My final cut - Colour Grade

Intro - Winter Scene

Before

After

Enhanced the blues in the shadows and midtones in order to achieve a colder colour palette which connotes and makes obvious that it is based in the winter months. This also amplfies the fact that the town doesn't get any direct sunlight in winter months. Here the town looks very dark and bleak which works very well in contrast with the other scenes in the spring.

Middle section - Spring

Before

 After

Here is the hint of the return of the sun and this scene is based in the spring so here I have bumped up the saturation levels to bring out the greens in the trees but still keep a cold tone in the shadowed valley which contributes to the idea that the town is still in the shadows, not quite in the sunlight. The provides a perfect middle ground and bridge to the ending as the overall colour scheme gradually gets warmer and more saturated as the documentary develops and progresses.

End - Return of the sun

Before

 After

In this last scene the sun is back in the town of Rjukan. So therefore I have altered the colour grade accordingly in order to make it look much warmer through the introduction of more yellow/orange and red mid tones shadows and highlights. This colour grade works very well as it mirrors the progression of the narrative and contrasts the winter and spring months very well.

ending - Sun festival music development

Overall summary of track

I feel that the ending music works very well in tying the whole thing together. The fact that it is the same key waltz as the intro, contributes to continuity as well as bringing back the community aspect which lies so heavy in the intro. Also by having relation to the intro scene, it allows for the last shots to work very well which illustrate a flashback to our first interview with Jorunn in the winter. It has great resemblance of the introduction waltz but is slightly more built up which indicates that there is an event taking place rather than just mundane day to day things. The removal of the wintery bells allow for the track to sound more summery and the strings/melody sound majestic and mysterious which complments and enhances the costumes and outfits worn throughout the solfest.

Reaching the sun music development

Playlist

Track 1
 Track 2
 Track 3


Overall summary of track
This is another track where the composer really grasped our intentions from the beginning. Immediately here, the soft people implies that the audience are viewing a much more intimate and delicate moment of Jorunn reaching the sun on one of her sun walks. The major chords in combination with the minor style melody allow for the piece to feel much more emotionally charged. When the strings are brought in, the track increases to build in apporach to the climactic point. I love how its tailored to our visuals.. so in the cut when we cut back to interview sections, the music is calmed down and reverts back to the simple soft piano which brings the audience in to listen to what Jorunn is saying, letting her be the main focus. The orchestral strings all together in harmony create the feeling of triumph and overcoming an obstacle which goes hand in hand with Jorunn reaching the sun. Once again the music is composed to work specifically to the visuals which works very well with the slow motion shots and also in indicating key moments.

Middle section music development

 
Playlist
Track 1
 Track 2
 Track 3


Overall summary on track

I am very pleased with this track and I liked it from the get go. From the start the composer really grasped our vision here as we wanted the music to add to the theme of chasing the sun and longing for the suns return. This track has a much faster tempo that any other track in the documentary and rises to a crescendo which adds a sense of suspense. Also when the different layers are integrated into the track at different times you really get a build up a story/journey of searching/chasing for the sun.  Also the way that the track interacts with the visuals works very well. For instance, when Jorunn says that she 'stops' and looks around.. the music does also which gives it more impact when the visuals and sound work simultaneously. 

Intro music development

Playlist

Track 2

This track was one of the first responses we got back from our composer following the musical direction that was sent. This was a good start it grasped the feeling of a small town/community. It also has a notes of curiosity. However, when placing this in the intro edit, we felt that it just didn't really fit with the footage and overall feel. And didn't work well with the intention of establishing the town.  

Track 1

After much discussion, we agreed with the composer for him to attempt to create his waltz. This is the first sample of the waltz that was sent to us which allowed us to edit simultaneously as he continues to develop the waltz. This shows a clear basic tempo and rhythm which allows us to begin to get an idea of the pacing of the intro.

Track 3

Here is the next development of the waltz. We really like the way he has included the string instruments which captures the aura of the town quite well. Getting a good balance between the big scale of the valley with the small town that lays within it. However, we weren't too sure with the bells that were included throughout. It gives too much of a magical feel, holding relation to Christmas songs or children's lullabies. 

 Track 4
Here he has adapted the bells, now they have no relation to the previously explained connotations. Now the bells very minimal, contributed to the feel of curiosity and the strings are the main focus which works very well. Also he has added a low brass instrument which initiates around 50 seconds which works well in the edit where people start speaking. Allowing the audience to focus on the visuals and not get too distracted by the soundtrack.

Track 5
Here is a a different version of the waltz in a minor key. This gives a very different feel and atmosphere. We like it, however we feel as if it gives a bit of a negative/sad feel which isn't what we want to do. We want to reflect the positive outlook of the townspeople.

Track 6

This is the latest version of the track. Overall we are very pleased with this piece as it complements the visuals very well. Through communicating with the composer we have insured that certain instruments start at certain points in certain ways. This has provided the basis for an engaging pace to the introduction of the documentary whilst creating the atmosphere that we wanted. 

Overall summary of final track
This music works perfect for the introduction scene as it helps introduce the element of Rjukan be a small town. The fact that it is a waltz provides it with a traditional feel which complements the introduction as a whole. The wintery bells work very well in indicating the season that the intro is based in and as the strings and melody slowly evolve, you get a sense of a build up of a story.

Final cut - Ready to grade

This is the final cut after some minor tweaks, ready to be colour graded.

Passes from colour grader

-In this first pass of the colour grade with our grader there is too much contrast and in some cases also looks a bit too saturated. 

-I don't want the footage to be too drastically changed as it could become quite distracting. Perhaps the footage would look much better with less contrast and saturation to get a much more natural colour scheme.

 - Here the grader has taken out a little bit of contrast however I feel like even more could be taken out.

-Also the overall colour scheme of this pass is a little too green and could perhaps be better if it was shifted more towards the blue tone.

 - This pass is much better tonally as it leans more towards a blue tint which allows it too look colder and more like it did in the winter months

-Also it seems as if he has added a little bit of grain, but i don't particularly like this as it comes across as a technological fault.

After receiving these passes from the colour grader, I am not too pleased with the progress overall. Therefore I will attempt my own grade of the cut as the grader couldn't totally grasp our vision.