1. In this clip from Forbidden Lies, Anna Broinowski’s 2007 film: describe in detail all of the audio, how it may have been recorded/sourced and how you think it has been edited / layered in post. (You do not need to describe how the music was recorded).

The audio in this clip of ‘Forbidden Lies’ is used to trigger certain emotions in the audience and demonstrate a shift in the tone of the documentary. In the beginning of the clip during the reenactment of scenes from the book, the music, sound effects and voice-over narration generate a romantic and fantasy-like sentiment in the audience. The sentiment suddenly changes when … voice is heard stating that the book’s account is a lie. The music, sound effects and voices of the participants then become quite fast-paced and shatter the fantasy of the romantic reenactment.

During the beginning of the clip, Norma’s calm voice-over reading from the book tells the story of the romantic fantasy-like reenactment seen on screen. The soft romantic singing of lyrics detailing the romance is layered awell as calming acoustic guitar music. Sound effects such as harps, chimes, chirping birds are also layered to add to the romantic and fantasy-like theme of the scene. The man’s shining smile is accompanied with a cheesy ‘cling’ sound effect, the sound of the car is also layered as well as the rushing wind sound effect as the woman dramatically releases her veil and symbolically her ties with her past Muslim identity. The ‘thump’ sound of the veil falling to the ground is also intentionally dramatic to represent this.

Suddenly, the sound effect of a mouse click and a book ‘thump’ interrupts the fantasy. The voice-over detailing that these ‘facts’ are untrue signifies a shift in the tone of clip and the sound accordingly. The sound effect of the sand falling is used to signify the disintegration of the ‘truth’. When the book ‘Forbidden Love’ is shown the ‘cha-ching’ sound effect is heard to give the audience the impression that the book has been fabricated by Norma for monetary purposes. When the authentic Jordanian women talk about the lies in the book, there is a calming and soft arabic singing is heard which is the complete opposite to the Americanised music in the fantasy sequence, comparing authenticity with fakeness.

Keyboard typing sound effects is also heard as well as harps,chimes, camera snap, and diegetic bird chirping during one of the interviews.  When Norma describes Jordan’s location, an omnipresent other-worldly music can be heard. The spot indicating Jordan is accompanied with a pulsing sound effect. The sound effect of a rattle snake is used to describe Norma as a manipulative and vindictive person who can’t be trusted.

Middle-Eastern upbeat music is used during the salon sequences including the sound effect of clippers. The sound effect of a cigarette lighter can also be heard and then the ‘rewind’ sound effect demonstrating that the story of Norma and Dahlia is a lie due to the facts not stacking up. When Norma’s claim of one of the locations in her book is proved to be incorrect, a sound effect of the buildings disappearing (‘pop’) is heard then finally a ‘tick’ sound effect which is used to prove that the facts don’t add up in Norma’s favour.

The sound effects could have either been recorded in a sound studio or been sourced via programs that the production company would have had access to. The sound of the interviewees voices would’ve been recorded with a microphone attached to a boom microphone even though a lapel microphone could’ve been used, it was probably not chosen due to the ability for sound quality to be used if it gets caught on the interviewees clothing. The sound elements are layered so that there is always music in the background, the voices of the interviewees narrating can be heard and sound effects are added for comedic effect or emphasis.

2. Most applications reserve keyboard shortcuts for the functions that you use most often. It is really good to learn all of these as it will speed up your editing and additionally alert you to functions that the software developers and other users find important. (You can learn much about the software by looking at keyboard shortcuts).

Find the keyboard shortcuts for Premiere (hint, film-tv blog) and note four or more functions that you’ve never used before and why they may be invaluable to your editing. (Different functions to what you wrote last semester).

Some keyboard shortcuts that I have been neglecting to use and will include in my editing are;

The duplicating shortcut: Shift+Cmd+/ which allows you to duplicate a clip or sequence with ease.

The media browser shortcut: Shift+8 which navigates you easily to all of your imported vision and sound.

The new custom bin shortcut: Cmd+/ which allows you to add a new bin to organise your media easily.

The ripple delete shortcut: Opt+Delete which allows you to easily remove ripples (gaps) inbetween clips so one clip flows into the next.

3. “From a distant gaze …” (1964) directed by Jean Ravel, picture Pierre Lhomme & Chris Marker, words by Louis Aragon, narrated by Jean Negroni, music by Michel Legrand.

Describe a few things that intrigue you – it might be shot construction, camera work, editing, overall structure, thematic concerns etc. Describe the camera work and why you think it has been shot that way.

‘From a Distant Gaze…’ is a poetic documentary that I really enjoyed and took inspiration from. The subjects are all random people in the public, strangers just walking the streets, unaware that they’re movements and facial expressions are being filmed. The subjects’ expressions are what drives the documentary, with their emotions forming an integral part to the way in which it is constructed.

The opening part of the documentary got my attention immediately as the filmmakers cleverly use the traffic in the foreground of the frame to interrupt the camera’s focus on the feet of people crossing the road in the background. The music engages with these interruptions playfully, pausing during the interrupted segments.

The choice of music evokes different emotions in the audience, making them observe some of the people filmed as being sad, happy, angry, disappointed, etc. The music is quite manic in the sense that it shifts and changes so quickly, it escalates and de-escaltes in a matter of seconds. These rhythmic changes are also kept in sync with the editing pace of the documentary, with fast-paced music matched with quick editing techniques.

I found the constant use of movement a really interesting and exciting function that gave the sense that the audience is moving fluidly amongst the strangers in the street. This is achieved through the camera movement following the people on the street, the choice of camera shots to include obstructions such as the flowing traffic, the movement of the people, and the changing music which all give the sense of constant movement. It’s almost like a song or dance of everyday people in society with all of the different components working together to demonstrate this flowing movement.

4. Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that interest you, something you could apply to your own documentary.

The reading that I focused on was ‘The Art of the Documentary’. I found this reading to be really insightful as it is a collection of interviews with documentary filmmakers, detailing their experiences and advice.

I found Kirsten Johnson’s account of making the documentary ‘Deadline’ about death row really interesting as I have seen it before. One of the things she mentioned in particular that stood out for me was how she deliberately chose to film the participants in close up; their hands, their feet, small gestures and movements that tell you a lot about the person and when paired with voice-over narration can be quite powerful in telling a story rather than just showing a straight interview.

Another thing she mentioned that stood out for me was her description of the ‘floating camera’ – the moment when you realise what the camera should be focusing on when filming. I found this idea really interesting as while I have filmed some of our documentary so far, and I have tried to experiment with different camera shots and angles, I haven’t felt like I’ve had the confidence to be bold with my camera shots. I also want to push myself to think laterally and more visually in terms of our documentary and the ‘floating camera’ concept of finding something unique to focus and film in the midst of a more formal approach is something I want to try and implement.