Editing Day 2 - Adding Audio

Hey there Cambridge!

As you may recall, I have already edited my shots together (check out Editing Day 1 - Shots). Now that I created my foley sounds and downloaded my background music, it is time to add in the audio.

Music:

SoundA - The Carrion by Rachel Sandy

SoundB - Warning Signal by Max Anson

My first obstacle occurred the second I started adding in audio. I was uploading SoundA and it would not let me since it was a wav file. A YouTube video I found online (linked here) gave me an easy solution to convert both audio files to mp3 format easily and in a few seconds. After I downloaded my new mp3 files, I was able to upload them to Adobe Express.

With SoundA, I was debating over whether the audience should hear the music or sweeping first. The music will set the tone of my film opening immediately, but the sweeping will bring more mystery as the audience hears the audio play before they can see the first shot (the first few seconds is my production company's logo followed by the first shot). I went with starting with the sweeping sound.

After I settled where SoundA will begin, I uploaded SoundB. It begins when the janitor is about to grab the magazine. This sound requires me to do more editing. There are random bolts of beats, and I am adjusting the length of my shots to appear at each beat. Check out a video of me doing that below:

Adjusting my shots to start at the beats was super difficult, if I messed that up with a single beat somewhere in the beginning of the audio, I would need to re-adjust every shot following it all over again. Unfortunately, I had to redo it many times.

Foley:

Sweeping

Grabbing magazine

My foley sounds were much easier to work with. I recorded the sweeping sound in one audio file for multiple shots, so I just had to find where exactly the recording is supposed to start in my film opening and then the rest worked itself out. The magazine sound was super, super short, and I simply had to find where the janitor grabs the magazine, and the audio fit right in.

Reflection:

Adding in audio was not too bad. Adjusting the shots to match the music definitely was the most annoying part. The audio switching from SoundA to SoundB is pretty choppy and I am still trying to think of a way to fix that. In the end, I had enough time to add in the beginning of the next scene in the janitor's house, when he is calling the life preservation company. I uploaded a sound of a phone ringing over the shot by recording the ringing from my phone as I called my actor. Similar to the beginning of my film opening, this sound is heard before you can actually see the shot (ringing fades in during the black screen presenting my title).

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Foley Sounds + Downloading my Background Music

Hey there Cambridge!

Before I can edit in my sounds, I would like to collect all my foley sounds first. Below is a list of sounds I need to create, as well as how I plan to recreate them.

Sweeping - sweeping with a broom

Grabbing a magazine (swiping it up from the ground) - slide the magazine across a surface

I do not need to record any following foley sounds since I want the audience to focus on the music, not footsteps or anything else in the background. The scene at the janitor's house will not make it in my film opening, due to the time limit. However, the first few seconds of it (when the janitor is calling the life preservation company) might fit in. We will see after I add in all my sounds if I need to record audio of a phone ringing for that scene.

For now, lets just focus on the foley sounds. 

The most difficult sound to recreate was the sweeping sounds. The way my actor swept the broom was different each time and I had to pay close attention to his movements to mimic it properly. It took me maybe nine to ten tries. Grabbing the magazine sound was much easier, it took me around three tries. I simply just swiped it across the edge of my kitchen counter to recreate the sound.

Watch me record them in the video linked below!

https://new.express.adobe.com/publishedV2/urn:aaid:sc:US:ae1403d4-e7c0-43a6-a7ba-5e6ef5dd9aec?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other

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Downloading the audio I already planned in my Audio blog was such a hassle. I had to pay $6.99 for the music license for the two audios, which was fine with me. That price is not bad at all and the two background music audios were PERFECT for my film opening. When I went to pay, it would not take my card and it was so annoying until I realized that they do not take that card network, so I switched to my other and it worked. Then the next obstacle came. I went to finally download the sound, and it would not let me. After struggling and searching why and being on the verge of emailing Epidemic Sound for help, I realized it would let me download as .wav (I was downloading as .mp3 before).

Anyways, that was a hassle.

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Reflection:

I felt like creating these sounds was troubling with all the rerecording, and downloading the background music was obstacles after obstacles. So glad I can finally finish editing now! See you in the next blog!

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Editing Day 1 - Shots

Hey there Cambridge!

