Soundscape VO

This is what Rio came up with to say in the voice over on  our soundscape. It introduces the story but leaves it at a point where we plan to take over with the sounds and transport the viewer into a new sense of reality.

"It was the summer of 2011, the end of summer to be precise! We were bored and none of us had the money to do anything that exciting or go anywhere that different, so me and my friends decided to go camping… Delemere forest, it wasn’t too far away but it was far enough for a road trip and that’s what we had stopping at garages talking to strangers on the way, it was all part of the fun. We made it there ok but it was dark by the time we did and one of the hottest summers by far so when we had finished setting up we all decided to jump in the lake! It wasn’t the best idea because we jumped in fully clothed and I was the only one who had left there change of clothes back at the car, that’s when I went off by myself….. It was quite spooky walking through the woods by myself and I thought my mind was playing tricks on me with the crunch..crunch..crunch of the leaves behind me as I walked to the car, I convinced myself that it was just me being silly it was my own footsteps I was hearing, but as I got onto the path to the car park that Crunch..crunch..crunch of the leaves picked up…"

Making a soundscape

This is the plan for our soundscape, I put the story line down and then decided what sounds would need to accompany it, to make it believable, to add suspense, to make the story just that little bit more interesting as the voice over will not tell the actual story, it will just introduce it. Last thing I thought about was what I would do with the visuals on screen, me and the tam discussed what we thought would look good whilst still showing various styles of visual representation and not detracting from the sounds that are the main focus of this task.

Storyline	Sound	Visual
V/O Reminiscing about a camping trip, the protagonist describes being with her friends at the lake and then leaving to return to the car to retrieve her spare clothes.	Splashing. Quiet group talk/ laughing around the fire. Fire crackling. Rio’s V/O Both fade as she describes leaving, ‘forest sounds’ replace them.	Video of a lake/ splashes. Video of fire. Video of speaker, silhouette.
V/O Speaker describes feeling a presence in the woods with her.	Walking on leaves. Forest ambience (sinister) Rio’s V/O	Video of speaker, silhouette.
Soundscape The chase begins, running through the woods.	Two sets of feet running through leaves/ forest floor. Panting. Drum beat. Heartbeat. Sounds of distress from Rio.	Still images: Back view of Person running in the distance Side view of foot c/u
Soundscape The girl hides, she hears her pursuer walk past her, this is a very tense part of the story.	The running stops. The drums stop. Heartbeat. (quiet) Sound of Rio’s clothes on tree bark as she hides. The pursuer walks from the left to the right, this passes through the left to right speaker to emphasise his movement.	Still images: Forest, closest tree takes up half of the photo (out of focus) Silhouette just entering frame
Soundscape Rio breaks a twig- The chase resumes.	The sound of a branch breaking as she takes a step. Heartbeat. Drums resume. Two sets of footsteps running again.	Still images: Trees. (rostrum camera- fast pan right) at the sound of branch breaking Closer image of the back of the girl running away
Soundscape There is a scuffle as the villain catches the girl. This ends suddenly as she is knocked unconscious…	Heartbeat. Drums. Running footsteps. One set of footsteps becomes louder. The sound of a tackle and scuffling on the floor. Thud. Silence.	Still images Closer image of the back of the girl running away Black
Soundscape She awakens in a hospital room. But wonders what happened?	Room ambience and heart rate monitor slowly come into focus. V/O “where am I?”	Fade to image of ceiling Quick Fade out to white

Work Work Work

Through some links of mine I managed to land a few jobs with Crawshaw Butchers,  currently has 20 retail outlets and two distribution centres across Yorkshire, Humberside, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. I have been creating posters and banners to suspend from the ceilings and christmas offer booklets for them. These are scheduled to print very soon and we have already began talking about more ideas for christmas marketing and are looking to continue working together. 

This is one of the posters I made for them

Getting ready for Christmas

As I said in a previous post I worked at the Three Tuns all summer and made some posters for them, this week they called and asked if I could have a go at making some Christmas menus. Heres what I've done so far

This is the one they chose to use on Christmas day!!!

Behind The Camera.

We are making a soundscape in this lesson, as a group we decided to go with the horror genre.
The horror genre makes great use of sound as an emotive device, it can be used to create empathy with a character, build the atmosphere and heighten the drama.

