Convictions

Convictions - The Musical...

Alright - it's not a musical, but the sequel might be...

Convictions

Produced by Helen Morrison

Directed by Brett Davis

They can be contacted HERE

Here’s how we did the sound!

DUAL SYSTEM.

The whole film was shot on Mini-DV video. (specifically a Sony PD170) A lot of the shoot involved either handheld camera work or a home-made steadicam, so I felt it important that we were able to utilize a separate recording device for audio, and only plug into the camera whenever practical.

ENTER THE AUDIO KIT.

RECORDER	NOMAD JUKEBOX 3 (20 Gb version) - the whole film took up 11Gb. I was able to keep a copy of each day's recordings, for playback, on-set
MIXER	Either a Sound Devices Mix-pre, or (on the last day), my new Sound devices 302 field Mixer.
MICROPHONES	Neumann KM81 Short Shotgun (set up for outdoors with HEAPS of wind), or an Oktava MK012 Hyper Cardioid
MIC SUPPORT	My new PANAMIC super-maxi Pole (5.5m) or a Gitzo small aluminium pole, and a K+M mic stand for the voiceovers

This small Hard disk recorder allowed us a lot of freedom in recording Wild lines, Fx, Voice overs, and Ambiences. Of course every setup required a Clapper-board, but the benefits (freedom of movement, quick set-ups, etc) outweighed the negatives of manual synching in post.

Each and every take, I'd start recording a new file on the NOMAD, which would automatically name it based on the time of day, and date.

File names looked like this - LINE 2004-09-24 06_23_19.wav

the example was created at 6:23am (and 19 seconds) on the 24th September 2004 through the LINE input on the NOMAD

At the end of the day, I'd transfer the files to my computer, open them in an audio program (the open-source "audacity") and chop off the pre-roll to make the editor's life a little easier. I'd then hand-in a CD-R with the audio, on the next day's shoot

Being an Ultra-low budget production, and due to the accelerated nature of my involvement with the shoot, I was unable to attend any pre-production locations scouts.

Unfortunately the main location, a dis-used historical fort, was smack bang in the middle of an industrial area. We're not just talking factories, we're talking OIL REFINERIES, AIRPORTS, CONSTRUCTION, the whole lot.

Although not as bad as other shoots I've been involved with, it certainly wasn't great. The film was set in Brisbane in the 1870's - well before any industry was around in this part of Australia.

To make matters worse, a lot of the film occurs in a Solid Concrete Chamber. This large reverberating room was not fun to record in. So the shotgun mic was packed away, the scenes' coverage was increased and Wild-lines were taken.

All the hard work has paid off, and hopefully there shouldn't be too much post production recording or ADR.

Most of the credit for this should however, be taken by the Films writer/director, who was extremely smart with his script, and very open to suggestions for improving the sound.

Once we'd wrapped, the armorer informed us that he had a few 'rounds left, so we headed off for some fun.

A nice way to let off steam - here's a shot of ME aiming at the airport - don't worry, it's only a blank!

I can say that without a doubt, this was one of the most rewarding and fun experiences I've had on a film set. The crew, while not as experienced or large as others I've worked with, was an absolute Joy to work with; and the work, while difficult at times, felt very satisfying. Here's hoping that the film manages to succeed as much as the shoot did.

Ian Thomson, October 2004

Note: Thanks to Mandy Watson (makeup artist) for the "on-set" photos of me, and Scott Kimber (cam op/assist) for the shot of me shooting...

All other photos were taken by the author, whilst working on the set of "convictions" - they are for personal use only and as such should not be re-produced in any form.