Prometheus has landed...

This spaceship looks sick [cool].

...and by Prometheus I mean post-production. Repossessing Tim is wrapped and close to a final cut, A Clearwater Revival is (almost) wrapped and is being final-cutted at the moment, and Diorama is nearing a first cut with several scenes and two shooting days still to come.

I've done a bit of work on Repo Tim in the last weeks, but I'm struggling to find the right sounds for the locations, my dissertation is very hard to put into practice. I have however gone through almost all of the dialogue and beefed it up and made it sound nice and neat.

Over the break I've also done a second mix for Love-Hate in which I reworked and fixed the sound effects and also nice and neat-ed the dialogue. I just need to wait for a final music track now and mix it all together and the sound mix will be complete.

Here is another small clip I mixed for Hugh. I only used sound effects from the Zelda video games, which was great.





Now, Reuben should be working on the first Diorama cut, and I am eager to see it come together and to begin mixing it. I hope everything will come together as planned. We will have a day or two of foley and re-recording sessions to do, which will be a helpful experience to add to my portfolio.

Clearwater's rough cut it sounding a bit rough to be honest, but I have not had the chance to properly go through and mix it, as it had to be completed in a rush in one day! I'll be spending every day, all day, next week on it, and hopefully be near a complete version by the end of the week.

On the set of Beast on the Moor.

Yesterday and today I have been on set working the production sound for Beast on the Moor. It was a great experience working with yet another new crew and a new director (Matt Chapman), a set of brilliant new actors including children, and some great and challenging new locations to work in and around. Tomorrow and Saturday it's on to the next project as I have chosen to record Paradise Hotel as well, as there were some difficulties organizing a production sound man.

On the set of Beast on the Moor.

The film I would like to see

Here is a bit of a summary of what I like in films.

A film for me is the idea behind it.

You like the kind of films, behind which there stands a strong idea. The kind of films, where I say, 'yes, the idea might be cool, but the film is not necessarily good. It's too long or too incomprehensible'. And you don't mind that, if the idea behind that is good.
-Moritz Elle

Most of the time, I really enjoy films whose thematic is something which I believe in and am interested in. This seems like a really obvious observation, but I think this is what makes or breaks a film for me. Along with this, I must feel something during a film. Whether it be joy or sadness, nostalgia, excitement or discomfort, feeling something and sharing a personal connection to a film is something that I love.

The opening sequence of The Thin Red Line gives me chills because of its natural beauty.

Some of the greatest scenes I have seen are in The Tree of Life. I could relate them to my own childhood, my parents. I love the scenes when Brad Pitt has gone on a work vacation (my father always went on these as well) and the children realize he is gone, they run and play and play pranks on their mother, who is also loving the freedom of being alone with her children and being left as a single parent for a while, not having to be aware that there is a second parent. Upon viewing the film with my mother, she agreed that this was sometimes what it was like, and it is this personal connection to the children which I cherished here.

While I really enjoy films which direct me through their cinematography and perfect scripting. Also, loose plots, a large cast, especially with developed minor characters, as well as ambiguity in stories are wonderful. I enjoy the freedom of interpretation and being empowered as a member of the audience. There have been several times where I completely misunderstand a character or plot point, but I think there's also something exciting about those misinterpretations.
Example: Inception was much more exciting in my head with about 7 or so layers, while after the film everyone (apparently) proved me wrong telling me there several less. What a pity.

Looking at the life around us and finding something beautiful.

One of the reasons why I love the films of Tarkovsky, Malick, Herzog, and more recently Andrea Arnolds Wuthering Heights is because they don't just focus on their main characters, but also on their environments, the smaller details of life which surround them. Using images of animals as metaphors for the characters' states is such a powerful method for we are all raised in the presence of animals and they make up a large part of our knowledge and imagination.

I am currently writing a paper on the symbiotic relationship between natural soundscapes and the characters that travel through these environments. So much can be said by looking at whats around the characters and using this as a metaphor or mirror of the character or story.

Wuthering Heights had the perfect aesthetic for me. Natural light in which not everything can be seen, natural landscapes which have wind, rain and changes in light, natural sound which concentrated on foley and atmospheres, dialogue which does not always have to be crisp and clear. I love voice overs, characters whose speech is uncertain or overlapping with other dialogue or effects and when characters are able to keep quiet.

My current top 4 (film obsessions):

The Tree of Life
Stalker
Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Goodbye, Dragon Inn

The Tree of Life in the open air cinema in Friedrichshain.
The big dipper was shining just above the screen. Perfection!

Set up for the kill

Diorama

Diorama is going ahead nicely. I have taken over a sort of co-producing role, taking care of many small things for and with Reuben. Jimmy (who was DoP on Repossessing Tim) has also joined the crew as 1st AD. I look forward to working with him again.

I have spoken with my housemate Vincent about designing posters and artwork for the film and have introduced him to Reuben. I have given him a script and we named a key prop and location as a small insight, but generally, he is being left to create an image and text which is a result of his first impressions of the script. I think this is a much more genuine approach to design and I can't wait to see the first results.

A taste of Vincent's artwork can be found here: http://bincentparkin.tumblr.com/

We met with a few candidates for the role of the dancing girl in the Performance Center on Thursday. We spoke to them about our and their intentions and tried to get to know them a little. We are now planning call-backs in order to try out some scenes with Callum and the girls.

On Thursday I also went into one of the music rooms in the Performance Center with Jamie to work on some of the music cues. Here is a small variation on the dancer's theme. This version is meant to be the piano accompaniment for the dancers as they are practicing.

Her (Dancing Studio) by Jonathan Bernhardt

This tune is not very intrusive and is more or less neutral in the way in which it is performed here, I think it suits the scene well and can move seamlessly from the diegetic to non-diegetic space.

