softer for the girl and lower for the man. I recorded the video on my phone so I could watch it then breathe along with the video.

In the Harmer protools, with the same equipment, I recorded the footsteps of the man in one of the foley boxes, again watching a video of the clip on my foot so I could do the steps in time. As the basement in the clip seems to be dirty and cluttered with debris scattered everywhere, I imagined that the floor underfoot would sound slightly crunchy and dusty but would be a hard surface so I scattered dust from one of the boxes on top of a concrete slab and wore heavy shoes so the difference in weight would be evident after I recorded the little girls shoes. I asked Peter Farley to do the footsteps for the little girl because he was wearing light trainers and I wanted there to be a difference in sound and weight for the two sets of footsteps. I also asked him to do the scraping of the shoe on the concrete for the part where the girls foot accidentally slips out and her dad pulls it back in.

The mirror recording was hard because I wasn't sure what to use that sounded heavy enough for mirror being picked up and then dropped onto the floor. Also, I had to factor in the fact that the people in the clip are trying to be quiet so the sound wouldn't be that loud anyway but I wanted to get an accurate recording. 

I recorded the mirror being scraped across the floor as it is picked up by the man by using a broken piece of concrete scraping across a debris scattered piece of concrete. I realised that the sound sounded too harsh and loud on playback so I took a piece of newspaper and put it underneath so the sound wasn't too loud and was a slightly dampened. 

For the mirror being picked up and put down, I decided to use another large piece of concrete against the debris scattered one and place it down so it sounded like a large mirror that had a weight to it.

For the mouse scurrying across the floor, I used two little pieces of cable ties and scraped them quickly along the concrete so they sounded like little feet running away from the alien probe. I also recorded both of my hand scuffing along the debris scattered concrete for when the man is crawling on the floor, creeping away from the alien. 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

I decided to research Close Encounters of the Third Kind because of it's obvious sci-fi genre relating to the scene I am editing but also because it is composed by John Williams, one of the greatest composers, I believe. 

The five tone musical structure used in this film to communicate with the aliens is so incredibly iconic; Williams has the ability to create a memorable tonal tune, for example, his two tone motif for Jaws is recognisable all over the world and is purely only two notes played over and over again that immediately sends a sense of fear into the room when it is played. 

The motif for Close Encounters is a five tone progression which universally translatable, is supposed to musically resemble H-E-L-L-O. The scene where the aliens and the humans communicate through sound, the five notes is really striking as you see, unlike other alien films, that both species are happily communication with each other without a problem. This kind of alien sound, I can't really take inspiration from as the aliens in War of the Worlds are hostile and are trying to kill the humans than communicate with them.

The sound from the ship itself as it comes over the mountain, starts as a low rumbling sound and then gets louder as the majesty of the mothership comes into view. As it gets closer to the landing strip, a close up of the ship sounds a low humming sound to match the pulsating lights but the general sound of the ship is a low rumbling that changes in pitch to show a sense of space. I like the idea of having a low humming sound to show the inner workings of alien machinery as there is a part in the War of the Worlds scene where there is a close up of the light pulsating on the alien probe that I could take inspiration from. 

War of the Worlds research, alien sound

I was researching the aliens from War of the Worlds online, as I have never watched the film before to give me some ideas of how to create the alien probe sound in the clip and came across this sound clip of the noise they used for the tripods in the film.
The alien's horn is bassy, almost deafening and terrifying to listen to. I jumped when I first heard the sound, as I had the volume on high, and the sound immediately filled me with a sense of dread and tension. The sound almost signifies something bad is going to come, like in battle when soldiers blew their horns to signify that the enemy is coming. In this instance, the alien tripod is signifying to its enemy that it is coming and is confident in the notion that there is nothing that the humans can do to stop it.
I wanted to take influence from this sound, not to create one like it, but to take influence from the bass of it. The sound is so loud and spacey that it creates the image that the alien is dominant and large and I want to create that for my probe, as it is such a large thing moving around the basement, I want to create a sense of presence and fear from this. 