I am finally beginning to edit my film opening! This post will focus on me editing the shots on Adobe Express, while the next editing post will be about editing with sound. First, I had to pull out my storyboard so I can remember the order of the shots and the videos I need to find.

Adding my shots:

A few minutes in, I have already added the first three shots into my film opening. Here is the timeline a few minutes in...

The first challenge I came across was when I went to upload the video for my fourth shot, but there were three videos it could have been. I had to go back to my iPad and find the correct video. As you can see, I selected the second version, but after looking at the videos, it was actually the third one. That makes sense since the most recent is definitely the shot I like the best.

After adding all the shots, hear is the full timeline. When I put in the music, I will need to adjust the time each shot shows to match the beats in the music. For now, though, it is around 2 minutes 4 seconds. I tried to adjust the shots towards the end to what I think it should be (~1 sec), which I think should be fine for now until I add the music.

Since I am literally at the edge of my time limit for the film opening, I am not sure if I will get to include any scene from Filming Day 1 (scene at janitor's house). We will see how it goes, but I would love to be able to so then my film opening does not stop at the title.

Darkening some shots:

I did not like how bright the shots in the garage were, it should be darkened to fit the not so bright nor cheery tone. The video below is a screen recording of my screen as I darkened some shots to an intensity of 15. Any higher made it look like a dark film was covering the screen… it didn’t look good. I darkened any shot that was not an extreme close up of the magazine, although I ended the video below a bit early, so it is not too long.

Title and Credits:

I have always imagined the font to be white, sans-serif, and bold. I found a very generic font called "Source Sans Pro". There were some textures I could add to my letters too, so I opted for this rough one. The white text on a white background did not make the title stand out though. Even when I added a hazy black effect to the letters, it still blended in. I realized having the shot fade to black would work well here and would even make the title stand out. Although for some reason, every time the shot faded to black, the text was dull and kind of grey. I was not sure why and I could not fix it, so I added the title again as another text to fade in while the shot fades out. That's when I realized I can fix the issue by adding a black page after this final shot, so it fades into black.

I added an animation for each letter to fade in at random moments. This animation was perfect to add mystery and confusion as to what order the title is appearing on screen.

The font though is super generic... So, I went to find a new one. Here are the ones I tried out. I went with the Inknut Antiqua font (last image) and made "Past" bigger so the audience can also focus on "past" 😉. I know I said I wanted to do sans-serif and something bold, but this font just fit perfectly with my film.

Finally, the credits, to be presented in the following order:

1. Senior Tiger Films
2. Starring...
3. Music by...
4. Edited by...
5. Production Design by...
6. Cinematography by...
7. Produced by...
8. Written by...
9. Directed by...

The credits will fade in and out and appear slowly as the beginning of my film opening is the slowest part. I basically just put the credits anywhere it would not be in the way and left them white because I want the audience to focus on the janitor. In fact, I did not put any credits in the first 16 seconds since that is when the audience is first seeing the janitor and figuring out who this character is. I also presented my production company and logo as a separate shot before the film opening begins; I thought it would look more professional that way.

Two examples of my credits:

Reflection:

So, I was pretty desperate to watch this with the background music, so I played it over the result of Editing Day 1 and OH MY GOSH it was so good!!!! I cannot wait for Editing Day 2 so I can see the finished product!! Actually, what reminded me to darken some shots was when I played over the music and I noticed how the dark melody was not fitting with the bright shots. I feel as though Editing Day 1 went well for me. I realized I forgot to film an extreme close up on the word "preservation" in the magazine, but that was quick and simple to re-record. Luckily, I did not need to call my actor to jump into a janitor suit to film again. The worst part of editing was adding the credits and title. It took me so long to find the perfect font.

I'll see you next time when I create my foley sounds!

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Group Meeting #2

Hey there Cambridge!

In class today, our teacher put us into groups to have our second group discussion. This time, I worked with Selena, Santi, Camila, Isa, Andre, and Ethan. We went around and each shared our blog. We explained our plot and where we are at in production as well as ideas for our CCR. I took some notes on what we talked about, questions, and ideas shared:

Ethan's project was interesting. It is about going up to space and he is filming in stop motion! I liked looking at the pictures of his process in building the spaceship out of cardboard (on his blog). He also shared an interesting idea for the CCR, a sock puppet show. We all lit up at that idea as we all agree how creative that is.

