Our Non-diegetic Asynchronous Soundtrack Options

No Games - Civil Ryan

The first option for our soundtrack is a song produced my one of my friend's Ryan. It is quite fast-paced, so we may use this if our opening sequence ends up being a horror (idea one) because it sounds more upbeat than a soundtrack for a thriller film. This track isn't very creepy, but may suit a running scene or a scene with a lot of action.

Haunted - Ross Bugden

This second option is one of our favourites because it would go well with a thriller (idea two) and sounds very creepy. This is the sound that we're going for at the moment and resembles a child-like soundtrack or a lullaby. This soundtrack is copyright and royalty free, so I wouldn't have to pay to use it.

Witch's Lair - Desperate Measures

This last option creates a more eerie atmosphere than the first two and would also go well with a thriller opening sequence. It may suit a stalker scene or someone being followed and is also copyright and royalty free so would be easy to use.

Psycho Film Scored Analysis

This is one of the most popular pieces of film score music. It was composed by Bernard Herrmann and is the theme for the film Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock. It could be argues that the Psycho theme is Herrmann's best and most admired film score. It was created on a low budget and so only involves string instruments, which happen to suit the genre of a horror/thriller. Herrmann had the idea that the string instruments to reflect the black and white cinematography. The theme is played in the very beginning of the film with the opening credits, as well as appearing in other intense parts of the film (the infamous shower scene). The fact that the score is just string instruments and it is a somewhat small instrumental ensemble creates tension for the audience because of the fact that it is quite fast paced and the volume of the instruments often change with sharp jabs of violin to shock the audience.

The score has influenced many other pieces, including one adaptation of the score by Danny Elfman, which was actually made for the 1998 remake of the film. Elfman is a famous composer and song-writer and has worked with people such as Tim Burton. There are other scores that have been influenced by Psycho, which have copied it's use of sharp jab sounds to create suspense.

The theme plays in the opening credits, however nothing dramatic actually happens for the first 15-20 minutes of the film, which created the affect of the audience being on edge because the theme would be stuck in their heads whilst they are watching the first few scenes.

I will be finding a score for out opening sequence, which created tension for our audience. Psycho is a horror/thriller, however out film won't include many elements of a horror. Therefore, the piece that we end up using may be a bit slower paced than this score. We want it to have a dark tone and be a bit unsettling so that the audience know that there is something wrong and they can be on edge whilst watching.

The History/Elements of Film Scores

The History of Music in Film

Before the 1930s all movies were silent. Music was commonly included in theatre productions and was brought to films to add some depth to the images shown on the screen for the audience as well as for tradition.
The majority of silent films were accompanies by full orchestras, organists, and pianists. Various books of music were published to provide ideas for scene music to have an affect on mood, element, or event. 

During the 1930s, music was established as a vital element within film. Sound within films was usually Western Classical Music (from the 19th century) would play over the film. However, original scores started to become a normal thing.Mas Steiner was the first to write a completely original score for King Kong (1933). Composers began to develop their own styles of supporting film.

In the 1940s, composers began to evolve in their work, and one of the most important and influential composers was Bernard Hermann (who I have mentioned on a previous post). He was able to create music to enhance the films that they were made for.
Jazz music had become common in the industry from the 1950s. It required less musicians, so orchestration was less expensive. James Myers and Max Freedman wrote the first rock song to appear in a film (1953), as the use of different genres was experimented with. The 1960s and 1970s included perfecting previously learned techniques and uses and also a few highly memorable scores.

The first widespread use of synthesized sound took place in the 1980s, which stemmed a film score revolution which made it a more popular choice. it became possible to score a whole film with only one performer for the very first time, using a synthesizer to product the sounds of various instruments. This caused popular songs to be produced and used as film scores.

Today, with the ongoing development of new technology and knowledge, film composers have the ability to create the perfect film score. This enhances the film and transforms it into an experience for the audience.

Elements of a Film Score

TEMP TRACKS

This is an existing piece of music score, which is used during editing to guide the mood or atmosphere. Composers are often asked to recreate or imitate a specific composer or style in the temp track. Sometimes directors like the temp score more than the original score and choose to reject it.

STRUCTURE

Films often include different themes for character, events, ideas or objects. these can be played in different styles or variations depending on what they represent. For example, John Williams' score for the Star Wars Saga includes different themes that are associated with different characters: Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia.

SOURCE MUSIC
Most films have around 40 to 120 minutes of music. Some have very little, and some have music that plays throughout. Source music is music that only comes from an on screen source that can actually be seen, for example music playing from a TV or a radio.

Film Name - Target Audience Feedback

Whilst brainstorming ideas for our opening sequence and thinking about what we wanted the plot to be. We had to think about what we wanted the name of our film to be. Although we have already produced the first cut of the opening sequence, we weren't certain on the initial name that we chose. We used 'Skitzo' but then decided that we liked 'Schizo' as well. This is because we wanted to portray the idea of the protagonist having schizophrenia so both would work. However, we couldn't decide on which one we wanted to use for our final cut. We decided to write them both on A4 pieces of paper and ask 10 students from a year 13 media class (aged 17-18) to write their name on a post-it note and stick it on their favourite title.

We picked this class because we wanted to ask students who would be able to watch the film in the cinema, as out BBFC rating is a 15. We also asked both boys and girls to get a varied opinion.

As you can see, 6/10 students liked 'Schizo' as the title, therefore we will be changing our film title because we personally like 'Schizo' more, and other people do as well.

Equipment for Filming Opening Sequence

The camera we used to film is a Hitachi High Definition Video Camera DZHV595E. It is able to film in high definition, as well as do things such as zoom and time lapse. It's quite small so it wasn't a hassle to carry around and it is good to shoot with because it is easy to travel with. This was good for us because we shot outdoors and didn't find it to be a difficult task. 

Here is the tripod that we used. It is a Hama Star 63 Tripod. It was adjustable so that we could get the shots that we wanted by changing to different heights and different angles. It also has a handle so we were able to pan when needed. 

How Did Our Filming Day Go - Video

In this video, we talk about how our filming day went. We discuss what went well and what could've been improved on our filming day.

First Cut - Main Task BLOOPERS