Tip #71: The Final Sound Mix

By Dan Parkes (Director)

The impact of sound on a film should never be underestimated. Often clever and appropriate use of sound effects can really sell a shot, help with continuity and make visual effects come to life.

For Ambleton Delight, it was initially mixed using Logic on a MacBook. The final mix took place using Adobe Audition 3 on a PC (to create a 5.1 mix which we will detail in a later blog).

In addition to obviously a good recording of the original dialogue and sound (detailed here: ), the important components of an audio mix are:

1. A "Wild track"
A wild track is an audio recording made at the time of filming, normally when on location, of background sound and atmospheric noises when the cameras are not rolling. Whenever possible we recorded room tones and exterior sounds. These are incredibly valuable to help match shots in the edit or to cover holes in the audio. On one occasion we recorded the different sounds of the village councillors....grumbling, happy, complaining, applauding etc that we could then use when appropriate in the edit.


2. Foley
Foley is the art of recording live sound effects during post, like shoes on a pavement or a door closing, to match the film. In our case we recorded a number of foley effects during the post-production stage. For example I was used by Colin Bradley, the sound engineer, to cut vegetables and make all sorts of banging sounds in his kitchen for use in the film.

3. Sound effects library
If a sound is too difficult to record as foley, then there are a large number of libraries on-line with thousands of sound effects. Some are completely free while others may require payment. Here are a few you might want to check out:

www.soundsnap.com/
www.audionetwork.com/sound-effects/
http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/


4. Final Mix
You should now have dialogue, foley, room tones/wildtracks, other audio (radio/piano/CD player/TV) and score. Some effects may need further work -such as adding reverb or tweaking of treble and bass etc. Once ready you need to mix these altogether ensuring that the levels are correct and sound natural (some sounds work better if very subtle. The master volume must be set to a level that adheres to in-house or broadcast standards (for example -6db).

In the next few blogs we will specifically look at recording ADR, voice over, 5.1 and audio commentaries.

Tip #70: Colour grading

By Dan Parkes (Director)

Colour grading or timing is the art of enhancing, correcting or sometimes completely changing the colour and look of a film.

In our case a very simple colour pallete had already been decided upon by the production designer before we started filming. The plan was for the gritty flashback scenes to be completely in black and white, and the village scenes to be in heavily saturated colour. The camera system we used was thus set to capture a heavily saturated image which meant we were able to do a lot of the colour grading in camera. In fact very little of the village scenes were colour corrected.

Black and white flashblack scene colour grading

Here are some basics of colour grading

1. Software

Many NLEs come with colour correction filters which can do basic changes. However I recommend using Synthetic Aperture's Color Finesse, as it runs as a free plugin in Adobe After Effects and is an extremely powerful tool.

Color Finesse software

2. Primary

The first step of colour correction is to set the black, grey and white. In effect this is like doing a camera white balance - you are telling the software what is pure white and black and can be used to correct an incorrect white balance. This is also an opportunity to crush blacks (make them darker) and to check levels -making sure the colour and luminance are within safety levels. You may also need to adjust the brightness of the image.

3. Secondary

Once the the whites and blacks and are all consistent you can then change the feel of the image with either broad colour changes or subtle colour replacement. A common Hollywood colour grade is teal and orange (check an interesting article on this 'virus' here (http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html) but also the Matrix green or the 'Saving Private Ryan' bleach bypass.

The teal and orange 'virus'

In our film the most notable secondary colour correction were the day for night shots. Otherwise most other grading was for continuity.

Tip #69: Scoring to picture

By Dan Parkes (Director)

In the previous blog we looked at the benefits of having a tailor-made score rather than production library material. But what kind of workflow can be used when getting a score written by a composer? Here are some things that worked for us:

1. Communication
Of course, it is critical to work together and discuss the project at all times, but in our case the composer lived on the other side of the country and so the entire process was by e-mail followed up by discussions on the phone. If a director is not musically-minded he will have to ensure he can efficiently communicate what is required. A director must communicate their vision but at the same time allow room for the composer's own style and artistic licence.

