This assignment is prep work for the return to the silent era video assignment.  At first I thought this assignment seemed pretty simple.  Then I saw Silent Star Wars.  That’s going to be hard to replicate.  That said, seeing the Star Wars clip made me realize that this assignment will probably come out better if I use a clip rather than a trailer.  I looked up several clips, and I think the wedding scene from ”The Graduate” is by far my best option.  Disclaimer: Don’t watch it if you haven’t seen the movie.  It is too good to spoil.

This scene has a great blend of action, intense facial expressions, and distinct shouting.  I think these factors will contribute to a strong silent film.

To make it silent-style, I will of course make it black and white and add music and bit cards.  Old-timey piano music should go a long way.  I think I can also play off of the wedding theme by adding some fitting organ music.  The hard part is going to be making the music match up with what’s going on in the film.  It makes me really wish I could play some mean piano.  I will have to abide.  As far as other sound effects go, there is a lot of potential.  Broken, glass, fighting, running down stairs, and countless other easily-imitated sounds will add some character to the final product.  I should be able to get these from freesound.org or even make them myself in the same manner we did in class.  Bit cards will also be critical to this project working.  There are some sections of the clip where the camera zooms in on characters screaming, and making bit cards for these instances is a must.  “Elaine! Elaiiine! Elaiiiine!” is one such example.  I will also add cards in a cheesy Batman-esque cartoon style.  That is, I will add  “Pow!” and “Bam!” cards to the fighting scenes.  This will be particularly fun leading up to the cross swinging scene.  Speaking of the cross swinging scene, there are plenty of screams in that, too, which will make it onto bit cards ( see 1:40 in the clip posted above).  I am really looking forward to this.  Also, re-watching the bus scene made me happy.  Unsettling.