In the tute we screened a short film called Rolling – a film made in Film-TV1 a few years ago. In 300 words or less describe what you through worked or didn’t. At this stage we don’t expect you to have a great deal of film knowledge or language. Don’t be afraid to use your own words. Things you could talk about – script, casting, timing, camera movement, location. You may not remember much detail, if so, it could be helpful to talk about your first impressions, after all this is what most of us are left with after one viewing.

My first impression of the short film Rolling was that the overall depiction of the story idea was cleaver. I think the idea development was achieved well by beginning the film with the stacks of toilet rolls as we meet the main character as it allows the progression of the story to further develop him as a character as we learn how he came to possess all this toilet paper. I think the titling of the piece was also well done, as it’s an obvious link but not a predictable one. When I first heard the title I can’t really say what I was expecting, a part from the fact I had Tina Turner in my head for the rest of the day, but my immediate connection was not toilet paper.

In terms of script, I thought the dialogue kept the scenes going and created the necessary awkwardness to capture the crush he had on the shop assistant and the male actor did a good job of articulating this through his speech and body language. The use of location kept the story well contained and structured, the spaces were also well established for the audience, for example the panning shots of the kitchen in the house and the the stocked shelves in the supermarket. The lighting of the locations also helped with the story, the supermarket’s fluorescent bright light compared to the house’s darker light – the bright light is associated with the girl and how the boy views her, while the dark light is his life without her.

My only negative for the film would be the girl coming to his house in the end, personally I believe his character is endearing enough for the audience to love him so for him to get the girl as well I find somewhat over satisfying.

Select from one of the readings, up to but not including Week 5, and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

Week three’s reading outlined the ability for sound to create emotion to communicate an idea, unlike with the sense of sight where the idea communicates the emotion. Sound is a force that can excite meaning, convert meaning, and, if it is loud enough, resonate body – it’s ability to influence a viewer’s perception of film or television transports the audience from just viewing to experiencing. Below are two interesting points from the reading:

“If you’re not listening, sound remains part of the environment; it does not become part of your consciousness.”

– Page 7

The reading argues that most sounds are part of the environment and many offer little aesthetic satisfaction that they are not worth listening to. Listening should be selective and you learn what to listen for by analysing both the components that make up a sound and the relationship of a sound to its environment. It’s quite interesting how much sound we choose to ignore everyday, and yet when we watch film and television we form an almost default understanding to listen. Thinking of this in relation to music, songs have the ability to create feelings and emotions through sound as we allow it to become part of our consciousness, it’s for this reason people have attachment to certain songs.

“A director was once asked why, after an extremely dramatic, revelatory event in a scene, he chose to have silence. He replied, “Silence was the most awesome sound that we could get.” ”

– Page 276

Silence can be used to enhance sonic effect, it is in the pauses or silences between words, sounds and musical notes that help to create rhythm, contrast, and power. Silence in film gives the audience a chance to recollect their thoughts and process of hearing so that in times of aided audio they can experience the desired effect. For me silence resonates moments in film; they are moments of freedom where you’re allowed to interpret the scene. Silence needs to be appreciated, because it’s tempting to put music and sound effects over everything but a true listener will know when absence says enough.

References

Bresson, R. “Sight and Hearing.” Notes on the cinematographer, London: Quartet, 1986. Page 50-52

Alten, S. “Creating the sound design.” Audio in Media, Belmont: Wadsworth, 1994.      Page 266-286

In the film Clown Train how does sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space?

Sound in Clown Train contributes to the atmosphere of the film by foreshadowing, adding suspense and manipulating space through sound effects and music. Through this the film is given an eerie feeling as the clown get’s closer and closer to the boy, and as the boy tries to understand what’s going on. The film begins with the harsh screeching of train breaks on tracks, foreshadowing the train set the audience is about to see; the screen then flicks from black to image and the sound of space begins with the hum of lights. The first shot of the clown’s face is met with the thumping of a drum to create the feeling of a heart stop in shock. Dialogue then begins and can be heard from opposite channels of the speaker, this places the viewer in the train as though we sit between their conversation. The background audio then decreases volume and there is the flickering of lights – here audio and sound work together to establish darkness, a well established code of nervousness, and make the Clown’s move on the train a shock. There is then a knocking as the Clown smiles, alluding to him knowing something the boy and the audience are deprived of. This knock is then used again when the Clown tells his first joke and realises he’s already told the boy, the Clown knows he’s told the boy before but the boy himself and audience are confused. After this is silence, leaving the audience unsure what to take from the Clown’s comment. The clown then appears next to the boy and tells another joke; “What do you get when you wake up on a train, with a Clown, and you can’t remember how you got there?” The music then quickly rises in volume and is cut to fully hear the Clown laugh; it becomes the climax of the film through sound isolation and sheer volume.

The boy then leaves the train and we hear the Clown say, “Never mind [pause] I’ll tell you on Friday.” This dialogue sets up a form of narrative completion as the audience tries to piece together that this isn’t a single occurrence but the boy will return to the train and this will happen again. There is no explanation to what’s just happened but instead the ability for the audience to interpret the events.

Thriller is another genre of film that uses sound to create tensions and a unique filmic space. Clown Train has Thriller sound codes throughout and uses the familiar sounds, such as flickering lights and knocking, to elicit emotions instilled in the audience from a young age. Thriller films use sound to foreshadow events the audience may not necessarily be able to visually see or understand, in Clown Train this can be heard in the creaks and knocks that allude to key information to help solve the puzzle and act as potential stimulus for the audience to understand the situation.

Clown Train screenshot sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dX9bfCbJdw