1

‘How Can Sound Design Portray A Character With Mental

Health Issues On Film?’

Craig D Houston

BA (Hons) Creative Sound Production

2011

Institute of Arts, Media, and Computer Games

University of Abertay Dundee

1|Craig D Houston 0900083

 2

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr Kenny McAlpine for the invaluable support that he has given throughout the
development and undertaking of this project. I also would like to give my thanks and appreciation to
all those that have helped out with the project:

Pat Houston
Craig Houston Senior
Scott Nicholson
Alex Ross
Lesley Hayton
William Hayton
Duncan Hayton
Andrew Holmes
Rory Porteous
Cam Goold
John Steven
Aurelien Godin
Charles Heron
Vaughn Roberts
Edward Broughton
Laurie Bell
Andy Barratt
Heather Ellis
Pete McKenna
Peter Kirby
Jonathan Jones
Robin Murphy
Gary Christie
Alex Wilson
Sally McGinty
Mhairi Kettles
Sarah Osgood
Whitespace Solutions and Digital Desk
The staff of The Globe Inn, Dundee

2|Craig D Houston 0900083

 3

Contents

Abstract Page 4

Introduction Page 5

Literature Review Page 7

 Mental Health – An Overview

 Portrayal Of Mental Health On Screen Page 8
 Cinematic Techniques Page 9
 Sound Design Page 10

Methodology Page 11

 Proof Of Concept/Rationale
 Description Of Testing

Analysis and Results Page 13

Discussion Page 17

 Production (Building The Character/Production Of Film/Composition Of Sound Design)

 Testing

Conclusion Page 20

Future Work Page 20

References and Bibliography Page 22

Appendices

3|Craig D Houston 0900083

 4

Abstract

Depression is a condition of which 1 in 10 people shall suffer from at one point in their life. While
everyone has mental health, it can affect some in different ways. Mental health, as an illness can
manifest itself in a variety of different ways, whether it happens to be depression, anxiety, paranoia
or neuroticism. Depression is a manifestation of mental health that is generally characterised by an
individual’s feelings of low mood, whether this be low self-esteem, self-loathing, low confidence or
an undeterminable factor. These feelings tend to remain for a longer duration than that of the
average member of the public.

Since the dawn of cinema, characters suffering from mental health, in particular depression have
been portrayed too simplistically, which can leave a films audience often with a misunderstanding
and a feeling of ridicule with regards to the character. In society, ridicule of characters can often
have an effect on those already suffering, making their own pain and torment become worse,
significantly affecting their condition, which on rare occasions, can lead to fatal circumstances. This
project aims to create a film where the sound design, the sound effects and the foley, characterises
the characters’ condition, and then show it to an audience to see whether characters with
depression can indeed be portrayed sympathetically on screen, through the sound design.

4|Craig D Houston 0900083

 5

Introduction

Mental health is still in some ways a taboo subject in the United Kingdom (O’ Hara, 2009), as many
find it in very difficult, and in some cases embarrassing, to discuss. Mental health problems can be
caused by many things. Quite often, problems have been shown to be caused by genetic
abnormalities. Other well known causes are perhaps a childhood trauma that can plague the
sufferers’ mind throughout their adult life, causing them a great deal of upset or a recent
bereavement within the family, a redundancy at work, or an undeterminable cause.

But the question that should be answered first however is, ‘What is a mental health issue?’ There is
no actual definitive answer for this question, but the term does cover a wide range of problems that
can have an overall effect on a person’s normal functioning during day to day life, and can affect
anyone of any age. (Holmes, 2010)

Characters with mental health issues being portrayed on film are not a new concept and have been
commonly used in cinema since the early 1920’s with the release of ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
(Wiene, 1920) and has been commonly used. Some of the most notable examples would be ‘One
Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ (Forman, 1975), ‘Taxi Driver’ (Scorsese, 1976), ‘Patch Adams’
(Shadyac, 1998) and ‘Rain Man’ (Levinson, 1988). The storyline of ‘Rain Man,’ of Tom Cruise’s
character’s journey to a better understanding of Dustin Hoffman’s characters mental illness,
although he suffers from Aspergers syndrome, is similar to the rationale behind the whole project.

The project consists of creating a short film where the sound design aims to give a realistic portrayal
of a character suffering from depression. The film is being created to try and give a sympathetic and
realistic portrayal of a character suffering from the affliction to hopefully dispel many of the myths
and idealisations about mental health and give a better understanding of the condition in the public
forum. Having been around mental health since early childhood, this is an issue that is dear to the
author.

The aim is for the audience to come to their own conclusions as to whether they feel that character
is indeed suffering from depression. The sound design has been composed by the author who has
been recording and compiling sound effects followed by manipulation, used in an effort to give the
character depressive characteristics.

Once the film is complete, the film will be shown to an audience, who will then be asked through a
questionnaire, whether they aurally perceive if the character is suffering from depression, therefore
making the project a success, justifying that sound design can indeed show a character on film to
have mental health issues.

This dissertation shall be looking at the design decisions that were made and that then reflected the
design process and implementation of those mentioned process into the overall project as well as
the practices and theories that clarify how sound design can be characterised to portray a character
with depression, and where the original theories have came from.

Essentially the aim and objectives of the project are:

5|Craig D Houston 0900083

 6

Aim

The aim of the project is to explore how sound design can be used to give a realistic portrayal of
mental health illness, particularly depression, in film.

Objectives

1: Consult various experts in the field such as psychologists and counsellors to take case studies and
document their own experiences, for the emotions the author is trying to convey through the film.

2: Study filming techniques and conventions in an effort to create the best possible result for the end
product.

3: Create a short piece of film with a soundtrack that seeks to portray a character with depressive
characteristics through the films’ sound design.

4: Do comparative tests on a viewing audience to investigate whether they feel that the character
has mental health issues for the conclusion of the author’s dissertation.

6|Craig D Houston 0900083

 7

Literature Review

‘Noise is an important sound effect in a film, and it can be a legitimate, even powerful device.’ (Dick.
B. F, 1998)

Mental Health - An Overview

Mental health is a condition that can take on many forms, and in the case of depression, it can be
perceived by the public as seeing someone who has little enthusiasm, a bleak outlook and a
generally low mood.

