Articles in the Short Film Category
Borough Studios, Chris Box, Headline, Palani Bala, Short Film, Showreels/Videos, Sound Design, Sound Spot, Vimeo »
Here in all of its glorious 11 minutes and 46 seconds is Luke White’s short ‘Tide’
A beautiful short made at LCC last year. Here’s a short description taken from Luke’s website blackpaint.co.uk
“A boy and his father live a harsh existence against a desolate backdrop. Whilst the father is stranded, the boy’s physique allows him to pass through a small tunnel leading to a place very different from their own. He brings back footage to satisfy his fathers desire to re-live memories of when he too could make this journey. Tide is the story of a father’s obsession that will ultimately lose him the respect of his son, and in turn his companionship.”
TIDE from luke white on Vimeo.
I (Chris Box) was lucky enough to be involved, creating the sound design for this, recording foley, ADR and mixing it at Borough Studios here in London. Since completion it has gone on to be screened at both the BFI and London Shorts Festival (and many more).
Hope I’ve included everyone in this list.
Father – Liam Thomas, Son – Luke Williams
Writer & Director – Luke White, Producer – Emilia Dobrogowska, Cinematographer – David Stafford-Clark, Production Designer – Jessica Bernard, Assistant Director – James Fisher, Associate Producer – Zuzana Markova, Costume Designers – Jessica Bernard & Ruth Wade, Make-Up Artists – Claire Belling & Jessica Bernard, Production Assistants – James Winterflood, Nicolas Crew & Anna Jurkoweicka, Focus Puller – James Stafford-Clark, Johanna Lietha, Jessica Greene, Alba Moronuiz & Jack Newman, Clapper Loader – Johanna Lietha, Holly Cleary & Alexandra Michaels, Sound Recordist – Chris Box & Chris Mcquillan , Gaffer & Grip – Paul Kemp, Sparks – Holley Cleary, Chris Brown & Ritvan Mislikovjan, Continuity – Analisa Tremolada & Anna Meller, Set Construction – Fred Mercer, Mirela O’Prey, Matt Hansell, Joe D’Ovidio, Yoku Ishida, Chaperone – Mark Bromley, Editor – Armen Antranikian, Sound Designer – Chris Box, Foley Recordist – Palani Bala
Palani Bala, Short Film, Sound Design, Waffle »
Scene 22. EXT. ROOF OF TALL BUILDING – VERY EARLY MORNING
VASSILY and PETRA emerge onto the roof. A shot of the city
from high up.
The SOUND LEVELS show a bang of the roof exit door slamming
closed, then complete silence.
VASSILY and PETRA record the SOUND OF SILENCE.
Sunrise over the city.
The extract above is taken from a script of a short film currently in post production at SoundSpot; Vassily and Petra. It poses a key sound design scenario which revolves around the concept of silence.
Some brief research has shed light on this topic bringing up aspects of 1-technology, 2-dynamic balance and 3-the use of silence as a design tool.
1- TECHNOLOGICAL advances in film sound have resulted in soundtracks which can exploit a wider range of frequencies whilst reducing the unwanted noise and hiss. As magnetic tape has disappeared and Dolby becomes a universal standard meaning sound designers and mixers can focus more on these low level sounds which previously were masked by artifact/tape noise. This brings us closer to a mute canvas which can be built upon, whether it be a delicate sound or a high impact collision filling the entire screen.
2- With this bigger range of sound comes DYNAMIC BALANCE which can be assessed within a scene of a film or ultimately an entire soundtrack. Just as photography is composed of the lights and darks to create balance and beauty so is a soundtrack; utilising peaks and troughs in sound levels. The emphasis for this balance is more of an issue for the mix which works in unison with the films narrative in order to tell a story and keep audience interest.
3- SILENCE AS A DESIGN TOOL. Not to be taken literally but used to reflect the idea that stripping down a soundtrack at times is just important as making it dense and sonically rich. This comes with time, understanding cinema and design intuition.
…Finally a word from the master.
