“June 27th 2008 – My Heart Beats for Her” by Stephen Poff is marked with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

SUMMARY

Role

Sound Designer

Intention (SMART Goal)

By March 2nd as part of my film team, I will explore the sound designer pathway by following Bruce Block’s The Visual Story and will have created rhythm in the scenes of our session 4 project.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Primary Source: ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Sound Editors Explain Mixing Sound for Film | Vanity Fair

• Sound has 3 main types in movies: dialogue, music, and effects
• Dialogue has ADR and production
• Music has score and source
• Effects has foley, background, atmosphere, and design
• Sound editor assemble sounds, cut them, and record them
• Sound mixer combines all 3 types; dialogue, music and effects; reel and balance
• Sound supervisor creates team and works with director
• Internal moment is when sound goes away or lack of sound which makes next sound more impactful
• Add verb to dialogue to make it more impactful

Secondary Source: Ford vs Ferrari Sound Analysis

• ADR is recorded so that the tape is clear for the audience to understand
• Diegetic sounds of the crowd, flag dropping, and non-diegetic background sounds
• Background track used to overemphasize the drama and get audience nervous/excited
• Diegetic foley sounds can have a reverb effect used to emphasize the sounds importance
• Build up of background track makes the audience nervous
• Loud foley sound of footsteps to increase intensity of running
• Interior engine is mixed with exterior engine sound makes the audience shocked
• Make the audience panic by increasing background track pace/fade in banjo sound
• Switch from interior to exterior when scenes go from inside to outside a car; creates more drama
• Rhythm of beat increases makes audience understand the panic
• Rhythm of beat decreases when scene is calm
• Audio pans channels from left to right makes audience feel more nervous/anxious

Don Sylvester and David Giammarco worked together to produce sound for the film Ford v Ferrari. Don has won an Oscar for sound editing for the film. He went to Grady College and switched from music to film after discovering his talent for sound design. One of the challenges he faced during production was recording the car’s engine because the cars used in the film were picture cars and therefore didn’t have the same engine as the real type. At first, they decided to fake the sound with a different car engine, but it didn’t fit right in the film. When they were able to locate a real GT40 they recorded the sounds and it changed the demeanor of the film. If the sound fits in the scene then it’s meant to be there, and if it doesn’t, then remove it just as they did when they used a normal car to create a race car engine sound. Don Sylvester’s advice to younger filmmakers is to create more films, even with a phone, to learn how to create a story, and tell one, while gaining the ability to edit and write.

Training Source(s)

• 0:05 – Over a set period of time, music takes place
• 0:11 – The arrangement of sounds in time is rhythm
• 0:16 – Rhythm can give music character
• 0:20 – Rhythms can be graceful, disordered, simple, complex, excited, ect.
• 0:25 – Rhythm can affect us on a physical level
• 0:29 – Can make us move our feet
• 1:19 – Use metronome to keep pulse and time
• 1:23 – On a solid foundation music and rhythm build
• 1:54 – Length of note in a beat means how long beats last in a song
• 2:05 – Syncopation is when rhythm can play against two beats
• 2:10 – Groove can be created from a syncopation

Project Timeline

• Brainstorm plot (3) and create Storyboard (3)
• Create slideshow presentation (1)
• Write script including setting and dialogue between two actors (5)
• Decide shooting location (3) actors (2)
• Procure cameras (2) and sound capture equipment (2)
• Build timeline for pre-production, production, and post-production(3)
• Write shot list including camera angles (3)
• Film the scene with 3 cameras (8)
• Capture sound/compose music (8)
• Upload film and sound (3)
• Label shots and sound files (2)
• Decide which takes to use or discard (5)
• Capture ADR of dialogue between the 2 actors (5)
• Edit shots together (8) and layer music/sound (5)
• Present slideshow (2) and present film (1)

Proposed Budget

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yf5mDHRva4wb9UHfX1T57dJG1oL49pLO/view

Skills Commentary

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1c5Y_vOyQPxgLF3EuPiz3SPwp5vj_P4VQ0tRYDUhbFSY/edit?usp=sharing

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

During the production cycle my goal was to have rhythm from the visual story board so I decided to record a heart beat sound that added to the intensity and nervous feeling of one of the characters in the scene. I first started trying to create an artificial heart beat but it turned out not the way I wanted it to, so I did more research and I found a way to record an actual heart beat. Using my phone and a pair of headphones I was able to record my own heartbeat and use it in the film.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

Everyone in my team worked with others in their role to find a common goal for this sessions film. Not only did we collaborate with other groups, we communicated with our own, bringing our ideas into creating a short film. I worked with the editor on what my vision was for how I wanted the sound to sound during specific scenes. We all shared a google folder where we put the audio, videos, and script, so it was easy to access.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

I used my phone and a pair of headphones to record the heartbeat sound. We also recorded ADR for the dialogue so it sounded more clear and crisp. Each group had a burn down chart to keep track of their process which linked to a Trello board and there was a shared google folder.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

I learned new ways to adapt to a new situation, by finding solutions to problems I had, it helped me become a more critical thinker which is a valuable skill to have. I got better at time management because I had to juggle other school work with the personal time I had to take to make the heart beat sound.

Reactions to the Final Version

“You all presented your evidence very nicely. I like how you made eye contact with the audience.” by Michelle, an advisor

“I like the idea of using a heartbeat sound to increase the scenes intensity.” by Eric, an advisor.

Michelles comment reveals the well job my group did presenting our slideshow and how the evidence was easy to read and see. It shows that it was simple to follow and not over complicated with too many components. Erics comment reveals that my idea of creating a heartbeat sound was a creative idea because it relates to the scene and adds more drama.

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

Emotional: the audience understand the characters feeling of nervousness

Simple: It has a simple outline and follow through.

Unexpected: the audience doesn’t expect one of the characters to fall.

Concrete: the idea is concrete and doesn’t have too many dynamics.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

During this production cycle I learned how to improve in my role of sound designer learning new ways to create sounds and record them. I solved the problem of creating a heart beat to record a real one. This made the film seem more realistic because people already know what a heart beat sounds like. This helped me gain problem-solving skills. I understood that to learn how to do something new you have to look at the sources available to you. The internet really helped me find a easy and efficient way. A problem I had when recording the heart beat was after recording I could hear a slight static sound in the background. To fix this problem I re-recorded in a more quiet and closed room so that the static was less or almost gone.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Sabina S.