tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46081949398315820502024-03-05T02:39:57.897-08:00USC Sound Consciousjanpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-88209714952466738152008-01-06T14:10:00.000-08:002008-01-06T14:39:15.178-08:00Portable Sound Recording over Winter BreakDuring my trip to Denver for winter break, I was fortunate to travel with our digital pmd kit. Just from working with old tools and things inside the house and garage, I worked on building my own sound effects library. For example, scraping glasses, clanging metal platters, using a variety of tubes all produced good sounds. I recorded a wealth of crowd noises from the New Year's celebration in the mountains to the absurd environment of Denver's Casa Bonita. The experience helped me to think of new things to try in the foley room too.janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-9498650582967301732007-12-09T09:50:00.000-08:002007-12-09T09:52:15.140-08:00Summarize of Ken<p>Ken gave us the music of animation overview in this speech.<br /><br />First thing he mentioned is the power of a musical score. Music can create the lots of motion of the screen. It can make your film better or worse just depending on how you set it up and when you do it. Someone said that music can save your bad acting. Second, he talked about location, time area. There are three basic functions: one is play what you see; second is play subtext (not what you see) of character can be. Third is play against the action of a scene.<br /><br />Ken also talked some worst things to music. For example, music can not be done to save a scene. Never too early to bring in composers. When talking to your composer, try to using emotional terms. Don’t try to speak in musical terms. What you need to do is let your composer know what you emotional feel or you think the audience should emotional feel about the scene. That is you talking about music for. Maybe play a CD or other scene from other picture but don’t tell them you want that music. Tell them this is emotionally what you feel. Give your composer a chance to react that and come up his/her idea. Never try to explain how they should do it. Let them work with sound.<br /><br />Song of the story can set up your movie. Playing a song in the beginning and it can be considered a whole movie and develop your movie underscore. Never discount how you set up your first scene of movie. The same music can be playing as different things as tension, as trace, as love. There is no exception that all forms music is emotion.<br /><br />Ken showed many clips of movie to explain what he talks about. He showed “Sum of All Fears” to mention first introduction of other sounds to the score. He showed “Mulan” to talked about the experience as a musical. Finally, there is one tip of animation about music or lyric Ken gave us: Do it. Animate to a piano, animate to what going to be, what tempo going to be. Write it down when you got some idea and you can trace that later. Don’t use material that you can’t use. That is a monster. </p>Jean Wanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047123060852704298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-18251178240648464412007-12-07T18:46:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:00.692-08:00Bill Whittington's Sound Design and Science Fiction<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jj0HJSIKRPmoItu0DjAu6_y_KBEds8VIZgAGoAQbj5dsq7AVUTCMmsezWtrX79kDRGpmrq9QXUH3ml13sjMt61TokMkTBZKFbwwHdfgcjb_H2O_QPnP5l_Rdz2zP_ZjuFdtrunGoWFjT/s1600-h/sounddesign_sciencefiction_bookcover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jj0HJSIKRPmoItu0DjAu6_y_KBEds8VIZgAGoAQbj5dsq7AVUTCMmsezWtrX79kDRGpmrq9QXUH3ml13sjMt61TokMkTBZKFbwwHdfgcjb_H2O_QPnP5l_Rdz2zP_ZjuFdtrunGoWFjT/s320/sounddesign_sciencefiction_bookcover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141428511921465458" border="0" /></a><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"> To Bill Whittington, I asked, “Sound is crucial for the credibility of visual effects.<span style=""> </span>How are sounds made stylized, iconic, and distinct for each film?”<span style=""> </span>At first I thought I was asking a specific question, but as I read Bill’s book, <u>Sound Design and Science Fiction</u>, I realized my question pertained to the art of sound design as a whole.<span style=""> </span>As a Critical Studies professor in the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Bill Whittington writes unique and important work as an author of film criticism, with a strong understanding in the art and practice of sound design.<br /><span style=""> </span> His book, <u>Sound Design and Science Fiction</u>, details the development of sound design from the experimental work of Walter Murch and Ben Burtt, where the concept of a sound designer was conceived, to the highly crafted and creative work of Dane Davis.<span style=""> </span>He discusses how after <u>2001: A Space Odyssey</u>, audiences grew increasingly conscious of a film’s sound track in terms of genre expectations and the meaning it conveys.<span style=""> </span>He describes Walter Murch’s work on <u>THX 1138</u> and Ben Burtt’s work for the <u>Star Wars</u> series.<span style=""> </span>For example, the character of R2-D2 communicates completely through rhythmic electronic sounds which function as a subliminal language.<span style=""> </span>This character is the comedic relief for the series and his charm is carried not by his limited movement and expressionless face, but through his articulate and expressive sound effects ‘language.’<br /><span style=""> </span> Whittington goes on to describe sound design used for thematic effect in films such as <u>Alien</u> and <u>Blade Runner</u>, where sound informs the audience about the character and the environment.<span style=""> </span>In <u>Alien</u>, the mechanical spaceship is infused with the biological sounds of rain, heartbeats, and breathing.<span style=""> </span>The sound of the ship conveys a sense of a living mechanical entity.<span style=""> </span>In <u>Blade Runner</u>, the removal of the voice-over in the Director’s Cut completely changed the meaning of the character of Deckard.<span style=""> </span>This version was much more successful.<span style=""> </span>It demonstrates the importance of thoughtful sound design for science fiction films and other genres.<br /><span style=""> </span> As the art of sound design grew and more films required special sound textures, technology also progressed to allow multi-channel presentation, where “sound could be hung in a room like a production designer would hang textiles on a set.”