Sound Speeding: Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture Production - The Horse Bride - A Case Study

FACULDADE DE ENGENHARIA DA UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO MESTRADO EM MULTIMÉDIA RAMO DE MÚSICA INTERACTIVA E SOUND DESIGN SOUND SPEEDING TACTICS OF NOISE AND SILENCE IN MOVING PICTURE PRODUCTION THE HORSE BRIDE – A CASE STUDY Presidente de júri: Doutor António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho (Universidade do Porto) Arguente: Mestre Marco Paulo Barbosa Conceição (Escola Superior de Música, Artes e Espectáculo) Orientador: Doutor Carlos Alberto Barbosa da Cunha Mendonça Guedes (Escola Superior de Música, Artes e Espectáculo) RUI MANUEL FERREIRA DE SOUSA E SILVA mm10050 VISITING RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN rui.sousa.silv[email protected]p.pt [email protected] [email protected] Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 2 TO NI-ANN COLOMA MAHAL NA MAHAL KITA Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 3 THANK YOU Mãmã, Papá, Pedro, Susana, Zé, Sofia. Apple, Lemmy. Vó Paula e Bú Ferreira. Stevie. Mr. Arnold & Mrs. Lelet Coloma, Shekinah. Molly, Olive, Rocket. Diogo, Daniel, Sérgio & Sérgio. Carlos Guedes, Andy Garrison, Sharon Strover. Don Howard, Kat Candler, Eric Friend, Tom Hammond, Susan Fitz-Simon, Eduardo Magalhães. Karen Gustafson and Homer Sanchez. Simon Quiroz and Nathaniel Efstation. PTM Crew (“a tua vida começa aqui…”) Huy Fong’s Sriracha and Fai Jow’s Ming’s. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 4 KEYWORDS Audio, Sound Design, Film ABSTRACT A deep immersion on the way film students from one of the top Universities in the United States of America work on their projects turned out to be a living testament of how sound is overlooked and misunderstood, be it on set (production) or in post production, regardless of the student-filmmaker’s desire to have a good, complete, final film. Taking on the challenge of being in charge of sound in a number of student projects as a way of expanding one’s skillset as a “sound person” for film, again, be it in production or post, it was proposed that this project would serve as a on the field/hands on experiment on the realities of “sound for film”. Supported by a brief theoretical starting point, this document introduces the audio production workflow learned and implemented in a series of short films by the students of the Masters in Fine Arts in Film & Media Production program at the University of Texas at Austin, from the recording of sound on set, to the final stage of mixing for stereo and surround sound, for public screening. This document reports on all the relevant small projects that were taken in the scope of the bigger project, as well as on the conclusions that could be interpreted from each of its outcomes. As a case study, the focus is set on a specific short film, The Horse Bride, which is an example of a complete and extensive sound endeavor, from pre to post production. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 5 PALAVRAS CHAVE Áudio, Sound Design, Cinema RESUMO Uma profunda imersão na forma como os estudantes de cinema de uma das Universidades de topo nos Estados Unidos da América encaram os seus projectos, revelou-se uma prova viva de como o a produção áudio e o “som” por si só são parâmetros negligenciados e incompreendidos, quer no set (durante a produção) como na fase de pós-produção, independentemente da vontade do estudante-realizador em ter um bom e completo “produto final”. Aceitando o desafio de estar encarregue de tudo o que estivesse relacionado com o som num número de projectos desses estudantes, como forma de expandir o skillset de uma “pessoa do som” para cinema, mais uma vez, quer seja em produção como em pós-produção, foi proposto que este projecto servisse como experiência no terreno/prática acerca das realidades daquilo que é o “som para cinema”. Suportado por um breve ponto de partida teórico, este document introduz um método de trabalho de produção áudio, aprendido e implementado nessa série de filmes realizados por estudantes do Mestrado em Cinema & Produção de Mídia da Universidade do Texas em Austin, desde a gravação de “som directo” (“on set”), até à fase final de mistura para stereo e som surround, para apresentação pública. Este documento reporta sobre todos os pequenos projectos que se tornaram relevantes no contexto do projecto aglomerador, assim como sobre as conclusões dele retiradas. Como caso de estudo, é dado enfoque a uma curta metragem em particular, The Horse Bride, que é um exemplo de um completo e extensive esforço, desde a pré à pós produção do som num filme. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 6 “The eye solicited alone makes the ear impatient, the ear solicited alone makes the eye impatient. Use these impatiences. Power of the cinematographer who appeals to the two senses in a governable way. AGAINST THE TACTICS OF speed, OF noise, SET TACTICS OF slowness, OF silence.” ROBERT BRESSON, NOTES ON SOUND Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 7 INDEX ABSTRACT 4 RESUMO 5 INTRODUCTION 9 BRIEF THEORETICAL LOCALIZATION 10 CASE STUDY: THE HORSE BRIDE 12 PRE-PRODUCTION 13 MEETING THE DIRECTOR 13 ANALYSIS OF THE SCRIPT 14 SETTING UP GOALS 18 LOCATION AUDITION 19 PRODUCTION 20 CHOOSING GEAR 21 SHOOTING WORKFLOW 24 LEARNING HOW TO MOVE YOUR EARS 24 MICROPHONE PLACEMENTS 24 BEING ON THE CHASE 25 LOGGING AND “NIGHTLIES” 26 POST PRODUCTION 27 ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTION SOUND 28 REVISITING THE “GOALS” 28 “PICK-UPS” 29 LOCATION REVISIT - HEARING THE SILENCE 29 A.D.R. 29 SOUND DESIGN-ING 31 ANALYSIS OF THE OUTCOME & CONCLUSIONS 33 ATTACHMENTS A: OTHER FILM PROJECTS (THAT ARE PART OF SOUND SPEEDING) 36 TRASH DANCE 37 CLAY CASTLES 41 THE LONGEST SUN 43 ROUTE 22 45 VERY SWEET LONELY PEOPLE/THRU THE EAST 47 HEARTS OF NAPALM 48 JENNY & STEPH 50 B: PERSONAL NOTE FROM DIRECTOR SIMON QUIROZ 52 C: BIBLIOGRAPHY/LITERATURE 53 Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 8 Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 9 