Production: Developing Our Soundscape

 When we were in the process of planning, we made it clear that we wanted the sounds to be as organic as possible. We didn't want to spend hours looking for the perfect sound effect that would fit into what we filmed. So, when we went out to film, we spent some extra time recording foley sounds. This was to help us out later on in the editing process and help it run much smoother. Whenever we found a scene we knew we needed the sound to be exactly the way it was in the location, we spent an extra minute recording just the sound to ensure we could capture the entire scene how we liked. 

There are two that we filmed while at Regional Park that we know we will be using. One for a specific part of the scene and the other for the entire opening in general. These were leaves crunching, which we will use as footsteps throughout the opening, and a branch snapping, to match a specific movement. We were thinking ahead while we were filming to make sure we were happy with the results.

 

Here are some of the sounds we captured during the process. 

Update: Sound

 When I talked about sound last, I mentioned we didn't know how we were going to incorporate music, but that we wanted to. That is because of the way the opening is going to flow. We realized that the music wouldn't work for all parts of the opening, but we also couldn't have silence. So, we found a way to compromise. 

We will be using music for a part of the opening and fading it out before the main scene occurs. That way, the other sound elements we use there will be emphasized. We want to have the music for only specific parts of the opening, but we know if we use it for some, it has to be there for the rest, unless we get rid of it completely. 

Once we established this plan, we had to start looking for music that would fit our scene. We thought instrumental music would be best because it wouldn't interfere with any of the other audio we were developing in the scene. We want to find something that would fit the same aesthetic and build on the monster sound effect. We want it to be suspenseful and instill the fear a horror movie does into their audience. 

We started by looking at classical music to see if any of them fit what we were looking for, but they were all too traditional, so we moved to different types of instrumentals. We found a playlist on Spotify that had various instrumentals, but none of them worked either. 

After we looked on those, we went to the YouTube Audio Library and found a few music options that could work for our opening. 

Those two options are both good posibilities for what we are looking for. We hope that once we finish with our opening and get to the editing process, we can use the visuals to make the final decision. 

Shots List

 We wanted to create a list of the shots we will be using to help us in our filming process. 

 Detective Board Part 1

1. Medium shot of beginning of the board
2. Tracking shot over Actors close up of name
3. Tracking shot over Music through yarn close up of name
4. Zoom into picture

Forest Part 1

1. Close up of poster on floor
2. Pan up from poster
3. Close up of feet walking over posters
4. Long shot of search party
5. Close up of flashlights
6. medium/long shot someone leaves crowd with backlighting

Detective Board Part 2

1. Tracking close up over producer names
2. Tracking shot over Cinematographer/ writer
3. Zoom into a picture of Benjamin

Forest Part 2

1. close up tracking of feet walking
2. Medium shot handheld waist up, expressions
3. Long shot pans sideways
4. Extreme close up of him clenching flashlight

Detective Board Part 3

1. Tracking close up of editor name
2. tracking close up of director
3. Zoom into long shot of Benjamin

Forest Part 3

1. Long shot of ben over hill, backlighting
2. Zoom into Ben his back turned to camera
3. Medium shot 
4. Pan down zoom close up of hand

Detective Board Part 4

1. Long shot entire board
2. Walk backwards into over the shoulder of the detective

We used the notes we've taken in class to make sure we're labeling all of our shots correctly in our list, I'll add them here. 

Sound

 Audio is going to play a big role in our opening. We haven't thought about the music just yet, but the main sound effect has been a priority in our minds. We want it to be a sort of eerie clicking or chittering sound. I don't really know how to describe it. We recorded a voice memo of what we thought it would sound like, so if we don't find anything that fits the same vibe, we might just use that voice memo and change the audio to sound better. I found one sound effect that has a similar sound to it and I'll link it here, the only issue with it like a lot of other sound effects is that it is layered with other music and sounds, so I'm not sure how well we could work with it, but we'll see. If anything, we can work with our own idea and manipulate our own sound how we want it to be. 