2. Different cuts
A composer will likely not start work until a first cut has been made. There will obviously be subsequent cuts and so it is important to keep the composer up to date as this will affect what he has to work with and in particular timing for music cues. A good naming system is essential to avoid confusion.

3. How much?
An easy mistake that novice directors and composers can fall into is scoring too much of the film. There can be more power in silence. During initial discussions the director should impart their vision of where music is necessary or unnecessary. It may also be a good idea to leave that decision to the composer, who may come up with some surprises. Nevertheless it is important to allow the composer an opportunity to see the entire film regardless, so they have context.
4. Workflow
We had already divided the film into five 'reels' and we used this system with the composer. We would send through specific sections of the film that required scoring using a small compressed Quicktime file that was labelled and had timecode, so that it could then be used to help sync the music with the finished picture. The composer would then send back the same video but along with a preview of the music he had scored so we could see it against picture.

5. Temp tracks /scratch music
It is not uncommon for editors to use temp tracks when cutting a film. A temp track is an existing piece of music that helps set the pace and mood of a scene, giving the composer an indication of what will work. Composers often find temp tracks frustrating as it limits their creativity, but sometimes they are necessary when it is difficult to express in words what music will work, or when timing and pace needs to be established before a score is written.

6. Rushes/rough mix It is prudent for a composer to come up with musical 'sketches' first before composing or orchestrating the piece to completion. These can also be used with the early cuts of the film, with test audiences, to see what is working. However this does call for an understanding that it is there to give a rough idea of how it could work, rather than being a finished piece -we can prove difficult for those lacking in imagination to comprehend!

7. Master/final mix
Once a rough preview of the music has been decided upon the composer can then fully orchestrate it and send high quality master files (in our case 48K WAV files) which will then be edited and mixed into the final edit. We used DropBox rather than YouSendIt etc to exchange the files and found it to be an excellent system.

You can hear the award nominated score to Ambleton Delight at the following link:
http://www.ambletondelight.co.uk/music.html

Tip #68: Get a score tailored to your film

By Dan Parkes (Director)

While there is some very good production library material to choose from, absolutely nothing beats having a composer write music that is tailored to your film. Here are some reasons why:

1. Emotion
A favourite expression of mine is that 'music is shorthand in emotion.' While you have likely spent considerable time developing emotional arcs for your actors to perform, along emotionally dramatic story lines, it can actually take only one or two well selected notes of music to impart just as powerful an emotional impact. This subtle power of music to engage an audience emotionally by adding layers of depth to a scene should never be underestimated.

2. Themes/Characters
A tailor-made score can provide a unique theme for your film that can be used later in trailers and DVD menus. An identifiable main theme and minor themes for characters or plot points can help guide an audience on a journey through your story. The selection of a certain type of music or particular instrumentation can give your film an entirely different feel.

3. Pace
A score can help set and change the pace of the film -slower music for scenes that are gradually unfolding, faster music to quicken the pace for an action scene. While it may be easier to cut to library music, a composer can score it to match how it was filmed.

4. Cues
It is quite difficult if not impossible to use production library music for cues -for example dramatic cues that introduce surprise elements or that build for a reveal. A good composer can create cues for exact moments in the film, timed to fit precisely with the on-screen narrative.

5. Continuity
An underscore can also help create continuity, linking elements in a scene together which may otherwise seem disjointed.

6. Soundtrack album
With a strong tailored-made score for your film by a talented composer, you have the opportunity of also releasing a standalone soundtrack album.

There are many composers out there wanting an opportunity to show what they can do. However, there are some important things to look out for when finding an ideal composer for you film:

1. Film experience
What experience do they have writing music for an actual film? Being able to write a good piece of music is not a prerequisite for film scoring. Film soundtrack music is quite a different genre in its own right and a novice can often fall into common traps if lacking experience.

2. Subtlety
Soundtrack music needs to accompany not dominate a film. There are times when there should be no music at all. Or the music should hint at rather than tell an audience what is happening.

