Lord of the Rings

A clip from the Lord of the Rings special DVD, where several of the key sound crew members discuss the difficulties, problems and techniques used within the second film.

I think this is incredibly interesting, seeing how in many respects the sound design for one of the largest film productions of all time is only a small step away from what we produce as projects. This video provides interesting insights into techniques and cheats around problems, as well as a look into how big scale productions produce their sound. The idea with the wooden baffle box could be used int eh sound design for our final year piece, as it calls for an otherwordly, deep resonating voicec of an inhuman monster.

In the video the sound designers make reference to the many different everday objects they use to create Foley sounds. For example flights for crossbow bolts made from cereal boxes to create a desired whirring effect. This is inspirational to a buddign sound designer, as it shows even the biggest budget films dont have to use the most expensive kit and materials to produce cinema sounds. They also make reference to the number of takes and retakes they had to suffer, and the number of happy accidents that created some of the most memorable moments of the movies. Again inspiration that there is hope for all of us!

There Will Be Blood- Sound Design

As part of my inspiration for the sound to screen project I looked at There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007), as it is a very similar film in many ways to No Country for Old Men, the film I was working on. Both are incredibly minimalist in their approach to sound, with very little reliance on music/score to drive the narrative. In both cases, narrative is aided by the use of silence and the heightened perception of normally minor sounds. Dialogue (especially in There Will Be Blood) is brought forward in stunning clarity, leaving the audience hanging on every word, simply due to the absence of all other sounds.

I choses to employ the minimalist technique in my own clip to heighten the tension and focus on key moments. I was influenced heavily by the opening scene of There Will Be Blood, as Chris Scarabosio (sound designer) has chosen to strip away almost everything but the obvious kinetic sounds. Proof here that silence can be more effective than constant sounds.

The clip above has a fantastic example of the 'zoning out', 'shell-shocked' effect of hearing loss, also seen in the openings of Saving Private Ryan and Master and Commander. Having learnt how to do this on Soundtrack Pro (using touch/latch to manipulate the effect intensity), I look forward to including it in a future project.

Elements for Sound to Screen- NCFOM

A list of sounds to be found/created/recorded to create my Screen to Sound project for No country For Old Men.

• Hall atmos- (A/C, other guests, TV hum?)
• Flickering/hiss of old light bulbs
• Rustling- Clothes and luggage
• Rattle/clink- of luggage straps
• Door knob rattle
• Key jingle (in door)
• Key jingle (in hands)
• Footsteps- (cowboy boots, wooden floor)
• Scuffs and scrapes (boots)
• Spurs?
• Key throw (onto table)
• Door open (w/o squeak?)
• Door close (gentle)
• Curtain rustle
• Curtain rings
• Street/ambient atmos (distant traffic, dogs, crickets etc)
• Bed creak
• Latches of briefcase
• Briefcase handling/movement (bumps and scrapes)
• Handling of money (rustles, scrapes, flicking)
• Male breathing (calm, but heavy)
• Handling and placing of transmitter (pager sized plastic object)
• Motivational sound from hall (e.g. boot scrape, gun cock, dropped object, scuffle?)
• Signature notes/key sounds to highlight specific moments (low bass rumble/strike/)
• Music?- western/blues/ominous