Next, Selena talked lots about their main character and how they are slim and tall. She chose her brother for that roll, and we suggested to she do a low angle to make him seem taller. Although, I feel like 5'11 is already pretty tall. 😅

Santi's plot is about a famous doctor who releases a medicine and is announcing a negative to the medicine. Someone goes and tries to figure out what exactly is going on with that medicine. I enjoyed hearing his plot and looking at the creation of his medicine through images on his page. Our group loved to hear about his parents as actors in his film and loved how his studio turned out. I suggested using his CCR to continue his plot with his characters or interviewing his actors at the red carpet.

Moving forward, Camila spoke next. Andre suggested Camila uses wind chimes to represent calm in her film. Camila talked about use of lighting for differentiating between the present and the past (flashback). She shared clear ideas for her film opening and about her beach day filming.

Isa explained her characters and the change in tone from calm to chaos. One of the videos on her blog were not working, so I suggested why it may be (video too large, >100mb) and that she can try making it a link instead. She had a cool idea for her film opening where she will peel off stickers to reveal questions written on a board, similar to that one brand that has celebrities answer most asked questions.

At the end it became my turn to share. I described my film opening and they really liked my plot, so I decided to share how I created my own madlib to come up with the idea. I also shared that I too am not sure what I plan on doing for my CCR. My group members were interested in how I created my magazine, so I showed them images of my magazine (from my blog) and summarized my process for making it. 

Later, we talked about sound and I recommended epidemicsound.com to find thriller and suspenseful sounds since I happened to be quite successful with that website when I went to search for my sounds.

At one point, we talked about opening credits. We are still not super sure how we will present the credits in our films, but Selena had a great idea for Andre to put the credits on the screens of the technology presented in her film opening.

Picture of our group members at meeting #2

Reflection:

This was a really productive group. We asked a lot of questions on audio, the set, how they will make it happen. Some of us haven't started filming yet, but plan to this week (like on Wednesday). We all seem to be on the same point with our CCR, where we do not have a for-sure idea yet.

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Filming Day 2

Hey there Cambridge!

On Wednesday, February 18, we commenced with Day 2 of filming. We only needed the janitor for these shots. As you may recall, he is cleaning a warehouse of a furniture franchise. However, we made a big change... since our location for filming was a garage filled with tools for mechanics and car stuff (I am certainly not fluent in vehicles), I figured it made more sense to not fill the cluttered garage with furniture and just keep it how it is. Except now, the janitor cleans a vehicle repair shop/garage. Since my dad has worked with cars for a most of his life, I have visited plenty mechanic and auto repair shops in my lifetime. I have learned that these car garages are usually a building that is quite literally a garage and always messy with random items (mostly tools and materials for cars and other parts that have nothing to do with cars) everywhere. Luckily, the garage at my dad's house fits perfect with this description.

This filming day was pretty easy; it required a few shots of the janitor and lots from the magazine. We first had to move around the clutter in the garage to create an open space for the janitor to sweep. That took around five minutes which I thought would take longer. We lost some time when my actor forgot to wear his work shoes and had to drive back to his house to grab the shoes (20 min). As soon as I got to the part where it is a bunch of extreme close ups on words in the magazine, filming went by a lot faster since I was able to get those shots in one take.

My biggest challenge was, once again, trying to get my actor to stop laughing. Seriously, we had to film the first shot ten or more times. My hand was also super shaky as I filmed the close ups. Standing still like a statue is not that easy.

Watch my whole process in the video below... enjoy!

https://new.express.adobe.com/publishedV2/urn:aaid:sc:US:b8e801ce-26c8-4e3e-a1e7-4244a2502ad2?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other

I am so glad I finally finished filming. Now it is time to edit and make my foley sounds!

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Filming Day 1

Hey there Cambridge!

Guess what... I began filming! I actually started with the last half of my film, since it requires both actors and the first half only requires one, which made it easier to coordinate with the actors early on. 