3. Genre
Has the composer ever written the kind of music that you are wanting for your particular film? While a composer who has experience writing techno dance music may want to broaden their horizons with something orchestral, you are taking a great risk if this is going to be their first foray into the genre.

3. Reliability
A composer is often brought in during the final post-production stage and can often only begin work once a rough cut of the film is coming together. Make sure your composer is both available and reliable enough to ensure you hit your final deadlines.

4. Communication
If you do not understand musical terminology you will need to find an effective means of communication. It is most important that this communication is clear from the beginning, as there is nothing worse than having a composer spends hours creating a score that you then have the painful process of explaining is not at all what you were wanting....

In the next blog we will look at the process of writing music for screen and how it works within the film's overall workflow.

Tip #67: Get excellent music from solo artists and bands

(Interview with musicians Phil and Joe Gooch)

Rather than the tedious and expensive method of trying to licence a famous music track for your film, why not look at using the just as good (and sometimes better) music from the many relatively unknown solo artists and bands out there. All you need to do is find a great track (e.g. on MySpace), ask, and then make sure they sign a waiver if they say yes. We interviewed London musicians Phil and Joe Gooch, whose solo and band music (as MellowSun) was used in the feature film Ambleton Delight, about why they said yes.

1. What kind of musical background do you have?

Phil Gooch: I learnt the cello up to the age of 17, then decided to teach myself the guitar. I played in a few bands at University, and have been dabbling in writing guitar music ever since!

Joe Gooch: I have had no formal training in singing or composition but that hasn't stopped me from singing in a variety of bands and writing songs since 1990. Since the late 90's I have been writing songs with my brother Phil in our acoustic band MellowSun. In 2004ish I started writing instrumentals.

Phil Gooch

2. How do you write/record music together?

Phil: Usually one of us will already have a basic chord structure that we want the other to contribute to: in my case, it would need lyrics, a melody and vocal parts, in Joe's case, he might want a guitar part. We tend to use Reason and Logic, and record and mix directly on the laptop.

Joe: Phil will play me what he's been working on. While I'm listening, I will start to get vocal line ideas. Phil will then record what he has come up with and I will take it away and work on the lyrics and possible structure ideas. We'll then get together and work through the track and make any adjustments.

3. What inspires you to write?

Phil: On my own, I might get inspired by an existing loop or drum pattern, and come up with a guitar part, or I might just be noodling on the guitar and develop it into an entire piece, or just a loop pattern.

Joe: When I write my instrumentals, I am fortunate enough to get a lot of song ideas, melodies and titles from dreams. When that happens, hopefully I will wake up soon enough after dreaming it to sing it into my phones voice recorder to work on it at a later date.

4. Why did you allow your music to be used in the film?

Phil: Mutual respect for each others' work really. Also, I was interested to see how the music I'd written might be used in a film: for example, how would someone else interpret it and decide which scenes a certain piece would be appropriate for?

Joe: I had a small part in Ambleton Delight as the London Head Chef. I also think it's a win-win situation for both the film and us, as they get to use our music for the film's soundtrack and we as musicians or composers get our music out there to an audience who probably haven't heard our music before. I was also promised that if I let Dan use our tracks in the film he would reprise the character of London Head Chef in a spin-off film where he works as a chef by night and solves crimes by day in The Ambleton Murders. I'm still waiting for that to materialise...

Joe (foreground) and
Phil Gooch

5. What do you recommend filmmakers do when they want to have indie or other music in their film?

Phil: Rather than just put out a general request for 'unsigned' music, I think it really helps if the film-makers directly approach bands and musicians whose work they like. For musicians just starting out, it's great to be approached and asked if your music can be used in another medium - it shows that it has some resonance in some way outside of the confines of the song or piece itself.

Joe: Just contact the band or individuals and be upfront in regards to payment, or lack there of! I would think most independent bands and artists would love to be asked for the use of their music as part of a film's soundtrack. Not only is it nice to know that a film maker likes your work enough to want it to play a part in his or her film, but every band or artist wants their music heard by as many people as possible and this is another great way to do just that.

