Sound for Film - Further Analysis of Clip
Within the clip itself there are a number of aspects which I will have to cover to ensure a coherent sound accompaniment to this video is produced. Being primarily inside a prison setting indoors, there will be timbre qualities of this which I will aim to reproduce. Starting from the opening, with the aerial shots of roads and outside setting I first have to create a backing atmosphere to fit to this before proceeding into the first scene, this backing atmosphere will set the initial levels therefore it is very important to get this correct as when It would later come to the role of mixing the project, the balancing should be at an even starting point to work with, having a solid reference point for level with the opening track would then help with placing other layers later in post-production.
For the atmospheres I will need to record some outside traffic sounds using spot-mics, field recorders and dead-cats, this portable equipment will allow for me to get quality recordings of sounds outside in settings which may otherwise be difficult to reach. With the field recorder removing the need for static equipment, and the dead-cat mic cover improving audio quality by reducing wind noise which would otherwise be picked up by the high-frequency response condenser shotgun microphone.
Re-importing the opening track will also be done to improve the sound quality of the section, as the original lacks the quality that a new clean and dynamic stereo copy of the track will have. With this piece, and other projects to come, I am aiming to achieve a well-rounded, immersive and engaging cinematic auditory experience for the listener, keeping dynamics rich and the audio content interesting with sculpted detail from foley technique and sound deisgn is how I aim to achieve this.
Moving into the opening scene, I plan to stress the initial opening sound as these are important for establishing shots in film, using the sound of a chain drawing up and falling to add some cultural statement on the rise and fall of persons who find themselves incarcerated, and on the fall of judicial systems which fails innocent people with false imprisonment as the film plot develops into.
Opening into the first scene of the characters, we get low-shot of black shoes in a concrete corridor with little more on-screen to impression the viewer, at this point the primary sound will be the ADR and the footstep foley recordings I get. The ADR will need to be balanced between the two existing lines of dialogue, with one of the actors having a much lower voice taken from the scratch audio within the scene itself contrasting hard against the first to talk who sounds to be in a small room and close up to the microphone, possibly recorded in post due to the differing room tone and lack of backing noise.
When I record the lead dialogue here in the ADR process I will be sure to use two microphones, one close and one far to then blend later in the mixing stage to bridge between the other two existing character lines, these will then all be routed into a single stereo reverb using via bus to blend them into appearing in the same room psychoacoustically, with the dry concrete and long corridors making up the timbre aimed for with the attributes of this room reverb when it comes down to it’s sound design.
There will be backing foley elements to record beyond the footsteps, especially in the second scene with the walkthrough of the visitation centre being a busy room full of people. For this I will use foley to create the sounds to accompany some on-screen objects such as telephones, held-paper, keys, alarms and doors. There will also need to be some recordings done of background chatter to fill the space through the second scene.
The third scene where they approach the cell of the prisoner character, opening up to reveal they are the wrong person, will need some distinct and impactful auditory elements in the otherwise empty setting of the prison cell and corridors. I will aim to make the door foley sound heavy and dense to match the composition of the on-screen door itself, and also to emphasise the weight of the on-screen plot unfoldment of an innocent man locked up, which will be brought to a head with another heavy clunk of the door locking into place on the camera change to the shot of the prisoner. At this point reverb for the lead dialogue will have to be increased to accommodate for the emptiness of the cell he’s talking into.
When it comes to the mixing role for this project once the foley, sound design and recording elements are complete, I will aim to keep the low-end impactful and full for a cinematic sonic quality to the audio accompaniment. With clarity in the ADR when actors are near to the camera and distance when they are further away or obstructed, similarly with footsteps and other foley which will be ensured to play in relation to their on-screen distance and position, finally with emphasis on certain elements of the sound design to create a captivating soundscape which also doesn’t bring too much attention to itself, as with the aim of foley is to be near seamless with the expectation of on-screen sound sources.