Wendy Carlos' influence

Wendy Carlos is an composer who specialises in electronic music and music for scores. I first heard about her in a workshop we had where we reviewed the opening scene from a Clockwork Orange where she put Henry Percell's 'Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary'  through a Moog synthesiser for the main theme throughout. I thought this was really interesting as the mix between classical music and electronic music is a experiment that in this instant worked and is described as being 'a unique fusion' [1], combining the factor of the main character, Alex DeLarge's, love of classical music into the futuristic setting it is in. 
As Carlos is an electronic composer, I thought this would aid me in researching ideas for the scene I have to compose for War of the Worlds as I imagined my alien to be completely electronically composed on Logic and would rely heavily on the synth like Carlos did. 
In the article 'Wendy Carlos, March from A Clockwork Orange' she says 'Synthesising was almost like sound sculpting - you'd adjust the dial to make it sound better. To polish my craft, I tried to synthesise known instruments like the violin, drum or oboe.' [2]

I really liked the idea of manipulating a standard instrument with a synthesiser to create a sound. I felt that the alien in the clip itself was quite musical in itself, found in research of the actual sound for the film, with the terrifying horn to signify their arrival. Music is something to be enjoyed and the alien's turn it into something to to signify fear. 

[1] [2] JACKSON, Blair (2002) Wendy Carlos, March from A Clockwork Orange [online] Last accessed 17 December 2012 at http://web.ebscohost.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0cf5c595-8d8d-4eaa-a8cc-6542f5dfc793%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=125

The Scifi Sound Effects That Take Over Your Brain

http://io9.com/378928/the-scifi-sound-effects-that-take-over-your-brain

This short article I read just to get some background research on general sci-fi sound effects as to get inspiration for my alien probe. The article talks about iconic sounds from sci-fi films such as the Darth Vader's speech and the sound from the light saber which I think I will research further.
The sound from the alien probe in the 1953 version of the War of the Worlds film is there though not as terrifying a noise, I feel, as the writer describes. This may be because the writer is much older and therefore was first introduced to this sound in the 50's, having not heard anything like it before. The sound sounds like a high pitched clicking sound with an echo effect on it, nothing like what I have imagined for my alien probe, whose sound won't be subtle, it will will be loud and throbbing to create a greater sense of tension and fear.

War of the Worlds script

As the process of reading a script and imaging sounds to record that we had practiced in the workshop on the 8/11 had worked for me before, I decided to do it again with the War of the Worlds project.


Pieces of wood fall from the hole as a robot camera comes floating
down into the hole. Ray hides behind the stairs. The camera eye
opens and lights turn on for it.


Rachel is hiding as well. The camera looks around the couch.
Ray moves as to not be seen by it moving around the couch. It
sees a rat and quickly follows it for a few seconds. Ray and
Harland exchange looks as Ray runs toward Rachel to hide with
her.


The robot continues checking out the basement. Harland grabs
an axe to cut off the camera from it's limb. Ray shakes his head
no to get him to stop. Ray silently does expressions to convince
him not to.


Harland goes towards ray so they can hide together. Harland almost
makes it before he thuds against a cabinet full of glass containers
which clang together. The robot hears this and turns around toward
the noise. They run to a different spot.


Robot gets closer...


Ray puts a mirror in front of the doorway to trick the robot
into seeing another robot. The camera looks over the mirror and
sees nothing.


It turns around just as... Rachel's boot slides, making a noise.
The robot views into the boot that is hanging out. It looks behind
the mirror to find just a boot sitting there. Ray, Rachel and
Harland are in the middle of the basement. A sight of relief
comes as the robot camera exit's out of the hole.



The atmos of the cellar is needed with the sound of wood being heard falling down, although I don't think that sound will be needed for my clip, the sound of the alien is very important as it 'floats' down the hole so needs a continuous sound that is lulling and pulsating. The sound of Ray is needed as he is hiding so maybe breathing recordings and the sound of him moving slightly. The alien opening its head and the lights being turned on need recording. Rachel is introduced as hiding so breathing is needed and maybe some clothes movement will be recorded. The sound of the rat running will be recorded as well as the footsteps of Rachel running to Ray.
The rest of the scene has been cut out of my clip but the sound of the robot getting closer can be manipulated with volume. The sound of the mirror being picked up and put down will need to be recorded and the sound of Rachel's boot sliding out, quite loud as the script actually mentions it making a noise. The sound of the robot exiting the hole will also need to be recorded.