INTRODUCTION The project “Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture Production” was first thought out after a preliminary three-month internship and stay in the city of Austin, Texas, in the United States of America, while taking part on the Digital Media Internship Program, a collaboration between the University of Porto (UP) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT). Being that the purpose of the second year of the Masters in Multimedia – Interactive Music and Sound Design could either be focused on the development of a dissertation or a professionalizing project, this opportunity to go abroad and work closely with professionals and soon-to-be professionals in the area of film and media production, appeared as the perfect setting to conduct a learning experience that could be used to increase one’s skillset and also result in a document which would both report on the experience itself, as well as contribute a set of proposed guidelines and tips for whoever embarks in a similar kind of endeavor, and finds them helpful. After those three first months, a period in which only one role as a sound editor in a featurelong documentary (“Trash Dance”) was taken, and used as a starting point, it was clear that a return to the USA would extremely benefit the Masters’ project in terms of providing it with a huge variety of experiences, all of them related with sound in both production and post production for film. This document reports on that commitment with the University of Texas, some of its Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in Film & Media Production candidates/students, and with my Masters in Multimedia program at FEUP, focusing in a particular short film, here used as a case study and example of all the work developed during the course of this year – The Horse Bride, by director Simon Quiroz. This report is divided in four sections: ! One very brief theoretical conceptualization on the Sound Design theme and some comment of the projects’ influences and inspirations; ! A thorough examination of the process implemented in both production and post for the case study film, The Horse Bride, by director Simon Quiroz; ! A global analysis of all the other projects and films encompassed in this venture; ! A set of conclusions and analysis of outcomes of the process as a whole, which can be used as an outline of guidelines and tips for this kind of project. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 16 § The moment where the screen is occupied by the wedding dress after Alfredo passes by it on his way out of the room – the first thought was to mention this one to the music composer, so her could keep it in mind in a scene that would be well complimented by music; § The ringing of the phone, taking the audience out of a nice, “emotional” and almost “dear” moment, and leading it to the roughness of what was yet to come – here the sound of the dial tone would be rough in frequency, loud in volume; § The roar of the cicario/drug cartel SUV’s engine turning on, yet another sound that would help the audience keep feeling more and more “worried” – it should be loud; § On page 6., the director literally wrote “The SOUND of a HORSE.”, and then “Alfredo turns around but there is nothing.” – this disconnection between sound and image would allow the sound to be disproportionate and bigger than it should and scarier that it would; § “Alfredo steps on what seems to be pieces of broken glass and random objects around the floor.” - The footsteps on broken glass were envisioned as “marrying” the music, and this was noted as another idea to talk with the composer – maybe some pizzicatoplucked violins could be used. § On page 9., “The woman pushes the baby towards her chest, we slowly hear the baby’s cry fades away.” – The idea that transpires is that the baby is never really seen, so the intensity and positioning of the cry must compensate for that. § On page 11, the breaking of the mirror. – Important moment in terms of dynamics; the shattering sound could be borderline unbearable. § The ghost whispers calling Alfredo’s name. ! The importance of voice over to the plot o There are two main fundamental voice over locations in the script: § The opening scene, when Alfredo reads the letter he’s leaving Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 17 Ines. § The phone call from Dominga, reminiscence while Alfredo drives from Texas to Mexico. o There was also a new idea for the sound design, which would consist in the recording of the same letter reading, but done by Ines, as if she was reading it when she found it. – This ended up working really well and was added to the “haunted house” sequence. o These voiceover needs made me feel like I should warn the director for the eventuality of Automatic Dialog Replacement (ADR) and voice over (VO) sessions in post production. ! And, in this particular case, when does the story cross the line between “fantasy” and “reality” o On the 5:15 mark, when Alfredo’s car takes a turn after the chase, and the ghostly ambience starts creeping in, there’s an unspoken transition that is confirmed by the appearance of the horse. Reality -> Fantasy o When Alfredo gets to the house and sees the horse again, there’s another brief transition, prompted by the calls of the cicarios. Fantasy -> Reality -> Fantasy o Then there’s a sequence of immersion in this oneiric stage, where Alfredo lives the haunt of Ines’ ghost, and that ends up by being broken by the approach of the cicarios when Alfredo is trying to get to his car. Fantasy -> Reality Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 18 SETTING UP GOALS This process of analyzing the script was fundamental to allow the sound team to talk with the director and put them “in the same page”. After the first meeting of acquaintance, and the referred script analysis, another meeting was set up, and, upon agreeing about all of the proposed ideas and annotations, a set of goals was placed, beginning by one that revealed itself to be one of the most important, even if it’s sometimes so overlooked: Deadlines