<span style=""> </span>This enabled the sound design to immerse the audience in the environment of the film and direct the eye to the right part of the screen.<span style=""> </span>Whittington gives the example of Gary Rydstrom’s work on <u>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</u>, where he uses bone crunches and breaks oriented to different parts of the screen to make the violence in the film hyper-real.<br /><span style=""> </span> Finally, Whittington concludes his research with a look into the future of DVD’s, multi-channel home theaters, and video games.<span style=""> </span>In terms of sound design and science fiction, he examines Dane Davis’ work on <u>The Matrix</u>.<span style=""> </span>By knowing the history and practices of sound designers that came before him, <st1:city><st1:place>Davis</st1:place></st1:city> was able to create a hyper-real environment for the Matrix that is rich in textual references, character descriptions, and meanings.<span style=""> </span>Furthermore, the experience of ‘the ballet of violence’ in the film is carried to a large extent by the psychological and subjective sound design.<br /><span style=""> </span> In my research of Bill Whittington’s work, I have learned to appreciate the changes in the science fiction genre from a B-picture status to the artistic merit it now enjoys.<span style=""> </span>The book celebrates the spirit of experimentation that pushed the medium of film sound to the sophistication it has today.<span style=""> </span>Sound design and visual effects are the main reasons why the cinema drastically changed after <u>2001: A Space Odyssey</u> and <u>Star Wars</u>.<span style=""> </span>As audiences became conscious of sound and had higher expectations of it, this required an artist who could specifically record, edit, and mix sounds that propel meaning into deeper realms and complete the experience of the spectacle.<span style=""> </span>The sound designer brings credibility, insight, and impact to the film.<span style=""> </span>For this reason, the sound designer is now an integral part of the collective art of cinema.<o:p></o:p></p>janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-68996758988464897962007-12-05T22:52:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:00.813-08:00Homepage Capture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdiWEoecaVHhnDHCOJ-zHPX0OvpIFTPU0udoaP5RSr4hw-UVXGCqLo9GxHHWGz2C9AD6t7pYsOXv6cvglNylt9S93jttgT26di_khVd0M3K7dciA4Hzm-eT3G_YpcwbnI46_ggic_48cQ/s1600-h/homepage_grab.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdiWEoecaVHhnDHCOJ-zHPX0OvpIFTPU0udoaP5RSr4hw-UVXGCqLo9GxHHWGz2C9AD6t7pYsOXv6cvglNylt9S93jttgT26di_khVd0M3K7dciA4Hzm-eT3G_YpcwbnI46_ggic_48cQ/s400/homepage_grab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140750110958268194" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a grab of the homepage!BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-87416173759663324822007-12-05T16:17:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:00.984-08:00Tomlinson Holeman and 10.2Tomlinson Holman is an acclaimed audio engineer, film theorist and inventor of film technologies. His most notable work is that creation of the THX Lucasfilm sound system and currently the 10.2 sound system. He is a Professor of Film Sound at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television and a Principal Investigator in the Integrated Media Systems Center at the university. He is an honorary member of the Cinema Audio Society and the Motion Picture Sound Editors. He is an honored member at several other societies and has been awarded many achievement awards for his work.<br />Tomlinson began his lecturing by talking about the revolution of sound in 1928 and how it changed the history of film and the lives of many. The way films were shot changed because the cameras had to be isolated due to their noisy nature and so everything that was filmed was static and almost theatrical. So with the advent of sound something else was lost in the process.<br />He began to do an illustration of the way sound can be perceived at it beginnings. The drawing is that of a small box and at its base is bounded by the frequency range, which is the range from base to treble. Treble was about all the details and during that time it was incredibly hard to get that sound off of film and back on to it again. The bandwidth or range of sound during that time was very limited and so the experience of sound was barely there.<br />The vertical part of the box represented the amplitude range, and that means the loudest sounds one can hear to the smallest sounds. This was also a very limited and dynamic range. During that time what sound engineers would do is play something very loud and then play something very soft and that way they contrast each other.<br />There were two dimensions to sounds back then and a third, the spatial aspect, was nonexistent. With the progress of history and war and so on sound started to get more developed and one of the people that set these advances in motion was Disney and his cooperation with the musical conductor Stokowsky. They began with the experimentation into stereo sound by 1934. That initiated the need for multi channel sound and “Fantasia”, 1939, was the first to do so. The channel at that time consisted of three only, left, right and center. So as it is known it was Disney himself who invented the idea of surround sound. The making of that system and its implementation at the time was very costly, limited, and sadly unsuccessful.<br />War world II happens and after that the popularization of television began and as a result less people began going to theaters and the industry crashed. The movie industry began to fight back and because of that many advances occur cinematically and also audio wise. By the eighties with the digital era sound advances happen also. In 1987 a committee of the Society of Motion Picture and Sound Engineers were asking how many channels needed to be on a motion picture print. Tomlinson’s response was 5.1, Left, right and center across the front, left surround and right surround and a single low frequency channel. The low frequency is needed because our ears cannot localize low frequencies well. By the time we get to this system the other two dimensions have been expanded and the frequency and amplitude range are in line with the audience and cannot be amplified any more than they already are.<br />5.1 was named by Holman in 1987 and came out on film in 1992 and became popular since then. What comes after this is the addition of more channels and from that comes the 10.2 sound system which is twice as good as 5.1. How far the number of channels can go is known and largely speculated but the most logical answer at the moment is 10.2.