Sound for Baby Steps

The productions on which I worked required me to obtain voice-overs from two actors. Although the voiceovers would sit in a mix along with music and sound effects, I felt the best idea would be to record them off-location, in a studio environment so that I could properly isolate the dialogue. The equipment I used is pictured below:

 

 Equipment shown: Zoom H4N portable audio recorder, AKG C3000 large diaphragm condenser microphone, Sennheiser headphones, XLR cable, pop-shield and microphone stand.


I had a choice of two microphones to use, the AKG C3000 and a Rode NTG-2. The NTG-2 would also have been a suitable microphone to use because it's pick-up pattern is very unidirectional, so it would have successfully excluded any unwanted background noise. I chose not to use the NTG-2, however, mostly on preference. The Rode just didn't give the sound that I wanted.


I chose to use the AKG C3000 because large diaphragm microphones tend to warm and flatter vocals. I decided that the effect of this would be appropriate in recording Film Noir-style monologues. I used the C3000's cardioid setting and set the stand up close to a lagged wall to minimise any pickup from the rear of the microphone.

Because my actors were stationary, I was able to use a microphone stand so handling was not an issue. Maintaining good levels was also quite simple; the zoom H4N's digital scale is easily read and, as long as I kept a hand to the input volume controls, I was able to acutely react to any level variation during the actors' readings and keep the signal level between -14dB and -22dB.

As far as background noise is concerned, the room I chose to record in is quite well damped and isolated. The only intruding sound source in the room was the clock, which was taken outside. The use of a pop-shield also aided me in achieving clean, uniform recordings.


Some set-up time was saved by not using an external mixer. I didn't feel it was necessary to use one because I would only be managing the level of one input. This meant that I didn't need to spend any time aligning devices to one-another as I only had one scale to deal with (the H4N's digital dB scale).


On one of the takes we picked up some mobile phone interference. All of the actors and present crew members had their phones switched off or on flight mode so I suspect it came from outside the room. Fortunately we had sufficient time to do several retakes so this was not an issue.


All of the required on-location sound for this project was also recorded directly into a Zoom H4N. One of the locations for the shoot was a windy beach in Holywood; this proposed some difficulty in managing wind noise in the recorded dialogue. To combat this as best I could, I used a heavy-fur windshield. It was effective enough, for the most part. I was able to obtain usable takes between gusts. The other issue I faced on this location was the noise from low-flying planes entering the nearby airport and the occasional horn from passing ships. Some takes needed to be scrapped on this account, but there were sufficient clear takes to form a suitable soundtrack. The microphone I used on this location was a Rode NTG-2 and matched pistol grip and aforementioned windshield. I chose this microphone for its directional quality which was useful for isolating dialogue from wind noise.

A need for ADR was looking like a distinct possibility at various stages on the location shoot on the beach, which is something I would much rather avoid, if at all possible. I was worried that key dialogue could have been slightly obscured by an unfortunately timed gust of wind. Had this happened, I'm sure that, using the original take as a reference and working closely with the actors, I could have matched ADR to the footage adequately. Fortunately it did not come to this.

Two very different soundscapes

As far as sound is concerned, the two films on which I have been working have required very different approaches. 'Departures', my primary project is a very true-to-life drama so the sound, I feel, has to reflect that realism. All of the sounds are captured on set to create a cohesive relationship between the audio and the visuals. The biggest challenge I have faced in assembling the sound for this film has been capturing clear dialogue in a moving car without allowing any recording equipment to enter shot. The way that I achieved this was to lay a jumper in the passenger footwell of the car, place a weighted mic stand on the jumper and aim the shotgun mic between the two actresses to get as even a level for each of them as possible. I also made sure to capture sufficient wild-track to cover any edits in sound.

'Baby Steps', on the other hand, takes itself much less seriously. This allows for much more flexibility in the sounds used to create the drama and comedy. The film involves a pastiche of Film Noir, which for a sound designer, is a complete joy to assemble. I tracked down some smooth jazz to set up the first layer of sound, before adding the sound of water gently lapping on the sides of a boat. Finally, before adding the monologues, I layered in a few seabird calls to complete the scene. Because they are in a dream sequence of sorts, the monologues were recorded in a studio environment to better separate them from the on-screen location. Putting the sound for this scene together was almost like building a radio play to superimpose onto a film.

References

We have been viewing as many films as we can which feature the theme of dislocation, specifically the dislocation of friends from one-another.

Me Without You (2001)

Our closing scene is an homage to the scene in which Anna Friel and Michelle Williams sever their friendship tie. In fact, many of the lines are partially lifted from this scene.

The Social Network has similar aspects, regarding the lawsuit between Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg) after their college-days friendship.

Even Superbad's Evan and Seth relationship, for some scenes applies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qIV_4JVEN8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0im9y5fEL8

Rehearsals

We've had two reads with our actresses so far and their performances have been gelling nicely. I think that before we start to shoot we should aim to have at least another two rehearsals including one in the car, ideally, as Ainé will be acting while driving. Location agreements will be sent today to translink. 

Production progress.

My roles as producer and sound designer for Departures have kept me very occupied. I have been gathering sound design materials from online sources and by gathering them in the field. I have also been organising casting sessions for the two roles in the film. We have now secured our two leads, Connie Nicholl and Aine Maguire who will be playing Ellie and Marnie respectively. The next steps in this production are to firm up our locations for our shooting dates; this involves ensuring that all of the necessary indemnity forms and risk assessments are completed and sent to the relevant companies. Translink require that we have public liability insurance to a minimum value of £5 million and that we give them at least ten days notice.

Connie, our Ellie, is unavailable between the dates of the 12th and 20th of april so we will use those dates to rehearse as much as possible with Aine and to prepare shooting schedules for when she returns.

Myself and the writer/director (Frankie Price) went to do a recce in laganside bus centre which we have now decided is a more realistic location for our shoot, logistically. There should be fewer members of the public at the times of day that we will need to be shooting during, and we are satisfied that we can achieve the shots for which we are looking there.

The Darjeeling Limited

Recently, in class we have had screenings of Wes Anderson's short film Hotel Chevalier and the subsequent feature film The Darjeeling Limited.

I agree that these films tackle, throughout, the theme of dislocation. The Darjeeling Limited is a story following three brothers who haven't seen one-another since the funeral of their father. They embark on a journey to reassemble the relationships they had with each other as children, and to confront and reconnect with their mother who had not attended the funeral. Before the journey begins it could be said that each brother was dislocated from (a broken) home in reaction to his father's death. The brothers are then in turn, each seeking to mourn separately and in various different ways, dislocated from the remains of their family unit ie. each other.

Owen Wilson's character, then, by inviting his two brothers on a carefully planned journey of exploration and awakening, dislocates them from their own individual hiding places.

The theme really materialises when, at one point in their long and poorly organised trip, the train on which they travel becomes lost. Of course this is intended to represent each of the brothers' feelings of separation and dislocation and it is a very effective metaphor.

It was only in the last year or two that I stumbled across Wes Anderson's work, although several of his titles rang a bell when they were brought up. The first film of his that I saw was his 1996 feature Bottle Rocket. Since then I have been gradually ticking off every piece of his work that I can, and I look forward to going to see his next film, The Grand Budapest Hotel later this year.

Intro

This is a blog which I will use to chart the progress of the last short film I will make as a part of my HND. I will be posting links to, and stills from, films from which I am taking inspiration and to which I am referring.