Michel Chion. The Silence of the Loudspeakers, or Why With Dolby sound it is the Film That Listens to Us
“Everything today tends on the contrary to separate the sounds from one another: their dispersion across several tracks, their precision, the differences in contrast and the gulfs of silence between them, etc. We live in a world in which rhythms overlay one another without blending, in the same way that music heard on a car stereo is superimposed on the rhythms of the passing world but does not become confounded with it.”
http://aspectratio.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/from-here-on-in-absolute-silence/
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VoKROBFWuvoC&pg=PA51&dq=silence+cinema&lr=#v=onepage&q=silence%20cinema&f=false
http://www.frameworkonline.com/Issue40/40ls.htm
http://www.theauteurs.com/topics/2637/comments?page=1#comment_67481
Chris Box, Short Film, Sound Spot »
Just this afternoon Illiterate knife rack and I have started development on a new project.
Details on this project are still under deep talks and I you will be all updated when things are solidly in place.
However in the immediate future we are planning an experimental shoot in a months time in Dungeness. This will involve IKR and myself spending a few days in a cold tent as far away from anything as possible exploring the landscape with sound and vision. What we will find will greatly affect our plans for the project and what we really want to say so stay tuned.
Short Film, Vimeo »
Every now and then, you see something that you wished you’d thought up or at least been involved in.
What I would have given to work on this
Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.
I didn’t recognise the Sratch Perverts without Tony Vegas’ bucket hat on
Chris Box, Mixtape, Palani Bala, Radio, Short Film, Sound Design, Sound Spot, Uncategorized, Vimeo »
We are now in the midst of research and development for an interesting new project.
This project is, and about Northern Soul, following the scene through the eyes of 2 young DJs. My first and only concern with this project was that it could have taken the typical cop out approach of many period and scene based films, that it would have the usual rom-com-rock-biopic-struggle to overcome Hollywood narratives. My worries were quickly quelled and was assured that this is a film about the scene and not a film that happens to be there.
For anyone unfamiliar with the scene here is a great documentary on the Wigan Casino
There is already a great deal of work been put into this trailor, it has some good names linked with it and an abundance of dancers trained by the one and only ‘Keb Darge’.
Without giving to much info the trailor will consist of a field report from a northern soul club (Wigan Casino was mentioned but not sure wether or not it will be clear in the trailor) and studio interview with a young DJ and dancer. In the studio an old time BBC presenter interviews these guys and then a feature of the music and dancers. However the TV show attempts to turn their passion into a novelty act and a fight between the DJ and the presenter ends in a headbut and a storm out.
I have began developing a strong idea about how to go about recording and designing the soundtrack.
The real focus on this from a sound perspective is to try and develop and strong sense of authenticity, I really want the sound to feel as close to how it would have been done at the time.
With the research so far I have formed an approach which will take us through production and post production
Production: we will record digitally, pref onto a Sound Devices unit, so we have the option to take create a more conventional soundtrack if needed. For the field report the 4 track will include a handheld interview mic (i’m trying to find a used Electro-Voice 635) used by the reporter. On a second track we will boom mic with an omnidirectional mic.
The decision to go with an omnidirectional mic is that A) we are interviewing a que scene and would like to get some mumbling and shouting from the que without dubbing, B) the scene will be one shot and one take so background sound continuity is not so much an issue.
In the studio a similar method will be used with the interviewer having a handheld mic, the boom will become usefull to capture the chaos of the fight in the studio. I want to capture the chaos with the boom by drifting on and off mic on the characters. tracks 3 and 4 will include playback of the music.
We will also get some wildtracks of the crew mumbling and shouting to add in over the fighting.
Post Production: By this stage we will hopefully have plenty to work with. To really get a sense of the era I plan to run the sound through a tape unit and then redigitse. My intial thoughts were to hire a Nagra 4:2 and play with gain and speeds until I have what I want. However from my research I have also found that the Ampex 601 was often used and videotape in the studio. I will try to do some tests before we begin production.
I will continue to add material into the comments section, and I would be extremely gratefull for any further contributions that would come in handy
Chris Box, Featured, Short Film, Showreels/Videos, Sound Design, Sound Spot, Vimeo »
Boy and Bike from Chris Box on Vimeo.
Here is a recent short submitted for the Vigin Media Short competition. Directed by Edward Wise, camera Milos Moore, sound recording and design by Chris Box
A young boy struggles to fully understand the death of his dog, so he is not best pleased when a grumpy old man get’s in his way.