<br />The purpose of 10.2 is to allow much greater flexibility for sound designers and create a far more immersive environment for the audience. With these channels, it is possible to recreate the acoustics of nearly any location with astonishing realism. Holman found that the second most important sound wave to hit the audience - after the one from the source - is the one that comes from a point on the ceiling, halfway between them. This is because most rooms have hard and reflective ceilings, but the walls are semi-absorptive due to objects in the room; while the floor, usually covered with carpet, absorbs most of the reflected sound. So this first, overhead reflection reaches the ear at a slightly different time, allowing the brain to both localize the primary sound and compute the size of the room. By placing two speakers 45° above and to the left and right the audience, this key sound wave can be recreated. The other speakers can fill in the other major reverberations from the sides and off the back of the room, recreating a full acoustic signature. The strength of traditional 5.1 surround is that its left and right surround speakers are diffuse; they spread the sound around the entire area. This helps to prevent the " Exit Sign Effect" - audience members looking away from the screen at the source of a localized sound, not realizing it is part of the movie. However, this diffusion carries a cost in flexibility. Therefore 10.2 augments the LS (left surround) and RS (right surround) channels by two point surround channels that can more finely manipulate sound - allowing the mixer to shift sounds in a distinct 360° circle around the movie watcher.<br />The .2 of the 10.2 refers to the addition of a second subwoofer. The system is bass managed such that all the speakers on the left side use the left sub and all the speakers on the right use the right sub. The Center and Back Surround speaker are split between the two subs. The two subs also serve as two discrete LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channels. Although low frequencies are not localizable, it was found that splitting the bass on either side of the audience increases the sense of envelopment.<br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140649519151095682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6jy8U4HcLyjKd8u0xp92J2SN9DtXP2MMYtWGhHXO99J161NMEKtEUDP0vuJqXm5V0s5X7eHBQpK3cWxPHKHhGu4uBJlH_ZbdmZokGpb0GhVEI-GnsDI58s3cCn0O3Ea3c2n5k_eWVUUK/s320/422px-Sound-10_2_svg.png" border="0" /></p>The work that Holman creates is all about achieving an immersive environment and really enhancing the experience of movie watching. It is always amazing how sound can easily enhance and even make a film sometimes. His work is definitely a great advancement in film history.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-53640852557895335802007-12-05T03:21:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.082-08:00Site template<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NOMqYebCjoqwF3oYU5pzDaSceApj1Kq05AdXwpBT2fTkl1GXCc7P548_ySYb9iuIDT7Jb0GzYiBvNpS8ES3uJcg6EIzJ5l9iX06znf6l-radutx30aOJs_0rKXvwB2MxXTCqKiIwaCgg/s1600-h/design_4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NOMqYebCjoqwF3oYU5pzDaSceApj1Kq05AdXwpBT2fTkl1GXCc7P548_ySYb9iuIDT7Jb0GzYiBvNpS8ES3uJcg6EIzJ5l9iX06znf6l-radutx30aOJs_0rKXvwB2MxXTCqKiIwaCgg/s400/design_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140447663656251138" border="0" /></a><br />Here's an example of what one of the pages will look like.BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-40404623962948184832007-12-05T00:40:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.208-08:00Web design<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8NZYOMhP1VhOsuiJm5m88B_24_VsCuDtEkPN1zFcAwkKOWKM2wEuvkW5pNVF7gV2m2EPhlwa18ahLOAeJz82K32Sft9jsEeiavTci5EuKsPTSXKOvtEzHDfZIX_d58WPKmoh1ZL0IzR5/s1600-h/mockup2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8NZYOMhP1VhOsuiJm5m88B_24_VsCuDtEkPN1zFcAwkKOWKM2wEuvkW5pNVF7gV2m2EPhlwa18ahLOAeJz82K32Sft9jsEeiavTci5EuKsPTSXKOvtEzHDfZIX_d58WPKmoh1ZL0IzR5/s400/mockup2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140406346070863602" border="0" /></a><br />This is essentially what you'll be seeing...I'm working on the text and page templates right now, but this should give you a solid idea. This was all done in Illustrator.BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-79303673352724428072007-12-03T16:33:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.320-08:00Mockup v2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSVnMgtajL82LqSKVwbdeH0UHUK5JxTtY3LeHSF8fARG0bpV9HVy88DFNkqH4O1wCrDd-CC_NxudnN3nBvKSzplD9pcynDBKU8JIgSPPY2GxCj6ARNzm-nO8BwzUdofpsT8Eb2LGdWhpj/s1600-r/mockup_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimB_t2_gcKC8FgypG92SqD7sLbKWY9AcCn4VOoFK7T3t9vvuweOby7EPBbRRu5Wi3ap4TJkPNhVUZNzKQGp0KJdWDXVYc2S9rDMOwoH0YFaHjG4G73sYA1OTZrqZjalgLowSQUMeZG-oT1/s320/mockup_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139911192176209618" border="0" /></a><br />John and I just went over this design, which will be cleaned up and finalized by tomorrow. The user will have the ability to go to a preset "station" (guests, research, projects, etc.) and then "tune" to individual parts of each. For example, one could go to the preset "Guests" and then be able to tune from Tom Holman to Ken Hall to Bill Whittington.<br /><br />The two small blue screens will contain a station name and a faux radio call number. The large blue screen will contain up to two lines of description as to that station's content. Each of the stand-in red frames will contain different content depending on the station. For example, the "Guests" page could include a photo, a short bio, and the research summary on his work.<br /><br />More updates coming very soon!BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-4200566820146806882007-12-03T13:55:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.457-08:00Site Mockup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ztsZIn6tihfJJ3vgYK21HihK8Cn7iQpF_4ExD0V1DoB6INX4crW7JeT7oPozGp-tZbBz6OUO7soGINVGWPhFx5ic1ubZKRaVwIgZje4AEr3wBRPwxe1vQ6IEPKU1xgEbJlwOLy5xunfs/s1600-r/mockup_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcaMnbIFWxtiu7mI87UfCX0vRsxeELUsEfAh-hlbEULqyHqj2WT007S3zjV4o1SKVHPxjsmx4KLCJ4ybHHl_DIcgEghdn1fBDbfrOjr8UX0PWr5n83-A455FhY-ds7qF0Vm-RTqbWZHCT/s320/mockup_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139869943310298818" border="0" /></a><br />This is a mockup with basic placeholder shapes and no color...I'm creating the actual production-quality pieces right now. Note that the aspect ratio is 1.85:1 for both the site and the viewport screen; the green border indicates the crop.BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-84820974081930890692007-12-02T19:43:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.564-08:00Site design 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgmNZXaJc6DCj6BJ2i0ZwkKbFACU0_GoCnBGlpFAg_Uq50ayCrrlhw0pUy52fPdcGJvbyghdArvVmoLrWsgp3S-USiXSBJUQbL1iVHUBq0u9lZlgJ_eMsQdjOwDhTuZ8UqFk9cXJq2Qli/s1600-r/very-old.