March 11, 2009

Viewing Day!

Despite that we were screening the films today, we still had the audio to edit. The main problems with the audio was that either 1) it had too much background noise 2) was too soft or 3) complete absent. The only solution to these problems were to simple re-record them and integrate them into our footage. The challenge with doing this was the syncing; because the sound was recorded separately, we would have to make it so that the audio completely fit the footage.

Some sound effects that we had to do were footsteps, gentle indistinct talking, clothes rustling and clinking of glasses. These we done by our sound director who had recreated these sounds. Aside from effects, we also had to re-record some verbal audio which were unsatisfactory in our footage. In addition we also added a voice over, documenting and portraying the thoughts that were going through Jackson's head. Other than helping the story of our film progress, the voice over is also a classic film noir technique. Lastly, we also added some non-digetic sounds such as swallowing and heartbeats to create a sense of tension and nervousness.

Re-creating and re-recording the audio was not particularly challenging however, on my part as editor, it was very challenging to edit the sounds into the footage. During this process I kept two things in mind: 1) to integrate it cleanly (e.g. make sure there is minimal background noise) 2)sync it so that it looks as if the sound was authentic. This was not too difficult with the sound effects, however was much harder with the verbal audio. This is because, like an animation or cartoon, the voice actors have to do the voice of the character to accordance to the movement of the cartoon character's mouth; to give it the realistic effect. This was difficult for me to sync properly because the way we re-said our lines were different from when we initially did it on the shooting day. However, through very minor and micro scale editing and adjusting the speed of the audio, I managed to make the audio match the visuals. During this process, something I found useful was the co-operation and participation of my fellow group members. This demonstrates the importance of being "open minded" to their criticisms and suggestions and to be a "risk taker".

Apart from that, our sound editor also found some music to use in our film. Music plays a very important role in any film. The most vital thing to keep in mind when choosing a piece of music is that it is appropriate. Although this probably goes without saying but, we were very specific and choosy with our music. The attributes that we were looking for in our music were: eeriness, possibly even a bit scary with sharp notes. In terms of instruments, I was planning on something with a synthesizer. When the sound director showed us what he found, we vetoed two of his choices and settled on the last one which satisfied all these requirements.

Finally, after added a title "Natalia" and a credits page we were finally done and ready for screening!

Comments on other groups:
A Broken Beautiful (Andy, Henry, Bernice and Medora)
- Interesting use of the lagged delayed effect
- Good use of hand held camera technique, was able to produce and express the sensation of disorder and drunkenness very effectively
- Voice overs were well used and conveyed the thoughts of the characters in contrast with their actions. The dialog also fit the story.
- Dim, low key lighting was done very well and expressed the depressing film noir atmosphere
- Flashbacks were a bit obscure, this could have been improved through making the contrast between the present time and the flashbacks more noticeable. This would negate any confusion between the present and the past.
- All in all good cinematography

Pulse (Adrian, Catherine, Ella and Sarah)
- Black and white, interesting and effective monochrome technique
- Good narration, however, more emotion could have been conveyed.
- The "match on action cuts" were very effective and clean.
- Effective use of lighting and contrast between light and shadows.

Stratedegem (Camille, Jing Ting, Joyce and Justin)
- Awkward audio, a bit muffled and intentions were obscure.
- The audio and lip synchronization was slightly delayed.
- Good music choice
- Although moral ambiguity was expressed well with the betrayal of Camille's character, I wasn't sure whether it harbored the characteristics of a noir film.

Plunge (Julien, Jeffery, Hannah, Raphael and Chris)
- Starting off with a quote was very effective in setting the atmosphere as well as the still images that were shown. These abstract images were good in projecting the depressing and isolated sensation of a noir film.
- Dialog and storyline was very intricate and fit that of those of film noir.
- Lighting was simple yet effective.
- Music choice was well chosen
- Good continuity and was able to account for the complicated storyline

The most challenging thing in this lesson was the syncing of the sound clips, especially the verbal audio. However, I managed to overcome this through minor scale editing and gained a lot from this experience. Through the process of editing my film, i experience the many field of editing: the visual, the lighting, the audio, transitions and title + credits editing. This was a very rewarding journey for me and I was able to benefit greatly from it. In terms of the IB Learner Profile, I exercised my capacity to be "open minded" to others because, especially with editing, it is important to get a second opinion. I also learned to be "knowledgeable" in my skills and in my learning. To apply what everything I learned about film noir to my own project. Lastly, I also learned to be a "risk taker", to try new things and new approaches to problems. As a beginner editor, it is inevitable that I encounter problems, "I might as well make the best of them and try new things that I'm not familiar with." Through editing with this in mind, I was able to excel and produce everything to the best of my ability, I also discovered that the best way to learn is from my mistakes. From "reflecting" on all the problems I encountered and how I overcame them, I am able to experience personal growth as a film maker!