Other than that, the majority of the scene will have foley sounds, other sound effects or basic dialogue along with music when necessary. We already made a mental note to try and see if we can use the locations we go to to help create our foley sounds. For example when we go to the park, if we find a spot we like and it has leaves or something similar on the ground, we will try and capture those sounds so it is more authentic. 

Mise-En-Scene: Locations

Finding good locations for our film was hard because of timing. We want our film to take place at night and therefore want to film at night. These issues made it hard to find a location that would work with what we needed. 

The Woods

We also want it to take place in a forest, so we tried looking for parks nearby. The first park that came to mind was Markham Park, however it closes at sunset. This became an issue for a lot of the places we looked at. Then we found a place closer to where we are called Regional Park, it doesn't have the same woodsy atmosphere we were looking for, but it had enough trees bordering it to create a good setting.

Markham Park

The Pit

The second location we looked at was a golf course near where we live, the sand pits could be useful to us to create depth and show the disappearance without having to fake the location. We thought the elevation would be good for this particular scene. I created an image to show what this would look like because I couldn't find a picture that showed what I wanted it to look like. 

The other parts of the film don't require a specific location so, we will likely be filming in a dark room that will give us a good opportunity to manipulate the environment to whichever way we need it. 

Characters

 For our film, we wanted to make sure that our characters all had a purpose, so there aren't many. They don't have any speaking parts in the opening because we didn't think it would help the story in any way. We focused more on the characters' as individuals and how they represent different things in our opening and what would later be the film. 

The Detective 

This is the mood board we created for Detective J

In the beginning of our planning we were thinking of giving the role of the main protagonist to Amber, but because we decided she would die eventually, we made our protagonist someone who would be able to conclude the film and bring together every element of the opening. The Detective doesn't have a name, only being referred to as "Detective J" throughout the production. This is a very serious character, extremely devoted to his work and incredibly mysterious. He wears his work clothes all the time to keep the same persona of professionalism throughout. 

Amber

The name Amber came from our idea to have the tile of our film and introduction be an amber alert sound, so we took the name Amber to tie it into that. We wanted Amber to be a symbol of innocence and purity because the victims of these alerts are children. We wanted Amber to be a kind girl, only 15, who is known by the majority of the people in the area. This would mean her disappearance would have a greater impact on the community. 

Benjamin

Benjamin lives near Amber, so felt he needed to help when she went missing. He is new to the area, so doesn't know a lot of people, but Amber was kind to him, so he wanted to assist in the search. He is a lazy and rebellious guy, but has a strong sense of intuition, so he is quicker than others to pick up when something is going on. 

We thought about some characters more deeply than others because of the way we will be portraying them in the film. Their involvement in the opening will show why we developed them in these ways and why it mattered. 

Mise-En-Scene: Props

After developing the initial idea and establishing a detailed plan, we began to determine key elements of the production that we needed to illustrate through props. These would need to be highlighted in the opening to establish the tone and help immerse the audience in the scene. 

Missing Posters

The whole concept of our film is a detective figuring out what is happening to the people that are going missing in a town. The opening is a foreshadowing to what will be explained later in the film, so missing posters are essential in creating context for the audience. It is important to emphasize little details like this to give the audience insights on what will be following the opening. We will be using resources like Canva to create this, printing multiple and wearing them out to make them seem realistic. 

Detective Board

The detective board is the main element of the film opening. It will be introducing the setting to the audience as well as the protagonist. This board will return later in the film, but it will be viewed the most at the start of the film. We want to include the red string, pictures, and names on the board as well as other notes surrounding them to make it look more authentic, for example, may include fake news articles as well. 

Flashlights

During the opening, the scene takes place during a search party for the disappearance of a character. The people in this search party will need flashlights to help give the nighttime search a realistic feel. These will also be used as a light source for the production, illuminating specific things we want the audience to be aware of, like the missing posters.