By comparison with the majority of the general public, the moods of sufferers with depression, and
more broadly mental health, will generally tend to have a longer duration and more of a lasting
effect. When looking at an affliction such as depression, the root of the problem can come from
numerous places. At the less severe end of the spectrum could be a death in the family or in their
personal life or a redundancy from work, while at the opposite end, extreme cases are tend to be
rooted in a particular incident from their childhood which can often plague them throughout their
adult life.

In the public forum, mental health is still a taboo subject, and is often subject to ridicule, mainly due
to a lack of understanding. The effect that this has is to stigmatise sufferers. By definition, in some
respects, a stigma is a sense of shame, with some still believing that it is a sign of weakness. In some
medical cases, the sense of shame has become even more of a problem than the most of extreme of
symptoms. In two public surveys carried out in the UK in the early 1990’s, it was found that 80% of
those that were asked from the general public believed that ‘most people were embarrassed by
mentally ill people.’ (Huxley, 1993)

The public’s seemingly negative attitude to people suffering from mental health issues can begin as
early as nursery, typically, where children are aged between the ages of three to five, right through
to early adulthood, roughly someone’s early-20’s. Studies have shown that those with negative
views are often quite narrow-minded in the context of having: (Huxley, 1993)

 No tolerance towards ambiguity

 Very forthright views and unwilling to change
 Anger towards anyone who disagrees with them

The characteristics of depression are generally portrayed in the public consciousness as someone
who has little self-esteem, constantly seems to be in a miserable mood, social introverted, and has a
lack of self-respect. In days gone by, depression was an illness that was thought to be ‘all in their
head,’ and that a sufferer would be able to ‘snap out of it if they tried.’ (Roberts, 2011) Depression
can characterise itself in the way that it affects the mind, by flooding the mind with negative
emotions, which can be triggered in an instant, and in some cases even the physical health of a
sufferer can go into decline. The symptoms mentioned above are often summed up into the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The
manual, shortened as the DSM, categorises depression into three symptom ‘axis’ areas. These are:

 Psychological
 Physical

7|Craig D Houston 0900083

 8

 Social

There are many different viewpoints on depression, from both the media and clinical experts. In the
book, ‘Depression: The Way Out of Your Prison’ by Dr Dorothy Rowe, she defines the condition as a
‘prison whose foundation stone is the unquestioned belief that you are intrinsically unacceptable to
yourself and others.’ (Rowe, 2007) This is true for many cases of suffering, constantly struggling to
get rid of the torment while not able to feel any joy about them themselves.

Portrayal of Mental Health on Film

Since the beginning of cinema, mental health has been a subject that has not been shied away from,
and has in fact featured quite prominently, starting with the 1920 silent horror film, The Cabinet of
Dr Caligari (Wiene, 1920). Since then there have been numerous and well documented examples of
mental health, including ‘Rain Man’ (Levinson, 1988), ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ (Forman,
1975) and ‘The Shining’ (Kubrick, 1980).

Many instances of mental health on film are portrayed in a negative light, primarily being used as a
form of comic relief to support other characters. One notable character from Disney films used in
this manner is Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh series. He is often characterised as being pessimistic
and depressed, mainly through his own actions and, particularly in the films catchphrases such as
‘thanks for noticin’ me.’ (Reinhart, 1981) In a study by Andrea Lawson of the University Of Alberta, it
was found that 85% of almost all films released by Disney have references to mental health, by
calling characters either ‘crazy,’ or ‘nuts.’ (Lawson, 2006) While in modern society these terms are
used as a colloquialism for describing someone who would do an activity that would be described as
silly, it should be taken into consideration that most Disney films are aimed at young children, so this
could arguably be their first experience of mental health, therefore setting their feelings towards it
as it is a subject to be humoured and ridiculed.

Further still would be Alfred Hitchcock’s harsh portrayal of various characters with mental health.
The character of ‘Jeff’ from ‘Rear Mirror’ (1954, Hitchcock), it could be argued develops a mental
health problem with his ever growing obsession with his neighbours and their daily goings on. Also,
the characterisation of Norman Bates from ‘Psycho’ is seen by the viewer as a deeply deranged
human being, when his problems could be rooted by his mother’s over-bearing influence on him as a
child.

While there has been negative characters portrayed a great deal, there are noteworthy examples of
a character with mental health that have been portrayed sympathetically. In ‘One Flew Over The
Cuckoo’s Nest’ (Forman, 1975) we see Jack Nicholson’s character as a sympathetic everyday man,
who is trying to get the fellow patients to act like real humans once again, to do this however, he has
to sacrifice himself to Nurse Ratched. Another character which actually helped the general public
take action and try and beat their afflictions was Russell Crowes’ character in ‘A Beautiful Mind’
(Howard, 2001), where he is portrayed as being segregated from the rest of society due to his
condition, while also consciously fighting to battle the inner voices from within his mind.

8|Craig D Houston 0900083

 9

Cinematic Techniques

When creating a film, a crucial point to take into consideration is the use of cinematic techniques,
whether it is the use of a set of a particular series of shots, or the way the lighting could potentially
be used to emphasise a particular emotion. A cinematic technique is a way to communicate a
particular message that filmmakers are trying to get across, whether it be emotional or
psychological. Cinematic Techniques manifest themselves in many forms, primarily the use of
camera angles, movement and shot, the lighting, editing sound and special effects. The use of
camera shots is often fundamental to the success of the film, and how effective it is. The most
commonly used shots are (Rabiger, 2004):

 Close-up Shot
 Medium Shot
 Long Shot
 Establishing Shot
 Point Of View Shot

A point of view shot is used primarily as a ‘subjective viewpoint, one that is understood to represent
an individual’s vision.’ (Katz, 1991) It is often used to place the audience in the position of the main
character, and get their view and perspective on things. This style of shot has been used widely in
film by such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, James Cameron and Jonathan Demme. Hitchcock used the
POV shot for the majority of the film ‘Rear Window’ (Hitchcock, 1954), where the audience see the
perspective of Jeff throughout as he continuously spies on his neighbours. Demme used the
technique to great effect in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (Demme, 1991), notably when Jody Foster’s
character goes to meet Hannibal Lector, which emphasises the feeling of apprehension and anxiety
as she goes to meet him.