Production periods and shooting schedules were promptly presented by the director, after being established by him in collaboration with the Producer. Preliminary stages of post production and cut-off dates for the delivery of rough and fine cuts were also set with a +5/-5 day margin. This commitment proved to be one of the most important agreements set between the sound team and the director of the short. Location Scouting Dates for location scouting (even though the main location, a ranch and gated, secluded community, was already established) were proposed and the sound team was offered freedom to join and proceed to field tests and recordings. Overall Objectives True to the essence of the horror genre, the director expressed his ideas in terms of how much he would like to get the audience glued to the seats and in a almost frazzle. A green light was given to “creepy” themes and all the types of “scary stuff” that could be added to increase the tension during the film, as it would be preferred that sounds and exaggerated ideas could be “taken out” in the last stages of mixing instead of losing time “adding more” to a more scarce sound design. This was particularly liberating to the sound team. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 19 LOCATION AUDITION The sound team took on the offer to accompany the Director and the Producer, as well as other elements of the crew such as the Grip/Electrical and the Director of Photography (DP), in a preliminary visit to the location. Due to the fact that this would be a night-only shoot, the visit was done during the night too, which helped plan the shots in terms of framing, light; and plan the sound in terms of taking traffic and bug noise into consideration. The shoot was to take place in a very big, secluded community, gated inside a big perimeter that was once a ranch. The closest region name is Dripping Springs, Texas, and, true to the type of sounds that ring in our ears when the Lone Star state is referred, there was a lot of silence – the traffic noise was irrelevant, almost inexistent -, only perturbed by the constant “singing” of the cicadas (the soundtrack for Texas landscapes), a sporadic airplane here and there, and some howling dog and/or coyote. This all sounded great, and some test recordings were made. The fact that the shoot was to take place in the last weeks of October was the best compromise between not being too cold (even though that night showed that it could get really chilly), and not being too hot. The Texas weather can be hard to understand and estimate, but the lack of strong winds even during the night in really big, ample and open spaces like ranches, really helped to produce some quality test recordings. Nonetheless, when gathering opinions and strategies with the other members of the crew, the sound department was confronted with something that hadn’t occurred before – the fact that, in order to shoot during the night and replicate the types of hollow and “scary” lighting that was desired, it would be necessary to power an extended lighting rig with the help of two really loud generators. This would mean that most, if not all, of the sound that was to be recorded during the production as ambience tracks, could be in danger of becoming useless, evidencing the importance of a careful post production work, which had already started being planned anyway. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 20 PRODUCTION The production stage is the real “crunch” time, when everyone needs to talk to everyone and get the last details straight, at the same time that no one really has time to talk with anyone. In this particular college environment, it is pretty usual that shooting periods overlap between students, which means that it can get hard to get a crew together and maintain it through production, given that the crew members are usually other students/colleagues, who have their projects going on at the same time. For The Horse Bride, fortunately, everything was planned with a lot of overhead time and resources. Even the shooting days were scheduled a lot of time in advance, which meant that it was not hard to assemble a crew among colleagues, and keep it more or less steady and without changes on the most important roles. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 21 CHOOSING GEAR Again, due to the fact that this production was planned with a lot of advance, there were no major constrictions in terms of renting the desired equipment from the UT resources. The sound department was able to choose among a satisfying array of options, and the most fitting pieces of gear were chosen to be as follows: Hard Disk Recorder – Sound Devices 744T Sound Mixer – Sound Devices 302 These two durable, rugged pieces of hardware proved to be ready to take the harshest conditions, while keeping a reliable and steady performance. Due to the fact that the batteries on the 744T had had large hundreds of cycles after many years of use by countless students at UT, this machine proved as particularly hard to keep on. This was circumvented when the sound team realized that what probably consumes the most battery is the light on the screen – given that the battery life increased immensely (in the order of the 4 to 5 hours) when the screen was kept off and the panel consulted with the aid of a flashlight. This behavior was replicated in following shoots, with different units of the same make and model (744T). Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 22 Sennheiser MKH 416 - P48 + Rycote Full Windshield Kit The Sennheiser 416, due to its build and polar pattern characteristics, proved to be the most heavily relied-upon microphone on this set as well as in the following ones. Its pickup pattern and responsive gain range made it a great fit for the purposes of this shoot – Even though most of the “ambience” sound became unusable, as I’ll explain ahead, a big part of the dialog lines on the wide shots were picked up by this microphone, inside the Rycote windshield, and controlled by a boom pole, it incredible clarity, even in moments when the framing of the picture didn’t allow the microphone to be close to the subjects/characters. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 23 Audio Technica 4073A The short shotgun cardioid 4073A is “designed for critical long-distance pickup in broadcasting, film/TV production and theater sound reinforcement applications”, according to the brand’s website, but, in what regards to this particular shoot, the sound team invariably preferred the Sennheiser 416 for exterior shots. The 4073A was used mainly in the interior shots with great results, either as a single “boom mic”, or in conjunction with the Sennheiser 416. Sennheiser EW100 Lavaliers Small, efficient and easy to use, the Sennheiser EW100 only created a little problem due to the fact that the radio frequency at which the units we had available were configured to operate was too narrow of a band, which provoked some leaking and interference between them, which went unnoticed on the first couple of takes. As soon as this was discovered, the frequencies were quickly changed and the problem was gone. This problem was felt in the “four people talking” scene, with Alfredo, Genaro, and the two “Oficiales” keeping two different conversations between each pair. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 24 SHOOTING WORKFLOW LEARNING HOW TO MOVE YOUR EARS The sound team for The Horse Bride shoot was composed by only one person, who was in charge of setting up, sound mixing, boom operating and logging. It was known from the start that the sound team didn’t have enough experience to be considered “a professional”, but it had been through an intense preparation period before the production period/shooting days. One of the biggest challenges lived in the fact that controlling levels, gains, and overall mix of the direct sound on set is a big commitment by itself, let alone when coupled to the need to do boom operating. It was thought that the better option, after the first day, would be to get a dedicated boom operator, but the production resources couldn’t cover it, so the team had to adapt – which actually turned out to be a very good experience. The sound recording setup was pretty easy and straightforward, as presented in the previous chapter, and, even though it was a first time using these equipments, the sound department didn’t have any problems understanding them and making them work rather effortlessly. The signal flow was as follows: ! Lavalier Microphones 1 & 2 would run directly into the 744T inputs 1 & 2; ! Sennheiser 416 on input 2 of the 302 mixer, with discrete output to channel 4 (line) on the 744T; ! AT4073A on the input 1 of the 302 mixer, with discrete output to channel 3 (line) on the 744T; ! Lavalier Mic 3 & 4 would be disconnected most of the time, except for the scene with the four character talking, when: o 416 ran straight to 744T Input 1; o Lavalier 1 ran straight to 744T Input 2; o Lavalier 2 ran to 302 Input 1 and discrete output to 744T Input 3; and o Lavalier 3 and 4 ran to Inputs 2 and 3 respectively on the 302, and it’s mix out of the discrete output 2, to 744T Input 4. MICROPHONE PLACEMENTS After trial and error, and understanding that there would probably not be much cloth rustle, the preferred placement for the lavalier microphones was hidden inside the talent’s shirts, on the inside, careful not to show any wiring. The mics were carefully clipped on cloth, after a turn on the wire had been made, to reduce vibration, and a ring of gaffer tape was glued to them, to create an invisible gap between the actual body of the microphone and the surrounding surfaces. The boom mic would always move as close to the image frame as possible, which caused a bit of discomfort on the DP in the first couple of takes – and which led to discomfort in the part of the Director, by kinesis. This situation was not brought up, even if the sound department had thought about Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 25 bringing it up in case it persisted. Fortunately, the discomfort looks were quickly erased, and in the wrap of the first night of shooting, the camera department commented “how great” it was that the sound department “was not afraid of looking for the best places to get sound”, without interfering in their work. To be noted, this proximity to the movements of the camera must be exercised with a lot of care, due to the possibility of creating shadows, which could be seen and caught on film, ruining the shots and footage. The ability to move carefully and without causing too much fuss, while holding a firm grip on the boom pole is a necessity. Depending on the scene and its movement, the boom operator might need to walk to accompany it, or even run to catch it. In these moments it’s an imperative that sensitive grip with the hands (to avoid shockmount rattle) and careful foot positioning be practiced, to reduce the risk of causing undesired noises in the recording due to movement. The boom operator must remain silent at all costs, in order not to compromise its own trade. With the exception of very specific scenes, there was never a need to have all the talent “wired” (using Lavalier microphones), but the sound department decided to have them use them all the time, since they didn’t really “show” (due to the clothes the characters were using), and because that would speed up the workflow every time there would be a line that needed to be recorded. Also, a lot of sounds ended up being used, taken from these seemingly useless microphones, such as: ! Wild, non prompted/directed lines by the ghost – mainly deep exhales and cries, used to make the scenes more realistic while shooting, while the talent did not really know the sound was being recorded too; ! Natural and organic panting and heavy breathing sounds from Alfredo; ! Cursing “training” in between takes by the main drug cartel cicario, lines that seemed more natural than some of the “acted” ones. BEING “ON THE CHASE” One of the hardest parts, but also one of the most exciting due to the challenge that it encompassed, was the recording of sound during the car chase scene. The production relied on the help of two professional stunt drivers, who made sure that all the safety requirements were met and all the safety measures were taken to insure that the members of the crew who would need to be part of the scene were not in any kind of danger. This way, the sound department was basically stuck in the back seat of the big SUV, with two seat belts and in a crouching position that assured both safety and non-appearance in the frame. Due to the high speeds and insane engine noise that could be felt inside the car, the audio recordings were stripped of lower frequencies and basically used to fill swerves and high frequency squeaks that could be heard in the turns. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 32 As opposed to what is usual in other types of production, when the ambience is cut right after frame every time there’s a perspective change on the visuals, the ambiences in The Horse Bride were kept as a way of maintaining the feeling of surrounding, and, as Sonneschein puts it, the feeling of “common fate and belongingness”, even though it’s a belongingness to something that doesn’t exist in real Life and is, therefore, fabricated. It feels like the environment is, at least, credible, because, even though it represents a fantasy, it didn’t raise any questions regarding its purpose or effectiveness. THE SOUNDS OF THE GHOST The sounds of a ghost are something really hard to replicate, taking into account that there’s yet to be a valid and confirmed source of real Life ghost sightings, much less a recording of what they might sound like. With this in mind, and also knowing that the general rule of thumb in horror movies like this, where there’s a strong “scary” intention, is to add a lot of reverb, the sounds recorded in the Horse Bride voice over session were carefully selected and spread all along the timeline, with different kinds of reverbs being sent to different channels on the multichannel mix, helping create the environment. One of the most notable placements of a cry is around the 6:30 mark, a moment where the sound of the ghost takes over the whole ambience (even the music is dropped down) and keeps going, until Alfredo gets in the barn, and the cry is slowly replaced by a deep slow breath, which prompts the resurgence of the ambience tracks. MUSIC The musical score for The Horse Bride was completely written and recorded with the aid of virtual instruments by Nathaniel Efstation, who was curiously also the Director of Photography for this film. The final version of the music was provided to the sound department in stems, which allowed a better grip and control on the way they were mixed and, consequently, in the way the interact with the film and trigger emotions in the audience. The placement of instrumentation and its mix into the final soundtrack is careful and takes into account the tactics of noise and silence, avoiding being too present and fitting right when the ambience asks for it. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 33 ANALYSIS OF THE OUTCOMES AND CONCLUSIONS The project “Sound Speeding” had the main intention of putting into practice all the concepts and know-how acquired during the course of the first year of the Masters in Multimedia - Interactive Music and Sound Design, specially the Sound Design for Digital Media class. The biggest shock was when the theory became practice, and a lot of projects started appearing, needing sound care, from recording on set to editing, to full post production work. It was a shock because it’s easy to get overwhelmed when the desire to practice is as big as the lack of experience. Fortunately, all of those mishaps were fixed as time went by, and in the end, looking back, it’s solid to consider that a whole new experience has been gained and it makes sense to take knowledge from it, knowledge that can be shared in the form of proposed guidelines and overall tips. The main conclusions that can be extracted from this year long project are as follows: It is very important to meet the director before hand and go with him/her, over expectations and goals. The Horse Bride would never work out as well as it did if it wasn't for the close contact the director walkways made sure to keep. Setting up goals together allows the sound designer to exceed (and excel) on his field, taking the film to a whole new level, while if previous planning is not set, there might be discrepancies between what the director is expecting and what the sound designer is willing to offer. It is fundamental to analyze the script and make annotations before the shoot. Knowing the script and feeling close to it allows the sound designer to have a better grip and a more concise input in the way the shoot is going to go. Knowing what to expect in terms of the narrative really provides a better understanding of one's own role on the set, as well as prepares you to ask questions about things you didn't understand, or demand things that you need are necessary and might be being overlooked. Going over the shot list and meeting with the DP can be a huge deal of help. Feeling comfortable with your workspace on the set can be something easily attained by having a brief meeting and conversation with the DP, and telling him/her what are your plans, as well as listen to his/her own ideas and try to incorporate them in your attitude and workflow - in the end, you'll be his/her ears, and he/she'll be your eyes. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 34 The opportunity to check the locations of the shoot beforehand should be requested. Conducting field tests on the locations of the shoot is a pretty easy and simple way of making sure that you'll have the advantage of knowing how the place sounds beforehand. And even though traffic changes - or other more simple and less controllable things, like the weather change! -, being ready is the key, because it will allow you to come up with answers without the pressure of having to resolve to problem right there, right then. Knowing the gear that's available is important. Get acquainted with the equipment, and test it before going on the field. Surprises happen and things will stop working mid-shoot, but at least you'll be available to jump start things, and always try to avoid that the rest of the crew hangs on because of sound. The sound department should always be ready to go - also because it's easier for a crew and cast to understand camera problems than to feel like they're waiting "on sound". The boom pole has got to get all the way there. If you're fortunate enough to be part of a production that provides you with your own monitor, you'll be fine, but if not (because it probably won't happen very often), the sound designer cannot be "afraid" of asking for a frame reference so s/he can know what's the limit of his scope. The boom pole with the shotgun microphone is supposed to be all the way until the frame, and the microphone itself can and should be used to seek for the momentarily sound source, instead of just lying there, flat. As a sound person, either only in production or with the intention of taking the project to post, ask for what you want. It might be a cultural thing, but it's a fact that no film student really cared as much about sound as they all like to say they did. Countless times scenes will be rolling without slating, and most of the times polite requests to even tail-slate will be ignored, or, at least, not understood. It's clear that sound is rarely a main concern, so it needs to be the sound person's concern to make this easier to itself. If you're doing sound, you will thank yourself, but either way, the director will always end up thanking you, even if s/he doesn't understand it at first. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 35 ATTACHMENTS Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 36 ATTACHMENT A: OTHER FILM PROJECTS THAT ARE PART OF THE SOUND SPEEDING PROJECT The year spent in Austin, Texas, provided a lot more opportunities to apply know-how and gain experience. This section takes an overall look among some of these projects, in a less thorough or analytic way, as an attachment to the case study that The Horse Bride provided. This attachment is presented as is, as a draft, with a less defined structure and language, so it should be taken as a reference of other works, and not as a “report”. Access to the final videos is restricted due to copyright issues, but it can be personally requested through the email address [email protected] . Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 37 TRASH DANCE Andy Garrison Sound Editing, SFX Sometimes inspiration can be found in unexpected places. Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks, and in the men and women who pick up our trash. Filmmaker Andrew Garrison follows Orr as she joins city sanitation workers on their daily routes to listen, learn, and ultimately to convince them to collaborate in a unique dance performance. Hard working, often carrying a second job, their lives are already full with work, family and dreams of their own. But some step forward, and after months of rehearsal, two dozen trash collectors and their trucks perform an extraordinary spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, thousands of people show up to see how in the world a garbage truck can “dance.” __ Andy Garrison is a professor of digital production and film at UT. He is also an incredible filmmaker and definitely a reference when it comes to film.!When he decided to document the process of accompanying Allison Orr, an Austinbased choreographer, in her intention to create a dance and art performance with a group of Solid Waste Services employees, he was not expecting the massive importance of this production to the city of Austin, the workers, and the community in general. Trash Dance documents the time that Allison spent, since she initiated conversations with the Solid Waste Services department, until she finally saw a dream come true, showing all the details of a long process of captivating the workers’ attention and extruding potential that they denied having. Trash Dance is a film about “An unnoticed army moves a city’s trash daily. It’s a world of dirty work neatly categorized into five categories: Trash; Litter; Yard Waste; Bulky; and Dead Animal. Choreographer Allison Orr begins a project with employees of the City of Austin’s Dept. of Solid Waste Services to re-imagine their everyday work as dance and make a public performance. From safety training to riding out with crews, Orr watches, listens and tries to recruit collaborators. The film follows employees and Orr in the process, getting to know individuals. At ten months in, they begin ragtag rehearsals. After one year they mount a performance in the rain on an abandoned airstrip--16 trucks, 24 dancers, a piano, violin, and cello--and over 2,000 in attendance.” The world premiere of the film was at the world-acclaimed multimedia festival South-BySouthwest 2012 (SXSW’12), in Austin, TX, on March 10th, at the Paramount Theatre. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 38 The film has since received critical acclaim by both audience and film festivals juries, having achieved the Special Jury Recognition Award at SXSW’12, the Audience Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 (Durham, North Carolina), and the Audience Award at the Silver Docs Film Festival 2012 (Silver Spring, Maryland). __ Contribution I started working on the Trash Dance project in September 2011, right after arriving in Austin. After a briefing meeting with Andy and the rest of the team, we were assigned on our tasks, and I took charge of starting to create the sound effects for the Trash Dance video game that would accompany the DVD release of the film, while waiting for the new cut of the film, to start editing its sound. The process of creating sounds for the video game – a Kinect-control based driving game, where the user body and hand movement controls the steering wheel of a trash truck in an amazing graphic rendition of the landing strip where the performance occurred, with Austin landmarks in the