Piñata is a short film which explores the theme of subconscious prejudice. It follows a man as he struggles to reconcile assisting a young girl who ostensibly needs his help; based on his personal bias against her parents’ appearance. As the head of audio for the project, I will be responsible for the associated audio track in its entirety. Depending on the direction this film takes, this may include location sound, dialogue/ADR, foley, sound design, composition, mixing and mastering for both stereo and 5.1, whilst adhering to industry standards.
THEORY
"we don’t see images and hear sounds as separate channels, we audio-view a trans-sensory whole" - Michael Chion
Michael Chion (1994, p. 54) suggests that “cinema is routinely approached as a visual art”. It is often discussed in visual terms, ignoring “the modification introduced by synchronized sound”. He describes cinema as a realist art, while noting its progression has resulted from the inclusion of “forceful doses of unrealism”. Coined the term added value:
added value: "the expressive or informational value with which a sound enriches a given image so as to create the definite impression" (Whittington, 2010, p. 254)
(Smith, 2009)
diegetic: is any sound presented as originated from a source within the film's world
non-diegetic: is any sound in a film that doesn't originate from the film's world
trans-diegetic: refers to a sound that begins as diegetic and then becomes non-diegetic, or vice versa. "Sound’s propensities to cross the border of the diegetic to the non-diegetic and remaining unspecific" (Taylor, 2007)
acousmatic: a sound heard though its source is not present / visible (Kane, 2014)
acoumatic-to-diegetic audio is a dramatic feature commonly used in suspense based cinema, which assists to heighten tension by keeping a sound source unseen for some time, only to be later revealed (Buhler, 2018, p. 47).
It is interesting to note however, that although these terms surrounding diegesis are abundant throughout texts and film studies, there are some that protest their acquired definition. Winters (2010) suggests that music can be as much a part of a fictional film as the dialogue, and as such to separate them seems too binary. He claims "it is part of the story's world, not an invisible means by which the story is narrated." Similarly, taking Chion's description of the nondiegetic, it is not “situated in another time and another place than the events directly represented.” Winters suggests at the very least, these sounds are extradiegetic: understood as something added rather than something external (2010, p. 231). He proposes this and intradiegetic as solutions. Where intradiegetic exists within the storyworld of a particular text and transmits a story that is framed by the extradiegetic narrative level.
empirical-phenomenological approach: “must be grounded in the first-order construction of the actors" (Smith & Thomasson, 2010, p. 24). That is; focussed on subjective examinations of experience, or one’s impression of the world (Aspers, 2009, p. 3).
"the human being becomes the living modulator of the machine product; the circuitry dissolves into the spirit of humanness that envelops it" - Thom Holmes
Holmes (2002, p. 123) posits electronic music often lacks a point of comparison to the natural world of sounds, providing a largely mental and imaginative experience - dissociative.
electroacoustic music is widely used to denote music that integrates sounds from the natural world with audio processing (p. 183).
CONSUMPTION
Good Time
Cannes Film Festival - 2017 Soundtrack Award winner
Composed: Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never)
Brilliant demonstration of electronic score designed to compliment. Provides a quality that only electronic can, into imaginary sonic realms.
“We were really into this idea that we were constructing this score that was a living organism; that was tethered to the image in this sci-fi way. It wasn’t just music, it was this weird existential texture..."
"So the car’s going underneath an underpass, how can we activate that strip of highway? What can we do to make it seem like the highway’s electric, like it’s alive? We put in all these sonic moments tethered to certain objects in the frame, and panned them in a way that was relative to the movement of the object on the screen." - Daniel Lopatin (McDermott, 2017)
Geffen (2017) interviews Daniel Lopatin:
commended on the soundtrack's ability to displace the listener
applauds his ability to envelop the audience in a world “that looks a lot like the one they’re used to, but threatens to fall apart at the slightest touch”
proposes the film offers intense humanization of its characters - similar to Piñata
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Both Social Network & Girl With The Dragon Tattoo won numerous awards for Best Original Score. Produced primarily using modular synthesis techniques which create unique sonic textures; sequencers and granular modules assist it to evolve and modulate over time. Combines this analogue artform with many digital practices. Phenomenologically suggests emotional state to viewer.