While black and white film could arguably connote nostalgia when mentioned in the modern age,
recent examples of black and white are used as a tool to portray characters that are duller than the
rest of the context of the film for e.g Woody Allen’s ‘Celebrity’ (Allen, 1998). The use of contrasting
black and white with colour can often give a different perspective on the world, possibly from the
characters point of view. The 1987 film ‘Wings Of Desire’ (Wenders, 1987) uses the contrast of black
and white to colour for the main characters perspective prominently. When the character is an
angel, his view point shows the world in black and white, with a tinge of sepia. However, when he
becomes a human, the point of view shots change to colour, emphasising his new ‘real’ view of the
world completely.

While using techniques to emphasise the visual aspects is one of the most important parts of the
cinematography of a film, the sound is often equally important. Sound was first used in film in 1927,
and was seen as revolution, as for the first time, a pre- recorded soundtrack synced up with the
visuals was being heard in cinemas across the world.

Two of the most commonly used sound techniques are; Diegetic sound and Non-Diagetic sound.
Diegetic sound is an actual sound, which is heard by both the films characters and the viewing
audience. An example of this sound being applied would he the voice of the characters, sound
effects, radios and record players. Non-diagetic sound is used to create dramatic effect. An example
of non-diagetic sound is of a narrator voicing over a film or music to emphasise a particular emotion.

9|Craig D Houston 0900083

 10

Sound Design

Sound design is the process of manipulating and processing audio to achieve a desired effect
whether it be the heaviness of a particular body movement in a footstep or portraying a character as
scared by using heavy breathing sounds in quick succession. While predominantly used in film,
sound design, which is generally characterised as sound effects, foley and background noise, it is also
widely used in television productions, live theatre productions and in music, notable examples
would include Pink Floyd’s seminal album ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ (EMI, 1973) and The Beatles’
‘Abbey Road.’ (EMI, 1969)

The primary purpose of sound design is to create ‘hyper-real’ environments or to put emphasis on a
particular emotion. In contrast however, it can be used to create a polar opposite environment to
that is being seen on screen. One notable example would be that of David Lynch’s 1977 film,
‘Eraserhead’ (Lynch, 1977), where there is prominent use of anemphatic sound. Anemphatic sound
is the term used to describe when a sound ‘exhibits a conspicuous indifference to what is going on in
the film’s plot’ (Chion, 1994)

Arguably the most famous example of the use of anemphatic sound in film would the now legendary
‘shower scene’ from ‘Psycho’ (Hitchcock, 1960), where after Janet Leigh’s character is killed in the
shower, the sound of the water continues running as if nothing has happened. Another example
would be from ‘Full Metal Jacket’ (Kubrick, 1987) where after killing members of the Vietkong, the
song ‘Surfin Bird’ by the American band, The Trashmen, is heard, which gives a feeling of a more
uplifting mood, as opposed to something with a morbid feel to it, which would normally be used.

Synchresis is described by Michel Chion as the ‘spontaneous and irresistible weld produced between
a particular auditory phenomenon and visual phenomenon when they occur at the same time.’
(Chion, 1994) An example of synchresis applied to film would again be ‘Eraserhead,’ where the main
character Henry enters the elevator in the tenement where he lives. Ordinarily we would hear the
sound of the elevator ascending upward to his floor, but through synchresis we hear a foreboding
sound, heard earlier in the film when Henry is walking through a bleak industrial estate, which acts
as the main foley sound for its journey.

Acousmatic sound is the sound that is heard without seeing where the original sources has come
from. There are numerous examples of this in film, arguably the most notable would be that of
Norman Bates’ mother Norma in ‘Psycho,’ who is only seen on screen as a corpse, but is heard
throughout the film preaching at Norman. Some of the most common uses of acousmatic sound,
which stretches beyond film and widely used in television, is that of the use of radio, phonogram and
telephone where the person at the opposite end of the line and communicating is never seen on
screen.

10 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 11

Methodology

Proof of Concept/Rationale

The decision to create the film with a character suffering from mental health issues was firmly
rooted in the overall portrayal of characters of mental health in film. The author feels that characters
are often portrayed in an often simplistic manner, which can leave the wrong impression in a
viewing audiences mind that the character is often being portrayed in a manner that would leave
them subject to ridicule. Examples of characters would be that of the Reverend I.M Jolly from the
‘Scotch and Wry,’ Eeyore from the Winnie-The-Pooh novels and the Warner Brothers character
Droopy, who display characteristics such as having low self-esteem and what could be perceived as
them being miserable a great deal.

By creating a short film, this was an opportunity, to see whether or not the ideas about sound design
could be successfully applied to the prototype. Such ideas would be how the character could be
given depressive characteristics through the use of sound and the overall portrayal with the use of
acousmatic sound, anemphatic sound and synchresis. The use of each method would try and
attempt to portray his condition and help give the audience an insight into what his mindset could
be.

Description of Testing

The testing aspect of the project initially featured the public showing of the film at Abertay’s Hannah
McClure Centre Cinema, with the audience made up of 12 participants, being asked to answer a
questionnaire, with questions based around the use of the sound design, that would be used to
justify whether the project had been a success of not, and whether a character could be portrayed in
a sympathetic manner. The first part of the testing to be structured was the questionnaire itself. The
first format of questionnaire that was to be used was a Likert scale (Likert, 1932), to see how
strongly each participant agreed or disagreed to the sounds usage, and the consequence on the films
character. Using this method was felt to be the best option at the outset of the production as it
would be easier to collate the evidence together for later discussions.

As production continued, the idea of using a Likert scale was dropped as it was found to be
unworkable with the questions that were being constructed. While they could have been used, there
could potentially have been confusion and a misinterpretation or misunderstanding from the
participants, due to the wording of each question, and how they would answer it. With this in mind,
it was settled upon using alternative method of testing was draw up. Once again, using 12 test
subjects, a standard questionnaire with 9 questions, designed again around the sound design, would
be carried out through social networking websites Facebook and YouTube. An event page was
created where links to the questionnaire (hosted on file server Mediafire, see appendix 2) and the
film were posted for the participants to view and answer at their convenience.

