Pitch over. Now the film work begins. Something that might help us create the film and is a crucial part in creating the atmosphere of a thriller film...A SOUND EDITOR!
So what actually is a sound editor?
A creative professional in charge of selecting and assembling the sound recordings for a TV programme, Motion Picture or even Computer Games. This involves
playing around, adjusting or recording over sounds created for the above.
Before sound...
All films were silent. No music, no talking and all that could be seen on screen was things like people getting on and off trains (the camera never moved). Someone famous for keeping silent through out a film was Charlie Chaplain. All his films are in silence...except when he gave in to sound in 1931 in the film City Lights for comical effect.
This all changed in 1927 when The Jazz Singer was released with synchronized dialogue and even diegetic music (Music produced by something on screen).
Since this, film and sound have progressed drastically. All sounds are recorded and manipulated to create atmosphere and set the mood of a film. One wrong sound can ruin a film!
Film companies go all out nowadays to make their film the best there ever is. With the development of sound, all different ideas have come about. Recently one new way of filming sound was in the musical 'Les Miserables' where all the sound and singing was live. Below is a video showing the process the sound editors had to go through in order for this idea to work:
Film companies go all out nowadays to make their film the best there ever is. With the development of sound, all different ideas have come about. Recently one new way of filming sound was in the musical 'Les Miserables' where all the sound and singing was live. Below is a video showing the process the sound editors had to go through in order for this idea to work:
Some key things to remember in sound editing are:
- Dubbing- to remove the sound from an original film shot and replace it with edited sound that has been manipulated and edited to perfection. An example of this is musicals. In most film musicals, they dub the on screen sound to make way for a studio recorded and edited version.
- Foley- real sounds created and recorded to dub over a film. Someone called a Foley artist goes out and records all the sounds they have been told are needed in the film and then they get edited and added into the film. Say if someone wanted the sound of a brush sweeping or ball being kicked, they'd go and record it. This allows the sounds used in motion pictures etc to be realistic rather than sounding fake and ruin the whole of the film.
We had a go at creating some Foley ourselves. Take a listen and see what you think of our sounds for walking in the snow, a cat purring and a punch.
We used all sorts of things to create our sounds.
Walking in the snow was created by...emptying flour into a container then placing a scrunchies in the flour and pressing it down with a stick. (Bit messy but made the sound we needed it to make!)
Cat Purring was made by...Getting someone to make a cat noise down the mic
A punch was produced by...hitting a rolled up news paper off the table.
Role of a Film Composer
A film composer created the music that will go over or be played during the film. Their job is to test out and create music that will bring a film to life. When a piece of film music is composed and played right, it can take a film from being average to outstanding!
One of the most famous film composers is John Williams, composer of the famous Death March from Star Wars right through to the memorable Hedwig's Theme for Harry Potter.
Here is a video starring John William's himself, talking about the musical genius he had during the Star Wars scoring.
John Williams has won over 90 awards for his compositions to some of the greatest films of all times. His music is still played from today and most people will never forget things like the Death March and Schindler's List. His is an example of his work from the famous Schindler's List:
Other films he has composed include:
- Harry Potter
- Star Wars
- Jaws
- Jurassic Park
- Indiana Jones
- Super Man
- War Horse
- The Adventures of Tintin
- ET
That's to name but a few of the films he has composed on with so many more that could be listed.
Wilhelm Scream
The wihelm scream is known as a 'stock sound' which has been used in over 200 films.
It began to be used in 1951 and usually is played when someone is stabbed, pushed off a building or some sort of violence is shown. Nowadays it can be used for comedy effect or to actually show violence and terror.
Here's a compilation of the WILHELM SCREAM to show you just how much its used.
Personally one of my favourite sound moments in a film has got to be in Harry Potter, When you hear the first note of the harpsichord playing. It just hooks you in straight way. Have a listen:
For me it just brings alive the magic and mystery that unfolds within the film series.
So over all this research is going to help in the creation of my film opening as it allows me to discover all the different techniques and equipment used to create the sound. You can't just record the sound on the camera and be done with it. Some of the sounds might not be heard or could be different in shots filmed in different places.
In the Thriller film, the music and the sound needs to be carefully produced, chosen and edited to prevent atmosphere kill in the film.
Our Production team REFLECTION STUDIOS will be designating someone to be sound editor so that the sound for our opening is perfect and creates and serves the purpose we need it to serve.