Bladerunner 2049
Vostok Station
This short film was invited to Sundance, and intrigued me because the entire sound track is made up of sound design. Furthermore, it doesn't feature any dialogue at all, only the actors strained breathing. Watching this made me realise how important something as subtle as his breath can be in conveying the character's emotion. Also features a very interesting way of using stereo space. His breathing and foley attached to his character exists panned to the left. Only momentarily when the viewer sees the world through his eyes do these sound become stere. Meanwhile ambient noise, location sounds, and sound design are included as stereo tracks. This has the effect, for me at least, of making me (the viewer) feel a little uncomfortable, perhaps a tip-of-the-hat to his mental state that something is not right. It also has the effect of drawing attention to certain moments.
SCORE
Below is a playlist offering a small selection of experimental audio I have come across through academic research. A lot of it is historically prolific, finding itself worthy of a mention in professional audio text books. It serves as research and inspiration.
After much research and critical listening, I proposed the song below to the group as a reference track. It provides a reasonable indication of my intended direction and somewhat desired mood:
It also provides a suitable starting point to begin considering how I will approach sound design. At this point I aim to combine the concepts of early experimental electronic music with modern production capabilities.
Granular synthesis provides an opportunity for the composition to be in a constant state of flux: ever-modulating as the story evolves. Comprised of tiny grains of an original sample, it would be interesting to manipulate those grains for the duration of the film, and return them to their original sample as a resolve at the end. Represents the struggle inside protagonist's head: film surrounds the concept of misinterpreting a situation, could be beneficial to similarly have the viewer misinterpret the audio - come to clarity simultaneously.
Below is a collection of sound I have been playing with, whilst practicing production techniques for film, culminating in a kind of sonic mood-board. It features sound design, modulating synths, virtual modular synth patches, processed pads, and some abstract melodies, in an attempt to purvey/evoke emotion.
While experimenting with sound design, I discovered a feedback loop within a plugin. By manipulating the level of feedback for each of the four discreet channels, and modulating a pitch shift, I was able to achieve a very unique texture:
(Caution: ears ≠ feedback)
This one I set out to create a drone inspired evolving piece, mostly to test various synth patches, samples, and other sounds that I have spent time shortlisting. I tried to keep the mix sitting very wide in the stereo field, allowing a lot of room in the middle for dialogue to go. I also tried to use sounds that sat predominantly in the lower or upper range of frequencies; I believe that may be one of the most useful ways to mask a less than perfect dialogue recording due to a noisy environment. Should that occur, and ADR not possible, the droning high frequencies will help to mask room tone. Similarly, low for aircon hum.
This one I wanted to purvey more uplifting emotion, though as it is predominantly a dark theme throughout the film, euphoric or joyful music may seem to harsh of a juxtaposition. Hence, I tried to play on feelings of fulfilment or resolve. In my mind I was imagining the end of the film where the protagonist realises the situation is harmless and recognises his own prejudices. I also included a kick drum half way through to see if that affected the way the track was received into more of a musical piece, than ambience: suitable perhaps for the credits.
LOCATION SOUND RESEARCH
SAE Carpark:
Red indicates particularly noisy locations
The ambience of the space is quite noisy and somewhat busy with passing cars or the occasional loud pedestrian. There are also numerous pipes and air conditioning units (indicated above) which produce a lot of ambient noise, echoing around a predominantly concrete room. This may prove to be realistic and immersive, however it may also be detrimental. Below is a selection of field recordings taken using a Zoom H6 with the XY stereo mic attachment. Note the switching on/off of machinery, passing vehicles, heavy natural reverb that swallows quiet speech, and occasional wind spikes:
Consequently, there are two possibilities for the film's diegetic sounds:
ADR and post-prod foley - maximum control / highlight essential moments / higher quality / more polished
Location dialogue and foley - more realistic / different aesthetic / could be blended in for natural verb
I have recommended to the team that ADR would be the best option for this scenario, particularly with such few lines of dialogue and such potential for bad location sound. Although, I plan to continue as if ADR were impossible, and save that as a last resort.
