Tuesday, September 04, 2007

499 Assignment 1

499 Students:
Assignment 1


All students should have received an e-mail from me.
If you have not, please contact me .

Please post a proposal for your final project here NO LATER THAN 8PM WEDNESDAY NIGHT, including a brief description of your proposed sound design.

Remember that the scene should be 3-4 minutes long and include DIA, MX, FX, BG, and Foley. If you choose an already existing scene, you should not attempt to reproduce the sound design of the scene exactly as in the film. The point of the assignment is to be creative and create an entirely new sound design. Consider it a blank slate.

If you are in doubt about your choice, you should list more than one possibility and I will try to guide you towards a good choice. If you choose something obscure or if you choose one of your own films, you must bring in a copy of the scene to the next class so that I can look at it before I approve it.

Click on “Post a Comment” immediately below to post your assignment. If you do not see it, try clicking here.

33 comments:

Tickelbur said...

This is Kyle McCarley from the Thursday class. I have decided that my scene for this project will be the train heist scene from episode 2 (or 3, depending on how you look at it. episode 1 was double in length) of "Firefly" entitled "The Train Job." It is between 3 and 4 minutes in length.

If this is an inappropriate selection due to it being from a TV show instead of a movie, I'll do the escape scene near the beginning of the movie "Serenity" in which the heroes have just robbed the bank, the reavers have landed, and they have to escape before the reavers catch them. I have not timed that scene, but I will find a cut of appropriate length if I need to do that one instead.

Bondelev said...

Of course I have no problem with it being TV. That's probably a good choice because Firefly used minimal sound design, so you can do it completely differently. However, since I haven't seen that scene, please bring the DVD into class and I'll look at it before approving it.

Also please take a few more words to describe what you are going to do to the scene.

Anonymous said...

Hey guys - so these are the ideas I've come up with for the sound project.

Idea 1 - The "Play Nice" scene from Toy Story where Woody and some of the mutant toys have to save Buzz from Sid, with a sound design similar to Noir films, along with being in black and white.

Idea 2 - A looney tunes clip with Gossamer and Bugs, like Hair Raising Hare, the scene where Bug is combing Gossamer's hair, possibly also in Noir style and b/w.

Idea 3 - Two possibilities from Mary Poppins - 1. The scene where they are having tea on the ceiling or 2. The scene where Jane and Michael are running from the bank.

I'm pretty sure I want to work with the first one, but I'm open to suggestions so let me know what you think.

Bondelev said...

I have no problem with any of these scenes. The only thing I ask is that you write a little detail about your new sound design for whichever one you choose. For instance, what do you mean by "film noir" sound design? To me that means voiceover and music, which is not what I really want from this assignment. They should be a part of your scene, but you should feature FX, Foley and BG as well.

Let me know which one you choose.

4acesRgood said...

My name is kha Huynh from the Thursday class. For my project, i've decided to choose the beginning scene of the anime "ghost in the shell". I have very few ideas of what to do with the scene such as editing the background music, but hopefully as the class progresses i will pick up more ideas.

Bondelev said...

Kha -

Good scene choice. My only comment is to remind you that you cannot use any material from the original source, so you have to completely replace the music with music from another source (you cannot use different cues from the same movie). You may use anything you wish. Since this is a class exercise, you do not have to worry about copyright infringement. What we do is legal under the Fair Use doctrine, and your exercise will never be shown anywhere but in class.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

it's TJR from 499. I'm still little unsure of which scene I want to work with, but here are some ideas:

1. The scene at the end of Copland where Stallone's character cannot hear for a while. The idea would be to make what he cannot hear, more audible.

2. Few alternatives from Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me. 1. The murder scene, 2. David Bowie's scene, 3. "Don't take the ring" dream scene. I was thinking about trying to make them more more "realistic."

3. The scene from "Ghostbusters" where the gang meets the first ghost - if I can figure out which way I want to take it.

anonymity allows me to say whatever the fuck i want =) said...

for the project, i would like to re-do the sound design to the first few minutes of "The Chungking Express", setting up a different tone more realistic and less frenetic than the one the movie uses.

Max said...

My Name is Max Berger, and I have been fretting a little over which clip to pick but these are the top 3 that I have come up with.

1. Bullet in the Head (John Woo), I was thinking of picking the scene in the club maybe 1 minute before the action starts, and instead of the lead actress singing a soapy Chinese song I could change the song and work on changing the mood from there. I know some bands on campus that I could perhaps record and use their work for the song. I am not sure if I want to dub it in English or re-record in Chinese, I think the Chinese would be better but I am worried about finding a Chinese speaking voice actor. I would still use library sounds for the gun shots, but I still think there is a lot of room to change the original soundtrack in the film.

2. A Women Is Women (Godard), for this I would pick the scene where the lead actress enters the strip club that she works at. I think the images have a lot of room to play around with what I sync up. Also I am unsure wh

3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Spielberg), I Love the escape scene on the bikes, with the whole teenage gang as well as Elliot with E.T. I was thinking that with out John Williams music the entire scene could be turned upside down, and I could emphasize the bike sounds a lot more, as well as just putting a different spin on the scene.

Bondelev said...

TJR -

Copland is a great choice a great scene in an otherwise forgettable movie.

FWWM could be interesting too, but making them more realistic will probably make them less interesting.

I think Ghostbusters is the weakest of your choices.

Bondelev said...

Zakaman -

Good choice. The movie tends to lean very heavily on the music, so it would be nice to see what surreal design can do.

Bondelev said...

Max -

Woo is good, although I haven't seen that film, it sounds like a good choice. Don't spend too much time redoing the music; that could easily eat up all your time.

Godard is a good choice to because he by choice always limited his design to extremely minimal. You can do a lot to alter his films.