The sounds in this video clip from 8.47 onwards (chase scene from chainsaw massacre) as far as I can tell are: Dialogue, door opening, scuffling, chainsaw revving, chainsaw under the floorboards more muted/dull,  metal on chainsaw, flapping sheets, footsteps etc, etc. ALL DIEGETIC. However the non diegetic sounds are more to enhance the dramatic tension. the deep rumbling at the start of the arguament between the kids and old man whre we are aware the killer is watching. There is also an irregular beat going on right throught the chase through the sheets, the beat seems to match the snapping of the sheets in the wind. It feels orgainic and is hardly noticable, it just adds more intensity. At around 10.00 we also notice screeching as we reach the peak or height of the chase signaling that we are at the height of the chase and that it will soon end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OflucKrjjg&feature=relmfu

Back to Blogging

Back to University means back to Blogging.
This time im going to try and use my blog more than last year. I am going to use it for more than just mapping out what we have done in each lesson but an archive of research and a hub of links to other websites, projects and artists that interest me.

Starting with this little beauty... this is a website with hundereds of photographic illusions, I love this kind of thing and had a go at making a few myself

http://illusion.scene360.com/category/photography/

Today we made out own TV show, recorded as live!!!

Our show!!

Making a show in the TV studio is the best part of this year in my opinion. We get to get really involved in the technical side of things and its really exhilarating and fin to watch your ideas and planning and all of your hard work translate immediately on to the screen into something that looks professional and a quality piece of work. We had a practice run at making a show in which the demonstration was how to make a paper aeroplane. I personally got loads out of it. Not only do I now feel more comfortable operating and using the equipment in the studio but I also feel more settled in my spacial and physical expectations of what the set should look and feel like. I was really worried that as set designer I would have a real job on  my hands. but I'm feeling much more confident now after practising our own show and watching some of my class mates fantastic products and seeing how they designed their own sets.

Summertime

This Summer....

All this summer I worked in a local Restaurant and Bar called The Three Tuns whilst we were off Uni, they wanted to bring some new dishes and drink offers to the summer season and I offered to create some posters for them to have a look at and use if they wished, here are some of the ones that were displayed all summer and some which are still up.  

Contemporary Media Issues- Making a Game

Right, new assignment: Make a Game (in the screen school)

Well, we were thinking that the building is massive and it would be fun if we could get around it in a more unconventional manner and make it into a game, hence we came up with "Chutes and Catapults" essentially its snakes and ladders but instead of going up and down levels you go forward and back through the rooms int he screen school. Answer a question right on the interactive whiteboard and you may take the catapult and go forward one room, answer wrong three times and the chute will take you back a room!! End goal= GET TO THE AUTOMATIC!!

I think it sounds like fun!

Contemporary Media Issues- Location Based Narraitve

New assignment: tell a story through locations.......

o_O whaaaat???? Im struggling with this one a little, I did english at A-Level and love telling stories but this is very different from conventional storytelling.

My group and I thought that we would have a bit of fun with this piece as it was quite hard and none of us really get it, so we have the BEST story ever told through google maps (in my opinion)

We have created a gang who operate under A-Dog and his best buddies B-Dog and C-Dog, watch their amazing story unfold through the magical power of google maps.....

Contemporary Media Issues- Creating a Character

Chad.
Well my friend has let me follow him around and take pictures of him playing rugby with the team for the sporting aspect of my character and also posed for a few funny pictures with his friends.

Its quite fun playing around and trying to be someone else, but its very very very hard to stay in character sometimes!!!
Here are the links to his

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Tumblr

Hope you can see how I tried to make his Facebook, (where he interacts with all of his housemates) as macho as I can, his Twitter (that he uses less) slightly more experimental and his Tumblr as a way to open up and express his sexuality.

Creativity and Concept- Museum

Its all good at the moment, heres a prezi detailing our ideas: Film Enthusiasts Museum Exhibit
We hope to use it in our presentation about it soon :)
Just got to work out a script and may need to add a few more bits and bobs for the final piece, we shall see.

Contemporary Media Issues- Creating a Character

A few lessons ago we created 'Weavrs' to run around the internet blogging and tweeting about everything they find interesting according to the traits and preferences we gave them...
They didn't go swimmingly but now we have to create a person by ourselves, as in create a profile for this person and act out their character.... Bit strange but it should be fun....

Me and my friends are up for it anyway hahaaa.
So we have decided that I am to be "Chad Barker" the closet gay, all star jock. Wow.

