Out of Sight - Short Film: Stephen O’Connell Provides Score, Foley and Sound Design
Stephen O’Connell from Cmd Shift New was brought on to produce an original score, the foley and sound design for the short film Out of Sight, written and directed by Shannon Brimelow. Along with Travis Hodgkinson from Epic Videos (a Cmd Shift New Partner), the production was a success, bringing the story to life with everyone’s hard work and efforts. Cmd Shift New would like to thank the director, the production team, the actors and everyone who worked on the project for their hard work, professionalism and passion for the film. It was a pleasure to work with everyone.
Out of Sight - Short Film
Written and Directed by Shannon Brimelow
Story Synopsis
A boy and girl are running away, chased by unknown shady figures trying to hunt them down, their flashlights whipping past the camera as we follow the action. Finding a place to hide, keeping quiet and out of sight seems the best way to survive. As they weave through the bushes from one hiding place to another, the girl comes up with a plan to make a break for it, past the guards and out of danger. They manage to get so far, but under the bridge the guard dog sniffs them out and the jig is up. The girl yells run and pushes the boy out, but he trips and falls, landing on something that goes "click” as his hand comes down. Dread filling him, he lifts his hand, fearing the worst, but a simple children’s toy blurts out a happy chime and we finally understand that it is just a classic kid’s game of flashlight.
Stephen from Cmd Shift New Brings the Epic Soundtrack to Life with Music and Sound Design
Music
With minimal dialogue and dramatically framed shots from the DOP, Travis, the final cut relied heavily on the audio and music to build the tension into the film. Leveraging the newly released sample library from Heavyocity, Symphonic Destruction, an epic soundtrack was created to capture the caution and danger of the chase and the dark undertones of what we think is a life and death situation. A percussive bass and rhythm pulses throughout much of the piece, with various lead textures taking on a minimal theme at peak moments. Blending synthetic, warped sounds the synthesised tones, the score took on a dark, yet bold vibe that pushes the film forward. At key moments towards the end, the dramatic scenes were underscored by heavily mutated organic bass textures and risers, hits and dissonant notes that left the audience unsettled.
Finally, we realise that this high drama, tense and serious take on the game was all in the kid’s heads, the imagination immersing us into believing the threat is real. As the game ends, the music rises to take on a soft, happy and open feeling as the realisation that this is a birthday takes hold.
Out of Sight - Short Film
Behind the Scenes
Foley and Sound Design
The project required much of the world’s sound to be built in post production, with the foley and sound design taking on this role. With the ADR completed by the director, the challenge came to insert all the diegetic sound in a believable way, mixing it carefully with the score and dialogue. Using the vast sound library through Soundly, the foley was carefully constructed and embedded into the world’s space. Ambience tracks, animal sounds, footsteps, objects and vegetation sounds were among the many layers added to this film, working hard to make the studio sounds unnoticeable against the location sound.