Editing - Sound - Louise

Editing; Sound

Editing of sound within our teaser trailer was a very important thing to ensure that we had enough sound and those sounds worked in the correct places.

For editing sound we had to had ensure that all the sounds layered together properly, for example we had to layer I'm the sounds that were already within the footage for example the scream of the young boy that is within the live stream we also had to layer I'm the carnival sound that is used also within the live stream. You can see in these screenshots below that's turned up the sound of the scream and had the carnival sound playing quietly along in the background.

Editing Practical: Sound

Sound: 

During the basic editing stage we removed all the sound to ensure no excess audio was in place, therefore we needed to add a soundtrack/sound effects to add to the tension, make it interesting and ensure that it suited our genre of a horror with slasher elements. 

Firstly I searched on YouTube for an un copyrighted Skype noise for when the messages sending the link to 'The Monkey House' appears. This makes the clip seem more realistic as it uses the same sound it would in real life. After I had found it I converted it to an MP3, and downloaded it from 'YouTube Convertor'.

After this I inserted it into 'Final Cut Pro' and moved it to my desired area ensuring it played in time to the footage. I also adjusted the volume to ensure that it was loud enough to be noticeable, but not too loud that it is over powering.

Due to our teaser trailer being circus themed I believed that finding circus/carnival music would be very fitting. So I searched on websites such as Sound Cloud and YouTube for un copyrighted music that I deemed to be appropriate. Eventually I found a piece on YouTube, I added it to the scene where the Monkey House website appears and turned the volume up very loudly to create tension. I then duplicated and cropped the sound and played it on a very low level for the rest of the duration to add to a subtle, creepy effect.

During filming another of the victims screamed to create a realistic motion. I deemed this to be appropriate for the footage so added it onto the website footage and I increased the volume in order for added tension.

After making the glitch effect I then decided that sound effects needed to be added in order to make it have a more eerie vibe, and suit our genre of a horror with slasher elements better.

I found un copyrighted sound of glitch and bladed the desired areas and deleted the remaining so I was left with a variety of small glitch effects. I then placed them to my desired area to create the best possible effect.

Sound - Editing - Louise Hyam

For my practical task I researched sound that would be practical to within our film trailer. In our film trailer as a group we decided that we wanted a slow tension sound that can play quietly throughout in the background constantly throughout the trailer.
I looked on sound cloud for sounds that I felt would be appropriate to go in the background of our trailer without being to heavy sounding. The sounds that I have looked for will work as a basis for what we want in our film trailer and I will edit it to fit within our trailer and suit our trailer. This means I may need to add other sounds to it to make it more effective or even just cut bits out that don't work within our trailer
The first sound that I found:
This sound would require some editing as it is very quiet throughout but I could edit it so that in places within our trailer where there is a lot of tension building up I could make the sound get louder within those places. Also the sound is the same throughout the whole sound clip therefore I would also maybe embed other sounds into it to make it more interesting and have more of an effect.

The second sound clip that I found is below:

This sound clip is very repetitive and would only be suitable for our trailer within areas where there is a lot of tension. Therefore this clip isn't suitable to be used the whole way through however I could just crop the sound and add it into certain sections where it would be suitable or I could add it into a sound track that I make of my own onto garage band.

In order for the sound to be suitable for our trailer I think that it is best if we take ideas from the sounds that I have looked at and make my own sound on garage band or record my own sound. This would be more effective because these sounds don't have a mixture of sounds and are repetitive the whole way through therefore I could make a sound track where I used a mixture of high and low sounding tension music along with some jump scares and other sounds when the tension within our trailer is needed to be created through the use of music. It is also more practical for me to  make the sound for our trailer as then we can control it easier as we only wanted a quiet sounding sound track within the back of our trailer.

Deconstruction of sound

Deconstruction of sound used in friend request and unfriended;

Within these two film trailers the sound that is used is mainly sound that is natural to create a sense of realism. These films create tension and the effect of a horror film through the use of sound effects that occur within the film that are naturally occurring for example in the film friend request the girl starts to tule really fast on her laptop screen when things begin to go wrong when she realises what has happened and the use of the typing getting faster helps to portray tension to the audience without using s sound track and this helps to create realism within the film.
Also within these two films they use the sense of sound effects from the characters such as heavy breathing when they are scared and this is especially shown in the film unfriended when they are on the Skype call and there is an unknown member on the Skype call and the sound effects such as screaming and breaking from the Skype call through the Skype call that other characters hear also creates a sense of realism thorough the use of their emotions and this shows them being scared.
Throughout both of film trailer there is use of soundtracks and this is to help show the genre of the film but the use of naturalistic sound and sounds that are portrayed through the characters helps to make the soundtracks that are used more effective therefore helping to convey the genre.

Practical - Sound

For my practical task I created a piece of sound that is related to our trailer 

Sound Practical:

Sound Practical:



As a practical task I used researched different types of horror/circus music to gain inspiration, I then downloaded un copyrighted music and altered and distorted it to my desired effect. This is good preparation and practice for my final piece as it allows for me to try different methods and learn new techniques of how to put sound together successfully.

This practical work will be used in my final piece however will be altered to fit timings and have any added sound effects or soundtrack if i deem it suitable at a later stage.

