First Recording Sessions

Many of the basic atmospheric sounds were recorded by my parter, as his main role in the project was to be the sound recordist. Though we completed some of the more detailed sounds together as a group. We wanted to find a place which provided as little background noise as possible for when we recorded our mono tracks, we decided on booking out a meeting space at the library, which proved to be a good place to capture the sound we needed with as little disruption as possible. 

When recording the sounds of the book pages, we were rather specific with the type of sound we wanted to get, which actually came down to the type of paper we used. We tried with a few different books, and decided on the extra thin paper normally used in older story books, this produced the clean and crisp sound that we desired. 

We also recorded some dialogue, not included in our initial plan, to potentially use within our sound piece. We soon realised we needed to included more and more sounds to create the depth of sound desired for our piece, something we intend to tackle in future sessions. 

Recording Plan/Schedule

Our initial plan at the moment is for Connor to collect the majority of the atmospheric/ambient sounds on his commute to and from the university each day, building up a mixture of footage including train engines, wheel on tracks, conversations, station announcements and other general sounds one would expect to hear at a train station. We then plan to collect our more detailed and specific sounds, the turning of the book pages for example. We would then edit this together to create our final piece in relation to our original idea.

Shooting Locations

Train station (int/ext)

Train platform 

Inside the train 

Adsetts Centre 

Equipment list 

Zoom audio recorder

Boom mic 

Meat Factory Ear Worms- Sound analysis

I found this piece quite interesting, it functions on a primary level as a documentary, recounting Rishie Beirne's experiences in one of Ireland's meat factory's. As it uses a first person account it fits the conventions of the documentary, in that we are hearing 'from the horse's mouth' so to speak. However what makes this documentary and radio documentary in general more interesting in my opinion is the carefully considered use of sound the anchor the meaning conveyed by the word of the subject. 

One example of this is at the very beginning, when the narrator talks about his first time walking into the meat factory. The recordings of the grinding of gears, the occasional cry of a cow, and the racket of the workers, lands you right beside him during his first experience of the slaughter house. When it then breaks away into a piece of music that could b considered relaxing, it is clearly outlining the main theme of the documentary. Music can take you anywhere and in particular, it can help you to deal with less that pleasant surroundings. This theme is then carried through. The idea of him escaping into his 'internal stereo' to relieve the monotony and unpleasantness of his work.

The music and sound effects work in partner ship and then in turn with the narration to create this detailed picture of life as a worker in the meat factories. By fading from music to ambient sounds the documentary anchors the meanings of the narrators words. It is mirroring what he is describin, which in turn makes for a more powerful piece of work. 

Personally I really enjoyed this piece. It was interesting and gave a very detailed picture with out being gory or shocking which it could so easily have been. There are many sounds of a slaughter house that could have been used to make it more gory and vivid. However it is effective enough and clever enough in it's use of sound to not have to resort to this.

In my opinion what makes this piece so effective is the effective marrying of, narration, music and sound effects.

In the foreground is the narration, the main story telling tool. This is a simple first person account of his life in the meat factories, and disentangling it from the other sounds in the piece it is clear that it is not nearly as effective on its own.

Sound Project Ideas

Sense Of Space

Movement Stillness Natural Time of day Quiet Relaxed Crowd Leisure Mood Tone Otherness Solitude 

For this brief, my partner Connor and I have chosen to create a sound piece based around the idea of how one immerses themselves into an activity, in this case, into reading a book. Our plan was to record the various ambient sounds that one might hear whilst reading a book, on a train in this example; the sound of the engine, peoples conversations, service announcements ext. and create the effect of one cancelling out these everyday sounds as they become engrossed within the text they are reading. As the piece goes on, these ambient sounds draw quieter and, slowly, all we begin to hear is the sound of the pages turning, and the readers steady breath. We hope to emulate the content concentration that comes from being immersed in a good book, and becoming slowly unaware of your sense of space. 

