Post from 1/26/10: Sound and Editing Workshop

The first step in making a movie is writing a script. The script can be written from scratch or adapted from an earlier work. Scripts have a meticulous format but there are certain programs out there—Celtx, for instance—which make the formatting process easy so the screenwriter can focus on plot, theme, and motif without giving too much thought to technical stuff. After the screenplay is written, it is picked up by a producer who tweaks the film to his liking. The producer then either finds people to financially support the film or supports the film himself. Other duties of the producer are finding locations and securing them with contracts, hiring actors, actresses, crew and directors, setting up a film schedule. Next up comes filming, an arduous, meticulous process that may take as few as a few days to as long as a year to finish. After filming is post. Post comprises editing and sound editing. In post, the movie comes together. The editing process breathes life into an otherwise messy, formless blob of footage to create something with style and finesse. Though it may seem that the only important part of a movie is what one sees, an equally important aspect lies in sound.

There is an entire career to be found in sound production. Sound effects are meticulously constructed from various components to match the visuals on screen. In class, we watched a documentary on Peter Jackson’s production of Lord of the Rings on sound and visual editing. To create the sounds of the elephants, they mixed the roar of a lion with machinery in order to give it a positively terrifying sound. Their footsteps were the sound of a ton of concrete falling from two stories high. Though the purpose of this editing is to ensure that not a second thought is given to the validity of the movie, it is quite the contrary; thought was given to every single sound, song, or background music in a movie in order to influence emotion and perception.