Shot by Shot Scene Recreation of 10 Things I Hate About You

Our task was to recreate, in small groups, a scene from a film, shot for shot matching the original. We chose quite a short scene with a variety of angles and cuts, the scene is mostly comprised of short takes, with one long take at the beginning of the scene as the pair descend the stairs. Some issues we encountered were continuity based, for example one of actors was wearing a large black hat in the longer takes, before removing it in his later scene, causing an obvious issue relating to continuity.

Another issue we struggled with was our small cast, only four actors were available to us in the lessons we filmed in, restricting our characters, this meant we had to use two actors reacting to the concept of dating Katrina Stratford, limiting the variety of our shots.

Some of our dialogue is difficult to pick up on in the first take, for example one of the actors said "Pada", instead of Padua, which while only a small mistake is significant in the film due to the Shakespearian origins of the film. 

We used Final Cut Pro to edit our scene, with straight cuts and short takes, this part of the project was relatively simple, a majority of our editing focused on sound, we used the the original soundtrack to match the music from the original scene, creating an effective link between our recreation and the original scene. This also helps mask some of the audio issues created through our lack of microphone, as one wasn't available to us while filming. Due to our lack of microphone we had find a scream online, rather than producing on ourselves, while it isn't completely in sync with the actors mouth, this scream is more similar to the original scene's.

Foley Sound

What is Foley Sound?

Foley sound is the use of audio for a scene created off camera separately from the rest of the footage, this is later layered over the rest of the footage in the editing process, making the audio seem natural while sounding clearer and often more authentic then when recorded normally. This often matches or enhances the quality or impact of an action, for example the sound of tires recorded as foley sound (created through dragging a hot water bottle, partially filled across a flat surface) is often more dramatic, building tension amongst audiences and making car chases or conflict more effective. 

Below is an example of two foley sound creators, making the sound effects side by side with the original footage, demonstrating the extent of sound effects created in post production. 

Another resource we used during our research of foley sound is a video of an incredibly successful foley sound creator demonstrating the techniques she used in her work.  

Our Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we recorded foley sounds as a group creating sound effects for the screeching of tires, fire, glass breaking, rain, keys, footsteps and a flip knife opening. 

• Screeching of Tires- as mentioned above, we filled a rubber hot water bottle partially with water before scrunching the rubber up and scraping it across a flat surface, we used a varnished, wooden table in a empty class room to achieve this. However due to the complications of film a car in such a dangerous position, I ultimately did not use this in the preliminary task. 

• Fire- We created the sound effect of fire by snapping small twigs and sticks in half, this worked quite effectively, replicating a traditional camp fire.

• Glass Breaking- When creating this sound, we used old glass bottles and cups, throwing them into a secure bag, against gravel creating the ideal sound effect while limiting the broken glass to the bag, preventing mess and the health risks of shattered glass, especially when done in school. 

• Rain- To create the effect of rain, we used a hose against a variety of surfaces, like concrete, wood, plastic, metal and glass to replicate the sound of rain across different types of buildings or floors. 

• Keys- We used real keys in a variety of locks around the school, recording the sound of the keys unlocking a door and jingling in a person's pocket, giving us more potential of use in our task.

• Footsteps- We originally recorded footsteps of a boy and a girl walking across gravel separately, giving us a contrast in sound due to the differences of speed and posture. We also recorded the sound of metal high heels walking across gravel and smooth floors, giving us more options to include this in our narrative.

• Flip Knife- We used a set of car keys to replicate the click of a flip knife opening, giving us potential for any conflict or violent scenes. I ultimately used this sound effect as a car key, due to lack of access to flip knives or context in my narrative to include one. 

We were then asked to individually create examples of our foley sounds, I chose to create a narrative for this, creating a scene where a majority of these foley sounds were included. 

                                         

I used both a human and a dog in my narrative to create variety in the sound effects, of the footsteps against gravel in particular, this also helped created the narrative of a woman returning home from work and walking her dog.