Wednesday, February 15, 2017

16mm Film Manipulation Project Experience

The film manipulation project was a very unexpected gem in my experience. I had no idea that this project would be so enlightening and fun in the end. To begin with I was not very excited to be drawing and painting on a tiny 16mm frame of film. However, by the time I actually sat down and got to drawing and painting, I realized I was actually having a lot of fun. At the time I did not expect my film to come out and look as good as it did either. I enjoyed learning how to load actual film and seeing it projected with the iconic rattling of the projector in the background was very exciting. Overall I loved this project and would love to do more work with actual film in the future.

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Importance of Sound

Sound, while being extremely important to film as well as everyday life, gets very easily overlooked. Its easier to drown out a noise than it is to sit and dissect and analyze every sound you are capable of hearing at any given moment. There is sound and noise around us all the time that we choose to drown out and these videos and readings brought attention to the things that most of us tend not to appreciate.

I often sit and listen to the things around me when I am alone and its very interesting to hear the things you can pick up on whether you are in the middle of nature, the beach, or in a busy restaurant. I am an avid hunter and often enjoy the time that I get to sit and listen to nature as it is uninterrupted by society. There is a great deal of peace in the rustling leaves and chirping birds that create the cacophony of nature.

As far as film goes it is important to think about the sounds that you hear every time you are in a place. A film may sound clean with merely room tone and lines of dialogue, but it is not realistic and believable. I believe that sound design is where a great deal of low budget and student films fall short. Instead of creating the atmosphere with the sound that is in the place, many people go after what they believe is important. Where the more simple "background" sounds will give the film depth and an interesting new dimension of reality.