Soundtrack Worksheets Notes

Worksheet 1 - 

You have a character that is feeling stressed. Think of as many ways you can to tell the audience this through sound alone.

1. The Audience -

The audience usually listen to soundtracks alongside films and TV programmes using either speakers or headphones. When listening through headphones (usually in the home) people will get a realistic sound because most of the background sound in the room will be kept out. As with all speakers and headphones, the quality and build will play a big part in the way the soundtrack is interpreted by the audience. Obviously the better built, not necessarily more expensive, headphones and speakers are going to have the most impact. One thing that would play a big part in creating the best sound quality through headphones is the area around the ear being closed off in a way that your ear would fit in and the padding/edge enclose the area to stop sound getting out easily. This would increase the realistic sound and make for a better feeling atmosphere. Another major thing that would affect the viewers experience through headphones is the wattage and dB levels. The audience should take time before purchasing headphones to research suitable wattage, dB levels, bass levels and suitable design to find the optimum features to experience the best quality sound for their budget.

Moving on to speakers. The speakers that most people have will be either 2.1 or 5.1, with the option of 7.1 for the sound fanatics. 2.1 Speakers are generally used as PC speakers and consist of 2 speakers and sometimes a subwoofer, depending on the value of the speakers. These are often also classed as Stereo speakers. 5.1 speakers consist of 5 speakers and almost always have a subwoofer included in the setup. 7.1 speakers are the same as 5.1 speakers but have 7 speakers instead of 5. The 5.1/7.1 setups are generally classed as surround sound and will give the audience the best experience when it comes to watching films or TV shows. The idea of the 5.1/7.1 setup is that the sound is experienced from all corners of the venue or at least from many different points in the venue. When the speakers are spread out or around the audience, they get a feel of what it is like to be in the action because the 5.1/7.1 speakers really bring the room to life. Generally, 2.1 speakers will not give a very good level of sound quality compared to the 5.1/7.1 speakers. You will also be able to hear a lot of detail in the 5.1/7.1 speakers due to the higher quality in the speakers in general and also with the added effect of the significantly higher bass compared to smaller speaker setups.

The environment in which the sound was experienced also plays a huge part in the effectiveness. If the room is very large and the speakers are generally of not a very high quality, you might not be able to experience the soundtrack as you had wished but in smaller rooms with regular 5.1/7.1 speakers you should be able to have a very good experience in general and be able to hear every detail in the soundtrack. Larger rooms such as cinemas will need a very powerful and expensive sound system to get the same experience as a regular set of speakers in a small room because you need the sound to project more but still have the same effect on the audience. Cinemas have very different sound setups in a way that they use very big speakers and they can produce a much higher wattage, giving off more power and subsequently giving more sound and therefore better sound quality.

As to the situation explained at the start of the post, the audience would always be best off going to the cinema due to the incredibly expensive and professional sound system but this might not always be convenient, financially viable or practical but they will always get the best interpretation of the characters feelings through sound. In my opinion, the audience will also get an incredibly good quality of sound when they use a 5.1/7.1 surround sound speaker setup in their own home. Using these speakers and environment, you can easily get across the characters feelings and thoughts using a soundtrack as it would be very clear using this type of speaker setup. Through personal experience, 5.1 surround sound speakers are very clear when it comes to listening to detail such as breathing, footsteps and other quiet sound effects that may not have been able to be heard when it comes to smaller speaker setups. All foley added in to these clips are easily spotted in 5.1/7.1 speakers and make for an overall better experience.

There are many ways that you can show a character being stressed through sound alone, mainly through foley sound, speech and sound effects in general. Some of the most popular ways of showing a character being stressed is heavy, quick breathing to show both panic and urgency, using the character's speech to show urgency and panic such as them losing their temper at somebody that tries to help them. Another way to show stress through sound is to have sound effects of some things that they are doing such as tapping, scratching or natural sounds from the environment around them that could show an unhappy atmosphere such as storms or rain.

2. Find a video clip and write about it -

The video clip that I will write about is the opening to Saving Private Ryan. The sounds that we hear in the start of the film are mainly added in editing but some would have been recorded on scene probably using boom or shotgun microphones. Sounds such as the waves and things like the boat door opening would have been recorded on scene. These things were recorded on scene because in that way, they are accurate to the scenery and what is going on. If these were added using sound effects afterwards, it would be challenging to fit the sounds with the scenery and pace of the clip compared to the effort needed to record the sounds on set.

