Rode NTG-2 mic, KRK Rokit 6’s, Duet 2 Interface, Pro Tools Keyboard and mug.
Following testing the new recruitment to the arsenal of audio equipment being the Rode NTG-2 condenser shotgun microphone, Danielle and I opted to replace foley tracked so far and to track the entire forty minute film. Before doing so, it was essential to do a little pre-planning to ensure a smooth ride during post and finally the mixing stage.
The fact that the film takes place in a small number of locations; certain sounds are reoccurring throughout the entire film. Therefore, sounds such as leather squeaks, floor creaks, clothing rustles and skin on skin contact were applied to dedicated tracks within the DAW. This would allow for near enough universal EQ and compression settings and would save massive amounts of time later on.
Certain creative decisions were pre-thought out before hitting the record button such as the following:
Clothing Rustling (Good vs Evil)
In order to accentuate the timidity and vulnerability of the lead girl, we decided on soft and smooth fabrics (silk pillow cases and pyjamas etc). For the evil mother, we opted for coarse materials of which were performed with a slightly elevated and aggressive style. These were layered with the shaking of keys to signify heavy jewellery suggesting an essence of capitalist greed and vanity. This method subliminally informs the viewer of the personalities of the characters on screen. The male psychiatrist was decided on heavy clothing to juxtapose the female characters and layered with extra leather squeaks and metallic jangles to provide an element of weight.
Footsteps
To separate the evil mother from her timid daughter, we applied heavier clonks to the mother using heals (performed by Danielle!). The daughter Susie’s steps were applied using flat shoes performed by hand to give her a lighter touch. Surfaces used throughout the film were either wood, marble or carpet of which were all assigned to dedicated tracks for the same reasons mentioned above.
Wheelchair
One scene required of us to recreate a wheelchair in a disturbing corridor scene. Therefore following a brief discussion, we decided that the two elements required were the squeaking of the wheels and bicycle-style spokes. The following videos document how we did this by recording a squeaky blind in my bedroom and for the spokes, dragging a headphone adapter over a DVD box-set.
Clock Ticking
As a serendipity moment, whilst recording resonances made by kitchen knives for the murder scene, we recognised the shaking of the knives container sounding like a creepy ticking of a clock (of which time plays an integral role within the film). Therefore we recorded a minute of it to give each tick a slightly varying and unique tone.
Additional Sounds
Finally as a further example of sounds used for the film, we recorded some creaky floorboards, an assortment of door handles and slams, whooshing sounds, and for a water-themed scene, the dripping of taps and an open cistern. See below.
We successfully tracked all foley in a couple of days taking care of microphone placement and avoiding background noise.