When the first method of testing was found to be unworkable, due to a great deal of disorganisation
on the part of the author, and a mismanagement of time, it was decided, while there was nothing
wrong with the first method, and in many respects could have resulted in a set of different results,
that the new method could potentially be more successful. Using a social networking site would
eliminate any chance of selection bias from peers and colleagues, who happened to know about the

11 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 12

film before, making the test unfair, and there could have been a chance that they would not have
taken the test seriously.

The decision to do the social networking method was founded primarily on that seeing as the
participants would have little knowledge, or very little at least, on the films subject, despite a brief
description (see appendix 3) on the event page, the feedback would give arguably broader responses
and a degree of authenticity overall. The authenticity would come from having never met some of
the participants. Their own experiences in life with mental health, whether small or large, would
help in their answers by relating the film to their own thoughts and experiences.

One pitfall in particular was that there would be a lack of some form of quality control over the
whole process. If the testing in the cinema had taken place, it would have been fairer, as there
would have been the same projector, the same sound system and the same room environment. Also
the frequency response from the cinema’s sound system would be able to project the full spectrum
of audio that is within the soundtrack to the film, where as some home computer systems lack this.

To give quality control over the project, Abertay’s resident student counsellor, Vaughn Roberts, who
had been contacted earlier in the project to help gain a better understanding of depression, as well
help build the films character, very kindly agreed to also complete the questionnaire. With his firm
grasp upon mental health overall, the results were derived from compiling the answers and then
putting together a general consensus of the participants feedback, and then comparing them with
Vaughn’s, to see whether there was a general feeling that there had been a sympathetic portrayal of
a character with mental health problems through sound design on film or not.

12 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 13

Analysis And Results

Once the testing period was announced and the event page made public, slowly but surely,
questionnaires began to be sent back. Each was found to be coherently answered and it was felt that
the participants had indeed taken the test seriously. Once all fifteen were in, they were compared
together with the answers that Vaughn had sent back, to see whether or not they had similar
comparisons or were poles apart.

To show how they compared, the author first collated the answers from the participants and
narrowed them down into a general consensus, based on the amount of answers that were similar.
It should be noted that these are the author’s words. This was done as it was felt that by posting
each answer separately would not be easy reading, and a consensus, based around a few sentences
would sum up the points better. These were then stated, with the other thoughts placed afterwards.
They were then displayed along with Vaughn’s replies to see how the compared.

Question 1:

‘When the film opens up, how effective do you find the sequence at the start with the alarm clock?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

‘I found it effective in creating tension over the experience of seeing this guy looking a bit lost and
frightened and static yet his alarm was loudly telling him to get up. The white noise adds to the
unpleasantness of the experience and indicates that perhaps something is going on for him that is
disturbing. I like the contrast between the insistent alarm and his passivity.’

General consensus from participants:

Out of the 12 participants, 10 felt that the use of the alarm clock was generally found to be effect as
a tool to underline his unchanging misery. The usage of whitenoise could convey that all other
sounds are being blocked out.

Question 2:

‘From your answer to Q1 can you elaborate any further on that?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

Answer was left blank.

Consensus:

Out of the 12 participants, 7 felt that the alarm clock is used effectively to portray the mundane in
the characters life. It helps set the tone of the rest of the film, and intrigues the audience and wants
them to know more and helped the overall concept. The 5 other participants felt that the scene
went on for too long, and that the use of whitenoise became more irritating as it continued.

This question has proved to be inconclusive due to Vaughn’s lack of response.

Question 3:

13 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 14

‘When the character is looking at himself in the mirror, by using the sound, how would you describe
his mind state?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

‘The white noise marks that something is disturbing and internal and we now have put downs and
insults, is that his voice, the voice of others? You can sense that this may explain his reluctance to
get up and get going. You imagine he is unhappy and down.’

Consensus:

Out of the 12 participants, 10 felt that the character seemed to suffer from low-self-esteem and
seemed to be constantly miserable, coupled with low-self confidence, and emotionally disturbed
and also suffering from some confidence issues. The use of whitenoise and the voices inside his head
contribute to his mood. Of the other two, one felt there was something wrong with the character
but could pin down a mental health mood, while the other said the actor looked half asleep.

Question 4:

‘Between the characters encounter with the footballers, to the first sight of the men on the bench,
how well do you think the sound has been used?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

‘The sound with the white noise indicates he is recoding put downs and they are playing in his head-
we realise that those voices are gathering as a recording and may get him down, that he is pre-
occupied by those voices.’

Consensus:

Out of the 12, 11 participants felt that the sound had been used very well to emphasise his isolation
from the rest of the world and inner mind set and how he is withdrawn, in particular the use of the
inner voices which portray the characters’ feelings, emotions and self-loathing. One participant
found it hard to decide whether or not it was the same scene being portrayed or not, or a previous
experience in the characters mind flashing back to him.

Question 5:

‘Following from Q4, do you think it has any consequence on the character?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

‘He appears to be disconnected from his surroundings and turned in on himself and affected by the
voices and the content you imagine he is unhappy.’

Consensus:

Out of the 12 participants, 11 though that he sound had helped show his state of mind and his
continuous downward spiral, along with his thought process with it playing on his mind and his near-
constant feelings of self-worth. The other felt that had the character played football, he would have
been encouraged to get rid of the mindset.

14 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 15

Question 6:

‘During the pub scene, would you say that there is a contrast of perspectives with the sound, and
how would you describe the sounds’ usage?

Vaughn’s Reply:

‘The pub sounds which we hear but there is little sense that he hears it-he is stuck with the white
noise-the use of this suggests that he is detached from what is going on around him cant connect to
it he ignores the guy.’

Consensus:

Out of the 12 participants, 12 felt that generally there was a stark contrast of perspectives with the
outer world having a jovial feel to it, with people chatting away and the upbeat music playing over
the top, which suggests the world can be a joyous place. The sounds usage was a stark contrast to
the inner world, where it’s monotonous, bleak and isolated.