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2V3jZ86KrrDOdvLM2NwALcc1aVjNZY76ms9NEhg8SuVBsVPyrrnWZeZHOIGYmjfpyiwML72ZDaGxwz-9e4-sybFSZ7hOX1oUWoreZ6eP24w0KatEqm_vIKJfDt715pQfWtGJN9KQwZWa/s400/very-old.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139587991592218258" border="0" /></a><br />I'm working on some designs and will be posting them soon. Also, John and I will be meeting tomorrow to go over these as well as the site map and launch. Stay posted for more computing information from the future...BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-84324687104923740202007-11-29T22:56:00.000-08:002007-11-30T00:37:36.250-08:00The Musical!So in our animation class today we discussed music and animation and I felt it best to sort out my thoughts on this blog since we are talking about sound. I don't know why but I generally have a great deal of disregard for muscials I don't know if it's the Disney effects of having watched so many animations as a kid and all those songs from them being played everywhere but I can't stand it.<br />But growing and certainly working in this industry and learning about the history of cinema I've come to appreciate it more. Musicals started way back with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly and so on they helped the American public suspend thier disbelieve and really immerse themselves in something delightful rather than indulge in post world wars tragedies and all the trouble of the cold war and other wars that followed. They soon died off and were not as popular and apparant as they used to be.<br />Interestingly enough they did appear back in the ninties in animation, and the question that was asked in class today is why did that happen. The reasons were that a lot of the producers and people working in the Disney animation studioes at the time really believed they could revive musicals through animation and the major factor was that they were all broadway producers and had that theater background to them and moved from that industury only because it was harder to make a living out of it and chose animation.<br />Until today those musicals in Aladin, or Lion King or any of those Disney classics still lives on and in this case they definitely bring back memories. They really pushed the genre at the time and the musical function in several ways, it really helped add to the story and conveyed the general idea and plot and even adds to the mood of the film.<br />Obviously that has died down a great deal and what was brought up during class was the idea of how muscials may not function so well in America but other parts of the worlds, and what's funny is that I asked an Indian producer why Bollywood continues to and remains through out their history creating the same types of films that are heavy with musicals and his response was that they worked as an escapesed tool. People watched those to cheer themselves up and forget about the depressing and harsh lives that they lived.<br />So it was interesting to think about the emotional aspects of music and how it certainly adds a great deal to the visual world of cinema regardless of the medium or setting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-89574328228390039682007-11-29T15:07:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.835-08:00Happy Birthday Song<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKMBcEr6oEUMWoLgRu9okqeBYR4HDzThIrZOXxZ2IeHBLoYneEVICozE4vzOc6xPcbiQJHTo9F9GhbDy-BQdOeFGFLDQL_AIKZoKfr0XQ9i0J1G-2sf3meeZWx42kF7MUgLPTC-LXqJI/s1600-h/000-20071126-audition.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKMBcEr6oEUMWoLgRu9okqeBYR4HDzThIrZOXxZ2IeHBLoYneEVICozE4vzOc6xPcbiQJHTo9F9GhbDy-BQdOeFGFLDQL_AIKZoKfr0XQ9i0J1G-2sf3meeZWx42kF7MUgLPTC-LXqJI/s400/000-20071126-audition.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138403354559199826" border="0" /></a>It is the first time I use Audition. Thanks for Jan's helping me how to make some sound effect that I want to do.<br /><br />As for my project, first I wanted to build the main melody (Happy Birthday song) with hitting sound. So I found sound from the library that might have some pitch. I heard those sound and arranged file name something like C-filename, D-filename, E-filename......and then when I edit the happy birthday song, I won't get trouble. When I want to put a sound Do, I could grab the correct file. I put some sound from hitting iron or metal hammer in Track 3 and tried to let them become the happy birthday song. Actually some work but some don't. So I put two simple happy birthday with real melody in the track. I think they can help audience to recognize it is a birthday song. I found these two birthday song form website. One plays in music box and the other is made by digital sound.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDelUFq2Cnbwg7LyZwA0lhHim4RVx5sa-9OVtUBb06E55gus5pVps3UZGN3h_65oi0M4I868QEi7ulePwI2BLnNba5-9PoECU_NC4xC0i9nbguRGSMzIock4TV8ubEEqFs19RJNtqyEes/s1600-h/000-20071129-audition.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDelUFq2Cnbwg7LyZwA0lhHim4RVx5sa-9OVtUBb06E55gus5pVps3UZGN3h_65oi0M4I868QEi7ulePwI2BLnNba5-9PoECU_NC4xC0i9nbguRGSMzIock4TV8ubEEqFs19RJNtqyEes/s400/000-20071129-audition.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138403187055475266" border="0" /></a>When I finish the main melody, I stared to deal with other environment sound. Those works are according to my picture- three robots holding a cake and drinks. In the beginning, I imagined they prepared things to celebrate. So there are sound I want them to feel like preparing somethings in a flurry. Then robot A starts singing happy birthday song but robot B stops it. Robot B plays the music box, and then three of them sing together. When the song finished, there are sound I want them to feel like cheerful.<br /><br />Yesterday Jan suggest me put some ambiance sound in the background. I try to find some that can fit in this piece, however I don't think I find the great one. Finally I put an ambiance about household in the background but the volume is small.<br /><br />I put the file that I mix down in my file of Sound and Consciousness Group already.