Soundtrack for film

I have researched soundtrack for a action/thriller film genre in order for it to be used in our film. I have researched many sites across the web to find the best soundtrack. I have found a sountrack which is very conventional for a thriller and action film. It has a fast tempo, a lot of low drums and a bass drum as well as bells. As well as that, it has a breakdown at points to give the film more tension.

Music research

I have researched music for films for our final product. I analysed some mainstream hollywood films which are the same genre (action/thriller)

In the film 'Blitz' the music in the opening sequence is very rock like and heavy, with a fast beat and tempo. The music seems aggressive and shows the main character as a mad person, not appealing to the audience as a serious character. This type of instrumental doesn't suit our film as it would not present the characters and the seriousness of the situation (the bacteria being made) in the correct light.

The music in the opening scene of 'Bourne Legacy' is very mysterious and tension building. The soundtrack consists of a low dr, presumably bass and trumpet. This combination builds tension as well as enigma in the film from the very beginning. The music gets louder and clearer as well as violins being added to build up the tension for the titles. After that the music is just left with a long note created on a synthesizer building more intrest in the audiece.

Music research

I have researched music for our opening sequence. I have analysed some opening sequences of hollywood films and the music in the first 2 minutes.

In the film opening 'Mechanic' the opening music is very latin which straight away reveals a code to the audience for the enigma  in the film. The music at first was made from piano and drums but then moved on to low drums, guitar and rattling noises. Although this type of music doesn't suit our opening sequence, i think it is a very good way of establish the place where our film is set. The music stays the same for a while without any perticular volume raising for the title etc.


In the opening sequence of the film 'Maxiumum Conviction' the main instruments used at the start are a trumpet and drums (bass). This is conventional for this type of film genre. The trumpet consists of long notes and the drum doesn't appear frequently. This changes as the soundtrack progresses, the trumpet is played in short notes and a violin is mainly being played. The beat of the drum appears every 3 seconds, adding tension with every beat. I think the use of just the violin at the beggining and then adding the drum and trumpet for a short time is very effective, as it builds tension, breaking the long notes of violin.

Research on Genre

Narrative/themes

• On a mission (Mission Impossible 1996) 
• Saving the world/city (Die Hard 1998)
• Good vs Bad ( Bat Man : Dark Night 2008)
• Romance (Inception 2010)
• Fighting/Aggression (Bourne Identity 2002)
• Futuristic gadgets (Skyfall 2012)
• Set in the present ( Bourn Legacy 2012)
• Weponary (Shooter 2007)

Setting
Setting is dependent on the peroid of time, the film is set in, but the most modern settings for action/thriller films are:

• Cities
• Woods/ Mountains (Bourn Legacy/ Shooter)
• International ( Set in many popular cities around the world(Skyfall))
• Offices (Skyfall/Bourne Ultimatum)

Characters

• Agents (Skyfall)
• Past/Presents soldiers (Bourne Ultimatum)
• Victims of evil (Seeking Justice)
• Police officer (12 Rounds)
• Ordinary person (Eagle Eye)
• Prisoner (Rambo)

Music

• Fast paced
• Drums
• At first mysterious
• Turns to agressive

Lighting

Lighting is artificial in building, cars, ships etc but mostly kept natural outside (light from the sun) but sometimes also used artificial lighting to create specific shadows and to show the actor in a specific way. The actors are mostly light from the front or from above to create limited shadow during the action scene.

Examples

Bourne Identity (2002) : Jason Bourne was taken to be experimented on and to create a super soldier. The man lost his memory and was found suvirly injured in the ocean. During the film he was trying to find people, responsible for his memory loss and responsible for the attack on him.
Theme : Soldier, On a mission
Settings: Ocean, England and America.

Harry Potter Evaluation

1. For my opening sequence I have at first used a simple beat with sound of howling wind over it to create a misty effect making the audience feel lonely. It then turned into a sad and dark piano which was parallel sound to what was on screen. I then changed into a lively electro sound which was contrasting sound. I have used a fast tempo drum beat to liven up the sequence even more and when the visual transition was made I also made a audio transition by adding a layer of pop music onto the drum beat. I have done that to make the sound parallel as well as make the audience feel excitement and enthusiasm towards what is going to happen. After I have made another transition by silencing out the previous track and increasing the volume of another pop track which I think came out pretty well. I have included both of the pop songs in the intro as I was planning to have all the sound I will use for the action scene being played before which made the reader feel that everything went to the correct order again. After the second pop track I inserted a loud bass in to signify to the audience that there is a mood change. The bass quickly change into a deeper and more sinister bass on top of which I added high pitch violins, for the reader to feel that there is something happening as it built tension, as well as to make a contrast between the low bass and the high pitch violins. The contrast soon expanded into a low (also string based) sound pattern suggesting that the situation on screen is not as serious but is still tense. The sound pattern changed into a rising scale which then turned into the same sound pattern as previous but without bass which created a bridge between the pattern and next track, as well as it was parallel with the breakdown on screen.  I used a low pitch strings and added the same bass as previous to create the sense of something big coming. After that the music has changed to a beat being echoed thrice and a very high pitch sound on top of that to make the audience very uncomfortable. I have also added a ticking noise over all that to make the audience think of time and something happening shortly. I have then transitioned into a short track which was sad and dull which almost reflected the setting. The high pitched, uncomfortable sound appeared again and on screen we seen the danger (dementors) killing the main character and the noise made the audience feel in the body of the main character. On top of that I added the sound   of wind howling which can be associated as a sound made by dementors when they suck the life out of Harry. When Harry is released from the grasp of the creatures, himself I decided to use the dramatic music sequence to add tension to the scene.  Once the main character uses his wand I decided to put the motif on to signify that he is in power now and that everything is heading the right way. Then the low string pattern comes on to signify that not all the danger is over when the old lady comes but once there is a visual transition of harry walking next to all other characters both the motif come on first and then the pop song from the beginning of sequence.

