WEEK 2
This week, I focused on working out a schedule for my work on “Echoes”, as well as gathering knowledge for sound design.
I did this by contacting Claire, the project’s director, after the fourth years held a scheduling meeting, and asking her what dates she was planning on shooting the film on. I got in touch with Claire via instagram messaging. She responded to me quickly and informed me that she was planning to shoot from the 18th to the 24th of March, around a month and a half away from now. Knowing that I will be working both on set and in post production as a sound designer, this allowed me to begin to work out a timeframe for preparation and post production work. It also allowed me to begin making plans to complete the work for my other modules this semester.
When discussing my role as a sound designer with Claire, she had made it clear from the outset that she did not anticipate it being a particularly large role, something I could see even from the inspiration films which she had provided. However, as my previous sound design work has mostly focused on exaggerated horror soundscapes, I felt that I should do some research into the creation of low-key, naturalistic sound. As Claire had mentioned that some of her film would take place outside in the city, I began by reading an article titled “Directing the City Orchestra”, written by Gunnar Cerwén (2010, https://soundscapedesign.info/bulletin/ ), which provided very useful information on the creation of more Urban soundscapes, despite focusing mainly on how to create a physical soundscape with landscaping and architectural choices. Something which I took particular notice of was Cerwén’s observation that “…sounds are more than mere sound pressure levels. For example, the sound levels experienced near an ocean can exceed those of a bustling city. Yet, the sound from the ocean stimulates recreation while urban sounds tend to be judged as annoying.” I found this useful as it gave me the idea to begin practising with balancing sounds and experimenting with what emotions can be created with only a natural soundscape (in the case of Echoes, I would specifically be looking at creating feelings of agitation, sadness and calm).
This week we also received a lecture from writer and director Louis Paxton. Over the course of our discussion with him, he mentioned that directors often have different levels of involvement with post production work, with it being relatively rare for many to supervise post production sound. This was useful to know as it informed me that I would need to consult with Claire as to how closely updated she would like to be kept on my work after shooting wrapped. As I have never worked in the role of director before the lecture was also a valuable opportunity to learn about the extent of the work needing to be put into the role and gave me a greater awareness of the pressure which is created by it. This made me realise that I need to know what I am doing to the fullest extent possible so as not to add on to any issues which may be experienced during production.
