Hana-BI Sound Design

As the Foley effects in the clip were fairly straightforward I wanted to bring the piece alive by creating a convincing sound-space, paying close attention to the directionality of both the character and the objects he interacts with. Using markers I first identified the key actions and significant sources of sound, in particular each of the characters footsteps were marked to provide and accurate synchronisation.

From here i began to consider the characters positioning on screen and began adjusting the volume  depending on how close to the camera he was, and the panning according to his occupation of the left or right of the screen. I also took the characters presence into consideration, so that the sounds of the objects he uses do not appear to be wielded by a ghost, this can be seen when he is screwing the police lights and his breathing becomes more focused. As I mentioned before, I had experimented with microphone positioning with footsteps, but instead opted to decrease the volume as he gets further away in the opening shot.

I used the sae approach when I then added the other foley effects, especially regarding the movements of the spray-can and tape peeling. The tape peeling in particular was difficult to synchronise precisely as the length of each tear differed greatly, however I had recorded a wide enough range of sounds to accomodate for this. Multiple key-frames were used to alter the position of the sound source.

The only stock effects used were the sounds of the car. I had considered recording these myself but experience from a past project involving a car taught me the difficulty of obtaining a clean recording in an outdoor environment. I once again paid close attention to how the panning and volume matched up with the on screen action, and also included a tire screech which i feel is a little over the top and exaggerated, but also adds an element of determination and urgency as he drives off. As the shot of the car reversing starts of dark it was difficult to tell initially what was happening, so I introduced it with an ignition sound.
I used minor sound bridges to link up the almost montage-like transitions as he converts the car, as in the original film these actions are intercut and built up with scenes of other characters. The characters and atmosphere are also driven by the emotive score of renowned composer Joe Hisaishi in the original.

I opted not to include a score and focus purely on the sounds however I feel the piece lacks a narrative device without this and would include music if I were to revisit it.

Hana-Bi Foley Recordings

The Hana-Bi clip mostly features sounds that could easily be recreated using the same house-hold objects seen on screen, and before turning to stock effects I at least wanted to try and replicate them all with foley recordings. I first considered the recording environment, in this case a garage, and decided the closest surrogate i had to the workshop environment was my basement, which was isolated from external noise interference. The acoustics in the basement were not an ideal match, as the garage in the film is relatively open whilst the low ceiling in the basement meant for a very confined sound, however in The Sound Effects Bible Ric Viers notes that a foley room should be 'acoustically dead' so that the room does not artificially colour or amplify the sound.

I first recorded a wild track using the Rode NT-4 condensor microphone in stereo so that the sounds would blend more seamlessly into the picture. To record the individual foley sounds I utilised the supercardioid pattern of the Sennheiser MKH-416, as it rejects the majority of unwanted sounds from its sides and rear, and used a close mic technique.

I did multiple takes of each object, variating the performance and microphone proximity with each one to give me a more diverse range to choose from when matching it to the on screen action. The sheeting was replicated with a plastic bag and I scrunched and tore paper and tape trying to mimic the pattern as the character peels it from the taxi. In an attempt at sonic authenticity I tried to recreate the props that the coat and hat are placed upon, stacking some boxes.

Screen Shot 

Recreation

The dirty basement floor was also useful for recording footsteps on a 'gravelly' surface, I experimented both by holding the microphone towards my feet as I walked, recording in mono, and leaving the mic in a fixed position in stereo and walking towards and away from it. In the end the Mono recording yielded better results and I altered the proximity later in Soundtrack Pro.