Question about creating tones and moods.

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harmonica44

A lot of moviemakers will try to create the tone by making the picture look a certain way, and making the sound a certain way. Like the movie Dinner For Schmucks, a comedy, uses more brighter, vividly colorful picture, to display it's good-natured comedic tone. The sound is also bright.

A movie like Green Zone, goes for a very grainy documentary style look, and the sound itself is more darker, and flat. I asked about ten people what they knew about movie tones, and that said when they watch a movie, they don't really notice that stuff or were aware that they were even aiming for a tone, especially the sound. So most moviegoers probably wouldn't be able to tell the picture and sound is missing a tone.

I am wanting to shoot my first a low budget action suspense thriller, but since it's on a microbudget, how much does picture and sound tone really matter? If I recorded it as is, and just wanting to make it clear as can be, without aiming for tone, is that okay? Or will that come off as bad quality to the critics at the film festivals? Thanks.
 
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For a 80's film with a much different palette and soundscape, watch Altman's "MASH". You'll definitely be able to tell the use of sound is much different than all the others form that period, and the use of light and color is much moodier as well.

Much of the look and sound of films back then was driven by the studio, not the director - so naturally they all looked the same as they were appeasing single individuals at the top of the food chain who were trying to make a brand out of the studio with consistent looks and sounds.

Soundscape to me is the whole of the auditory experience... with your eyes closed, this is the world of the film. If a trumpet sounds and a dog barks, they should feel like they belong at that precise moment in the scene. When I was mixing bands, it was the stereo soundscape, where each of the drums was placed L <> R. Setting the toms spaced evenly along the LR scale, a fill moves at a constant pace, but nudging the higher ones closer together and moving the lower ones subsequently farther apart made it feel as if the fill were gaining momentum. Manipulation of the stereo image is just like picking what sounds go where and when in a film.

If a Trumpet and woman's voice happen at the same time, they will interfere with one another due to the frequencies being similar... but offset them so they never hit at the same time, a rhythm is created within the two and the voice becomes another instrument. Footsteps are percussion, cars, dogs and birds are the horns section, the dialog becomes the melody and harmony... Sound is EVERYTHING... and I'm a Cinematographer.
 
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harmonica44 said:
Hmm okay. Well I don't really know where to go with these subtle mood creations. I always judged a scene by what was happening in it, not by what color the furniture was or anything. Well since I am shooting microbudget thriller, I could go for a documentary style look and feel. I mentioned Green Zone which I love the look and feel of, and the moods it created. Any ideas how to make a thriller with those tones? Green Zone used a grainy look in some of it's shots, but I don't get why the filmmakers wanted it to look grainy in say, the grenade throwing scene, but not the running from the explosion scene right after.
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It still was heavy on the production design. Figure out what colors you want to use, put them in there, then in post you can really make them pop.

No one expects a director/producer to do eveything. You need to know what you want, but find a production designer to pull it off. Sit and have conversations in pre-production with them. On my last short, we couldn't afford to block off city streets and change the color of every storefront. We could do as much as possible though and picked locations that matched our look already. I talked to our Pro-designer about it, she worked out costumes with the actors and sent pictures for approval, then we did things like bring extra bedsheets for tablecloths in the cafe because the exostin ones were too red and didn't match.

Same goes for sound design. Find someone, work with them to meet your goal.
 
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ROC said:
knightly, you have learned well. I am proud of you. :)
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I've been spouting these techniques since the 80's :)... more toward 'scaping music, but it's the same concept.

Every aspect of the film needs to be considered at this same level... every possible shorthand cue to get the point across, from the obvious shot and framing choices, to the dialog (even down to which words from which take -- editing is your friend as you resculpt conversations), to the set dressing, sound + music, actors, costumes, makeup... we're trying to catch lightning in a bottle and then keep it there for the duration of the reality we're presenting... every choice we make counts - and using the audience's subconscious as a part of that storytelling process is important.
 
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rayw said:
Since this'll be your first feature just concentrate on color correcting/grading scene to scene.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_correction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_grading

Story is king.
No one ever walked out of a theater muttering something about if THE BOOK OF ELI had been less desaturated that it would have been a better story.
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No, but it (the look of that film) did influience their perception of it.
Don't get me wrong, story is important, but a really good story CAN be communicated really poorly.
 
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If you can get ahold of the Requiem for a Dream Director's Cut, there is some great commentary from the cinematographer...he talks about what lenses, filters, techniques, etc he used to create various moods in that film. Interesting since the film changes from a fun feel early on to a depressive one later.
 
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