MellowSun MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/mellowsunuk/music

Phil's solo work:
http://www.icompositions.com/artists/PhilGooch

Joe's solo work:
http://www.icompositions.com/artists/joegooch

Tip #66: Special effects... that aren't too special.

By Dan Parkes (Director)

'Less is more' as they say and this can very true when it comes to visual effects. If you don't notice the effect, then it has served it's purpose. Ambleton Delight surprisingly contains many visual effects, from town name replacements and logo removals, to day-for-night shots, image stabilisation (to correct shaky dolly shots) and adding atmospheric elements such as smoke and rain. But there is only one obvious visual effect which is when a static picture in a newspaper transforms into an actual moving image that itself then transforms from day-to-night.

All the visual effects were completed using basic tools in Adobe After Effects. However, effects is not primarily about the software. The key to an effective effects workflow is to work backwards; firstly establish the desired end product in as much detail as possible (even storyboarding it) and then work out what elements and particular shots (maybe angles or durations) are required to achieve it.

Take a look at three basic effect shots we did and how they were done (click on the images for an enlarged version):

1. Ambleton sign replacement
We shot a master plate ensuring even lighting and no camera movement. The original letters from the Alfriston sign were then recreated to read Ambleton using primarily the clone tool in Photoshop. The new letters were then added to the shot in After Effects by motion tracking the image (as there is very subtle movement). Then the final shot is colour corrected -an important ingredient to 'selling' any shot that has elements from different sources. The village signs were so effective that many did not notice the difference...even the camera operator who shot it!

2. Logo/graffiti removal
There are dozens of shots in the film that had logos removed for one reason or another. In this example, a very obvious 'Christmas '08' is written on the fence behind the action in a scene which is supposed to take place in the late 80s or early 90s. So it clearly had to go! In After Effects it was removed frame-by-frame by masking out areas and replacing the graffiti with a cloned part of the fence.

3. Moving newspaper image
In this effect the lead actor opens a newspaper to an article and we then zoom in on the main picture of the restaurant which transforms into live action footage of a day-to-night time-lapse. This was accomplished by firstly filming a shot of the actor opening a real newspaper, inside of which we placed some green motion tracking markers. In After Effects we then tracked and replaced these with a digital article about the restaurant, complete with a headline, story and photographs. The main photograph is in a fact a freeze frame of time-lapse footage which in itself is a day for night effect shot.

For more information on the day-for-night technique, please refer to this earlier blog.

There are some great places where you can find tutorials on using After Effects. Here are some of my favourites:

http://www.videocopilot.net/
http://ae.tutsplus.com/
http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/

Tip: #65: Sourcing music for your film

By Itsuka Yamasaki (Producer)

It is important to realise that you cannot just use any music from whatever source without permission. The music must be either written for, or cleared (licenced) for your film. We would like to suggest some possible routes you could take to source music for your film, providing that you are not after any really famous piece of music (which is both expensive and difficult and worth avoiding).

1. Use your composer all the way

If you have a composer on board, it is an option to ask him/her to do all the music, including opening and ending themes, any kind of background music (car radio, music played in a club scene etc) as well as the general score. In this case, the fee is as much as you negotiate with the composer and you only have to worry about one contract.

Ambleton Delight composer Iain Cameron.
His score for the film was nominated for a Best Score award.

2. MCPS

MCPS acts as a kind of agent for professional musicians. To clear a piece of music, you only deal with MCPS online and you don’t need to obtain copyright separately. The rate will vary depending on the form of your film, but for Ambleton Delight and the trailer, I have calculated it would have cost 3750 GBP.

3. Other production libraries

There are other organisations and individuals that offer production music with varying costs. There are so many of them but here are a couple we can recommend:

Audio Network: http://www.audionetwork.com
Audiojungle: http://audiojungle.net/

4. Royalty-free/Creative Commons

There are some musicians and composers who write and provide music for free, as long as you credit them with a specific attribution and or mention the Creative Commons licence. Although be careful as there is some low quality material (midi files etc) out there!