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2. My playground sequence begun with the motif which introduced the whole setting which than transitioned to a low bass. The transition from one style of music to another gave the audience a warning that something is about to happen which I think is effective. Then there was a lot of violin to build tension between Harry and Dougley (the boy standing at the front of group) and when Harry breaks down and decide to take out his wand I used a ‘break down’ of taking out the bass and leaving just the musical patter of low strings on its own. I used this to show that it is not over but the situation is not that tense. Then when the sky started to change and clouds started to gather I used lower strings and added bass to signify that they have to run, where the bass meant to signify footsteps banging on the ground as someone is running.

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3. For the part with dementors I have decided to very misty, dull and grey sound track as in the film that is what dementors are associated with. The soundtrack was meant to make the reader feel uncomfortable, sad and perhaps “like there is no meaning in life” as the film intended.  Firstly I used a high pitched noise which was intended to disorientate the audience and make the audience feel uncomfortable. I added the bass to signify the two boy’s heartbeats as they are not aware yet and when the danger appears he bass stops like their hearts. Then when Harry is released by the dementors the music turns into livelier, fast tempo music bringing the audience up to their seats, waiting for action. Once Harry gets to his wand the motif of the small sequence is played to bring faith to the audiences’ hearts and also the motif shows that Harry is in control of the situation. I think the music played a big part and reflected on the moods the audience were having especially in this sequence. I think I managed well to convey the change in mood in the audience and I think what I have created (music wise) was well made and matched the task.

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4. I think my work was very effective and I think fairly easy. There are a lot of spaces for improvement but looking at it from my point of view it is well thought about and I tried to give everything a deeper meaning than just putting random sound tracks in places. I think my weakest point was the Dementors part as it was not as detailed as it could be but the end part I liked after the spell was casted.  I think my sequence appealed to the audience and made them feel what the music was trying to tell them as well as the visuals.

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5. For this project I had to use the garage band software and create a movie file. I have saved and opened the project as a .mov file in order for it to have both sound and video in one file. I think this software is reliable and I did not have any problems with it and for me it worked smoothly. The software was easy to use once I got the grip but at first there were many buttons, I needed to know their functions but simple things like cutting, pasting audio files I knew from before. I have learnt that sound is as important in a film as the visual part as it is the music that builds most emotions in the audience and that it is a long process to create sound for a video in which you need a lot of creativity and patience.

Phantom of Opera

The whole scene begins with a single candle in the dark, being lit and as it was lit, the opening credits came on. The lighting of the candle may suggest the beginning of the film due to the fact once it was lit (and the film started) you can't stop it as it will bring the darkness again. The light of the candle was artificial. Then there is a transition to the street where the auction building stands, most of the lighting from the out door scene was natural and high key lighting from the sun. This made the characters look small in comparison to the building and also made them look like ordinary, every day people and not anyone special. Once they have entered the building the lighting changed to artificial lighting and just as the characters enter the source of light was at the back of characters (characters were backlit) which gave them mystery and importance. The lighting on the auction stage was high key and artificial lighting which made the whole thing look a bit dull and boring as there was no colour (just grey) and also the lighting from the top made them look small and not important. Then as the main character has won an auction the lighting became low key on the bough product bringing something more to it then just the product. Everything then changed back to the 'dull' situation until the 'phantom of opera' came into the scene. Once auctioned everything was brought to life. As the camera was showing the hall, all the props, costumes and decorations gained live and naturalistic colour. This could suggest a transition in time as all the dirt was disappearing and everything was clean and shiny again. The whole room became busy and crowded with actors and actress which may suggest to us how was it before the catastrophe that happened to the 'opera' when it stopped performing. The lighting kept changing depending on what was shown, when shown the main opera singer the lighting was three key lighting to light the singer and present her to the audience in best way possible. The music also played a big part in the opening sequence if not the biggest. The music at first introduces the opening credits and also is the motif of the film. It creates a mysterious atmosphere, which is broken by the sound of car- giving it importance. After the men leave the car, they enter a house in which an auction takes place. The man in charge of auction (his voice) is echoed to perhaps emphasise the emptiness and creepiness of the room or even the whole building. The sound of bats squeaking also may emphasise the creepiness and emptiness. When the man on wheelchair (main character of the sequence) saw the woman at the auction, the motif was played almost foreshadowing she has some part in the fore coming events. The voice of man (auction manager) interrupts the music (almost breaks it) to introduce a product making the product special as the audience will try to find out why the music was broken and all attention will go to the product. Then music comes on again, but this time the lyrics of the music were parallel to the visuals on screen almost telling the audience what the main character thought and once more it was interrupted by the auction managers’ voice, making it even more special. After that the new product was introduced ‘the phantom of opera’, along with that the motif music is played to build tension. Once the product is revealed to auctioneers, loud music hits the audience. The music gives introduction to colour as the colours come on when music begun. The sound of director rushing the actors is heard which creates the look of a big show almost foreshadowing it. Woman singing the opera is introduced by a sound-bridge and turns into a parallel music, making the music refer to the title ‘opera’.

Harry Potter Sound Exercise

This is my 'Harry Potter' sound exercise.