background, while avoiding obstacles and performing routines to get points – was a lot of fun. Andy has strong connections with the Solid Waste Services, and that allowed me to interact with the workers and the machines and trucks used in the film, in a very interesting field recording session. The process of editing these recordings, as well as working with sound libraries to modify stock sounds and make them fit with our needs, was a fast and easy one. The video game programmer, using a free framework of the Unity game-engine, designed the whole programming of the game, and took in his hand the work of connecting all the sound effects to his script, as I was starting to work on the audio editing of the film itself. This was a longer, more time consuming endeavor. Due to my inexperience with sound for film, and the standards used in sound editing for this kind of medium, I had a comprehensible learning curve, specially adapting to Pro Tools 9, the new revision of the software that was out by then (I was still using Pro Tools 8, and in a much less constant way). On the other hand, and because we had a not so strict deadline, I was able to learn a lot on my own, by trial and error, and discovered my own way of facing the software, its shortcuts, and started creating my workflow, that I’d be developing in the future, and still am. Challenges The toughest challenge I faced was the simple fact that I was very inexperienced in the art of serious sound editing, design, and mixing, and I had this incredible luck of starting to work in such a big project. Also, the fact that I was removed from my comfort zone, which made me strive to try to understand Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 39 “how things worked” here in the USA, took a big chunk of my ability to be faster and more productive in the first couple of weeks. Starting to meet new people, specially students connected to the film Masters in Fine Arts program at UT, helped starting to develop a better sense of space and to evaluate the challenge in a better perspective. I got assigned to work with Nathaniel Efstation, an MFA candidate, and Sarah Deuel, a soon-to-be graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in RadioTelevison-Film, two people with a strong interest in sound and film editing, and it was through them that I started knowing where to turn when doubts appeared. I am also very glad that I was able to come to Austin in the beginning of the 2012 year, because the final stages of mixing of the film started around the beginning of February, and so I had the absolute pleasure and honor of assisting Tom Hammond, the main sound designer in the most well known and best audio post-production facility in Austin, the Soundcrafter, in mixing the final product. Tom Hammond had come to FEUP before, to lecture the Sound Design for Digital Media class, of the Masters Degree in Multimedia, on sound design, and film editing and mixing. I had the memory of those lectures as some of the most important I have ever attended, so working with Tom and applying his concepts in practice, helped me a lot, and I feel like I can say that in the roughly-two weeks it took for the project to be done, I learned a lot more than in the first three-months that I stayed in Austin by myself. I worked closely with Tom, mostly pulling sound effects from libraries and from B-roll recordings, filling the timeline with the little details that helped craft the final sound of this film, while he was mixing it, and making it sound ready for public screening. Output! I feel that having Trash Dance as my first project was both a scary and a very rewarding thing. In the end of the day, I feel like all the challenges and doubts that I faced, accepted and solved, were the best first step in this world, because they prepared me to what was coming next. Working with great and talented people like Andy and Tom was definitely my safety net, and it made me realize that I shouldn’t be afraid of wanting to learn so eagerly. Trash Dance was mixed in 5.1 surround sound and down-mixed to stereo LtRt. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 40 Trash Dance SXSW 2012 premiere poster Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 41 CLAY CASTLES Nina Vizcarrondo, MFA Candidate Production Sound Recording, Sound Editing I met Nina Vizcarrondo through Simon, who I had met through Nathan, as they were all in the same class. I was approached and asked to be a sound recordist on set, with the possibility of editing the sound and mixing the final product.!Clay Castles depicts the fantasy world where little Madison lives, and tries to hide from (or, at least, give another meaning to) the real one, where her parents are separated, and things don’t seem to not make much sense. This was a Pre-Thesis film – the MFA’s second year project. __ Contribution! We shot Clay Castles in November 2011, and I took part on set for all of the days as sound recordist (boom op + sound mixer). After picture post-production, it was identified that the crew would need to reassemble and get more footage (pickups), and so I joined them again in April 2012.!I ended up not working too much on audio post production, aside from some editing and SFX, because UT hires professional sound mixers from Austin, to work with the students for a few hours, getting their mixes ready for screening. This happened with all the students, except for Simon and Nathan, and I always took those opportunities to sit in the studio and learn from the pros at work.!Also, this professional mixer situation was enhanced by the common pressure that students feel to finish their projects, and that led to the movie files (picture-locked cuts) being delivered too late – which meant that I wouldn’t have the right amount of time I’d need to work on them, while a professional mixer could be way faster than me. When these situations happened, I tried to never stand between the directors and the hired mixers, preferring to stay on my corner, learning from them, and helping them however I could, since I already knew the projects beforehand. Equipment Used In production: - Sound Devices 744T Hard Disk Recorder; - Audio Technic 4073a shotgun microphone; - Sennheiser 416 shotgun microphone; - Sound Devices 302 Mixer; Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 48 __ HEARTS OF NAPALM Andrew Irvine, MFA Candidate Production Sound Recording “There are 3.6 billion orgasms every night. Ashley is looking for one.”