I actually planned on filming on Tuesday, February 17, with my boyfriend Ethan and his brother Bryan,
but Ethan got sick and his voice much reflected that too. That was not going to work too well since the shots we are filming in Day 1 require dialogue. Luckily, he was much better the next day, so we filmed on Wednesday.

This weekend is supposed to be super busy with birthday parties and events filling up my whole day, while my actors had to go to work for most of their day this weekend. I was stressing over filming on time so I can stay on schedule and avoid filming during our busy weekend. I had no choice but to film on a school day. I was worried my actors won't be available after school, but they were and I am so thankful they were.

Anyways, we filmed every shot that takes place in the janitor's home. My biggest challenge was getting my actors to stop smiling in the middle of their shot and ensuring they react correctly and purposefully. I just had to take multiple shots until they stopped smiling/laughing and got used to their role.

My camera quality is pretty bad, so I used Ethan's phone to film the actual the shots. His phone also has so much storage to use. Then, he airdropped the videos to my iPad so that I can move the videos to OneDrive and save for next week when I edit.

Check out the video below from filming day 1!

https://new.express.adobe.com/publishedV2/urn:aaid:sc:US:dceb3610-aed4-40c4-91a1-0556561e8c42?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other

Reflection:

Filming Day 1 made me so much less stressed and worried over not being able to film this week. Now that we are halfway through, I was able to concentrate on this blog and the next filming day (Thursday). What really worked well was looking back at the shots after filming them, it helped me notice what was not working out with the shot and I am so glad I did that. Overall, filming went well. Despite the challenges, it all worked out nicely in the end.

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Creating Props

Hey there Cambridge!

IT'S TIME TO FILM!!! After so much planning, I am finally commencing with the actual filming of my film opening. I did remember though that I first have to create my magazine prop. This is the only prop that I actually have to create. Other items, like the janitor's towel and phone are already prepared, of course.

There are multiple steps required for making this magazine, so I am organizing this post into each step. 

1) Find a magazine

Original magazine cover

I am only creating a cover and two pages on an article about the life preservation company for my magazine. I did forget to take a picture of the original LifeExtention magazine; however, I added an image of the exact issue I found online to the right:

I found this magazine laying around my mom's house and used it as the base for my magazine.

2) Taking pictures for the magazine

My magazine will have an image of a life preservation participant (janitor) and the company owner. I named the owner Jacob Grunt, a name that once again just popped in my head for the character, and he is illustrated as my dad. I used this image of him (to the right) in a suit and put it through remove.bg to remove the background and paste his figure onto my magazine.

The image of the janitor I had to create on my own. I laid a white sheet in an open area and the participant wore white and laid asleep on the sheet. I used a blue led light to make it seem like the participant is in a lab or being freezed. Next, I used an app called Peachy to smooth out the wrinkles in the image. Check out my process in the video at step #4 and before/after of the edited images below.

Before (A)

Before (A)

Before (B)

After (B)

3) Creating magazine cover

For the cover, I came up with the name WonderWorld for the magazine name and the issue is of course March 2001 to adhere to the context of my film. 

Below is the evolution of my magazine cover (from first creation to final cover), which I edited on Canva. At first, I pictured the cover would include an image of the life preservation participant (janitor) and the company owner (Jacob Grunt), but including the owner just looked incredibly weird... so I made a quick choice of removing it.

1

2

3

Final

Here is a screen recording taken while I create the cover:

Here is a more random image of me choosing a barcode:

4) Creating the article

The article had to have a few specific words that I will do an extreme close up on in my film opening, like "freeze", "successful", "preservation", and "15 years". Writing it was simple though, I just talked about the life preservation company, the owner, and even added some dialogue I made up. You may read the article below:

Here is a screen recording taken while I write a portion of the article:

5) Pasting my printed cover and article pages onto a tangible magazine

Using my printer, I was able to print all three images. I used glue tape to attach these pages onto the magazine. Check out the video below to see me do it! (Glue tape is super helpful for those of you who like to scrapbook!! It makes it so much easier to glue images or other things onto a page.)

https://new.express.adobe.com/publishedV2/urn:aaid:sc:US:a332ee63-8a6a-4b5f-a10a-18b59bb226b7?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other

Reflection:

This whole process of creating the magazine prop took lots of time, but was still easy to create! My biggest challenge was definitely getting images of the life preservation participant (janitor) since I had to make a whole setup, take nice images, and upload the image to Canva. That part of this process required the most complication and energy. I like how my magazine and article turned out (I hope you got a chance to read it in the images above). Thankfully, I remembered to add a barcode to the cover and dialogue to the article, it made it much more realistic.