Microphone Shootout
Here I have compared a Rode NT4G with a Sennheiser MKH416 for dialogue purposes; A-B 'ing between them continuously throughout. The Sennheiser MKH416 (heard second, fourth...) not only sounds 'sweeter' and fills out my voice, it also rejects some of the harsher higher frequencies from the background; where as the Rode NTG4 highlights them and seems to thin my voice a little more. However, this may give the NTG4 the added benefit of cutting through the mix more easily, depending on the other sonic inclusions.
Taking some tips from an audio professional accustomed to film shoots, I learned that a common technique for VO actors is to eat Granny Smith apple slices prior to recording (Brockett, 2002). The acidity and sugar levels combat the common occurrence of sticky mouth or lip smacks.
Zoom F8
Prior to the shoot: Factory reset the F8, and go back through every setting to ensure it's correct. Ensure battery is charged and spare is included. Empty SD card.
Recording at 48kHz will provide quality audio whilst saving space with file-sizes
Collaborate with team to ensure universal timecode is functioning correctly
Label the channels, put down notes, what microphone used, anything potentially useful
Capture 5 minutes, in various locations, of ambient audio on location prior to the shoot (wildtrack) - ensures functioning equipment, my comfortability with it, time for managing problems, but most importantly for use in post to blend with dialogue or to remove noise (Edwards, 2020)
** Once COVID restrictions are lifted, I plan to practice recording someone with a lavalier mic in various locations to find optimum performance.
This all culminated in the production of a Location Sound Plan.
FILM MIXING / MASTERING
OP59 is an Australian standard that dictates the loudness of a film must not exceed -24LUFS (or maximum short-term loudness of -6LUFS) . Similarly, it establishes a True Peak limit of -2dBFS (Milne, 2019).
Surround mix will be bounced as 6 x 48/24 mono WAV files: L C R Ls Rs LFE
Ensure precise starting location and exact length of film - encoder/decoder doesn't sync video with audio.
Mixing for film in 5.1 (Waves, 2020):
Position all dialogue in the centre channel
Less compression and EQ - due to the extra channels there is less mess to clean up
Don't rely on the LFE heavily - never know if viewer has properly calibrated sub
Try including majority of reverb in rear speakers - "having dry signal come from two speakers and ambience coming from speakers in different locations can create a strong enveloping effect"
WHERE TO
Keep working on score
Practice with lav mics
REFERENCES
Brockett, D. (2002). Location sound: the basics and beyond. Retrieved from http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/location_sound.html
Buhler, J. (2018). Theories of the Soundtrack. Oxford University Press.
Chion, M. (1994). Audio-vision: sound on screen. Columbia University Press.
Edwards, B. (2020). Location sound recording. Retrieved from https://funkytwig.com/articles/rough-guide-to-location-sound-recording/
Geffen, S. (2017). Good Time (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Retrieved from https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/oneohtrix-point-never-good-time-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/
Holmes, T. (2002). Electronic and experimental music: pioneers in technology and composition. Psychology Press.
Kane, B. (2014). Sound unseen: Acousmatic sound in theory and practice. Oxford University Press, USA.
McDermott, P. (2017). Oneohtrix Point Never’s Good Time Soundtrack Is Already A Classic. Retrieved from https://www.thefader.com/2017/08/17/oneohtrix-point-never-good-time-score-daniel-lopatin-interview
Milne, S. (2019). Australian Loudness Standards. Retrieved from http://www.sandymilne.com/op-59-and-loudness-standards-for-australian-tv/
Smith, J. (2009). Bridging the gap: Reconsidering the border between diegetic and nondiegetic music. Music and the Moving Image, 2(1), 1-25.
Taylor, H. M. (2007). Discourses on Diegesis: The Success Story of a Misnomer.Off Screen,11(8-9), 1-5.
Whittington, W. (2010). Film, A Sound Art. Music, Sound, and the Moving Image, 4(2), 253-260.
Winters, B. (2010). The non-diegetic fallacy: film, music, and narrative space. Music & Letters, 91(2), 224–244.
NOTES
- whispers bouncing around head
- score +drums for credits
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