Week 3: Audio, Interviews & Ideas Pitch
Week Three
Pitch & Concept
In todays workshop i had to Pitch my idea for our Creative project. My idea was about the place where music takes you, i was thinking that i could play one song that i have chosen and play it to a range of people. I'd then ask to explain and describe the place that the song took them, how it made them feel regardless of whether they liked the song or not. I felt that this would be a interesting take on the brief and introduce my own perspective and style. Although we have to make a participatory or observational documentary i thought that to separate my groups from the rest of the others in my class we could make the documentary as a hybrid between two modes, poetic and observational, as i felt that my concept would work perfectly with the artsy and abstract style of a poetic documentary.
My Influences were mainly Artwork especially on album covers that i have come across, music that i have been listening to and other poetic films that i have seen, although i have also read some online articles about the effect of music on people that helped spark this idea.
Some of the musical artist that have inspired me are:
Here are some of the visual imagery that inspired me:
Ireally liked this imagery at the exhibition. i foundt that it was very entising and colourful which is something that i think is important to have in film imagery as well to keep the audience engaged and interested. i think that this kind of psychadellic imagery is very representative of particular era's like the 60s while also being very reflective of music and sound. the art used almost creates sound and takes the viewer to a place which is exactly what i wanted to achieve with my film concept.
These images are similar to the others and achieve the same effect. the holographical and psychedelic visual imagery is very aesthetically pleasing which i find is an important aspect in film.
I liked the typography style imagery in these photos, i felt that it was also very aestethically pleasing and the use of symmetry, lines and coherence within the pairing and order of photographs is very effective.
Although my idea was interesting and had an interesting perspective on the brief i was told that it may not be feasible and may be difficult in finding people who are willing to take part as its more like a social experiment rather than an interview. It would also be difficult as we would have to use royalty free music which would not be as effective as a song that a well known artist has song *(Revisited notes)in order for people to find it interesting and for people to be able to relate they would need music that they have heard or at least from a well known artist. star power is an essential feature with topics like this to keep the audience of today engaged.
This wouldn't work out because you would have to pay extortionate amounts of money to use even 30 seconds of the soundtrack.
in order to rectify this issue we would have to disregard the soundtrack and have a very abstract piece of work that allows us to see peoples reaction without allowing the audience to hear the music. Silence as the soudntrack, which would be very difficult to keep the audience engaged.
My classmates idea was to paint a potrait of a person who owns a chinese take away. as a class we all thought that this idea was not original enough and had the potential to be less engaging. The poeple in my group and my tutor decided that both of our ideas had downfalls and it would make sense to attempt to think of a new idea for our group.
Audio & Interviews
Audio
We also learnt about audio and interviews. This was the practical part of the session this week and we were taught similarly to the camera workshop through trial and error. we were todl about the different types of microphones which are ..
we were also taught how to change the sound levels and connect them each to the cameras we were using.
Interviews
I found this part of the lesson much more interesting than the audio part, we were taught about interviewing. we were told about how to set up an interview space, where we should place the camera in conjunction with the interviewee and sound devices. however we were also taught many interview techniques and how to get the most out of your interviewee. First of all we were told to sit down just in front, behind or next too the camera but still out of the frame, this is so that the subject of the shot is looking not directly but close to the lens of the camera and to an audience it seems natural, just as if they are engaging in the conversation themselves. When interviewing somebody you must remain in a relaxed position as humans tend to mirror others, this is to allow the interviewee to remain relaxed also, in order to get more information out of the subject you must stay engaged with the conversation and if you want to get more information lean forwards as if to suggest you are intrigued in where the conversation is going. Lastly you must always encourage the subject to paraphrase the question into their answer thus allowing the audience to understand what they are answering without you having to insert text or the interviewer asking the question. - through my many different attempts at filming interviews a was able to put these techniques into practice and found that they were rather effective in engaging the subject with the camera and getting the full and most detailed answer you possibly can. i have realised that the most important thing when interviewing somebody is the make them feel as relaxed as possible in order for them to appear comfortable on screen and to get the most truthful and real answer.
Reading:
Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. Ch.22: Location Sound.
Pitch & Concept
In todays workshop i had to Pitch my idea for our Creative project. My idea was about the place where music takes you, i was thinking that i could play one song that i have chosen and play it to a range of people. I'd then ask to explain and describe the place that the song took them, how it made them feel regardless of whether they liked the song or not. I felt that this would be a interesting take on the brief and introduce my own perspective and style. Although we have to make a participatory or observational documentary i thought that to separate my groups from the rest of the others in my class we could make the documentary as a hybrid between two modes, poetic and observational, as i felt that my concept would work perfectly with the artsy and abstract style of a poetic documentary.
My Influences were mainly Artwork especially on album covers that i have come across, music that i have been listening to and other poetic films that i have seen, although i have also read some online articles about the effect of music on people that helped spark this idea.
Some of the musical artist that have inspired me are:
Radiohead
Tame Impala
Pink Floyd
The Following images are all very visual and surrealist which was why i was influenced by an abstract topic and why i wanted to pick something that could be poetic and could paint a different world. This links well to my exploration of dreams and the reality of the mind and its unconcious state in films in my other modules.