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Creating a Production Company & Logo

Hey there Cambridge!

It is time to make a production company and design its logo! Of course, a big part of films is the production company that makes the film happen. Production companies are the ones that produce content, like films and other types of media. They have a plethora of roles, but some include creating scripts, casting, filming equipment, and editing. All of which I have been doing for the production of my two minute film opening. So, looks like I need to create a production company!

Research:

There are many production companies out there, including...

Paramount Pictures, which produced many famous and popular films.

Lucasfilm, owned by Disney.

Columbia Pictures, also widely known.

Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, known for its suspenseful films.

Most production companies may end with the word "Pictures", "Film", "Productions" and may even begin with the name of its founder or main inspiration.

Brainstorming:

For my production company, I am between using my last name or coming up with a name for it. I would love to come up with a name for it though. Sometimes the names for production companies sound random. Should I name mine after a color or animal? Or both? My film is a thriller, so of course the name and logo should not look super playful and colorful (since it seems my company is making a thriller); otherwise, the marketing will attract more little kids than my company really should. I want to go for something mysterious, so Black Fox? I actually love the sound of that name! It matches best as Black Fox Productions. Nevermind, it is an actual company.

In order to create a name that is more unique, I should go a more personal route. Well, it is my senior year of high school. Maybe I can include "senior" in the title. I can also include another word starting with the first letter of my last name, "T". I can use an animal like "tiger". Senior Tiger Films sounds nice. The tiger makes it sound fierce, while the 'senior' part links it to older, wiser notions.

Logo Design:

First, I need to find a font. I was experiencing with old looking and serif fonts. I included a video below where I look at six different fonts. I was exploring between a few Times New Roman fonts and whether bold words look better. I really like how #5 looks. Not so sure how it will look with the actual logo though.

I found this tiger below from this Canva creator and it was fierce like I wanted to, in order to represent my company.

Finally, I added the text, and it looked best like this. When looking at production company logos, the name was usually to the side of the logo (such as only on its right). However, I tried that and the words are too short that it did not look so good. So, I put the text around the tiger, and it worked out best.

You may have noticed that I added a little calligraphy, more specifically to the word "films", but it just did not look right with the Times New Roman font. This cursive font, named Allison, added some spice to the logo and increased the fierceness of the company logo.

Reflection:

Well, that is my production company and logo! I believe it turned out really good. The tiger symbolizes strength and prestige, desirable for any company, and the fonts all together surrounding the tiger really make the image come together.

More Resources:

• Top Rated Film Production Companies (Top 250)

Citation:

• Heckmann, C. (2025, July 2). What is a Production Company in Film (& What Do They Do?). StudioBinder. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-production-company-definition/
• Tamada, S. (n.d.). Paramount Pictures logo PNG, vector format. Brandlogos. https://brandlogos.net/paramount-pictures-logo-101825.html
• Logopedia, C. T. (n.d.). Lucasfilm. Logopedia. https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Lucasfilm
• Behance. (n.d.). Alfred Hitchcock // Monogram // Corporate identity - Domenico D’Angelo. Behance. https://www.behance.net/gallery/37406719/Alfred-Hitchcock-Monogram-Corporate-identity

      

      Yours Truly, 

      Macie 💗

The Set/Location

Hey there Cambridge!

I finalized the set to be a warehouse. Earlier, I wrote that he is a janitor at a furniture franchise (back in the "Portfolio Project Idea Reveal!!!" post). The set will be the storage room of that furniture franchise.

Set for janitor cleaning:

So far, the most challenging part of my project was trying to find a location to film the janitor's cleaning scene. It was really difficult since I had to find a place to film someone cleaning... so, a bathroom? Where will I get a bathroom or any other public space to clean? I tried to check out a park bathroom, but it was honestly a pretty nice bathroom... too nice for the scene.