To create this piece i…

• Used screams that i pre recorded to add tension and portray one of the victims that will be in our piece. 
• I also used multiple glitch effect noises which is a clear representation of our internet theme, and seems appropriate for the events that will be unfolding. 
• I also added a wind whistling audio clip to add a haunting horror feel.
• Lastly the main circus theme, which is an uncopyright audio i found on Youtube

Practical piece:

Conclusion:

• In conclusion i feel that the practical task turned out well and i deem it to be effective for our genre and our theme.
• I like the use of a diegetic sound effect of the victim screaming which adds to the realise that we wanted to portray within our teaser trailer.

Sound Creation Practical

Practical - Creating Sound Effects

We were tasked with creating 2 separate sound effects suitable for our genre and filming their production, either using real life methods or with technology. I did both of mine digitally; one using Audacity, and the other using Garage Band. 

The first sound effect I created was some creepy, ambient background noise which could be used in the background of our trailer. This technique on Audacity can be used for any song, and each different one will create a slightly different effect. I first took a random song from my file, and increased the tempo by 300%, and then increased it by 300% again. Then, I lowered the pitch by 80% before then raising it again by 300%. Finally, I used the Paulstretch function which is what gives it it's eerie effect. I'm pleased with the result of this, and think it could come in handy in our trailer. 

The second sound I created was using the smart strings in Garage Band. I was aiming to create a droning effect that increased in pitch, in order to signify building tension. This is very commonly seen in horror films and I think could definitely be useful within our trailer. This is done simply by holding down the lowest string on the cello, and very slowly dragging it all the way to the right. 

Sound - Creepy Circus Music

Sound Editing Practical

As I have not really experimented with sound editing before, I decided to do a practical on this early on so I could improve my skills when it comes to making sound for the final product. To do this, I downloaded the free sound editing tool Audacity.

One theme of horror movie that intrigues me are those based around circuses and carnivals, as I feel taking something seen as so happy and exciting and turning into the complete opposite can be really effective. Examples of horrors than use clowns as their primary villains are Stephen King's 'It' and season four of 'American Horror Story'. For this reason, I decided to attempt edit traditional circus music to make it more creepy.

First, I found the piece I wanted to use. This was Entry of the Gladiators by Julius Fucik, a piece very commonly used as circus music. To make a more creepy, empty sounding track I used this version of it played on a music box:

First, I downloaded this video as an mp3 using Clip Converter and then imported it into Audacity. I then removed the parts that didn't contain the music.

I then decreased the speed by 30%, which would alter both the tempo and the pitch to make it longer and lower.

Finally, I then used the reverb tool. This makes the clip sound as though it's being played in an empty room by adding an echo.

Finally, I then used the Paulstretch tool, which while experimenting, I discovered made the track sound more ambient and creepy, and gave it almost a whistle-like sound. 

I was unsure whether I preferred the version with or without the Paulstretch applied, so I compiled both versions into a video. As I am inexperienced with sound editing software, this was purely experimental so I think I could do a lot better in the future.

Sound Deconstruction:

 Sound:

The following blog post is a deconstruction of sound within horror films, allowing me to gain inspiration and act as a form of research to allow me to know what kind of sound is relevant and sounds effective within this genre. 


However our film is slightly different, and has a psychological and internet/cyber crime/dark web aspect so other genres music/soundtrack could be merged within it to make it more relevant and interesting. 


I also wanted to research further to see the use of naturalistic sounds within the trailers, since this is something we are interested in doing to help add to the realism of the piece.

Although these films to not have a cyber crime link, the use of sound within them interested me and I believed it to be a good set of research in order to inspire me later for the types of sound and methods of using sound effectively. 

Horror:

The following videos are the trailers of 'Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)' and 'Annabelle 2 (2017)'.

In Ouija: Origin of Evil, upbeat 70's style music was used throughout among creepy, haunting music. This created an ironic sense, and fitted very well. The trailer also had a grand mixture of diegetic and non diegetic sounds/soundtrack. Which allowed for the eerie feel and tension to be built, but with the sense of realism. Something we were very interested in doing. Since we believe making the scene more realistic makes it more relatable to society and allows for a greater connection with the audience.

At the beginning of Annabelle 2's trailer, no non diegetic soundtrack is used for the first 25 seconds only the noise of birds, and the humming of a female character is heard.

Which alike Ouija adds to the sense of realism, something we want to portray within our trailer. Later eerie music begins to play along side the diegetic sound. However throughout a range of both is used to give the realistic feel with the tension. Noises such as screams, bones cracking and a music box are heard.

Psychological:

Black swan is a psychological film released in 2010. Within the trailer it includes an ominous background soundtrack. However the diegetic dialogue is made louder, again creating the sense of realism. Other noises such as whispers, representing voices and noises of material being removed from the skin are shown. Breathing can also be heard. All of this as a whole allows for a very clear sighted piece. It creates tension, yet allows for the audience to connect.

Conclusion:

• Black swan allowed for me to have a deeper sense of understanding about appropriate methods of adding diegetic sound along with the non diegetic soundtrack allowing for a more realistic effect.
• The use of breathing and whispering against the music was very effected and created a very ominous feel to the trailer. This kind of effect is something that I am interested in doing for our trailer.