Evaluation

Creative Media Project Development and Realisation End of Semester

500-word Individual Self-Evaluation

Give a detailed critical analysis of the finished piece of work for this project, try to consider your work as a member of an audience and recognise what has worked well and what has not been as successful in your project. Try to be objective and weigh up the pros and cons focusing on the positive outcomes as well as the areas that have room for improvement. Reflect on what you would change if you could make the work again? (100 words)

Through the combination of sound and image, I feel that our finished project presents a full, rich sounding and melancholic atmosphere. The narrative elements of the soundscape help to imply at our theme, (blindness) and I feel this is greatly supported by the use of still imagery played in a formalist, three sequence approach. I feel that the audio carries more emotional and narrative weight than the images; not all are as interesting or composed well as others, which I feel detracts from the visual element of the film and puts more of a reliance and attention on the audio to be engaging.

Describe the process of making the work and your individual contribution. Did things work out differently from the way you had visualised them at the planning stage? What production issues did you encounter that caused problems during the creative process? (150 words)

There were many changes made to both the audio and visual elements of the film, however these were not negatives; in fact, they drove the film onto a better, clearer direction. I largely undertook work on the soundscape, recording, designing and mixing the audio. The foundation for the idea was largely the same from the beginning, simply requiring more recordings to create fuller layers of sound that carried both emotional and narrative impacts.  When it was at this stage, the required improvements were technical; better reduction of a static radio sound effect balanced by the increase of voiceover. The largest problem faced was in trying make the voiceover sound like it was coming from a radio. To achieve the desired effect, plug-ins were used and applied to the audio track. By selecting a preset option called ‘Transistor Radio’, this turned the voiceover into a static blending, slightly echoing audio.

It is important to write in detail about what you have learnt during the project both technically and creatively. Outline specific skills you have developed because of making the work and new methods or approaches you have experimented with. (150 words)

The creative and practical processes I have used for this project has increased my proficiency in using applications like Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer. My confidence has grown working as a sound designer and recordist, with a large array of skills now at my disposal. Sound mixing has been an area in which I have learnt much, using (on Pro Tools) pencil tools to add markers to points of audio which needs to be increased/decreased. Also switching the audio track from ‘waveform’ to ‘volume’ allowed me to check parts of audio that was ‘peaking’ or overlapping another sound that needed to be heard. On Avid, the ‘Colour effect’ tool was used to manipulate images. I could mix RGB levels, invert the image, and reduce saturation, creating a variety of differing colour tones and palates which I applied to the three individual sequences in the visuals for the film.

Reflect on how you worked as part of a team. Did all members contribute equally? What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to teamwork? How can you improve your teamwork skills? (100 words)

To utilise our individual strengths, we split the production of the film. My main role was as the sound recorder/designer and my partners was more of a focus of cinematography and editing. I do feel that my partner’s contribution was more in enthusiasm and verbal ideas than practical, however this was due to external scheduling conflicts and not a lack of interest. When able to work on the production, full attention and genuine creative interest was there, especially when working to deadline. To improve teamwork, better, constant communication and earlier planning on both individual’s parts is needed.

Final Project Link and Original Audio

This is a link to Vimeo for our final project.

https://vimeo.com/148714497 

Below is a link to our original audio for our experimental sound piece.

https://soundcloud.com/gosling97

6 Still Images

6 Still Images. Below is a link to Slideshare.net, where my presentation for the 6 still images that represent my experimental audio piece can be found.

http://www.slideshare.net/philcullen188/sense-of-space-55541406

Strategy, Schedule and Sound List

Strategy and Schedule

Strategy

Both of us were unanimous on the development of the theme for our piece. Once the theme (Blindness) was decided, research was undertaken on how best to accurately and stylistically portray the topic. Research on the early acquisition and progression on blindness was done; I found out that from going blind at a young age of roughly ten or eleven, full vision loss can happen upon reaching young adulthood, eighteen to early twenties. 

We also watched a short film called Notes on Blindness that was a dramatisation of recorded audio tapes by author John Hull. In the film he describes how memories become blurred or harder to recall, especially faces of loved ones and everyday objects. A scene at the end of the film recounts a time when Hull listened to the sound of rainfall. He described how it helped to create dimensions around him and that he wished that it was possible for it to rain all the time and inside, so that he could always ‘see’ by using his own sense of perception.

Through discussion and development, we decided upon a formalist approach, by showing three sequences comprised of still images. Each image sequence would have a different colour scale (normal photo, heightened contrast then lastly greyscale and blur) to represent the gradual deterioration of memory and interpretation of colour. The final part of the film would move into moving image footage off rain falling to match with the audio.

Up until this point the audio track would be non-sync, as it tells a narrative of the blind character performing normal tasks (making a coffee) within his kitchen. In the background a radio broadcast telling the story of a mans account of the stages leading to the discovery of his blindness can be heard. 

Equipment used

Hardware:                                                                               Software:

Audio Technica Microphone                                                   Pro Tools

Zoom H4N                                                                               Avid Media Composer

Canon D70 DSLR

Schedule for Sound Recording

Tuesday 27^th October 2015                                                     Wednesday 28^th October 2015

Saturday 31^st October 2015

Experimental Audio Film : A blind man has some kind of personal discovery through the objects in his surrounding environment.

Audio List
·      Breathing
·      Character voice
·      Clicking of his tongue
·      Bed Squeaking
·      Rattling keys
·      Passing car in the distance
·      Ceiling Fan
·      Footsteps
·      Alarm
·      Window
·      Heartbeat
       Hum of air conditioning
·      Passing wind
·      Echoing audio
·      Doors opening and closing
·      China smashing
·      Liquid dripping
·      Running water
·      Tapping of cane/stick
·      Pedestrian audio
·      Cathedral chimes
·      Radio static
·      Voiceovers
·      Narration

·      Rain

Experimental Film Analysis: Nostalgia

I have chosen to look at Nostalgia by Hollis Frampton, as I associate it with the form of subjective personal view, a form that I am basing my experimental film on. It could be argued as a strictly formalist piece but I think it falls neatly under both. Subjective personal view is a presentation of a story, action, memory or place through the filmmaker’s personal association with the subject. In Nostalgia, a photograph is laid over a flame that slowly ignites and begins to burn the photo. A narrator tells a story about the photo, or rather a photo, as the narrator’s monologue does not match the description of the photo on screen. The photo comes into frame after its matching narration ‘…thus forces us to weigh everything we see and hear in its own terms…’ (Bordwell and Thompson).  I feel that symbolism is created out of the use of non-sync narration, representing the idea that the narrator’s memories of each photo are left behind in the past and that they disappear with the burning of the picture on the next take. It also creates a representation of what we think the picture will look like and it may or may not conform to that expectation.