Question 7:

‘By using the audio, how would you describe the characters’ surroundings when walking back
through the park in comparison to what you have stated as his mind set earlier in this
questionnaire?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

‘I hear bird song, distant traffic and footfall. He appears not to relate to any of this, there is the grey
white noise section. His surroundings don’t fit with his mood and I assume he does not attend to his
surroundings in any way other than to hurry along.’

Consensus:

Out of the 12 participants, 7 felt that the birdsong had been used to portray an air of calm and
almost perfect world, where as his inner mood and lack of activity emphasised the unending
monotony of such an empty life. The other five could not notice any difference in the characters
mindset from earlier, although did notice that the use of ambient bird sounds was more noticeable
than the previous scene.

Question 8:

‘When the character goes back to bed at the conclusion of the film, again by using the sound, how
would you describe the characters’ mindset?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

I imagine that he is passive and ‘knocked off’ seeming blank, stunned, flat, all this because of the
insults and critical internal voices that play through his head-he seems defeated by the day and by
current state of his life.
Consensus:

15 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 16

Despite his constant attempts to make contact within the outer world, he just can’t escape his
demons, with the same thoughts from earlier in the film reiterated, adding to his torment. There is
also a sense of a kind of circle which is underlined by sound.

Question 9:

‘Overall, how do you think the character is being portrayed throughout the film?’

Vaughn’s Reply:

The character is portrayed has sad and down, disconnected from world around him fixed on internal
voice chatter that is negative and critical.

Consensus:

Out of the 12 participants, 11 felt that the character had been portrayed with some form of
depression throughout the film. Many posted their thoughts on the characteristics being portrayed,
examples including ‘detached,’ ‘self-berating,’ ‘low self-confidence,’ and ‘troubled.’ One participant
stated that he was ‘evidently depressed and very sick of who he is.’ The other participant felt that
the character was suffering more from paranoia, but commented ‘anyone who is depressed may
show their symptoms differently.

16 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 17

Discussion

Production

Building the Character

The character itself was built around meeting with the Abertay student counsellor to gain a
professional insight into mental health, so that the character could be portrayed as authentically as
possible. Of the characteristics he suggested was the heaviness of body movement, to give the
impression that he was being ‘weighed down by the world.’ Also suggested that keep the same facial
expression on throughout to show that his day rarely changes, which echoed the films’ title of ‘Same
Day, Every Day.’

Production of Film

The pre-production stage back in January of this year when the first synopsis was written (see
appendix 1.) which outlined the basic plot of the film, including where the camera shots would
change, what sounds would be heard during these points and how they related to the context. Once
the synopsis was finalised, the first draft of a script was written. With this complete, test shootings
took place to see how they would work, how successful they would be, and what work needed done
to make these shots a success.

After a fortnight of doing test shots, work commenced on the film, where the scenes in the main
characters flat were shot. Following that, the Park scenes were filmed on later that week, followed
by the final scenes in the pub, filmed two week later. Only a brief portion of the film needed to be
reshot, which was completed on the last day.

The reason for this was to keep continuity as strong as possible. Primarily, the issue was with the
main character, as his appearance would need to be kept as close as possible to the previous
shooting, as if it did change, would throw the shooting into turmoil. Also, with the nature of the
sound production, and the time starting to slip away further, having the shooting days as close as
possible would be advantageous.

For the visual elements, the footage was kept as neutral as possible, so not to distract the audiences’
attention away from the sound design. The use of mid-shots were widely used throughout, focusing
on the character, with only glances at the other characters for brief periods, as opposed to shifting
the attention to them.

The switching of shots was designed to give the audience a contrast on to the different perspectives
of the two worlds that are featured. The shooting of the ‘real world’ was done in colour to show it
can be a bright and jovial place, while the use of black and white during the 1st perspective shots
were used to show how bleak the world could be throughout the characters eyes, and tried to
convey that there was no difference between the sanctum of his own flat, and the world outside of
it.

After everyday’s shooting, the film was captured and edited the day after, to keep ideas that the
author had fresh in the mind and could be sufficiently carried out. By using this method, the author
feels that the film runs well overall, and the switches of shots keep the continuity of the film going.

17 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 18

With the finished product meeting all and passing all expectations originally set out, there were a
few minor changes that could have been changed. During the pub scene, when the man at the bar
attempts to converse with the main character, the character downs his drink and abruptly leaves.
With only a few seconds more filming, a shot of the character looking horrified at the man before
leaving, could of emphasised his mood at someone attempting to converse with him. Also during the
park scene, a similar shot of him looking horrified or even attempting to answer the footballers
could have brought a great deal more to the scene. With this in mind however, had this been done,
it could have taken the attention away from the sound, which would have failed one of the primary
aims.

Composition of Sound Design

With the film production underway, the recording of the ‘sound’ of the various locations began.
Known as ‘roomtones,’ these added authenticity to the location that the film was set in. The
composition started at roughly the same time as the principal photography. With the tones being
recorded on the days of shooting, the rest of the sound production was put on hold until the film
was edited. This was done as with the film in a finished form, it would be easier to determine what
sound was needed where, and how long its duration was.

With the film completed work began on the films’ sound. Using a small home studio with Pro Tools,
work began, first placing the whitenoise in at where an interior shot was used. The use of synchresis
here was used to try and convey the distortion within the characters mind and show how fast it was
going, with a whirling confusion overall.

The use of the anemphatic sound with the alarm clock was used to show, that the character was
aware of the world around him, although it was merely a minor occurrence within his day to day life.
The increasing volume was used to try and suggest that the alarm had been going for sometime
before the film commenced, and rising above the whitenoise as a piercing sound that would
eventually annoy him, so that one way or the other he would have to get up and switch it off, had it
not went through its full cycle.

The acousmatic sound was applied with the voices inside the characters head, to show that an inner-
demon was constantly plaguing him throughout his life and made reference to the fact he wouldn’t
go away, despite being out the flat. They were also used to try and further emphasise his condition
and show that this was having an overall effect on him.

The most prominent use of sound would be the footsteps heard throughout. Originally during the
post-production period, it was decided the best method of syncing them with the film would be to
place them into the audio track individually. Realising this idea would not work, due to a small library
of footfall sounds, it was decided an alternative method should be used. After a few aborted
attempts, such as placing the existing effects into a sampler and playing them in the style a similar to
that of playing the piano, it was decided to simply place two microphones near someone’s feet and
record them walking back and forward on varying surfaces while watching a playback of the film.