! Contributions/Challenges The scenes for this short were shot in only one full day, inside a single bedroom. It was a pretty intense shoot, as the final product can tell, and the biggest challenge that I was faced with, apart from the heat generated in that small, small, bedroom, was the vocal range dynamics of both the actor and the actress. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 49 Equipment Used In production: - Sound Devices 702 Hard Disk Recorder; - Sennheiser 416 shotgun microphone; - Sennheiser ew100 lavalier microphone. Output !Hearts of Napalm premiered on May 13th, 2012, at the McCullough Theatre at UT. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 50 JENNY & STEPH Elizabeth Chatelain, MFA Candidate Production Sound Recording “Jenny, a headstrong girl on the cusp of adolescence, is forced to grow up over the course of one night when she must rescue her older sister, Steph, from an accident at a house party.”!__ Contribution/Challenges This short was shot over the course of 5 days in Clifton, TX, a small town two hours out of Austin. The main difficulty with sound on this shoot was related to the fact that the recording devices were two Zoom H4n handheld recorders, that can’t be sync’d in production, which brings a lot more problems in post. Equipment Used In production: - 2 x Zoom H4n; - AT4073a shotgun microphone; - Sennheiser ew100 lavalier microphones. ! Output ! Jenny & Steph is on post-production phase right now. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 51 Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 52 ATTACHMENT B: PERSONAL NOTE FROM SIMON QUIROZ, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HORSE BRIDE There are no real words that can really make justice to the amount of hard work and dedication that Rui Silva brought to the project of “The Horse Bride”. This is not only speaking in terms of merely recording sound but the ideas that he contributed and shared as the project developed. His work truly enhanced the final product in ways I would have never imagined. When I started conceptualizing the project of “The Horse Bride”, I knew that in order to create the experience I wanted towards my audience, the project would have to rely on amazing sound and I was extremely lucky to meet Rui just when he had just arrived while he was in to Austin in the exact moment I was desperately looking for a professional sound mixer to be on my set. Rui was a professional from the very beginning and never failed. Working with Rui Silva exceeded my expectations from the start. You can tell someone’s dedication and passion about their work from the moment they select and prepare their tools of work. When picking up the equipment we were going to need during production, his command and domain for his instruments was really impressive, his choice of one microphone over another during a scene and then a different one for another depending on location, among other things was one of the things that completely made me stop worrying about the technical aspects of sounds for I knew I was in great hands. When on set, he kept on insisting on grabbing the best takes for sound. But the real challenge with this project came during post production. This is where I can honestly say that the strength of the project was truly held in Rui’s hands. I knew from the very beginning that this short film would rely heavily on sound. I am thankful for the amount of dedication and attention to detail that Rui put on this project. I had a couple of meetings with Rui to talk about ideas I had, then he would spend hours in the studio doing sound design, Foley sound, mixing, etc and every time he would show me something new I would come out extra excited for little by little, the experience became more and more cinematic. One idea I had for example is to have a ghost whose lament would sound distant when the ghost was close to the subject. I had no idea if this would even be possible, and I was truly happy when I heard that happen on the screen thanks to the magic of Rui. At the beginning I was looking for someone to record sound on set, but I struck gold because I got a professional on set, an amazing sound designer and sound mixer. I could go on and on describing different moments, scenarios in which Rui made what I envisioned a reality but in much better ways than what I originally had thought of. But the important thing is that I am thankful for Rui’s dedication, passion and detail to his work and especially for sharing those traits of a professional with my project and I am hopeful that as he gets better known and much more experienced he will be willing to work with me in future projects. Sound Speeding – Tactics of Noise and Silence in Moving Picture – The Horse Bride (A Case Study) Rui Manuel Ferreira de Sousa e Silva – mm10050 - Mestrado em Multimédia – Ramo de Música Interactiva e Sound Design 53 ATTACHMENT C: BIBLIOGRAPHY/LITERATURE - HOLMAN, Tomlinson – “Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition”, 2010 - LOBRUTTO, Vincent – “Sound-on-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film !Sound”, 1994 - ROSE, Jay – “Audio Postproduction for Film and Video, Second Edition: After- !the-Shoot Solutions, Professional Techniques, and Cookbook Recipes to Make !Your Project Sound Better”, 2008 - ROSE, Jay – “Producing Great Sound for Film and Video, Third Edition”, 2008 - SONNENSCHEIN, David – “Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, !Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema”, 2002 - BRESSON, Robert – “Notes on Sound”, !http://filmsound.org/articles/bresson.htm (Website visited last in July 17th, 2012) - MURCH, Walter – “In the blink of an eye”, Los Angeles, 2001