During independent research i visited the Pink Floyd Exhibition in London. I found this exhibition particularly inspiring and it coincidentally linked very well to my concept for the creative project. In my research i became the subject of my Documentary idea, i hadn't heard many Pink Floyd songs before i went to the exhibition so i was subject to exploring music i had never heard before, this was interesting because i was fully immersed in the music of the band and had a pure and real reaction to the sound they created. i wanted to create the emotions and feelings i had as well as the imagery i came across at the exhibition within my documentary.
Here are some of the visual imagery that inspired me:
Ireally liked this imagery at the exhibition. i foundt that it was very entising and colourful which is something that i think is important to have in film imagery as well to keep the audience engaged and interested. i think that this kind of psychadellic imagery is very representative of particular era's like the 60s while also being very reflective of music and sound. the art used almost creates sound and takes the viewer to a place which is exactly what i wanted to achieve with my film concept.
Although my idea was interesting and had an interesting perspective on the brief i was told that it may not be feasible and may be difficult in finding people who are willing to take part as its more like a social experiment rather than an interview. It would also be difficult as we would have to use royalty free music which would not be as effective as a song that a well known artist has song *(Revisited notes)in order for people to find it interesting and for people to be able to relate they would need music that they have heard or at least from a well known artist. star power is an essential feature with topics like this to keep the audience of today engaged.
This wouldn't work out because you would have to pay extortionate amounts of money to use even 30 seconds of the soundtrack.
in order to rectify this issue we would have to disregard the soundtrack and have a very abstract piece of work that allows us to see peoples reaction without allowing the audience to hear the music. Silence as the soudntrack, which would be very difficult to keep the audience engaged.
My classmates idea was to paint a potrait of a person who owns a chinese take away. as a class we all thought that this idea was not original enough and had the potential to be less engaging. The poeple in my group and my tutor decided that both of our ideas had downfalls and it would make sense to attempt to think of a new idea for our group.
Audio & Interviews
Audio
We also learnt about audio and interviews. This was the practical part of the session this week and we were taught similarly to the camera workshop through trial and error. we were todl about the different types of microphones which are ..
- Built-in microphones( microphones that are built into the camera itself, provides low sound quality)
- Handheld Mics( A standard microphone e.g used by field reporters, concerts)
- Lapel mics( small attachable microphones that can be pinned onto an item of clothing)
- Shotgun Microphone( The large microphone attached to a pole that allows for directional sound pickup - often a blimp is attached)
- Parabolic mics ( highly specialised device often used in sports broadcasts)
(sourced from lesson notes and online source:https://www.videomaker.com/article/c4/15358-microphone-types)
we were also taught how to change the sound levels and connect them each to the cameras we were using.
Interviews
I found this part of the lesson much more interesting than the audio part, we were taught about interviewing. we were told about how to set up an interview space, where we should place the camera in conjunction with the interviewee and sound devices. however we were also taught many interview techniques and how to get the most out of your interviewee. First of all we were told to sit down just in front, behind or next too the camera but still out of the frame, this is so that the subject of the shot is looking not directly but close to the lens of the camera and to an audience it seems natural, just as if they are engaging in the conversation themselves. When interviewing somebody you must remain in a relaxed position as humans tend to mirror others, this is to allow the interviewee to remain relaxed also, in order to get more information out of the subject you must stay engaged with the conversation and if you want to get more information lean forwards as if to suggest you are intrigued in where the conversation is going. Lastly you must always encourage the subject to paraphrase the question into their answer thus allowing the audience to understand what they are answering without you having to insert text or the interviewer asking the question. - through my many different attempts at filming interviews a was able to put these techniques into practice and found that they were rather effective in engaging the subject with the camera and getting the full and most detailed answer you possibly can. i have realised that the most important thing when interviewing somebody is the make them feel as relaxed as possible in order for them to appear comfortable on screen and to get the most truthful and real answer.
Reading:
Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. Ch.22: Location Sound.
- Recording using different types of recorder: Avoid using camcorders as they usually only have automatic sound level recording. professional machines use balanced line mike cables that have sturdy xlr sockets and noise cancelling connections.Level metering is crucial because over recorded digital sounds can become very distorted.
- Microphone types, power supplies & backups: omnidirectional mikes, directional mikes, hypercardioid or gunshot mikes, boom mikes and lapel( radio & wired) mikes are different microphones used for different types of interviews and film. this was covered in the lesson, they are used for different purposes because there are many different situations, set ups and creative outlets that these are used for.
- Recording requirements & conditions: Direct and reflected sound, reflected sound is sound that bounces off surrounding surfaces before finding its way to the mike. this sound travels a longer route so arrives fractionally after its direct source sound. source sound to microphone distance- the boom operators main task is to stay out of the frame but to also stay near the source sound.
- How the recordist works:Responsible for things like ambient sound, presence tracks and all the sounds generated on set.
- Supplementary sound tracks: sound effects and wild tracks are soundtracks that the ediotr will need along with atmosphere loops and automatic dialogue replacement.
- Do's and Don'ts:
- don't leave checkpoint without checking everything.
- accept ' we can fix it in the edit'
- dont take recordings for granted
- understand the problems and look for solutions
- always carry spare batteries, extra cables and a basic repair kit
- wear headphones always so you can hear what you are recording.
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