Bowling for Columbine directed by Michael Moore, 2002

http://morvelisacriticalapproaches.blogspot.co.uk

In many instances, the rate of gun crime in the United States of America is questioned. Not questioned why it happens or why, but more why it is legal to buy and sell firearms. 50 to 100 lives are lost each year due to firearms, which leads us all to wonder why America will not put their History behind them and be realistic. In this documentary, Michael Moore takes an interesting angle on the American people – ranging from people with actual experience with firearms and their opinion why they should have the freedom to keep them, why they shouldn't be allowed, and heart achingly, we are shown many stories of shootings, predominately at schools, where many children and teenagers have lost their life. As the title is Columbine, the name of one of the school shootings, we take a glimpse into Michael Moore’s wave length. In this documentary, he has not stated whether he agrees or disagrees, as he merely spectates, experiences and listens to each and every story he investigates. But the overwhelming sense of anger within him throughout the documentary shows us otherwise. What interests me about this documentary is Michael Moore’s witty approach to this subject. Throughout Bowling for Columbine, we see so many contrasting scenarios, for instance, in the middle of the documentary we are shown clips of all the terrible things which happen in the world… such as shootings, dead bodies from war, children wondering the streets without their parents, whilst What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong is playing. This is to make us think; our world isn't so wonderful. Everyone is killing each other, unnecessary deaths occur every single day… but we do nothing to prevent it, it seems like the pride of America is more important than their safety, which I think is something Michael Moore wants us to question within ourselves, as he presents himself as an every-day man. One of us. Is owning a firearm protecting American families? Or just creating more possible harm for another anti-gun family?

In conclusion to this, I have decided the audience type for this documentary is niche. This conclusion is based upon the matter of the documentary, which is overall a taboo subject. Saying this, the documentary was released in a number of countries which could have a different effect in each. My saying 'niche' is based upon the fact that I don't think many people would be entirely comfortable watching a documentary about gun crime - especially with the scenes within this documentary being of a graphic nature. I do however have an idea on what the audience would be based on research on the web and reviews from the audience, which are generally within the ages of 25 to 50, predominately male. To target this audience, Michael Moore has used binary oppositions, such as humor vs. sadness to create a contrast between the real world and the idea of the world we are presented in the media. The element of humor would attract this audience as rather than the documentary being serious and overwhelmingly sad, in such a way he has used cartoons to lessen the emotional impact on the audience. I also say that the more mature audience would be suited as parents, predominately American, who may have experienced gun crime involving their children and/or are worried that it would happen so they   have more information about gun crime rate involving children in America. I also think that people interested in documentaries which live in a different continent would find this documentary appealing as they may want to know about American history,  the government and the current gun crime rate, as this documentary tells you a lot about infamous shootings such as the title name 'Columbine'. 


Where was the documentary released? 

Country (click to view weekend breakdown) Release Date Opening Wknd % of Total Total Gross / As Of FOREIGN TOTAL 10/9/02 n/a - $36,432,405 N/A Argentina 3/28/03 $60,987 23% $264,825 6/18/03 Australia 12/26/02 $255,036 9.9% $2,565,433 4/16/03 Austria 12/6/02 $44,490 4.9% $911,044 5/22/03 Chile 6/26/03 $19,264 14.3% $134,865 10/8/03 Czech Republic 3/6/03 $3,650 34.7% $10,509 3/16/03 Finland 2/7/03 $19,398 11.3% $172,263 8/14/03 France 10/9/02 $704,694 14.3% $4,911,174 1/28/03 Germany 11/21/02 $280,932 4.4% $6,412,679 8/6/03 Greece 11/15/02 $21,600 36.8% $58,750 11/24/02 Hungary 6/26/03 $14,832 48.1% $30,822 7/9/03 Italy 10/18/02 $48,382 11% $439,096 4/3/03 Mexico 7/18/03 $58,952 17.4% $337,842 9/4/03 Netherlands 12/5/02 $41,179 5.9% $703,425 6/4/03 New Zealand 12/26/02 $27,276 8% $341,349 4/30/03 Norway N/A - - $696,264 6/8/03 South Africa (Entire Region) 6/6/03 $29,218 100% $29,218 6/12/03 Spain N/A - - $2,326,163 8/7/03 United Kingdom 11/15/02 $249,416 12.8% $1,954,067 1/12/03

Was it more successful in particular geographical areas?

Ideal sound location and equipment needed:

Location – Recording Studio

·      Microphone – Condensor

·      Computer (good quality as audio software is extremely demanding to a computer, so best one that you can afford is best)

·      Digital Audio Workstation – software for you to record, edit and mix the audio on your computer

·      Audio interface – To get audio in and out of the computer (They include elements such as; mic pre-amps, DI boxes, digital converter, headphone outputs, monitor manager)

·      Headphones – used for two purposes; tracking and mixing. The person recording needs to hear two things simultaneously; backing tracks previously recorded and live track currently being recorded. Mixing done in a quiet and acoustically treated control room.

Types of headphones:

1.    Closed back headphones – providing maximum sound insolation. Durable, comfortable & affordable. Sound quality is lower because of the level of insolation.

2.    Open back headphones – open backs provide best sound quality, but reduce insolation. Not good for tracking, but mixing and general usage, nothing is better. Higher price, lower durability & premium comfort.

3.    Semi-Open Headphones – comprise of a good mixture of closed and open back headphones as they are a good level of sound quality and insolation. Tracking and mixing are their general uses.

4.    In-ear headphones – many outperform closed and open back headphones as they have both better sound insolation AND sound quality. Uncomfortable in many cases (when using a lot), not for sharing – would be unethical if musicians in the studio are wanting to hear what you are hearing.