Much of the outdoor sounds, including the footsteps, were recorded using a small pocket-rack
microphone. Examples of this include each of the roomtones, the sounds of the traffic going by, and
parts of the dialogue, which are evident in the final mix. Recording the dialogue itself caused its own

18 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 19

set of problems. While the dialogue in the film is generally minimal, it does at certain points play a
significant role.

With the editing of the film being one of the primary objectives during the production phase, and
with time on the project schedule pushing on, steps to make sure that each character was voiced by
the correct actor were not taken. While lipsyncing wasn’t much an issue, due to the nature of the
shots, it did crop up occasionally, particularly in the scene with the football players where the one
that talks is clearly seen speaking.

To overcome this, voice actors were cased. While the majority of them did the job that was asked of
them, in the end, once again due to disorganisation and conscious awareness of the time that had
been given to the project, some voices did not fit the characters, as evident on a couple of occasions.

Testing

While the testing period was done quite late in the project, it was a fairly uneventful process. With
the time limit on the event set to a week to return, the majority of the participants were well within
the time-limit, and only a couple of reminders were sent out.

The method of testing would have, in an ideal world, been the first method which was to take place
in the cinema. This is purely based upon the quality control issue mentioned in the methodology.
Had the cinema showing taken place, then each participant would have experienced the same audio,
same picture quality, and been within the same environment, so there could arguably have been
similarities in both the answers given back, and in the way that the questions were answered. Had
the testing took place there, it would have been a great deal easier to gain the evidence needed.

Once the results themselves were in and collation began, deciding whether or not the answers were
completely down to the just the audio came into question. Along with the audio, there is also the
visuals and the acting to take into consideration. The initial plan during the conception, it was
planned that the visuals would be kept as neutral as possible so not to distract the audiences’
attention.

When watching the film, the visuals generally show the character merely waking up in his bed,
getting up, walking from his flat, through the park, to the pub, standing stationary, leaving the pub,
walking back to the flat, and going back to bed. While there are moments in which contact is made
with the character, visually, the author feels, there is little to be distracted from. Each character
wears neutral colours, again designed to not distract attention from the sound, and are only on
screen for very brief periods.

The acting once again was directed so that it wouldn’t distract the audiences’ attention. Once again,
the direction given to the main character was primarily to keep the same facial expression on for
each scene while walking briskly and not making any contact what-so-ever, bar a brief interaction
during the pub scene.

The questionnaire, while did the job it was required to do, in hindsight left many of the questions far
too open to interpretation from the audience members. While each question was designed around
the audio specifically, the way in which the questions were written quite often confused the
participants. One participant in fact answered that the character still ‘looked half asleep.’ Whether

19 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 20

this was due to them misreading the question entirely or not, the author generally feels that it was
down to the questionnaire. The original method of testing that was being used as a Likert scale, and
had the time been taken to create a better list of questions, done within the context, it could have
been easier to collate and analyse the data.

Conclusion

The project initially set out to find how sound design could portray a character with mental health
issues on film. This became an investigation into gaining a better understanding of mental health
generally, how to build the character using depressive characteristics, using cinematic techniques to
try and convey the message the film was trying to put across, that a character with mental health
issues can be portrayed realistically, and most importantly what conventions and techniques of
sound design would have to be used to portray his illness.

In examining the results gathered from both Vaughn and the participants, along with the various
aspects of the discussion, the conclusion that can be drawn is that the sound design has been found
overall to have successfully portrayed the character in the film as suffering from depression, or at
least a mental health problem, therefore achieving the aim initially set out. This conclusion is based
upon the comments that were made by Vaughn in his response, and the majority of those that took
part felt in their own minds that the character did seem to have a mental health problem, and stated
that they thought the character had a number of symptoms, such as low-self esteem, appearing
detached and having what seemed to be little enthusiasm, all of which are generally associated with
mental illness, and quite often depression.

The use of the sound design, in particular the application of anemphatic sound, coupled with the use
of acousmetre and synchresis has applied effectively to portray the state of the characters mind as
well as his surroundings, which in itself has had an effect overall.

With the questionnaires, there was some feeling of dissent from some of the participants. It should
be noted that one participant felt that the character was suffering from more from paranoia, as
opposed to depression. While this did not have much of an effect on the overall results, this
highlights how broad the spectrum of mental health is. Its size could be argued to be
incomprehensible, but it also could be argued that all mental health problems are in some way
related.

Whether the participants were able to relate themselves to the film in anyway, it has had an effect
on them emotionally.

Future Work

Given the opportunity to undertake the whole honours project again, the author would jump at the
chance. The reasoning behind this would be to learn from the mistakes that were made through the
design of the project generally, along with the design process of the film, the design of the audio,
and the design of the testing.

With the film itself, while the pre-production was found to be suitable in placing together the films’
synopsis, and writing of the script, there were parts that the author feels were weaker than some of
the other elements of the project. The script generally was felt to give a realistic portrayal, fairly

20 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 21

robust and was feasible to translate to film. Throughout production, there were instances that
deviated slightly, but nothing that would have a major effect on the film. An example would be the
scene with the men on the bench was supposed to come before the footballers.

The production of the film itself would have started around December as opposed to around late-
February/early Mach. This would have given more time to do editing and look at anything that
would have needed to be re-shot, and whether or not extra shots could have been used to provide
more emphasis on a certain event where the sound would be unable to, an example would be
adding a brief shot of the character looking horrified at the man in the pub, or possibly
contemplating playing football with guys in the park.

The main bulk of work that would take place again would be the sound design. Along with the visual
aspect of the project the author is satisfied with the end product, there are elements that would be
given more work, and could have been easily rectified had the author used his time more wisely. The
most notable piece or re-working would be the application of dialogue and the use of automatic
dialogue replacement throughout. First of all would be the appropriate casting of voice artists. A
number of the characters have voices which the author feels does not communicate themselves well
or fit well, notably the main characters only speaking appearance. Having used his own voice more
than once, it was thought to be overkill to use it again for another character. However for the
amount of time the character is heard, this could have been a problem easily sorted. Throughout the
film there are a couple of lipsyncing issues, which could have once again been very easily addressed
had the author paid proper attention to the detail, and managed his time better.

