Coming to a close: Final Updates

Although the official deadline for the films finish is the 6th June, because of the screening event on the 5th of June; Capture 14 we had to have a copy finished by Friday the 30th for testing purposes etc.

This wasn't a problem and in fact gave us a reason to work more efficiently.

I had a look at the over colour corrections on the picture cut. It was difficult to find a balance between shots looking to red/overexposed white and the outdoor shots looking too dark and being too grainy. But I chose what was more important per scene.

I used the final day to make a few additions to the sound design such as adding "club" music to the gentleman club scene, making it seem like the victim was leaving a busy establishment, worked on a few fades and dead sounds in the dialogue.

Ron gave the film a quick run through and had no major qualms with what we had and so I did one final watch through, making minor adjustments along the way before I left Owen to do the leveling, before handing the final sound design over to Jess.

Final Sound Updates

At various dates between the 19th and 30th of June I got into a system of working with Owen on the sound design: I would give him a list of tasks to complete, then disappear for up to an hour before coming back and listening to what he had come up with. Then I would make suggestions of how to improve what he had to give a better effect, and sometimes hand over sound that I had found online during my time away, that I thought matched the theme and tone of the film. I would do this until we worked through the check-list, then repeat the process with a new list everyday/meet up.

It was very monotonous for me, to babysit but it was a method that worked and guaranteed that work was being done, but at the same time I think having me reassuring that I liked what he had come up with helped Owen be a little more confident in his own work.

It was unfortunate that our actors were completely unavailable to do any ADR, due to their own final year deadlines and requirements, and so we did the best we did to cover up any messes in the sound, especially when it came to the outside shoots where dialogue was at times echoy or eclipsed my the sounds of cars, and in the hotel where a creaky floorboard can be heard every now and then.

There was a limit to the amount of feedback that I could give to Owen, as sound is my weakest area, and so I got Emma, another sound student to listen to out film a few times, she helped give Owen a number of suggestions on how to improve and adjust certain sounds/tone to give it a certain feel.

Neil and Ron were also very helpful in giving feedback as we went along, stopping in every few days and listening to certain sections and highlighting weak areas to improve.

Titles and Credits

We had an overall picture lock in place but I used this time to go through the title and credits with Jess, as well as colour correcting the bloody hand shots, as this was the alternative to doing a re-shoot.

The credits of most horror films are rarely the default setting, and normally have quite a ornate/musical tone to them, befitting to the style of the film.

I went for a more cursive look because I felt it fit with the characteristic of the mysterious character of Jeffrey, well spoken and charming with a slight sharp edge.

Second Screening Session

As stated in the previous feedback, we had to upload a low quality version of the film due to upload problems, but it also turned out that Jess was exporting the file incorrectly which also affected the picture quality. This time around all of these problems had been fixed and as the picture was also locked it made for a much better viewing experience.

We got overall a very good review. The film was chilling and the build up to the final scene was very effective. The main issue was the look of blood, which due to the lights that was trained on it, gave it a syrup type look, which was said to be quite distracting, it was suggested that we should reshoot it, which was quite funny as little did they know what they were watching was in fact a reshoot. Unfortunately we couldn't reshoot even if we wanted as the actress was no longer available. The ending is also something that held mixed reviews as it held two different connotations. I think it's nice that it did because it matches with the theme that you're not sure if what you're seeing is real or not.

Not much could be said about the sound as there was barely anything there that could be commented on.

Reshoot

Because we couldn't go back to the theatre to do a reshoot, I improvised by using the Workstation. I cleared an area and pulled across a black curtain which would mimick the black curtain used in the theatre scene. Josh was unavailable due to his own work load and schedule and so Tom stepped in to be his "Arm double" as the shot would be quite quick it would go unnoticed. Unfortunately the actress turned up with the wrong outfit and so I had to improvise again. I asked if she minded getting the black vest top she was wearing dirty, and used that instead. I had to be careful with the shot because in the original shoot she had a pink vest top underneath a black armless top. So I had to avoid shooting her from the side. We also had to avoid getting in any shots of the floor as it was clearly different from the one in the theatre.

                     

 

This reshoot took just under an hour and we got a multitude of shots and the blood looked a lot better which was a relief.

Sound Updates

As previously stated; the picture copy we gave Owen had gaps for the establishing shot and I asked him to stay away from the last scene as that was due to change. Just like Jess I arranged to see Owen on various dates to check his progress.

06/05: At this point there wasn't too much to see in terms of a sound design as Owen had been mostly working on syncing sounds/dialogue fixing and other not so obvious, but important things.

08/05: When I came back he had added a few tones that started to give me a feel for what the rest of the sound design would be like. Telling him that I liked what I was hearing so far I told him to continue along with where he was going and gave him a list of things and ideas that I would like to see completed by the next time we meet. This included: A sound motif for Jeffrey, a design for the "argument" section and a high pitched violin type tone for the killing scenes.

14/05: My initial meeting with Owen was supposed to be on the 12th, but he told me to bother coming as there was a technical issue and so he wouldn't have much more to show me. When I finally came in on Wednesday I was disappointed to find that Owen had deleted the progress he had made, claiming that he wasn't too sure about it. He didn't save this other copy anywhere and so we essentially had nothing. I told him to recreate some of it as I reminded him that the next screening we had was supposed to be a sound screening and he would have nothing to be analysed. I also gave him the final picture lock. But told him I was more concerned with him getting a decent sound design in place.

Overall I came to the conclusion that I would have to stay with him during the sound designing process as opposed to how I worked with Jess, which was checking on her progress and making suggestions at pre arranged days. That way I would assure he was getting work done and not deleting any progress due to any unsureness.

Research: Berberian Sound Studio

Recommended watching to me by Neil, as to better help me understand the importance and impact that sound can have on a film. This psychological thriller however also had an underlying similarity with Ridley, whereby the "film" that main character Gilderoy is working on, is only talked around, we are given no real specifics only vague sentences that gives nothing away. In Ridley, the play that he is rehearsing for is essentially what is driving him insane, the play is never explained to the audience all that is revealed is a few lines as Ridley runs lines, in his hotel room, and the type of character he is playing through the scenes he is rehearsing.

This film helped me to realise how uncomfortablness in sound can be used as great advantage in thrillers, the more uncomfortable the more effective. So I shouldn't be afraid to use sounds that are over the top at levels that would normally be deemed inappropriate. The more you have the deeper it effects the audience. Much like in Berberian Sound Studio towards the end, where the actress has on headphones and Gilderoy and Francesco increase the high pitched noise coming through her headphones.