Production - Soundtrack Development

Hello readers,

 As part of the production/editing process, it was essential for our team to create a soundtrack. In our previous montage of test shots, we used a soundtrack from 'The Killing' and another from 'Resident Evil'; this allowed us to gain an idea of what sound accompanied our footage well. Previous research into films also gave inspiration through creation. We also used inspiration from woodland sounds to create ambient sounds to sit beside the electronic sounds.

 The software we used to create our music piece was 'Soundtrack Pro'; this program provided a space to create our soundtrack, whilst also allowing inclusion of sound effects and voice overs.
 To begin the process of creating our accompanying music, we collected  branches, leaves and tissue paper to echo the atmosphere of a forest within the soundtrack as this is the location shown in our opening sequence footage. Using a microphone to record sound, we snapped the branches and crushed the leaves and tissue paper to illustrate the effect of the running of feet on the woodland floor (shown in the footage but without original sound). Once recorded, we then imported these sounds into 'Soundtrack Pro'. The ambient sounds we had created as 'Foley artists' were combined with the music we had produced using the software.

 When creating the music for our soundtrack on the program, we knew we needed to create a quick pace to not only be suited to our footage but to excite our audience when watching the escape scene through the feel of tension. We used diagetic sounds to last through the running scenes; in these sounds, the inclusion of fast electronic beats is frequent. The use of electric sounds also creates a contemporary feel to the opening credits.

The following images show the making progression our soundtrack:

 The above images show the first draft of our soundtrack and the careful consideration of our team in relation to timings; not only have we used 'Fade in' and 'Fade out' to highlight pauses and transitions in our footage, but due to various scenes in our opening sequence (eg. the main escape, the capture and the returning of the prisoner) we have had to place the sounds in appropriate places to match the events.