The testing aspect has been covered thoroughly throughout this dissertation, but to reiterate the
authors’ points on the testing period, ideally, it would have taken place in the cinema, for the use of
the environment, the sound system, and easiness of collecting and collating data. While the project
testing was indeed successful, an alternative method of using the same film with the soundtrack
stripped down to just the bleak sounds or those heard inside the characters head being featured
prominently and there being only silence during the exterior shots.

While the pre-mentioned points could have resulted in the film being largely different, and the
testing bringing a host of different answers, they are largely superficial overall to the project. An
investigation of the difference between the exterior and interior of the worlds within the film could
be continued at a later date, for the time, enough work has been covered.

21 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 22

References

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition - Text Revision (DSMIV-TR). Washington D.C: American Psychiatric. P35-36.

Holmes, L. (2010). Causes Of Depression. Available:

http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/depression/a/depressioncause.htm. Last accessed 12 May 2011.

Huxley, P. 1993. Location and stigma: a survey community attitudes to mental illness: enlightenment
and stigma. Journal Of Mental Health UK, 2, P73-80

Lawson A, Fouts G, (2004) Mental illness in Disney animated films. The Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry (5) pp310-314

Likert, R. (1932). A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 1–55

Michel Chion (1994). Audio-Vision. Chichester, East Sussex: Columbia University Press. P221-222.

Michel Chion (1994). Audio-Vision. Chichester, East Sussex: Columbia University Press. P63-64.

O' Hara, M. (2009). Mental Health Is Still Strongest Taboo Says Research. Available:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/feb/20/mental-health-taboo. Last accessed 12 May 2011.

Smith, B.F (1998). Anatomy Of Film. 3rd ed. New York City: St. Martin's Press. P22.

Rabiger, M (2004). Directing The Documentary. Oxford: Focal Press. 320-321.

Roberts, F. B. (2009). What Are The Characteristics Of Depression?. Available:

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/108609/depression/what_are_the_characteristics_of
_depression.html. Last accessed 16th May 2011.

Rowe, D. 2007. Leave the prison of depression. The Times Online, ‘Your Brain: How to use it.’ May
23rd 2007

Steven D. Katz (1991). Film Directing Shot By Shot. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions. P267.

Bibliography

Books

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth
Edition - Text Revision (DSMIV-TR). Washington D.C: American Psychiatric. 2000

Chion, Michel. Audio-Vision. Chichester, East Sussex: Columbia University Press 1990

Dixon, C. Introduction To Film Studies, Abingdon: Routledge Press, 1999

Pramaggiore, M; Wallis T. Film: A Critical Introduction. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd. 2005

Rabiger, M. Directing The Documentary. Oxford: Focal Press. 2004

Rowe, Dr Dorothy. Depression The Way Out of Your Prison. New York City: Brunner-Routledge 1983

22 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 23

Smith, B.F . Anatomy Of Film. 3rd ed. New York City: St. Martin's Press. 1998

Journals And Articles

Bracke, M. P. Blu-Ray Review: The Terminator. Available:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/11/terminator.html. 2006

Huxley, P. Location and stigma: a survey community attitudes to mental illness: enlightenment and
stigma. Journal Of Mental Health UK 1993

Isaza, M. Sep 1 2009 September’s Featured Sound Designer: Ben Burtt . Available:
http://designingsound.org/2009/09/septembers-featured-ben-burtt/. 2009

Johnnie Burn. The Insider's Guide To Sound Design. Available:

http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/532487/Insiders-Guide-Production-Sound-Design---Sound-
defined/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH. 2005

Jonathon Kay. 20's. Available: http://frank.mtsu.edu/~smpte/twenties.html. 1997

Jonathon Kay. 30's. Available: http://frank.mtsu.edu/~smpte/thirties.html. 1997

Lawson A, Fouts G, Mental illness in Disney animated films. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 2004

Mogey, N. 1999 ‘Why use a Likert

scale?’http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/cookbook/info_likert_scale/printable.pdf

Paqu, D. What Is Dubbin?. Available: http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articleid=1646106. 2009

Vincent, S. 2009. How To Record High Quality Audio for Film & TV. Available:
http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/recording/how-to-record-high-quality-audio-for-film-tv/.

23 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 24

Appendices

Figure 1:

Synopsis

Camera fades into to reveal character in bed. There is an alarm clock buzzing continuously, while the
character stares aimlessly at the ceiling. The alarm clock is still buzzing. It eventually switches itself
off, at which point the character gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom. Looking slightly rough
and unshaven, he looks into the mirror where we hear and inner monologue where he berates
himself. He then looks at the shower, and sighs. He then leaves. End of scene. Fade to black.

Camera opens up on a vibrant park in the afternoon. There is a group of lads playing football, a
couple of females standing chatting away. We see the character turn into the park from the adjacent
street and begins to walk through it. There is now a switch between close-up shots and shots from
the characters POV. He stares at the footballers and tries to walk towards them in attempt to try and
get a game. The nearest one spots him and says a derogatory remark towards him. He himself then
begins to put himself down in his head as he continues on his walk. The previously mentioned
females are nearby are still chatting away. He catches one of their eyes, then looks away. He then
slows his walk down, attempting to listen to the conversation. They’re a few words accentuated that
we hear, but not the full conversation. He continues to stare and the lass standing further away, who
then catches his eye, gives a look of disgust, deepening his mood, and he continues onwards. Fade
to black

We fade in on a modern pub, there is a few people sitting chatting, with a couple standing at the bar
chatting. Once again we can hear the background audio. He walks and proceeds to the bar, and
orders a drink. While standing at the bar, he stares into space. Once again the camera cuts to his
point of view, where we hear a constant drone with insults from his past being brought the forefront
of his mind. We cut away to see the two blokes at the bar attempting to converse with him. We cut
back to his POV where there is a crescendo of sound, where it cuts out, and the camera reverts back
to the view of him at the bar. The two blokes next to him are attempting to converse with him. He
looks at the two gents horrified, with them questioning his sudden change in mood. He then
proceeds to run out of the pub, we then seem him running back through the park and back into his
flat, where he locks the door, and goes back to bed, aimlessly staring at the ceiling, in then fades to
black.