<br /><br />I think I done this piece . Then I will try some sound postcard about Taiwan but I didn't come up a good idea yet. So, keep working.Jean Wanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047123060852704298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-85842736393594131632007-11-28T14:42:00.000-08:002007-11-28T14:45:18.662-08:00Site DesignI played around with John's website prototype and really liked the idea of using a radio as the GUI. I also agree with Jan's comment that the design should center more around sound than around visuals, and I'd like to help further develop this notion. I'll be posting some designs and possible navigation layouts that I think would be helpful to bringing everyone's work together.BLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028177032471275293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-31025131744932140642007-11-28T14:32:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:01.997-08:00Coagula<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8Ez50RpjrAUIZAlShSy0gt1pC2HywoQ2s1u_kvJAuKs3ksMkdAxacY89T-_WUb0M4cyuOlammSD1t6baen4u4husrD_bzbd7KTX60AtWmaq8z1mnRdNsMZURUWe8Y0OKhsjxocn4auum/s1600-h/Coagula_screengrab.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8Ez50RpjrAUIZAlShSy0gt1pC2HywoQ2s1u_kvJAuKs3ksMkdAxacY89T-_WUb0M4cyuOlammSD1t6baen4u4husrD_bzbd7KTX60AtWmaq8z1mnRdNsMZURUWe8Y0OKhsjxocn4auum/s320/Coagula_screengrab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138023032383965074" border="0" /></a><br />This is a screen grab from a interesting piece of software I discovered called "Coagula." This allows you to "draw" sounds. The types of sounds are somewhat limited because it creates digital scrambles of tones and pops and noise. However, used in the right way, I think the program could produce really amazing results. We had a visit from sound designer Dane Davis who said he used high-end programs like this while working on the 'Matrix Trilogy' and other films. In terms of science fiction, the program can really enhance the process of creating abstract sounds by giving you a way to intuitively create them through drawing. From reading Bill Whittington's book, 'Sound Design and Science Fiction,' I appreciated the careful attention given to the sound of the character R2-D2. This is a character that has no facial expressions and very limited movements, but through the development of a digital language by Burtt, is one of the funniest characters in the 'Star Wars' films. It would be interesting to develop more of a sound language using Coagula.janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-44790272339855344692007-11-28T14:02:00.000-08:002007-11-28T14:32:08.901-08:00The Conversation GrowsI just wanted to respond to Malak's last three postings. Thanks for the feedback on my "Saving Private Ryan" post, it was interesting to read about your surprise at Spielberg's decision to suspend the score during the battle scenes. And I think you hit on something that I've been reading about in Bill Whittington's book, "Sound Design and Science Fiction." Directors, sound designers, and composers must re-think the function of sound for every project they work on. Bill Whittington discussed this in relation to many films like 'Star Wars, Alien, and Blade Runner.' He wrote that the first sound designers, Walter Murch and Ben Burtt, really understood the use of sound throughout film history, in addition to knowing genre conventions and even the inventory of some studios' sound libraries. With this knowledge, they were able to re-think the use of sound specific to each story. With this came the development of the craft and artistry known as sound design, which is a late addition to the film crew. Before, sound was passed between sound recordists, to sound editors, and finally to sound mixers. With the highly developed work done by Walter Murch and Ben Burtt, a new position was needed to describe sound artist who oversees the sound all the way through from recording to mixing. Ultimately, they must analyze how sound will function in a film in relation to the story, history, and genre conventions.<br />Malak, I appreciated your honesty regarding your fear of working with sound, but it seems that you're growing past your fears and I'm sure your films will be even better as a result. For your creative piece, I liked your description, but one thing stuck out which might help to develop it further. You said that sound can be used to create memories. This was interesting in terms of your project, because each of the three frames could represent a different memory. For example, with the shot of the mouse, you could add background layers to your soundtrack that could allude to a funny old computer game like "Carmen SanDiego." I definitely think you need to work with more layers in the piece and this will help you to achieve an experience.janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-85558823103103021762007-11-27T21:24:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:02.188-08:00Sound and Image<div>For my project I was exploring the relationship between imagery and sound. How they both inform each other and our own associations with them. Different people can hear the same sound and respond differently, and even think differently of it. I was experimenting with the same sound and using it in conjunction with a different action. I want to convey how sound is this complex medium carrying a multitude of meaning. It can evoke emotions and memories. It works as a medium on its own and also along side or in contrast to imagery and so forth. What I used with this simple sound, and first I used it to convey the movement of the caterpillar across the tree branch, then I used that same sound to convey the movement of the brush and lastly the movement of the mouse across the pad. </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137762889051621730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 342px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 87px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="113" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KOA1Jl1NVtv5-Zb2MtHhSgtikE16yochnh7_apUj1O0orhf5a5ERWsXzGBHnK65zxyCvmGIE1PDqF6H96FTZA8bsJWXEWQA3bESsm8pXXX6x2s8fO60LW9jbE0uCH2Sd-Ya1wFs7rJSY/s320/stil6.jpg" width="369" border="0" /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-19528630887422331572007-11-27T18:54:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:02.392-08:00Sound and EffectsI was just working on creating the track and sound effects for my production zero animation and I started realizing a lot of things.