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

Select from one of the readings from week 1 or 2 and briefly describe two points that you have taken from that reading. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

Week two’s first reading “Slogans for the Screenwriter’s Wall” lists a collection of self-construcive comments and criticisms about film making as though they were sprawled upon a screenwriter’s wall. Below are two slogans I found quite insightful:

“Student films come in three sizes: Too Long, Much Too Long and Very Much Too Long.

If it can be cut out, then CUT IT OUT. Everything non-essential that you can eliminate strengthens what’s left.”

– Page 40-41

The importance of selecting content that is relevant from the ‘fluff’ is invaluable. The above quote outlines that student films are always too long and as a principle everything that isn’t necessary should be cut out. Perhaps student films are too long because there is an inability to refine the product and decide what stays and goes; or students have so many ideas and experimental inspiration they try to make space for everything rather than determine what’s necessary and make that excel.

“If you’ve got a Beginning, but you don’t have an end, then you’re mistaken. You don’t have the right Beginning.”

– Page 42

The importance of ending was also noted by Jasmine in her Screenwriting lecture, primarily it’s impact in short films. The above comment defines the importance of the ending so much so that the beginning is subordinate to the end. Therefore if you have a beginning and not an end, there is a sign of fault in the beginning. This idea isn’t relevant to whether the actual story is good or bad, but more so in order to achieve something right you have to understand where it’s going. So I offer this analogy, the journey of film relies upon transportation, if you can’t identify the final destination you won’t know what transport to take.

Reference

Mackendrick, A. “Slogans for the screenwriter’s wall.” On film-making, Faber & Faber, New York, 2004. Page 40-43.

Consider Jasmine’s lecture on Screenwriting and briefly describe one point that you have taken from it. A point that excites you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

One of the major points I took away from Jasmine’s lecture was her emphasis on character and the tip to ‘make your charcaters interesting.’ This can be done through such things as stress and unexpected circumstances – when characters push the boundaries of what’s expected of them to avoid the pitfall of cliché. Jasmine particularly noted that film characters work ‘better’ if they’re larger than life. They should be bold, wilful, determined, strong and emotional; meaning no wallflowers, no introverts and no ‘nice guys’ as we need to be able to introduce emotions. I concur with this as I believe the characters in a short film need to be well understood by the audience due to time restraints, but there is a charcater for every story and films can be built up around the lack of understanding between character and audience.

The lecture then furthered the idea that if the characters are interesting the situations they are put in will become interesting as well, and as an audience we will learn more about a character from their reaction to their surroundings. In the creation of character, Jasmine offered some simple addition:

Take a character + Want + Problem

Through this we can use constraints as stimulus. For example, the character of a young Irishman who wants to write and paint but he has cerebral palsy since birth and can only use his left foot. Through this equation we can create the pure form of character for the story to build upon.

Jasmine notes that the problem the character has will constitute the events and therefore the problem should be something that is outside the everyday. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case as it can be done by making everyday activities interesting, such as in a show like Seinfeld. The problem causes an event which the protagonist is then affected by and which should ruin your character’s day or peace of mind as a mechanic to a chain of reactions.

As a conclusion Jasmine offered some general tips for our production:

1. Keep it simple

2. Stick to 1-3 speaking parts

3. Use one locale

4. Beware of flashbacks and featured time frames

5. Think about your ending as they become important, especially in short films because they have much more impact

Seinfeld screenshot sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WRxEY8o3kc

In 200 words or less please outline your goals, desires – what you want to get out of this semester. You will review this later in the course. Many will rethink this dramatically – this is a good thing.

With the production of a short video a key aspect of the course I believe there is a strong desire to achieve an enjoyable film; for me this means creating something that you’re not only proud of but that will be well received by others. In order to achieve this the choice of an idea and it’s interpretation in a way that is enjoyable for the audience will be paramount and prove the biggest challenge of the course. It would be nice to create a product that is not only aesthetically pleasing but that also has a developed and refined construction that has been achieved through collaboration. The fact we will work in groups will also help improve technical, creative and organisational skills as we share knowledge and experiences over the following weeks.

More personally, I’d like to develop more of an awareness of the processes it takes to produce such things as film and television, and then understand how to apply that knowledge not only to my own creations but the analysis of others as well. This will also mean building my ability to direct and evaluate my own learning through such outlets as this analysis/reflection task. Lastly and most importantly I want to be able to enjoy the whole process, as yes things won’t always go to plan, but that’s what it’s all about. It’s a process that can be planned but that can’t be, it asks for the haphazard and if anything uses those moments to inspire creation.