From Script to Screen, my first film breakdown Part 4: Audio Post and Score
Sound is the other half of a film, many saying you can get away with good decent video and amazing sound, but not amazing video and sub par sound. It is not something that you can see but it is subconscious to the overall feel of the film. With some experience in audio post production form university, I hope to bring those skills back again to building the soundscape of the film.
Dialogue, SFX
One thing that I learnt at Falmouth from my lecturer about audio is that the first rule in audio post: any movement on screen, there has to be an audio tagged to that motion. This was a rule that stood by me since day one and I hope to bring this short to life through that. To start with findings small sounds like the pen click, audio for the paper and even footsteps to be subtle. I also brought in some seaside ambience and winds to bring that richness to the space and to make it feel real in the scene.
Dialogue was a bit trickier with the original audio being really windy. With a bit of voice isolation and some EQ, I tired to isolate the dialogue and bring up the right frequencies. With the audio bring a bit thin i also added some lower ends to bring the bassy feel. Lastly I sources ambiences to fit in to the film to make sure that I can blend the sounds correctly to the scene.
Music
I am so grateful to have a talent musician and friend, Gina, to help compose this piece for me. I sent here a reference to a few films like Dear Martha, a film I worked on before that I liked the score for, and some personal beats and emotions that I think would work well. This is only possible after I have the picture locked and I tried my best to send a reference with a bit of sounds to let her have a better understanding of the emotion I was trying to achieve and how she can see her piece fit into the bigger picture of the film.
Here is what Gina had to say about this piece with some insights to her thought process:
Process
Things started with a brief from Winston, sending me a draft of the final cut with a reference backtrack. With that, I analysed and broke down the reference track, noting the speed, instrument, feel, and genre. The push and pull of emotions from the music stood out to me the most as it enhanced the story being told — feelings of uncertainty and unfamiliarity about moving to a new country with hope and excitement for a new life. These sentiments then became a template for how my music would be created.
With the context of this film being in the late 1800s to early 1900s, I knew that the music had to match its vintage vibe. Hence, the choice of pianos—LABS’ Soft Piano and Felt Cassette Tape Piano. The Soft Piano laid the foundations of an intimate and emotional journey, while the Felt Cassette Tape Piano gave a touch of ‘realness’ and presence as you hear the hammer strikes on the piano strings.
Although the reference track adhered to no specific time signature, I used 6/8 to guide my work. The piece is in D minor, with inverse pedal tones anchoring them while the bass root note descends the scale into darkness. The chords then transition into its relative major, F major, and end with a fade out to convey hope and brighter futures in Guo Hong’s upcoming journey in the West.
As a songwriter, melodies come to me naturally; hence, the melody of this piece was also composed as if I were singing. It follows the pattern of descension to express the bittersweet feeling of leaving one’s home. In the key change, the melody starts off going up the scale to give a subtle uplift in the mood of the song.
Thoughts
This project did not feel real to me. As my first project fresh out of school, I felt like an imposter, even though this is something I have been doing for the past 5 years of my music education. There were many doubts in my mind that hindered my creative experience, and lots of critiques from the past that I’ve held on to while doing this project. Eventually, when time ran out and my anxiety couldn’t run its mouth anymore, I was forced to follow my instincts and trust the process. I’ve learned to trust myself and my past experiences which have shaped me into the musician I am today. Regardless, I am happy to have collaborated with such a brilliant creative, who I can call my friend, and be part of the experience of creating art to be viewed by the world.
I am super grateful to have someone so talented and willing to try something out with this film. With very minimal feedback and the piece fitting very well, I was so happy to have it come to life and it is ready to finish up. Assembling it was the last touch with a rough mix to it with the rest of the sounds. With that done, we are ready to package it and try and submit it to festivals.
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