<br />I first started by adding this instrumental track to my piece and worked on editing it so that it fit with the emotional lows and highs of the piece. Before taking this seminar class and researching music I would have been absolutely fine with just turning in my piece that way. I created an animation with a beautiful track to accompany it. The problem is that I started to realize that it was lacking and I’ve come to appreciate sound and realize that it really does lend a great deal to any visual piece.<br />What I had initially was two components to my animation the obvious visuals and an obvious sound track and nothing in between. My animation actually reminded me of the older films made before the advent of sound. It was like watching a film and I could almost imagine someone with a piano accompanying it.<br />So I proceeded to add sound effects, which I honestly have a great deal of fear in doing. I have this paranoia that it will take away from the sound track. I also don’t know anything about technically editing sound which is probably why I’m so hesitant when it comes to this part of the filmmaking.<br />The surprising thing for me was that adding the sound effects actually helped the piece and the track was not lost at all and if anything adding that layer cushioned both the visuals and the sound track and I feel like it all blends together a lot well.<br />My first scene involves a pan down on this outdoors environment and a caterpillar crosses a tree branch and a girl pops up and looks at it. The sound track starts off with this soft playful piano melody and the visuals only. I then added ambient sound of birds chirping, wind, trees and leaves rustling which brought the environment alive and effects for the caterpillar as he crosses and he also came to life. The moment I added the effects I felt like the caterpillar really moved rather than just stimulating the visual sensory I was having a full experience. <div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137733704748845378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fxmRAEz64jDN-PkniI5Q_a7wxWoGK2pzcPkYX0Wtf8pTS2twpDRTC5vU5EZWVpuPpkOZvs8Tm6AEtwce7VaLvMLwAR34QbhBxHUGCmySamZ6eaBwn7zSGyW9vGjkmbJYvGJOkKRn7yEq/s320/still01.jpg" border="0" />The second scene worked much in the same way. I added the sounds of her crying and the flapping of the butterfly’s wings and kept the environment sound playing in the back. The sound effects here helped add to the scene what it’s lacking. My animation is very limited and without the sound effect of her crying the audience would not be able to tell how she is feelings. So the sound effect here helped convey what I couldn’t visually.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137734795670538578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieikO1URQRbSH6VbXkuMhLoIB0dXlEe-cFwLtL_1O0Qbid0vO_z0Rc8QuMSgn9o49Lnar6FsI9qrYnEPul6KRP7HERZ1ATnmuh9b43H5RJJ7uWiKyEMIZ9bkh0oMC_aOA5mRVvRLNq4Hq3/s320/still02.jpg" border="0" />I’ve certainly developed much more of an appreciation and less of a fear towards the creation of sound for film.<br /><div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-51182490450227815632007-11-27T18:53:00.001-08:002007-11-27T18:53:57.431-08:00Response to Sound creation in "Saving Private Ryan"This was certainly very interesting. What I found remarkable was the comment about how the moment we add a soundtrack we start to feel we are watching a movie. I never thought about it but I actually completely agree. A battle scene with no music is definitely a lot rawer and has a touch of realism to it too. I find that when a track is added to a battle scene or something visually heavy like that we are taken out of it and respond more to the mood of the music, it becomes more of an emotional response, but a distant emotion, whereas watching a battle scene with no sound track that emphasizes all those visual nuances through sounds effects has a way of provoking more of a physical sensory response which is much better suited for a battle scene. We react physically which emphasizes the brutality of war and having a sound track we can start to react emotionally which is representative of the affects of war but not the actual act of it. It is real interesting how all these layers of sound can take and add to a film and the rest of the reading on how sound in the actual war itself was used strategically. What always fascinates me is how filmmakers and sound designers need to constantly relearn “listening” when it is such an integral part of our lives. I guess that’s what sound consciousness is all about.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-28631254947748590552007-11-26T11:20:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:02.532-08:00Happy Birthday Song<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9-JGpSb3lwQfrNj7sG9aqliuZ9uyDbKWyv-ItBU-876ydyad5p9rsHBSkgWRDHuhxTTvWDFyDPO84IUkpJHFBUDXrB-LHsHeYGpyTJo-ppryFIoDFGbOM1lqc5CurF-9tCOqznkYKNk/s1600-h/birthday.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9-JGpSb3lwQfrNj7sG9aqliuZ9uyDbKWyv-ItBU-876ydyad5p9rsHBSkgWRDHuhxTTvWDFyDPO84IUkpJHFBUDXrB-LHsHeYGpyTJo-ppryFIoDFGbOM1lqc5CurF-9tCOqznkYKNk/s320/birthday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137231885049346594" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I will use this picture and add sound effects to make it real. There will be a happy birthday song coming form music box as a background music and other sounds I list below will come together to become a happy birthday song.<br /><br />Here are sounds or music I want to use.<br />-Happy Birthday Song (Music Box)<br />-knock/punch/bang iron things<br />-a sound when a lamp light on<br />-clock<br />-knock wood door<br />-Bottle Beer Open<br />-hammer hitting<br />..................................some sounds like that.<br /><br /><br /></div>Jean Wanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047123060852704298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-27580286271055987672007-11-25T17:59:00.000-08:002007-11-25T18:01:57.388-08:00RE: FeedbackThat sounds good, perhaps I'll incorporate another slider. Right now both knobs control the same functionalities of the slider. <br /><br />As for the size of images, they should be smaller for the web: As of now the radio UI is 1024x768. The nested clips are smaller. Right now my project is 550x400. If you would like another standard please let me know.