In terms of location, a lot of our sounds will be captured at the train station, as well as actually on the train. Layered upon this, we plan to capture some isolated sounds (e.g the sound of pages turning, the exaggerated breathing ect.)to create the sense of immersion into ones own space and thoughts. 

Film Sound research

As many students and amateur filmmakers do, I often underestimated the power and importance of sound with in a film. It is a common misconception to think that sound is there to simply accompany the images that we see on screen, when really sound- comprised of dialogue, music and sound-effects- can be as complex and sophisticated as as the visuals that we see on screen, and require just as much attention to detail. This page I've read through on filmsound.org explains a simple introduction to the relationship between sound and image.

Though we might think of film as an essentially visual experience, we really cannot afford to underestimate the importance of film sound. A meaningful sound track is often as complicated as the  image on the screen. The entire sound track is comprised of three essential ingredients:   the human voice sound effects music These three tracks must be mixed and balanced so as to produce the necessary emphases which in turn create desired effects. Topics which essentially refer to the three previously mentioned tracks are discussed below. They include dialogue, synchronous and asynchronous sound, and music.    THE HUMAN VOICE: dialogue Dialogue authenticates the speaker as an individual or a real person rather than the imaginary creation of a story teller. As is the case with stage drama, dialogue serves to tell the story and  expresses feelings and motivations of characters as well. Often with film characterization the audience perceives little or no difference between the character and the actor. Thus, for example: Humphrey Bogart is Sam Spade; film personality and life personality seem to merge. Perhaps this is the case because the very texture of a performer's voice supplies an element of character.   When voice texture fits the performer's physiognomy and gestures, a whole and very realistic persona emerges. The viewer sees not an actor working at his craft, but another human being struggling with life. It is interesting to note that how dialogue is used and the very amount of dialogue used varies widely among films. For example: In the film 2001 little dialogue was evident, and most of what was used was banal. In this way the filmmaker was able to portray the “inadequacy of human  esponses when compared with the magnificent technology created by man] and the visual beauties of the universe.”[2]    The comedy, Bringing Up Baby, on the other hand, presents practically non-stop dialogue delivered at break-neck speed. This use of dialogue underscores not only the dizzy quality of the character played by Katharine Hepburn, but also the absurd duality of the film itself and thus its humor. The audience is bounced from gag to gag and conversation to conversation; there is no time for audience reflection. The audience is caught up in a whirlwind of activity in simply managing to follow the plot. This film presents pure escapism - largely due to its frenetic dialogue.     SOUND EFFECTS: synchronous and asynchronous sounds Synchronous sounds are those sounds which are synchronized or matched with what is viewed. For example: If the film portrays a character playing the piano, the sounds of the piano are projected.  Synchronous sounds contribute to the realism of film and also help to create a particular atmosphere. For example:The “click” of a door being opened may simply serve to convince the audience that the image portrayed is real, and the audience-may only subconsciously note the expected sound. However, if the “click” of an opening door is part of an ominous action such as a burglary, the sound mixer may call attention to the “click” with an increase in volume; this helps to  engage the audience in a moment of suspense.   Asynchronous sound effects are not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. Such sounds are included so as to provide an appropriate emotional nuance, and they may also add to the realism of the film. For example: A film maker might  opt to include the background sound of an ambulance's siren while the foreground sound and image portrays an arguing couple. The asynchronous ambulance siren underscores the psychic injury incurred in the argument; at the same time the noise of the siren adds to the realism of the film by acknowledging the film's (avowed) city setting.       MUSIC: background music Background music is used to add emotion and rhythm to a film. Usually not meant to be noticeable, it often provides a tone or an emotional attitude toward the story and/or the characters  epicted. In addition, background music often foreshadows a change in mood. For example, dissonant music may be used in film to indicate an approaching (but not yet visible) menace or disaster.  Background music may aid viewer understanding by linking scenes. For example, a particular musical theme  associated with an individual character or situation may be repeated at various points in a film in order to remind the audience of salient motifs or ideas.   Film sound is comprised of conventions and innovations. We have come to expect an acceleration of music during car chases and creaky doors in horror films. Yet, it is important to note as well that sound is often brilliantly conceived. The effects of sound are often largely subtle and often are noted by only our subconscious minds. Yet, it behooves us to foster an awareness of film sound as well as film space so as to truly appreciate a twentieth century art form, the modern film.   (Thomas Sobochack and Vivian Sobochack, An Introduction to Film,  p.177.)