A good example of such a high quality Creative Commons composer is Kevin MacLeod: http://incompetech.com/

4. Scout up-and-coming musicians.

This is the path we took with Ambleton Delight. We searched online and offline for artists with great music and we asked them if would they let us use their music free of charge in return for promotion. The only disadvantage is that you need to draw the contract yourself for each piece of music, but we believe it was well worth it!

To simplify the task, (with some exceptions) we only selected self-managed British musicians without a record deal. By this we were making sure that one person (or one group) held all the rights involved in the piece. Another thing to note that we made sure that the contract covered the entire production (trailers, website, Making Of… anything related to the film), not just the film itself. This saved us a lot of time and money.

Brighton band "Swallowing Shotguns"
provided some of their metal music for the film.

You can check out some of the excellent songs used in Ambleton Delight from here:

http://www.ambletondelight.co.uk/music.html

Regarding the legal side of music rights, there are good articles that offer relevant information such as these.

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?aid=731
http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=46,2344,0,0,1,0

Reference:

"DO THE RIGHT THING: The world of music licensing made simple" by Audio Network
http://www.prsformusic.com/users/productionmusic/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.audionetwork.com

Tip #64: Editing tools and techniques

By Dan Parkes (Editor/director)

In the previous blog we looked at the importance of establishing a workflow. Organisation is certainly one of the most important qualities an editor must have -along with a large dose of patience! Here are some other valuable and practical tools and techniques when editing:

1. Naming system
Especially if you are editing a large project (which may itself become divided into several projects) it is good to establish a logical naming system. Numbers and dates should be used. Ensure files are put in properly named bins and the files themselves named sensibly (no "untitled" files and sequences!). Your editing project should be organised well enough so that if another editor had to take over they would have no issues working out where everything is. This will ensure that if weeks or months down the line you have to return to the project you can quickly pick up from where you left off.

2. Cuts
Inevitably you will have different "cuts" or versions as you alter and improve the edit i.e. first, second and third cuts. Always create a new sequence (or even project) for a new cut. For example, when a new cut is about to be edited I firstly "lock" the old cut to ensure I don't accidentally alter it, then create a new duplicate sequence which I then proceed to edit. This means you can easily go back to older cuts if you are looking for something you have subsequently changed or deleted.

3. Shot order
It is sometimes difficult to know where to start on an edit. The most logical and classic method is to edit in the same way the film was shot -likely laying down the "master" shot first, and then cutting in the "medium" and "close-up" shots.

4. Pacing
The pace of a film is critical. This will likely be dictated by the script or director but also editors must use their own instinct to decide where is a good place to cut and how fast and slow the feel should be. One method to help is to use music, or temp tracks. If you know the music that will be used you can put marks on the beats and then cut to that if appropriate. Or if the director has a certain type of music or score you can "temp" it in the edit to help ensure you get the right feel and pace.

5. Audio
Audio is often the secret to helping make cuts work. Although any extensive audio editing should be left for the actual audio mix, a picture editor can use overlapping audio and wildtracks to help make a cut work. Sometimes a certain cut does not work until ambient audio or sound effects are added to help sell the continuity.

6. Edit tools
It is important for an editor to become familiar with the different tools his NLE offers such as slip or ripple cuts and other ways and means of cutting and moving clips on a timeline. It is also necessary to learn the keyboard shortcuts to those most commonly used to speed up the process.
7. Saving and Back-up
Make sure your NLE either automatically saves or save your project after any substantial changes. An editor must be aware of the need to constantly back-up. If not using a RAID system (which will automatically mirror the drive depending on the configuration) then at least regular duplication of the project and files used should be made on an hourly or at worst daily basis. There is nothing worse than losing a project due to harddrive failure -as it is almost impossible to completely recover or remember all the creative edit decisions that were made.

Tip #63: Establish an editing workflow

By Dan Parkes (Editor/Director)

Good organisation is key to any editing project, especially when you are dealing with a film that will be at least 90 minutes and over 20 hours of HD footage has been shot for it!

