Sound Design - Research

Sound design -

 Meshes of the Afternoon, Under the Skin, Hannibal

Meshes of the Afternoon

Music composed by Teiji Ito

Under the skin - 2013

Andrew Void - Composed by Mica Levi

Hannibal - 2013

I like the play on raw music and sounds being put together.

The story will be led very much by sound and visuals. So having a professional to compose and create sounds for the film is very important to the film. This project will give the sound editor a complete canvas to work on. With the guidance of the Director who will be telling the sound editor the style and the look I will be looking for to suit the film.
Sounds can create different atmospheres, even if the shot is the same so this is why the director needs to guide the sound editor int completion of the film. For example, we see a shot of a woman looking into the distance. If the sound applied to the shot is full of slow moving classical music, a violin playing, this could appear to look like she could be in a romantic trance looking at a lover. If you take the same shot and put fast paced music with split second high pitched notes played by the violin, this could turn into a horror scene where she has seen something that frightens her as if she wants to run away. This is why the director is needed to help guide the sound editor into the right direction for the atmosphere in the project.

For example, as my project is lead by sound, the sound designer needs to know what I as the Director want from the film. Such as understanding what the audience is feeling, what the character is feeling, what the journey of the character is about and what I am trying to say about the film. These will be the first questions he will ask.

Influences for my sound design come from films such as Maya Derens 'Meshes of the afternoon' and Hannibal TV series as they are avant garde of it's time, which is part of the goal I am trying to create for my film. Avant garde creates a sense of uniqueness, identity and creativity in my film. Using sounds together with visuals I am trying to create a range of emotions that the audience experiences whilst journeying through the characters story.

The basic overall tone of the sound of the film will be from East Asain sounds, such as chimes of bells, tibetan symbols, wooden intruments etc...

When working with the sound designer, we would go through each scene and I will describe what I need to feel as an audience from the sounds created, not only that there is a specific sound that I want in the scene such as the ringing sound of the tibetan singing bowl for the 2 minutes as the character transcends into a higher realm.