<br /><br />Posted to hal in my section of the group folder.John Arellanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142022605224233517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-79105584728543420632007-11-25T11:42:00.000-08:002007-11-25T11:50:33.216-08:00Website FeedbackAwesome work John! Your carnival idea seems to be coming together. It's cool that you're challenging your self a little too by emphasizing subtlety and working within a narrow grayscale. I like that there are no images, you're only using your ears to navigate. I can't wait to try it out. The old time radio idea looks great, it's definitely taking shape. We just need to make sure to allocate space for the summaries of our guests and for a short video clip of each one's presentation. We'll talk about that more on Monday and the next time we meet. Very soon we need to decide who will summarize which guest. I will summarize the concepts presented by Bill Whittington, since I have been reading his book and looking for these ideas in other films, and I will put together a short piece that illustrates his work.janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-7896938799039136902007-11-25T04:15:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:02.652-08:00Fruits of LaborAfter a long, long night's toil with flash I have a demo site I'm happy with. I'll be uploading it to HAL tomorrow, if you'd like to take a look.<br /><br />I went with the idea of an antique radio system. I know we have to add some more things to the site, but this is a good starting place. Any feedback would be superb! There are still a few kinks, but my project has already been incorporated and is fully interactive.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j7tJQjZvBtxWDCDzw9KPU0Apn9ciUw6QPfPy7z1G20paiC0Ctjq6EUUWNTV08CuM8XUhNhzcKZioPo9nsa8feoLcg9xOiZ1y5JDzq9O53pk_fEJt0iRuqGR4A3nBmS9xfZQe9cUkr3f_/s1600-h/Untitled-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j7tJQjZvBtxWDCDzw9KPU0Apn9ciUw6QPfPy7z1G20paiC0Ctjq6EUUWNTV08CuM8XUhNhzcKZioPo9nsa8feoLcg9xOiZ1y5JDzq9O53pk_fEJt0iRuqGR4A3nBmS9xfZQe9cUkr3f_/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136750668205609154" /></a>John Arellanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142022605224233517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-91475179973916526802007-11-24T22:08:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:16:02.777-08:00Grayscale Carnival Environment (In Progress)Wow! Nice research Jan, that's quite a bit of inspiration. I know you all have been curious to see my machinations in flash and here is a shot of the work unfolding. <br /><br />It has been a difficult task to work in a very, very narrow range of gray colors. The idea is to keep the user in the dark visually, but use a great deal of sound cues to simulate environment.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosheDEtf2Wxr2YqlLQB-5LJjMCmrpskl19t2LMKdKjBrZtjsi0t9jas9q1tWZtXxO40YktD1Z3JboNQ_XBaFxEu7lHuFgwzpiYdfcR1aLEneO1_YTN2EgdLoTi6N0SmwQKTVqEQ67QYze/s1600-h/grayscale_enviro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosheDEtf2Wxr2YqlLQB-5LJjMCmrpskl19t2LMKdKjBrZtjsi0t9jas9q1tWZtXxO40YktD1Z3JboNQ_XBaFxEu7lHuFgwzpiYdfcR1aLEneO1_YTN2EgdLoTi6N0SmwQKTVqEQ67QYze/s320/grayscale_enviro.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136656041486143666" /></a><br /><br />There will be another interactivity trigger that is being worked on as I report. The basic concept is that there will be small points of interactivity that must first be "discovered" in order for the user to begin to understand the environment. The reasons that larger ones were forgone is because if the "hit zones" become too large then the subtlety is lost.John Arellanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142022605224233517noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-89005028674733295622007-11-24T14:13:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:03.200-08:00Sound and Music in 'Saving Private Ryan'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ea_T4XvUxnCN-K3AglR2w4X8DcxYEwyV77CbfiP9ozkImw3ZceVc6I7EHC00oMnx_VnpQsQRENX8dM28ZRbcBmlLjjE_r96nEJzUcBUOxnqEy9haXVY6pDma6R98-oDtnWhJHS3_ej-a/s1600-h/Gary+Rydstrom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ea_T4XvUxnCN-K3AglR2w4X8DcxYEwyV77CbfiP9ozkImw3ZceVc6I7EHC00oMnx_VnpQsQRENX8dM28ZRbcBmlLjjE_r96nEJzUcBUOxnqEy9haXVY6pDma6R98-oDtnWhJHS3_ej-a/s320/Gary+Rydstrom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136550008925292386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBQBw1LS-7PjHG8cCZ0MotK39TPu-2BrUMnlnHE0gobuQoRporbE3PVpWKhA465W86TzQkynOp0VcCHKvFhMGAGm-a8fUaj0l2MSTdiBxdUo47HlQUNIAMv1JYiIyUcRmtXVdXh-bqCST/s1600-h/John+Williams.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBQBw1LS-7PjHG8cCZ0MotK39TPu-2BrUMnlnHE0gobuQoRporbE3PVpWKhA465W86TzQkynOp0VcCHKvFhMGAGm-a8fUaj0l2MSTdiBxdUo47HlQUNIAMv1JYiIyUcRmtXVdXh-bqCST/s320/John+Williams.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136550013220259698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19O4I7uc9SK4OsNJhFFDnGnU0P7WoKPcjePNgheBHmtEEMHTAe1AL7rUE1YfqI_h1BeZ7BBbc7j2fp3NYTPC3non2QvNxtyxY5tD9kbFZPBVCGY-vXv4QsDAshHpDgJ3e67P8pNaDOEIa/s1600-h/PrivateRyan_Still.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19O4I7uc9SK4OsNJhFFDnGnU0P7WoKPcjePNgheBHmtEEMHTAe1AL7rUE1YfqI_h1BeZ7BBbc7j2fp3NYTPC3non2QvNxtyxY5tD9kbFZPBVCGY-vXv4QsDAshHpDgJ3e67P8pNaDOEIa/s320/PrivateRyan_Still.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136550013220259714" border="0" /></a><br />One of my classmates recommended that I watch a short piece interviewing John Williams and Gary Rydstrom about the making of the music and sound on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Saving Private Ryan</span> DVD. In a short piece they both explained important elements central to the research of our group this semester.<br /><br />John Williams has worked with Steven Spielberg on most of his films. When working with Spielberg, he prefers to see the film in its final stages rather than read the script ahead of time. For 'Ryan' Spielberg and Williams agreed not to use music during the battle scenes, but rather to keep them realistic. Williams wanted to focus on moments where the music would strike an emotional chord. For this, a choir was integral to the orchestra. Williams worked with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Boston Symphony Hall. As a side note, this particular music hall is one of the favorites of our guest, Tom Holman, who revers the acoustics in the Boston Symphony Hall as 'one of the great music halls in the world.' One thing I found interesting was in Williams' description of the Hymn to the Fallen which is the piece that closes the film. He said that it was a requiem for the people lost in the war. Often Williams composes for films by starting with the ending piece and then separating the ending and having threads of the ending running throughout the film. The threads of the music collect in the ending.