Lastly, the Indiegogo page for the film is now live, so please have a look and share the page or even better, contribute a little. www.indiegogo.com/My-Film

A Clearwater Revival

Director Tom Brun with Isaac (Chris) and Reuben on the banjo

As the shoot comes closer, my team and me are starting to 'hear' the film in our heads more clearly every day. We had a read through and run through last evening at the location for Chris' apartment. Thomas has such a clear (audio-)vision of the film in his mind which never ceases to motivate me. It's a good feeling when he has a clear opinion on everything I inquire about.
It seems like much of the sound here will be put in during the edit, as there are many sounds coming from outside the flat and from inside Chris' subconscious.

Have a look at Tom's website here: tombrun.co.uk/

Repossessing Tim

While the rushes are off at the edit, I have been thinking and re-thinking over the film's sound. Much of what I am trying to accomplish is a trial and error process to find out what actually fits the scene the best (which is something completely different for Arcadia and the Wasteland) and what also adds something significant to the scene.

Here is a test I made for a wet tunnel in which Tim finds himself.

Repossessing Tim Tunnel Test by Jonathan Bernhardt

There are a few mixing changes I will make to help some of the effects in the background stand out more. Overall though, there is a fluidity to each element of this track which is what I want. Hopefully through the effects which appear in the background add a sense of space and tension as they pan around Tim.

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Shout out to James (Harrison Ford) Harris, who is off filming Norah Smile in London, he is definitely 'in it for the love, not the money'. Here are his thoughts on the upcoming production, a must-read. jamesharrisfilm.wordpress.com/. All the best James!

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Mini Update: Repossessing Tim wrapped

 

Repossessing Tim wrapped on Sunday, after three days of shooting.
A quick summary of the shooting days in the studio and on location in Wheal Mead can be found on the film blog: repossessingtim.blogspot.com.

The three days taught me so much. Preparing for the shoot and organizing all our equipment made everything run very smoothly. On Saturday, enduring rain and cold made our work difficult, and most of all pretty uncomfortable. Nevertheless we gave it our best and the end results are very satisfying. I spent the beginning of the week with Ed where I was able to see the rushes (which look amazing) and then to synch up all the audio we recorded on the boom. I now can't wait to get my hands on a first cut of the film and take it to the audio suite and have a play.

Sound man Jamie Romp with our gear.

Jamie Romp was a great help over the weekend and operated the boom mic for all three days (I was mixing on set). After going through and then synching the usable takes, I think I might not even have as much need of the lav-mic audio as I thought I would. Jamies recordings are all clear and rich, and once we edit them slightly they should work great in the finished film.

Location scouting and casting for A Clearwater Revival and Diorama is coming to an end and preparations are being made for the shooting days, both films will be shot around the end of February-mid March.

Casting trip to Penzance with Reuben Alexander (Diorama)

Bleak

On Saturday Reuben and me spent the day in the performance center visiting the "Ways of Watching Winter Dance Symposium". Our stay there began with a discussion on the artist and audience in a regional context and later another on ownership and authorship. I noticed that most of what these flexible people in tights were talking about was transferable to film as well as my own background and future. We saw a total of 6 performances by students and professionals, but to be honest I mistook one of the professional performances as students, so the difference there was not that great (to my untrained eyes, I guess).
The first performance called Echoes of a Lost Music featured music by Christopher Best (first song if you scroll down) playing a solo guitar in the middle of the room. The music was this one guitar played on separate delay tracks which repeated and overlapped throughout the piece. The music accompanied a wonderful dance which involved many strange contortions. The combination of the dance and music allowed my mind to wander and I began constructing nightmarish images with my imagination. There were slugs, people rolling on the floor on fire, bodies melting into each other, it was all very intense and at times it frightened me. Another performance which I liked involved around 17 or so dancers and was very energetic and evoked beautiful images such as a wavy sea of bodies...being washed back by the waves, then coming forward just to be washed away again.
I was really surprised at the quality of the work that I saw. I know several of the students in the second year and I never thought they would be this good and professional. Being inspired by their talent makes me even more determined to perfect my work practice this year, so that hopefully, the films I make will inspire people who see them and render them speechless.
We also handed out call cards and spoke to many of the dancers in hope of finding out lead lady for Diorama. This was a success as many of the students were interested and open to collaborate with us.

Reuben and me traveled to Plymouth on Sunday to scout out a location we had heard about and looked up. The square around the Plymouth Sundial is suitable for Diorama's key scene as there is a lot of pedestrian traffic around, many people sitting and waiting, the surrounding buildings are (above the ground floor) bleak and nondescript. The sundial itself is also a very interesting image.
I think Reuben is not fully convinced by the square, but I think we made much progress over the weekend.

Sunday night after a rather downcast and hung over journey we met up with Jamie for our second weekly mealting. We went over the scripts of Repossessing Tim and Clearwater Revival and talked some serious sound. The meeting was a big reassurance as I was getting a bit anxious about the projects. I am confident though that the three of us will collaborate well and that out sound design will enrich the films we work on. Here is a small sneak teaser of the dancer's leitmotif which Jamie pitched to us at the mealting. I think we're on to something here!

We had a second recce today for Repossessing Tim. We drove out to the location with AD Nicholas Raybould and I was able to walk around the location and record. I managed to get some good clips of the tunnel and the bridge area as well as some nice drips and drops down some of the deep holes spread out around the quarry. Helicopters flew overhead several times and I recorded these for some time, I might be able to use them in some way as they possess an interesting and dynamic sound. I also did some mic tests to see how they cope with the wind. Everyone is getting ready for the shoot this weekend.
I am just happy to be making films at the moment, this is what I am here to do.