·      Studio monitors – Speakers (Nearfield Monitors) designed with a flat frequency response to reduce the risk of over-bassy recording playback.

·      Cables – One XLR cable for the microphone, two for studio monitors.

·      Acoustic panels – Absorb sound reflections to remove natural reverb. Artificial/digital reverb is added later creating an illusion that the recording was recorded elsewhere.

·      Bass traps –



http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/recording-studio-equipment-list/

Analysis of TV/Film Sound & Audio

Clip one: True Blood S02E05 (Godric turns Eric into a Vampire)

Dialect: Characters are speaking in Spanish – Eric croaky, brave vocal. Godric: strong, quiet and slow paced dialect. The way they speak within this scene is key to understanding how the characters are feeling emotionally and how we the audience are meant to feel. 

Music: String and opera music e.g. cello and woman’s vocals

SFX: Swords being removed from their holders, characters being stabbed, slicing noises, characters reacting to being stabbed & Eric being bitten by Godric.

Impact on audience:  This particular scene’s sound elements are important to creating the atmosphere for the entire scene. The emotions which are provoked for me in this scene by the sounds are shock, as you can hear the characters being stabbed and killed brutally. When it comes to dialect, because the characters aren't speaking in English I have focused on how the characters are speaking. Eric, who in this scene is being pinned down my Godric the vampire, although is scared for his life, is able to string along a sentence quite well, although he is quiet and his voice is croaky. As well as this, his circumstances make his dialect more important as it shows his bravery although his life is in danger. Godric on the other hand sounds stronger than Eric, as he is slightly louder which I think has been done to show who is the more dominant male in this scene while also showing a contrast between the two characters. The music playing throughout the scene creates an atmosphere, which shows us that this scene could be set in a different period than we are in currently (shows that this scene is a flashback) while also creating a sense of fear, as the soundtrack string based (for instance the cello is heard) which along with the operatic woman creates an overwhelming sense that something bad is happening.

Clip two: Game of Thrones S04E02 - Purple Wedding (King Joffrey's Death)

Dialect: The characters throughout this scene are speaking in a manner which suggests they are from another period in time, in this case from another world. The main character in this scene (King Joffrey) is speaking quite Royally showing that he is the main power within in this scene whilst also showing his importance. He speaks in a cruel, spiteful voice to show what kind of contribution he has in respects of characters in this series. The woman he just married (The Queen) then begins to speak in a panicking manner as Joffrey is heard choking - he had been poisoned. We then he gasps from numerous background characters as dramatic music begins to play, almost anticipating his death.

Music: The music fits perfectly with this scene as it becomes more intense as the scene progresses. The music is again string based and the volume decreases when the characters begin to talk again. As the character dies, the music does the same and fades out until it is heard no more. When the credits are shown the music begins to play again.

SFX: The only notifiable use of SFX within this scene is the atmospheric sounds such as the wind blowing and birds chirping. This is evident to be a sound effect as this sort of sound would not be picked up easily through the microphones used in filming.

Impact on the audience: All the sound heard within this scene has been done so to create an emotionally stimulating audible visual for the audience. Along with the actual visuals, the music, SFX and dialect have all contributed to the anticipating scene of the evil King being finally killed. So, naturally the music mirrors this, as it starts off quiet and quite unnoticeable, then becomes overwhelming when the King's death is nearer. Another thing I have noticed which would affect the audience is that the dialect throughout this scene is quite unimportant and slow paced, which detracts our attention for a moment, which I think has been done so the shock is more valuable. 

Clip three: The Vampire Diaries S03E19 (Elena Kisses Damon - MOTEL SCENE)

Dialect: Other than heavy sighs, there is no speech throughout this scene until the end where Elena says 'Don't, which I think makes the music playing throughout all the more powerful

Music: As the scene is romantic, the music playing resembles that; strings and piano mainly heard throughout the music, the when the scene comes to its climax, the singers voice is heard

SFX: There are no noticeable elements of SFX within this scene

Impact on the audience: Although there is not much variation of sound in this scene, I feel that the use of only one piece of dialect and then music throughout the entire scene creates a stronger emotion than it would if the scene included every sort of elements of sound. I say this because the simpler the scene and less to focus on audibly, the more the audience can feel their emotions and think about how they feel about this particular scene. The emotions provoked within the audience through the sounds heard in this scene are such as happiness as we feel happy for the characters as the music suggests that something good is going to happen.

Sound and Audio

Frequency & measurement of sound - 

DYNAMIC MIC

Frequency travels by vibrations creating a pitch, depending on how fast or slow the vibrations are, they travel through the air. Frequency can be man made or digitally created through computers. Each vibration is measured in hertz. The more vibrations per second, the higher the frequency, i.e, tightly stretched elastic bands being pinged would create a high pitch, same for if the object was held loosely or was thicker than the elastic band, it would create a low frequency because the vibrations are slower. The standard export frequency for CDs/DVDs etc. is 44.1 KH2 per second. Sound waves are the way in which the vibrations travels. They are measured through DB (Decibels) which measure the volume.

Microphone and their uses - 

CONDENSOR MIC

TYPES:

• Dynamic - cheaper microphone, cost affective, hardwearing.
• They are generally used for live performances e.g. vocalists.
• Uni-directional (pick up sound from only one direct source, cardioid - shaped like heart) 
• Used for dynamic as they pick up sounds a close proximity to the source.

• Condensor - costly, less hardwearing than dynamic.
• Used for studio recording e.g. voice overs/narrating.
• Condensor microphones are usually both Uni and Omni directional. 
• Omni- directional (pick up sound 360 degrees)