But right before I went to that park, it clicked to me. Why don't I make my garage the furniture storage room warehouse. There are so many advantages to this: the storage will make sense as to why there is a leftover magazine, it is easily accessible to me, and if I put random furniture in it, it will make the perfect furniture store storage room! So instead of cleaning a bathroom, he is cleaning a storage unit in his workplace. 

The image below presents the garage space. If I move around the mess and bring in some furniture (like chairs and other big items) it can look like the storage room to the furniture franchise. The dimmed light in the garage will really set the scene to be lonely and quiet. 

Set when at janitor's home:

Here are pictures of the janitor's home, my dad's house. It works as the perfect set! It is already messy, like someone actually lives there, and the interior design looks like it would belong to Brit Jones and his roommate with the mismatched furniture.

Reflection: I am so glad I got the set out of the way! I am so excited to film this week.

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Costume + Schedule Update

Hey there Cambridge! 

With filming time coming up next week, I need to plan what costume the janitor and roommate will wear. Costume design is super important in films. They depict the formality of a scene, reinforces who the character is or their career, and can even link or relate them to other characters.

Janitor's costume: 

When cleaning during his shift, I have been debating as to whether he should wear an actual janitor outfit or a regular casual outfit. I first went to search for what a janitor wears, and I found a great article explaining it. It mentioned hard safety hats, coveralls, and a dust mask, which I think is not necessary for cleaning a bathroom. It did mention gloves and work shoes, which is a part of their outfit I forgot was important! This costume is significant in my film since the janitor is the main character and Brit Jones having that career is meant to reinforce the idea of his dull, boring life.

I feel like I usually see janitors wear a t-shirt and shorts/jeans. After reading the article I noted above, it is clear that janitor apparel is super diverse. What I need to think about, though, is what outfit will be best to reinforce the idea of him being a janitor. I believe that outfit would be an actual janitor outfit like the one from Amazon pictured on the right.

This navy blue outfit is perfect to depict cleaning (blue is associated with cleaning/sterilize), while its dull navy color avoids the outfit from popping so much and matches with the janitor's lifelessness. This will be paired with black work shoes, yellow gloves (from Amazon), and a small red towel. These colors were chosen purposefully. The black is commonly a work standard, the yellow will clash with the blue to create a sense of chaos in the outfit, and the red will hint towards a bit danger/confusion to happen later on.

Luckily, I already have a small-medium size red towel, and my actor has work shoes. We just need to buy the janitor costume and gloves.

I plan for my janitor to wear this outfit in the next scene as well, since he got home and is trying to call the life preservation company immediately for answers on why he is pictured in their experiment. Although, maybe he will just wear black socks and not shoes in that scene

Roommate's costume: 

For my outgoing roommate character, he simply just needs a casual outfit: a t-shirt and shorts. 

This simple outfit portrays the roommate as a regular guy, making it the perfect costume.

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Schedule Update:

This is completely random to this costume blog, but I wanted to provide an update on schedule:

    ✅ Weeks 1-4 are done! Officially halfway through this project!

    Week 5 (next week):

1. Filming
2. Create foley sounds
3. Create production company

                Basically, next week is all about production

    Week 6 (2/23-3/1):

1. Editing
2. Begin working on CCR

                All about post-production and finalizing my film opening.

    Week 7-8 (3/2-3/17):

1. CCR

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Reflection:

I believe I picked the perfect outfits for my two characters to match their role and who they are. Hopefully production goes smooth and I can't wait to get started with that!

Citations:

Assoune, A. (2024, August 11). Exclusive look: What do Janitors wear. Panaprium. https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/what-janitors-wear

Wyefeu (2024, June 20). Navy Blue Jumpsuit for Men, Adult Coveralls Costume. Amazon. https://a.co/d/04fyUYpn

IUCGE (2022, April 9). Rubber Gloves Dishwashing 2 or 4 Pairs for Kitchen, Cleaning Gloves for Household Reusable. Amazon. https://a.co/d/0i3kmPwM

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Audio in Focus on the Past

Hey there Cambridge!

I need to find and create sounds to create a realistic soundscape. Having a realistic soundscape is important to depict a sense of thrill in my film opening. Whether it is through music or silence with small sounds, sound plays a major part in my thriller.

Bristle Brush, option to
create broom sound.

