Creating Our Non-diegetic Soundtrack

I wrote and produced the piece of non-diegetic sound we would be using as a soundtrack. I did this by going to Langley Boys School and getting my friend David who studies music tech AS level to aid me in using the software. I used Logic which is a music writing and recording device. 

This whole process took me 3 lots of 2-3 hour sessions to finalize and convert to an MP3 to place onto my video. Here are some pictures, the first is from the second session and the second is from the third session. 

I spent the first day planning out roughly what I wanted. I inserted notes onto the video to show where I wanted the peaks to be. I then went about writing a small motif which would be repeated throughout. I then began recording.

The second session was spent mostly recording all the raw ideas, making sure they flowed together and I was happy with what I wanted, this took about 3 hours to create a rough draft.

I spent my final day polishing up everything and making sure the peaks in the music were lines up with the appropriate video. I also then added in some bird noises and other diegetic sounds. I finally double checked everything and then produced the file.

Here is our finished piece of music:

Jaws Film Scored Analysis

Here is one of the most famous piece of score music, it is a theme for the character of the shark in the film 'Jaws' written by John Williams. It is most well known for its simplicity and therefore how memorable it is. It was created to show the presence of the character of the shark. Motifs such as these are use very often in movies to show the presence of a character, the 'Jaws' soundtrack gives a sense of foreboding as the presence of the shark normally means an attack on people and so the audience quickly learns to get edgy whenever they hear this piece of music. The main "shark" theme, a simple alternating pattern of two notes became a classic piece of suspense music, synonymous with approaching danger 

Many other directors have tried to copy this idea within their own movies, to create such a powerful and effective piece of music to place alongside their characters as this soundtrack won many awards for its simplicity but effectiveness. It is because of this the movie is now known as one of the most effective movies of all time.

Technically wise the piece comprises of 2 shorts notes in minor going backwards and forwards in continuous rhythm on some kind of base or cello instruments. This creates a dark and mysterious sounding piece. It starts off quite slow and less repetitive and builds in both speed and repetitiveness, which makes it gain tension as the it reflects the shark approaching.

I will be creating our score for our opening sequence myself and therefore will be attempting to create a simple yet effective motif to represent my character.
Our character is very innocent and harmless and my soundtrack will have elements which will mimic this, using high notes on instruments such as piano create a very sweet sound to reflect her innocents. Contrasting with this I will produce heavier, lower notes, like the ones played in the 'Jaws' score to show the sense of threat this the character is facing.

The History/ Elements of Film Scores

The History of Music in Film

Before the 30's, all movies were completely silent. Music was then inserted into a film to make it more interesting sense wise it also adds depth to the image which appeared on the screen. Music was already a common element within theaters which were the previous form of entertainment before film. 
The majority of silent films were accompanied by anything from full orchestras to pianists. Many books were published about different types of music to play over a film to add to the mood.

During the 1930's music was established as a vital element within motion pictures as it showed more positive audience feedback. At the beginning, Western Classical Music from the 19th century was used played over films but after this people began to write more modern scores. One of the first original films scores written was for 'King Kong' in 1933. Later in the decade composers began to experiment and develop their own style, including creating hooks for characters and to support plot and story lines.

In the 40's, composers refined their expertise even more. There were many breaks in the barriers and traditions of film music. In the 50's, film music had completely changed with the introduction of jazz music, therefore music was less expensive to make as not too many musicians were not need as an orchestra was no longer needed. This carried on throughout the 1960's. The 70's passed with very little new innovation, things were perfected from the previous decades. Even current score writers, such as John Williams use these techniques.

In the 80's and 90's, the use of synthesized sounds in films became more popular. For the first time, it had become possible to scored a whole film with only one performer, using a synthesizer to produce the sounds of many instruments.

Today, with the development with new technology film composers have the ability to create the perfect score helping move along the movies plot and give characters different pieces of music (for example the sharks hook in jaws), this helps to enhance the film and turn it into an experience.

Elements of a Film Score

TEMP TRACKS
A temp track is an existing piece of music score which is used during film production during editing as it serves guidance for the mood or atmosphere. Composers for film scores are asked to imitate a specific composer or style present in the temp track. Some directors have become so attached to temp score that they decided to use it and reject the original score written by the film composers.

STRUCTURE
Films often have different themes or motifs for important characters, events, story lines or peaks. These can be played in different styles depending on the situation they represent, scattered among incidental music. For example John Williams' score for the Star Wars saga, characters such as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa have different motifs for different characters.

SCORE MUSIC
Most films have around 40 to 120 minutes of music. However, some films have very little or even no music whereas others have music running throughout. This types of music is called "diegetic" music as it is not part of the movie itself it is merely added on top.

How Did Our Filming Day Go - Video

In this video we discuss how our filming day went, we talk about what went well and what we would change if we were to re-film.

First Cut

Here is the first cut of our final opening sequence. It does not contain any of the title credits or music as of yet as I am still in the process of writing/ recording the music and we wanted to make sure the video was perfect before adding any of the credits.

Filming Schedule for Opening Sequence

Here is the basic filming schedule we used for our filming day of our opening sequence project. We kept to it most of the time, however, had to push back the final bit it filming as it was not sunset until around 3:15pm. That said the rest of it when to plan. 