Taken from http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/War-of-the-Worlds.html

Initial ideas for War of the Worlds

My initial ideas for War of the Worlds began with concentrating on the main thing in the scene, which is the alien probe that is pursuing the characters and is the cause of fear and tension in the scene. 
After doing some research on the aliens from the original book, the aliens were described as resembling jellyfish. Using this factor, I wondered if I could somehow record sound with a hydrophone to make it sound like the creature was somehow amphibious like using it in the shower and other interesting ways like putting water through a sieve and recording that.
However, upon looking at pictures of the aliens from the film, I felt like these sounds would be too weak to emulate the majesty and size of the alien
  

I also had enough idea of recording a scanner or a printer with a contact mic to make the alien seem more electronical. For editing the alien sounds, I thought that I would use panning  and volume to create a sense of space with the alien is in. For the scene where the little girl's foot accidentally slips out and the alien notices it, I thought I would use volume of the alien sound to create an immediate sense of tension and emergency. 
For foley, I would record the footsteps and breathing of the characters and would create the sound of the mouse and the mirror being put down.

Drive

I remember the first time I watched Drive, I was immediately struck by the soundtrack. The opening credits with the pink stylised font backed by a 80's influenced track. The film begun as a modern, slick action movie and then carried on with a modern electronic track with a nod to 80's incorporated in there. 
It was striking in that in stereotypical heist films, the typical music used is incredibly different to the one the composer Cliff Martinez used.
The beginning scene with the track 'Tick of the Clock' by The Chromatics. The underlaying bass creates a tension that is hardly noticeable but helps to create suspense and uncertainty when the driver is eluding the police. 

One of my favourite scenes of the film is the lift scene where the driver and Irene are in a lift with someone who has a gun and has come to kill him. The scene begins with the hitman already being in the lift and the driver and Irene stepping in. The hitman gives the driver a suspicious look and a bass note is played along with this look to create tension and make us realise that the man is suspicious. The sound of the lift is louder than would be usually to also create a sense of tension and uncomfortableness. When the driver clocks the gun in the man's jacket, the sound of the lift is slowed right down along with the movements of the character's to create suspense and the slow, tonal theme plays when he gives her a lingering kiss in slowmo. The sound works beautifully here, clearly conveying the emotion in the scene, i.e. he knows he has to kill the man to protect her, but his violence will push her away. It is also a secret moment as the man can't see the kiss and with the sound enhancing the emotion of the scene, it lets the audience look in on a private, emotive moment stole between two characters, he knowing that this will be the last time he will get to kiss her, get to show his love for her before she will leave him. The sound of the lift rushes back in as the film quickens back up to normal speed, and the driver throws the man around the lift, the echoing bangs of his head hitting the metal wall, creating a sense of violent claustrophobia, and then proceeds to stamps on his head, the foley being loud, echoing and sickening to listen to. 

The juxtaposition between the two scenes; the slow, emotive kiss and the violent murder are heavily influenced by sound design, the soundtrack evoking emotion and the harsh foley snapping up back into reality and into the moment of the film. 

The synth tones are used at moments where the driver, who sometimes doesn't answer or is silent. The tones tell the audience how he is feeling or how the people in the situation are feeling about each other without speech. For example, when the driver is invited into the kitchen of Irene and Benicio's house and she asks him, 'Is it dangerous?' referring to him stunt driving, he answers with an amused smile and so does she, the music swelling slightly to show that they have had a connecting moment despite only just meeting one another. 

John Cage's 4'33

Although a seemly ridiculous notion, the piece '4'33' is interesting in that in the three movements it holds, there is complete silence. To people this may sound pointless but the piece is interesting to me in that every-time you hear it, you will hear a completely different piece. For instance, in the piece I have posted, conducted by Lawrence Foster, you hear various sounds such as a plastic cup, keys jangling, coughing, slight laughing and other sounds. However, the experience of listening to it can only be truly had while listening to it live. The purpose of the piece, I feel is to be acutely aware of your surroundings and yourself. It is almost like an exercise being conducted where you are the performer and also the spectator. You and everyone else around you are entertaining each other, including the full orchestra and conductor. Although the piece is supposed to be silent, there can never be somewhere completely devoid of sound and this is the point of the piece. 