Focusing on the first scene of my opening, where the janitor is cleaning the ground. I would like to capture the boring and lonely moment through a quiet atmosphere, the broom brushing against the floor, and the janitor's footsteps. I will create the broom sounds by swiping a broom or a bristle or paint brush and the footsteps can be made with recording sounds of similar/same shoes hitting the ground. Honestly though, I will just use a broom to create the sound.

Screenshot of list of sounds
from Epidemic Sound.

For the part where he is looking at the magazine, I would love to hear suspenseful music to increase tension. I am no musician, though, and will need to find this audio online. I headed to Epidemic Sound to find a suspenseful background song. I love this "Impossible Theory" sound, but I feel like it is not what I am looking for. I want something that kind of speeds up towards the end. "Confidential Report" matches what I want much better, but it sounds more like what would play over a moment someone is discovering or spying, and I want it to have much more suspense. Searching "suspenseful background music" is not working out for me, so I changed to "thriller background music". That search worked out much better: I really think "The Carrion" sound is my best option yet, but it sounds more for Halloween. Then I found the "Warning Signal" sound, which works perfect for my film opening; I love the sudden beats! I think I would love to try playing it as "The Carrion" plays, especially since "The Carrion" sound would really heighten the suspense.

The title will appear right after this, and once it does the music will suddenly stop.

The next scene is at the janitor's home, when he dials the life preservation company and his roommate comes. I, once again, want this to be a realistic setting, so probably no music and just dialogue and sounds that would be heard. To create a realistic soundscape, I first will focus on the obvious sounds and then get deeper. These easily recognizable sounds that would be heard would be like dialing a phone number and the automated voicemail sound, footsteps, taking a sip of water, the door opening and closing, and the sound of a couch when someone sits on it. This of course excludes dialogue which will be caught on camera while filming. Deeper in, there would also be sounds like, placing the phone down, the sound when someone gets up from a couch, ones of pouring water and placing down a glass, unlocking a door, doorknob turning, and the squeaky sound of door hinges. Those are the sounds that should be heard in this scenario. I think I will do foley for all of them and here is how:

• Dialing phone # and automated voice: record my phone saying that (I might use an actual house phone doing that though, especially since I will be using one for the actual prop).
• Footsteps: use the shoes and hit/tap them to the ground.
• Sipping water: record someone recreating that sound.
• Anything with a door: recreate it using a real door.
• The couch sounds: recreate it using a real couch and a person sitting onto and getting up from it.
• Placing the phone down: recreate the phone being placed down.
• Anything with water: recreate using an actual glass of water.
• If I think of other sounds that should be on the list, I will make sure to add it!

Some of these sounds must be recorded using foley, like the footsteps, dialing a phone number, and placing down a phone. The footsteps more obviously needs to be recorded through foley, but I included the others in the previous sentence since it will be difficult to find a sound that clicks the digits at the same pace as my actor and I will need to find a specific sound of a phone being placed back with the same force that my actor uses.

Reflection: My favorite part of this blog was trying to find a thriller background audio. I think pairing "The Carrion" and "Warning Signal" will work well to achieve my intended effect. My worry is that I missed some sounds in the parts without music, but once I film and begin editing my film opening, I will check for sounds over again. I feel like creating a realistic soundscape is one of my favorite parts of the whole production process.

Citations:

Boar Bristle Hair Brush with Beechwood Handle - Parker Shaving. (2025, July 14). Parker Shaving. https://www.parkershaving.com/product/boar-bristle-hair-brush-with-beechwood-handle/

Epidemic Sound. (2025, November 12). Rachel Sandy - Impossible Theory | Epidemic Sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/386e7d4b-7b08-4a2a-8e34-5a4c38253689/

Epidemic Sound. (2017, August 18). Alec Slayne - Confidential Reports | Epidemic sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/7b7d7443-2310-3cf8-babf-b76480ea5546/ bn

Epidemic Sound. (2025a, March 10). Rachel Sandy - The Carrion | Epidemic Sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/82744b00-d5db-4963-86ac-9ee59f636dd8/

Epidemic Sound. (2015, January 9). Max Anson - Warning Signal | Epidemic Sound. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/bb18c6c8-651a-35c9-ab0c-c46b4c98a0ec/

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