Wednesday 16 December 2009

Soundtrack.

Myself and Keiron Anderson composed my soundtrack using the music software Cubase and Ejay. On cubase we were able play the video alongside the music track so we could be sure that the two went together. For the diegetic dance track in the first half of the film, we used Ejay because it specialises in dance music, and had pre-recorded vocals that we were able to use. For the tenser parts of the film, on Cubase we were able to generate long, drawn out violin notes (a typical convention of horror soundtrack as it enhances tension), french horns (to add more depth and to create an eerie, sinister sound) and timpani drums to emphasise the dramatic moments. I think the track we composed adds well to the tension and atmosphere of the film.





After audience feedback, many people thought that the orchestral track was very complimentary to the film, adding to the atmosphere particularly well. Several people disliked the dance track at the starts, although they did tend to think that was due to personal taste. Once the levels had been changed to make it seem more diegetic, they were able to tell that it was meant to be coming from the stereo in the room and thought it was worth keeping in.

For my final product I chose to break the original soundtrack up in order to create the most effective atmosphere that I could. For example, during the first scene, the unnamed girl looks directly into the camera to signify looking at the boy. I timed this with the word "night" in the soundtrack, as night is often associated with dark and sinister events.



I then decided, as there was diegetic talking on the video track, that I would fade it out up to the point where the girl looks up. This signifies that she's drifting off into her own world, and focussing solely on the boy. I think this also gives her a more interesting, mysterious aura.



When I fit the soundtrack that we had written with the visual I already had, I found that the crescendo of timpani drums was placed just a few seconds too soon for optimum impact as the cannibals descend. I also had soundtrack playing throughout the title screen of "Masque," which I didn't think sounded right.



Therefore, during the editing stage, I cut the track so that I could have the crescendo just as the cannibals swoop down on the camera, and faded out the backing music for the title screen to just leave a solitary scream, highlighting the fact that his screams are futile as no-one will hear them.


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