Short film analysis

Short film analysis- ‘Gasman’ by Lynne Ramsay 

Made in 1997, “Gasman” was Ramsay’s third short film, and often regarded as the one that earned her the most recognition and credibility. Set in the late 70’s, the focus of ‘Gasman’ is on the themes of adultery and deceit, with the father of a working-class Scottish family leading a double-life with his mistress and their two children together. The 15-minute short raises many complex and controversial themes, including; sibling rivalry, lack of education, economic struggle, social disenfranchisement and alienation. The issue of economic deprivation is brought to the foreground in the opening scene with the lighting and mise-en-scene of the house showcasing this. The grim, grey lighting gives the house an almost decrepit feel and represents the harsh situation that the family are in. Character codes also hint at the family’s financial strain as the family talk to each other in an abrupt, aggressive fashion; however this could be due to the mother’s knowledge of her husband’s affair. Close-up shots of the father smoking and drinking also adds to the strain the family are feeling as the father is obviously nervous, he also exhales in these shots showing the struggle he is facing, either due to the families economic hardship or because he has two families to provide for, although at this point in the film the man’s other family is not known. 

Having studied the work of Lynne Ramsay previously, it is fairly easy to identify reoccurring themes and stylistic techniques in her films (both shorts and feature length). In regards to subject matter, Ramsay often tackles the issues of social class, grief, guilt and death. Her film style heavily conveys these themes, often described as a ‘gritty, realistic visual style that demands attention’. It is this inspired combination of her vigilant, sensuous style with her often raw subject matter thats allows her to create a powerful and enigmatic atmosphere in her films.

In terms of research and development, Ramsay often draws from her own experiences of growing up in a working-class environment, watching and remembering how children deal with the tough, brutality of the world with honesty and innocence. Social realism is supposed to be an accurate representation of real-life, therefore the location and setting of the film had to reflect the the theme of economic struggle. The rough, industrial landscape of the Scottish town, along with the colours and tones of the of the settings have all been carefully selected in order to tie in with the films subject matter. 

Techniques used by Ramsay in this film (and often used throughout others) includes the minimal use of dialogue. Ramsay’s films often rely on the visual aspects to carry the story along; she prefers to show rather than tell, and the small amount of dialogue provides nothing to the progression of the narrative, I find this incredibly interesting, as a majority of films rely heavily on scripted dialogue to drive the story forward. Another technique I find interesting is Ramsay’s use of sound (other than dialogue), the music and other sounds she uses tend to relate and tell us something about the narrative or gives indication of the mood or atmosphere. For example; the christmas songs used in the party scene seem to provide a juxtaposition of the thoughts and feelings of the characters, the upbeat and familiar tunes go in opposite to the jealousy of the one daughter for example, the anxiety and worry of the father, the unsettled appearance of the ‘other’ daughter, and the indifference of the two sons. 

Like much of her other work, I really liked and appreciated Lynne Ramsay’s ‘Gasman’. The stylistic and thematic elements of her work are unlike any other, and the fact that they are recurrent across many of her works indicates it is something she feels very strongly and/or closely about.I find her abilities in visual storytelling very admirable, as without dialogue I normally find it very easy to become confused by what the narrative is trying to tell me, but with 'Gasman' there is no need for a lot of empty dialogue, as the narrative is mainly displayed by 'showing' rather than 'telling'.