The main sound effects that we can hear in the start scene of Saving Private Ryan are general war sounds such as gun shots, explosions, orders being given and waves from the beach where the boat is docking. We learn a lot about the genre of the film right from the beginning by the sounds effects that we hear and the soundtrack in general. The impact they have on us is very important and relevant because we get the impression that the film will be very energetic and have a lot of action, which makes us want to watch the film throughout. In a way, the way the sounds were recorded had a great effect and worked very well and I don't feel like the sounds could have been more effective if they were recorded in a different way.

For Reference - 

Definitions

Diegetic sound: It is sound that the characters can hear as well as the audience, and usually implies a reaction from the character. Also called "literal sound" or "actual sound".

Non-diegetic sound: It is sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space, i.e. its source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action. Also called "non-literal sound" or "commentary sound".

External diegetic sound: sound represented as coming from a physical source within the story space and which we assume characters in the scene also hear. See internal diegetic sound.

Internal diegetic sound: Sound represented as coming from the mind of character within the story space. Although we and the character can hear it, we assume that the other characters cannot. See external diegetic sound.

Worksheet 2 - 

Four words I will make my soundtrack around - 

- Intense

- Eerie

- Mysterious

- Uncomfortable

I have chosen these four words to build a sense of mystery and intensity for my soundtrack because it will fit in well with my storyline. In my story, something imaginary is 'chasing' my two main characters and this is where most of the criteria will fit in. I want an eerie type sound for this because it gives a sense that something will happen in the near future and leaves the viewer on the edge of their seats. The sound I will use will build anticipation at different moments and although it will be simple, it will also be very effective. I want my soundtrack to be noticeable as well. I do not plan on making the sounds myself and I will use freesound.org to find some effective and suitable sounds for the general of my soundtrack and also a couple of sound effects that will be added in, but I plan to use sound recorded on scene because it is of good enough quality and suitable. Some of the sounds that I have recorded on scene may need emphasising therefore I will find and use some sound effects that I would not be able to record myself. The sounds I want to use that would not be able to be recorded by myself would include things like windows smashing, as this would not be suitable to do at home. 

Worksheet 3 - 

 1. Summarise the ways you might be asked to devise a soundtrack -

The people that decide on the soundtrack are the producers, director and editors. The first thing that would happen before the soundtrack is made/added is the picture lock. This is basically when the picture is finalised and from this point on, it will not be changed at all unless something very important is wrong. Once the picture lock has happened, the main focus will be the soundtrack and it is the second most important thing other than the picture and the speech in productions. 

The best way to produce the soundtrack is to produce the sound clips yourself. This means that you will get an accurate sound as you had wished and would not have to spend so much time looking around for the correct sounds. Another thing that makes it easier to record sounds yourself is the subject of copyright. If you record sounds yourself then there will be no problems surrounding copyright and this would make the process a lot easier. If you take sound effects from the internet or other sources free of charge, you may occur some copyright problems and this could not only affect the amount of time it takes to produce the soundtrack, it could affect the company badly financially. 

2. Establishing the sounds I want - 

- Firstly I would like the sound of a window smashing for the table scene in my clip to add to the atmosphere and make the scene more realistic,

- A major thing that I will include in my soundtrack is a tense sound. This could be used throughout just  to compliment the picture.

- I would like to add other sounds to the soundtrack such as loud noises that could resemble the 'thing' that is chasing the two characters in one of their heads.

As these sounds would not be possible to record at home, I will more than likely find them on free sound.org 

3. Sounds On Location - 

The majority of the sound you will hear in my production will be filmed on set using a shotgun microphone. These sounds include speech and general sounds on set such as movement and surroundings. The most evident part of the sound throughout my production will obviously be my speech and then the scenery around the characters. The microphone will easily pick up sound from things like the doors shutting and curtains closing so I should have no issues with that and therefore I should not have to add these in for my soundtrack. 

4. Relevant Issues - 

Some issues that I might face when it comes to making parts of my soundtrack could include copyright. This could be an issue when it comes to downloading off the internet from sits such as youtube. To avoid copyright issues, you could either create the sound effects yourself or get them from a copyright free site such as freesoung.org like I am going to do.