So we very early on devised a workflow that would ensure we could achieve this, even though we were editing on essentially a domestic computer using software that is not widely known for feature film work: Adobe Premiere Pro. I have personally used most Adobe products, starting from when I was a graphic designer at a newspaper using Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat. It seemed natural to later progress to Premiere Pro for editing and After Effects for compositing and effects. But many widely regard Premiere Pro as not being up for the task of a feature film, believing Avid or more recently Final Cut are better tools. I had used Premiere Pro for some large projects including a 45 minute feature film, but this was in HD and so was possibly going to be an issue.

Above: Here is one of the 5 'reel' projects
(click to view at 100%)

The answer lay in two simple factors.

1. An intermediate codec
In Final Cut, when editing HD, the Quicktime files are often encoded using ProRes 422, developed by Apple. So I decided to use Cineform as an intermediate codec, converting all the m2t files from the camera harddrive into Cineform HD .avi files. Although much larger file sizes these worked very well in Premiere Pro and meant I could edit in HD without any issues. It also ensured no colour information loss when rendering out, maintaining the quality of the picture.

Above: Here is 'master' project
which combined all 5 'reels'.
(click to view at 100%)

2. Project structure
Although the Cineform intermediate codec made for easy editing I was under no impression that I could have one single project that would end up being 100 minutes long and still be stable. So I divided the film into 5 logical sections, which I called "reels" (inspired by the reels projectionists use) each being about 20 - 25 minutes in length. I worked on each reel independently (sound included) until I was satisfied with the cut. Then the 5 reels were combined into one single master project. This was the only difficult part, as I had to create a guide track and sync points for how these reels were joined for when the sound was mixed later but in the end did not prove to be too difficult.

Tip #62: The Importance of Paperwork

By Dan Parkes (Director)

Film making can be a creative and at times very exciting process. However, such is not possible without the all important paperwork that goes behind it. I know what you are thinking, this sounds all rather boring. But like a lot of things in life, sometimes it requires the old adage of 'work before play'.

There are two very important reasons for ensuring the paperwork is never overlooked:

1. Legal obligations
If you are really serious about film production then you will likely be setting up an individual company with separate accounts -either for the film as an entity or as a production company. Becoming a company has its own set of obligations, including the paying of tax and the use of equal opportunity and privacy policies and annual reports. The film itself will require contracts over pay, public insurance liability, ownership agreements, location permits and ever important health and safety and risk assessments forms. To try to avoid any of the above -no matter what budget you are on- is a recipe for disaster. But it is also good practice for the future. And most definitely comes in useful for Errors and Omissions insurance and other festival/distribution paperwork.

2. Organisation
Ensure your paperwork is well organised and always on hand. For example, have a main file that you keep all your documentation in. Have a system for keeping receipts for items purchased or expenses from cast and crew. Have a naming system for your script so you clearly identify what version it is on every page (if the script changes during production) or use a colour coded system (different colour paper for different versions).

Make sure you have plenty of generic release forms always on set. You never know when you will need to include an extra person in a shot! And make sure they sign it before they go on camera rather than having to chase people afterwards. We experienced this on location in the village of Alfriston. While filming an establishing shot to our delight a woman on a horse rode by, perfectly completing the scene. We asked if she could do it again, but not before ensuring she had signed a waiver that producer Sinead Ferguson had on hand for such a possibility. And with a location permit, make sure you have at least two copies on set, along with the associated risk assessment paperwork, so that if asked by a passing police officer or -in a worst case scenario- there is an accident you are well prepared to answer any questions.

Your Master Film File should include:

1. Several copies of the script (they always get lost!)
2. Cast and crew contact list (with names, telephone numbers etc)
3. Call sheets (plus extra copies)
4. Shooting schedule
5. Shot list
6. Storyboards
7. Accounts/receipts/expenses
8. Maps of the area
9. Emergency contact name and numbers
10. Cast and crew contract/agreements
11. Background actors release/waivers (plus loads of extra copies)
12. Location permits
13. Health and safety policy
14. Risk assessments
15. Insurance details
16. Note pad/paper/pens

Anything we missed? Please let us know in the comments below.
Need some example forms? Check out University of North Carolina School of the Arts site.