ET is probably the least interesting choice. It's hard to imagine that sequence carrying without the music.

Anonymous said...

Sorry this is half an hour late. I just noticed the 8:00 deadline. I hope that doesn't create any problems.

I've thought of a few scenes, although right now I'm thinking of doing the sound design for the riot scene at the end of "Do the Right Thing."

My other ideas are the swordfight between Robin Hood and Sir Guy at the end of the 1930s "Adventures of Robin Hood," the train scene in "Lawrence of Arabia," or something from "Planet of the Apes" (although I need to figure out which scene).

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Bob Lydecker

Bondelev said...

Both Right Thing and Robin Hood would be busy and difficult scenes. If you feel up to the challenge, great. Robin Hood certainly leaves room for improvement, but its a tough scene. Lawrence is more difficult than you thin, there's a lot of dialogue & Foley.

For Planets, it would be the original, or the lame remake?

Bondelev said...

Last Semester I did a student film documentary called "Future Water" in which I was the director. I worked in laison with our sound guy when we brought it back into the studio to get sound laid down. There was so much I did not understand, but was interested to bring the direction of the photography and sound design together. The reel is about 5 mins. long, so I wanted to attempt to re-design everything but the opening and credits; I want to learn to do the DIA, MX, FX, BG and Foley and integrate into the sound design. I do not yet know how to describe the sound design and I am looking forward to learning a lot in this class and will refine the project proposal as I better understand what the sound design is.

Dennice


That sounds fine; I'll need to see the scene before final approval.

Anonymous said...

Hey David,
Hope your weekend went well. I have not recieved an email from you and just noticed the deadline. My email address is mumm@usc.edu. Anyhow the scene I would like to do is from Road to Perdition. (Yeah you probably think its the only movie I have watched) It's just that the scene in which Tom Hanks kills Paul Newman has always bothered. It is so beutifully shot and has so much potential, but I feel like the sound design kills the scene. Possible suspense is traded in for melodrama as the score overwhelms the entire scene. Most of the scene has no other sound design then the score and very low backgrounds. Even though I could be more creative with other clips. I feel like it is a tragedy how the scene plays out and would love the oppurtunity to fix. I would like to make it much more like the final scene in the film. Very realistic and very intense. No warm blanket for viewers. Instead Ill give them sizzling bullets and splattered rain drops.

Anonymous said...

by the way I might not be able to make it to class tommorow. I have work and am having trouble getting my shift covered. I should be able to take care of it, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Bondelev said...

Andrew -

Check your spam filter, I've been including you on the list.

PERDITION is a good choice, it certainly lends itself to an alternate design.

Anonymous said...

Hey this Abedes, sorry i'm aware that this is late.
I was wondering if i could do the last race scene from the movie of "Cars".

Anonymous said...

for planets i was thinking of the original.

what would be the challenges with robin hood or do the right thing? that way i can get a better idea if i'm up to the challenge + what to think about when choosing another scene.

- bob

Bondelev said...

Abedes -

As discussed in class, your scene may be too complex; perhaps an easier scene in the same movie?

Bondelev said...

Bob -

The sheer amount of Foley and cut effects in a riot or fight scene is overwhelming, not to mention group ADR. The group swordplay alone in Robin Hood is a huge amount of work, and you won't find much in the libraries.

Original POTA is good if you find the right scene with a nice balance of FX and dialogue.

Unknown said...

This is Juliana!

I'm thinking of doing one of the scenes of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or one of "Mulholland Dr." I'm not sure which one yet and I'm hoping that you could help me pick a scene!

Thank You!

Bondelev said...

Personally I think Mulholand Drive would be more interesting, and just about any scene will do because he uses subjective sound throughout. Maybe the class has some suggestions?

Tickelbur said...

In response to

"Also please take a few more words to describe what you are going to do to the scene."

I want to take this scene and redesign the sound. My key focuses are going to be the sounds of the train and the sounds of the spaceship, Serenity. I want to come up with something new, fresh, and original for the sounds of a spaceship, at least while it's in atmosphere (which it is in this scene). I also want to toy with the idea of a non-traditional sound for the train. This scene takes place hundreds or thousands of years in the future on a completely different planet, so I want to try to come up with train sounds that don't sound exactly the same as a train on Earth in the 21st century, without losing the feeling that it is a train. I'm also going to tinker with strange backgrounds for the exterior shots that take place after the train stops moving. Prior to that, I think the sound would be too cluttered to worry about exterior ambiance. There's also plenty of foley and hard effects to recreate, including gunshots, and of course, some dialog. Hopefully, this is detailed enough for you. I'll bring a copy of the DVD to class next week.

Thanks,
Kyle McCarley

Bondelev said...

Kyle -

Sounds good!

Anonymous said...

It's TJR. I agree with you about FWWM, so I'll do the Cop Land scene.

Unknown said...

This is Juliana! I'm doing a Mulholland Dr. scene!

Bondelev said...

Juliana -

Which scene?

Unknown said...

This is Juliana!

I'm doing the opera scene where Naomi Watts opens the box with the blue key!

Anonymous said...

This Abedes again, uhm like, stuck, cause i cant decide between doing 'Shrek' , when Donkey and Shrek save princess Fiona from the tower where the dragons at are.

Or Doing Shrek 2 when Shrek and the other characters go the castle with big ginger man, and save the Princess

Or Star Wars the Phantom Menace, when the Jedi's were fighting Darth Maul, and Anakin is in space

I need some advice on which one to get?

Bondelev said...

Abedes -

Well, once again you have picked tough scenes. I'm pretty sure the castle rescue scene has too much dialogue in it. The SHREK 2 scene is better. I think PHANTOM MENACE scene is too hard.

Anonymous said...

So I'm try to get the Shrek 2 movie from Leavey to bring to class, i hope they lend it to me, not sure!