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

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

Audio Post Production Showreel by Palani. Autumn 2009. Featuring works from University of The Arts London Alumni.

Palani Sound Post Showreel from Palani Bala on Vimeo.

Join El Club Cinema Commercial from Kasia Sobocinska on Vimeo.

Here it is up on Vimeo and in HD Join El Club Cinema Commercial / Skillset director: Victor Naveira writer : Joseph Kendle director of photography: Luis Posada camera operator: Kasia Sobocinska producer: Stephen Roberts production designer: James Morrall key art director: Jessica Hand editor : Adrian Thompson sound designers: Palani Bala, Chris Box

Skillset funded ‘Join El Club’ is  like ‘Fight Club’ except with a certain food product.

Sound design by Chris Box and Palani Bala with music fromthe Paraiso Samba Band…