Chris Watson: Touch Radio

http://www.touchshop.org/touchradio/Radio49.mp3

Chris Watson's audio diary 'A Journey South' is intriguing in that he paints the image of the 'frozen planet' he is in with just his words describing the landscape and the desolation of the places he is in. He describes how there is nearly no sound on this 'planet', and swaps between talking about his experience and letting you listen to his recordings.
He explains how on the ice, it is a different story. He talks about recording the whales with hydrophones under the ice shelf and then smoothly leads into the recording, the sound of the weddle whales and the ice cracking, giving an amazing image in the head without needing photographic imagery. It is especially image creating if you listen to the audio with headphones; it gives you the sense of being under the ice with the whales, a feeling that is slightly unnerving!..
He talks about recording 2000-3000 penguins and the pandemonium of noise he records is remarkable in comparison to the landscape they are in.
The recording of the weddle seals vocalising under the water with hydrophones is amazing purely because of the remarkable pitches of sound they do create. The recording is unique and I have never heard anything like it before. The reason it is striking I feel is because if you saw an image of weddle seal, without sound, it would be a nice thing to look at but the sound that he recorded really brings the creature to life, showing how they communicate through sound  - that I would never have associated with a seal. It really brings another 'dimension' to the seal and is interesting to listen to.
Again, the recording of the orcas is very interesting to listen to; the orcas makes very complex vocalisation strands through echolocation. It is almost like you are hearing a conversation between the orcas, incredibly sounding like an electronic machine or electricity as opposed to an animal.
I watched 'Frozen Planet' when it was broadcasted on television and although the programme was praised for its stunning visuals, the sound is really what makes the barren wasteland and its secretive creatures come alive. The sounds that Chris recorded are incredible to listen to as they have never been heard before; some of the creatures have never been vocalised before. The job of staying in South Pole for months in the freezing wasteland must have been incredibly difficult but the recordings he came back with are so unique and really bring to life the creatures he recorded in a very colourful fashion.

Photos by Chris Watson and Jason Roberts from the http://www.touchradio.org.uk/touch_radio_49.html website.

Feedback from Lost in Translation

As I didn't mix on speakers, this was quite evident in my work as the first time I was hearing it properly was on the projector. The foley I had recorded was much lower in the mix than I would have liked, but the soundtrack I chose was at the right level.
Neil and Ron commented that although the foley was much lower than I had intended, it worked as the scene was quite gentle so didn't need to be overpowered by foley. However, they did remark that although the soundtrack worked well for the mood of the scene, there needed to be variation in the tones such as when Charlotte is moved by the bridal party and a scene moves to another location.

The feedback was:
"The overall feeling was that the work was well executed in terms of recording editing and Foley work. Most of the pieces contained little processing and manipulation of sounds. This will enhance mood, tone, emotional content and overall story telling."

I felt that this was fair, the clip did have little processing but I felt that the clip didn't need over processing as it was a slow, gentle clip with an air of intrigue to it. Although, I should have varied my soundtrack in tone to create emotional triggers.
For the major project, I will definitely use more techniques on sound clips we have learnt in workshops on logic and soundtrack pro such as distortion and reverb to create a more ambitious world of the clip we will re-record and edit. 

Kurt Cobain: About a Son

AJ Schnack directed this beautiful, peaceful documentary about Kurt Cobain using audio tapes from interviews that Michael Azerrad held with him.

No photos are seen of Kurt, of Nirvana or music of Nirvana, the photography is primarily places and haunts Kurt Cobain used to live, see and explore. 

I thought this piece played at the beginning of the film 'Benjamin Gibbard & Steve Fisk - Overture' was so somber, setting the mood of Cobain and following aerial camera over Washington, setting the scene of Cobain's home. Like Cobain was a spirit flying over his home, the music setting the mood of melancholia. 

I think the fact that the film includes no footage or photographs of Cobain speaks a certain kind of truth to him. Cobain although being famous for his music, was such a great character and was followed, documented and filmed but his voice and his music alone conveyed a truth to them that wasn't noticeable when just being filmed. His actions speak lies but without his famous face and style being in the film, his words seems more real and enables you to imagine Cobain and his life without referring back to his image on screen. The most noticeable thing about the film is that we hear him almost speaking his own words rather than someone else talking about who he was. 

The soundtrack is an ambient one that helps to move along the cinematic images showing places of his childhood, to the streets of Seattle where he found his fame. This helps to make the watcher feel emotional closer to what Cobain is saying and lets you easily visualise the places from his life without trying to imagine for yourself, another factor that helps you to see some truth to him. The fact that the director has chosen not to use any music of Nirvana's is very striking but again, helps the viewer to see the more human side of him, almost forgetting his rock persona and let you experience the 'real' Kurt Cobain.