Production Practice- Factual Film

A few lessons ago we were given a new assignment, to create a factual film. Your choice of subject, location etc.

Our group all came together to present our treatments, mine was about the LJMU Snowriders and what its like to be part of a race team and what being a snow rider is all about (Partying mainly) 

But we decided to take Stevie's idea and adapt it, she wanted to do a piece on the museum but instead of doing a piece of the museum itself we thought we would do something on one of the exhibits, the 'doors' exhibit to be specific, somehow she got access to the opening of the doors exhibit and she and another of our group took the cameras and interviewed and filmed all night! Lucky girls! 

They got some great material, we just need to get some more and put our stuff together, fingers crossed everything goes to plan.

Creativity and Concept- Museum

Got the Idea down now. We have come up with a one room idea to combine 3 different aspects of Film.
WATCH
LISTEN
DO.

We plan to project four different films onto the four walls of the room all playing simultaneously (watch), you will also be able to stand on the sensory pads in front of the screen and experience the film up close with wind, and aromas and suck like allowing you to really experience it in addition to the headphones playing the sounds from whichever film you chose to listen to (listen) and we will also have a studio setup in the centre of the room where you can film your own scenarios and experience filming first hand (do)

This way we hope to engage all kinds of film enthusiasts, those interested in the history and different types of films will enjoy those projected on the walls, those who want to become involved in filming will love the set and those looking forward to the future of films should get a real kick out of the futuristic sensory pads!!!

Production Practice- PERSON PROFILE

Well its done.
The hardest part I though was to chop up the audio of our fireman speaking, he was a great speaker but we had to sort out what he said into manageable chunks and name them to give us something workable, this was tough as to make it sound natural and flow properly you had to be able to cut it so precisely there is no room for mistakes. It took me hours to do that! But when we all got together and put all the pieces together, matching audio to visuals I think it was ok.
And the link is here: Person Profile

Creativity and Concept- Museum

In groups we decided which target audience we would most like to create a museum exhibit for from the given list, we had to number them in order of our preferences, groups were chosen at random to pick their chosen audience, us being us had to go at least 6 down our list as they were chosen by other groups haha, we ended up with film enthusiasts. Not a bad group I think there are plenty of things we can do with this.

I told my group about the Museum of Media in Bradford and how they have different areas about film from    the history of film to making your own film. This link will take you to the  Experience TV site where you can use the sets there to film your own shorts, shows, have some fun and learn more about using hi tech filming equipment. I think my experience of the museum will be a very useful source of inspiration.

Production Practice- PERSON PROFILE

This assignment, instead of focusing on the location is more about the Person, this piece is to film a short factual piece about an interesting person. At the start our group found this very difficult as some of us weren't from Liverpool so any interesting contacts were back home (Sheffield for me) and way to far away to commute and film them that way. We decided to use a fireman from Stevie's dads station, we knew we would be allowed access to the location this way and that they would be forthcoming and helpful which indeed they have been. Stevie and Gemma got all the footage and all we need to do is edit it. Cant wait to see the final piece.

Production Practice- ITS LIVERPOOL

Well it was a struggle yes, editing, filming, getting people to come and hold out boards for us to film, the hours and hours spent filming time lapses were HARD! But its done, eventually and heres the film to prove it!! I quite like it but would it have been so hard for the sun to shine?? I think if we had done this film in the summer not only would it have looked better but there would have been more people and things to film.
Anyway: Its Liverpool

Production Practice- PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Finally got our film on youtube, here it is: People on the move

hope you enjoy!

Production Practice- ITS LIVERPOOL

Had this new assignment to create a film about Liverpool based on a location instead of people. We chose to use Bold Street because its got loads of great shops restaurants buskers and shoppers all year round, we thought that we would show how diverse and interesting Liverpool is by using captions like "its Music" and "its Culture" and showing appropriate clips of Bold street. Hope it looks as good as it does in my head haha.

Contemporary Media Issues- Location Based Narrative

New assignment: tell a story through locations.......

o_O whaaaat???? Im struggling with this one a little, I did english at A-Level and love telling stories but this is very different from conventional storytelling.

My group and I thought that we would have a bit of fun with this piece as it was quite hard and none of us really get it, so we have the BEST story ever told through google maps (in my opinion)

We have created a gang who operate under A-Dog and his best buddies B-Dog and C-Dog, watch their amazing story unfold through the magical power of google maps.....

C-Dogs Great Adventure