<br /><br />Gary Rydstrom has often been discussed in our research for creating the roars in Jurassic Park. However, I think 'Saving Private Ryan' is interesting for our research because he had to achieve a degree of realism so the film could be true to the memories of the people who were in it. He loved the opportunity to work on a war film that didn't have music in the battle scenes. Rydstrom asserts that anytime there is a score in a film, the audience feels like they're watching a movie. Without a score dominating the battle scenes, he was able to craft the scenes to be much more visceral. For example, the opening battle scene on Omaha Beach 'pulls you in and has you experience the battle in a very direct way.' Sound design guides the visceral experience. Spielberg told Rydstrom that he didn't want the sound to 'be Hollywood.' Rydstrom explains that this meant not using existing sound libraries, cliches, cheats, etc. This required the sound designer to do research by studying guns and weaponry and interviewing veterans to hear their experiences of the war and what it sounded like. He was surprised to learn how much of their memories were driven by the sounds of the battlefield. For example, the Germans listened for a particular 'ping' that came from ejecting an empty shell cartridge from an American gun. The Americans simulated these 'pings' to lure the Germans out from hiding. Through these 'revelatory' interviews, Rydstrom became passionate about achieving sound design that was true to their memories.<br /> In the beginning of the film, in the Omaha Beach scene, Rydstrom wanted to recreate the experience of being shot at. For this scene he broke the scene into important elements. The most important elements were bullet impacts. For the pre-mix of the bullet impacts he had cue sheets stacks thick as phonebooks.<br /> The Omaha Beach scene contains moments in the water where the camera bobs above and under water. Rydstrom took the opportunity to create contrasting perspectives above and underwater. Above water the battle rages and Rydstrom describes it as ' chaos and cacophony.' Underwater the cacophony goes away and the water becomes safe, like a cocoon. By placing these two perspectives in contrast, Rydstrom is able to unsettle the viewer when bullets pierce into the cocoon and kill the soldiers. For the sound of bullets piercing underwater, Rydstrom demonstrates using an un-horrific sound for horrific effect. He used the sound of a fly-fishing line being ripped out of the water, which he had saved from <span style="font-style: italic;">A River Runs Through It</span>.<br /> In terms of Sound and Consciousness, Rydstrom discusses scenes where Tom Hanks' character becomes shell-shocked. In these scenes, amidst the battle, the sound is taken out of the battle into Tom Hanks mind, creating an abstract expression and a window into the traumatic state of mind. According to Rydstrom, 'Taking the sound out of the battle became an interesting device to get inside someone's head.' Rydstrom had to imagine what it would be like to hear the sound of yourself. He remembered the experience of listening to a sea shell. "What you hear is an echo of the world around you, roaring in your head." To simulate this, Rydstrom recorded sounds of the ocean, then played them through speakers and re-recorded them by placing the microphone inside a long tube. This made 'a resonant shell sound.' Furthermore, Spielberg had the brilliant idea to conclude the interior experience with a high-pitched tea whistle that zapped the viewer back into reality. This proved to be really effective. In the final battle, the sound design returns to the effects of shell shock for Tom Hanks' character. Rydstrom manipulates the perspective in order to let the viewer see through this character's eyes. This effect allows us to identify with this character even more.<br /> In the final battle, German tanks approach the few American troops still alive in the French town. During the night, they hear quiet, distant rumbling, like distant thunderstorms, from battles being fought miles away. Again, Rydstrom had to do research to achieve the effect he wanted. He found real recordings of World War Two battles and discovered they had the 'storm' quality to them. When he added the final layer of this distant rumble, he felt he had achieved a sense of reality and depth with the intricacy of the war in close perspective and also the sounds of the war on the horizon. This consciousness of sound delivers a profound sense of the scale of this war. Furthermore, in the final battle, the sound design changed to build on the tension the soldiers felt as the tanks approached, rather than the plunging in we experience of the Omaha Beach scene. For some time as they wait, we only hear the tanks approach. Spielberg referenced the film <span style="font-style: italic;">Zulu</span> and required Rydstrom to study a particular scene where the Zulu warriors encroach on a British fort. Spielberg didn't want a copy of that sound, but he wanted the sound design to capture the feel and the essence of it. When the tanks arrive, Rydstrom created the sound of the tank wheels, squeaking and churning all from scratch. He played a selection of random sounds on 1/4 in. tape and reversed and slowed the sounds to create wild echoes simulating the clanging, rumbling tank bodies.<br /> Studying Gary Rydstrom's work in 'Saving Private Ryan' directly to relates to Bill Whittington's research on sound design. All of the methods and philosophies of sound designers like Walter Murch are present in Gary Rydstrom's research, techniques, and thematic attention to detail. John Williams music for the film is also a great compliment to the presentation given by our guest Ken Hall. The music is selectively used to generate elegant moments of reverence and retrospection.janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4608194939831582050.post-28511828311817213332007-11-23T14:36:00.000-08:002008-11-18T23:16:03.337-08:00Sound Design in Progress<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhthTcxrHQjyqGj01CifmZ9IWDjTDtcR3a437Neu6qMG3aW3el-AJpT8SRHelGv7aj9njLnMjWgZqkKOBngLaukeX3xW8w-KJBLFzcqYDiV-M-V4BTsX3BgUstliz_xsIj6ghwWAOgWDgN/s1600-h/Audition_Screengrab_11-23-07+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhthTcxrHQjyqGj01CifmZ9IWDjTDtcR3a437Neu6qMG3aW3el-AJpT8SRHelGv7aj9njLnMjWgZqkKOBngLaukeX3xW8w-KJBLFzcqYDiV-M-V4BTsX3BgUstliz_xsIj6ghwWAOgWDgN/s320/Audition_Screengrab_11-23-07+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136168744678426434" border="0" /></a>janpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17204196723497382552noreply@blogger.com0