Costume and Props for Opening Sequence

COSTUMES:

Here is the outline for our costume for our opening sequence. It is based on Little Red Riding Hood's costume. We decided to place the character in a white dress. The white connotes her innocents and how pure and vulnerable she is as a character. The white also contrasts with the dark greens and browns of the forest making her stand out and attract the audiences attention, here is the dress we shall be using:

We have also created a red cloak from material we found at a market, this is Little Red Riding Hood's signature piece and we therefore had to include it to create a fair representation of how the character should look. Red connotes danger which gives as sense of foreboding about what is going to happen to her, this makes the audience want to carry on watching so that they can find our what happens to her character. It also connotes the idea of blood and violence which also adds to the idea of the film containing elements of horror and violence. 

PROPS:

We will not be using that many props within our opening sequence however we will need the following:

- pack of fairy cakes
- a glass bottle
- red food coloring (for fake blood)

FAIRY CAKES
We will be using fairy cakes as a contrast against the eerie background, it represents the characters innocence and childish nature. It is also part of the original story that Little Red Riding Hood was taking cakes and wine to visit her grandma so this follows that idea.

A GLASS BOTTLE
Again this is from the original story as Little Red Ridding Hood was taking wine to visit her grandma. This contrasts with the images of cakes as the bottle will be smashed and covered in the red wine which will look strangely like blood reflecting the violent nature of the movie.

Shot List - Opening Sequence

Here is the shot list we used for our opening sequence, we printed it off and used it when we were filming to make sure we had filmed everything and without having to worry about getting the storyboard muddy, our filming scheduled was also based upon this.

SHOT LIST

LOCATION: Lloyd Park

PROPOSED FILMING DATE:

Shot no.	Actors	Equipment needed	Costumes	Other	Completed?
1a	-	Camera	-	Have the camera so that the trees are silhouettes against the sky
1b	-	Camera	-	Same as before
1c	-	Camera	-	Same as before
2a(i)	Chelsea – Little Red Riding Hood	Camera, tripod	Little Red Riding Hood costume	Have leaves in the foreground to make sure the credits can go on them.
2b	Chelsea	Camera, matt to put the camera on so it doesn’t get dirty	Little Red Riding Hood costume	Make sure the camera doesn’t get in the mud, sort out cape beforehand so it flows properly
2a(ii)	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Same as 2a(i)
2c	Chelsea	Camera, matt to put the camera on so it doesn’t get dirty	LRRH costume, black boots	Make sure the camera doesn’t get in the mud, sort out cape beforehand so it flows properly, walk SLOWLY
2a(iii)	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Same as 2a(i)
3	Chelsea	Camera	LRRH costume	Lean in to where her hand is slightly as if she had moved the camera
4a	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Move the camera slightly on the tripod to make it look like there is movement
4b	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Make sure the camera has a gap next to her head in frame for credits, make sure it all flows when editing, overlap – long fade onto next shot
4c	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Use really nice framed arch, have this as a long fade from the previous shot
5	-	Camera	-	Rising up through the undergrowth, to reveal the wood
6a(i)	Chelsea	Camera. tripod	LRRH costume	Make sure the cape is flowing correctly, depending on the wind
6b	Chelsea	Camera, make sure the claw marks are carved into the tree	LRRH costume
6a(ii)	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Same as 6a(i)
7	-	Camera, tripod	-	Leaves!
8	-	Camera, tripod	-	Leave enough room within frame for the credits
9a	-	Camera	-	Remember fairy cakes! Prop them up against the branch, remember to pin them down if they don’t stay
9b	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume
10a	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	This park of the ground is very bumpy so make sure the tripod is secure
10b	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Move camera slightly to show she is out of breath from running
10c	Chelsea	Hand held camera	LRRH costume	Make it look like you are someone sneaking up behind her, music has to fit
10d	Chelsea	Camera	LRRH costume	Close up of her looking over
10e	Chelsea	Camera, possibly tripod but dependant on grounding	LRRH costume	Over the shoulder
10f	Chelsea – point of vide shot	Camera	LRRH costume	Hand held so show the character looking up and down at the sound she heard
11a	Chelsea	Camera, remember to place fake blood on the branch before recording and use floor matt	LRRH costume	FAKE BLOOD
11b	Chelsea	Camera	LRRH costume	Un focus to focus on her hand to reveal what she can see, shaky to show the tension building
12a	-	Camera, glass	-	Break glass and put fake blood on
12b	-	Camera, glass	-	Same as before
12c	-	Camera, cake	-	Place muddy fairy cake in the ground, remember floor matt to keep the camera clean
13	-	Camera, tripod	-	Make sure the sun is in front of the camera to make it look better
14a	Chelsea	Camera, hand held	LRRH costume	Long shot, completely hand held to show her running away into the sun to give a blinding effect
14b	Chelsea	Camera, tripod (low down)	LRRH costume	Looking up on her to show the slightest sense of power- challenging stereotypes
14c	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Careful attention to editing – make sure she appears to be a silhouette
14d	Chelsea	Camera, tripod	LRRH costume	Close up, slow mo a lot as a final shot