End of film

24 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 25

Figure 2:

Q1:

When the film opens up, how effective do you find the sequence at the start with the alarm clock?

Q2:

From your answer to Q1, can you elaborate any further on that?

Q3:

When the character is looking at himself in the mirror, by using the sound, how would you describe
his mind state?

Q4:

Between the characters encounter with the footballers, to the first sight of the men on the bench,
how important do you think the sound has been used?

Q5:

Following from Q4, do you think it has any consequence on the character?

Q6:

During the pub scene, would you say that there is a contrast of perspectives with the sound, and
how would you describe the sounds’ usage?

Q7:

By using the audio, how would you describe the characters’ surroundings when walking back
through the park in comparison to what you have stated as his mind set earlier in this questionnaire?

Q8:

When the character goes back to bed at the conclusion of the film, again by using the sound, how
would you describe the character’s mindset?

Q9:

Overall, how do you think the character is being portrayed throughout the film?

25 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 26

Figure 3:

Craig honours project

1. I found it effective in creating tension over the experience of seeing this guy looking a bit lost
and frightened and static yet his alarm was loudly telling him to get up. The white noise adds
to the unpleasantness of the experience and indicates that perhaps something is going on
for him that is disturbing. I like the contrast between the insistent alarm and his passivity.
2.
3. The white noise marks that something is disturbing and internal and we now have put
downs and insults, is that his voice, the voice of others? You can sense that this may explain
his reluctance to get up and get going. You imagine he is unhappy and down.
4. I don’t understand the question how important do you think the sound has been used? Yes
it is important or no it is not important???
The sound with the white noise indicates he is recoding put downs and they are playing in
his head-we realise that those voices are gathering as a recording and may get him down,
that he is pre-occupied by those voices.

5. He appears to be disconnected from his surroundings and turned in on himself

and affected by the voices and the content you imagine he is unhappy

6. The pub sounds which we hear but there is little sense that he hears it-he is stuck with the
white noise-the use of this suggests that he is detached from what is going on around him
cant connect to it he ignores the guy.
7. I hear bird song, distant traffic and footfall. He appears not to relate to any of this, there is
the grey white noise section. His surroundings don’t fit with his mood and I assume he does
not attend to his surroundings in any way other than to hurry along.
8. I imagine that he is passive and ‘knocked off’ seeming blank, stunned, flat, all this because of
the insults and critical internal voices that play through his head-he seems defeated by the
day and by current state of his life-
9. The character is portrayed has sad and down, disconnected from world around him fixed on
internal voice chatter that is negative and critical.

26 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 27

Figure 4:

Q1: The sequence at the start was very effective in drawing me into the film.

Q2: The steady build up of the alarm clock and the distortion drew me into the character's mindset
and set the tone for the rest of the film.

Q3: The character appears to hearing in his mind, the voices of people who have said offensive or
abusive things to him. By focusing on these voices the sound successfully shows that the character
believes these things about himself by using the mirror as a visual tool. The use of the voice- over
sound leads me to this conclusion. It should also be noted that the distortion effect relates to a
sense of mental depression and the swirling of thoughts within the characters mind.

Q4: The sound again is important in this encounter. Just before the main character gets asked to
play, the sound again goes distorted and again it shows him hearing voices. This leaves no doubt
about the character's state of mind. He is clearly depressed and feels people are laughing at him.
The characters hunched shoulders shows he feels awkward.

Q5: As stated above the consequence of this is evident, showing that there is "something up" with
the character as he progresses through the park.

Q6: During the pub scene, the upbeat music in the backround gives a sense of a warm and cosy
atmosphere within the pub. However in contrast the charcter clearly feels uncomfortable in these
surroundings as his mind focuses back to his unhappy thoughts. These is backed up by the sound by
using a distorted affect.

Q7: The surroundings are clearly different from the first sequence in the park. The birds tweeting
and nice ambient sound give a different context to the first sequence. However it should be noted
that this time there is no one in the park. This could suggest that the character is more comfortable
in his own company rarther than bigger groups.

Q8: The conclusion of the film clearly shows that the character is experiencing the same thoughts as
the start of the film. This is shown effectively by sound as it links back to the start of the film with
the voice over depressive thoughts and the distorted mindset.

Q9: The character is being portrayed throughout the film as someone who is suffering from
depressive thoughts and a depressive mindset. This is done clearly and effectively by clever usage of
sound.

27 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 28

Figure 5:

1. Reasonably effective.

2. I feel it adequately describes a major symptom of depression - avoidance and also how difficult it
can be to get out of bed sometimes.

3. Extremely low self esteem which could be caused by a range of things, including depression.

4. I think sound has been used importantly to show how the character is withdrawn and in his own
world and thoughts and also how the footballer's comments affect him.

5. I feel that it further enforces his feeling of being a failure.

6. In the pub scene, the sound is drastically different, showing how out of place he feels in his loud
surroundings compared to his quiet reflection in the park.

7. I think he is less withdrawn and not reflecting on his own thoughts as much, as the natural sounds
of the park are not so drowned out as in the previous park scene.

8. Definitely stressed and having thoughts of things that happened during the day that are upsetting
him .

9. As a very withdrawn and unhappy character, with little to no self esteem.

28 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 29

Figure 6:

1: It goes on a bit too long but it does get the idea of not feeling like getting up across.

2: The repetitive sound and the staring up at the ceiling is irritating to the viewer but not the actor
which shows how disconnected he is from it. However the long length of this scene makes you start
wondering if it’s going to be just this for the entire film. The length does help the concept but it over
does it.

3: Self loathing. Hissing sound makes him seem disconnected from what’s happening around him
too.

4: After the footballers shot, we go to a first person view. I found it difficult to tell if what we were
hearing was the same scene, just from his perspective, or him continuing to walk with what was said
by the footballer echoing in his mind.

5: The word “twat” obviously hits him hard, he keeps hearing it, he keeps calling himself it and the
people around him keep re-enforcing that a twat is something to be hated.

6: The music in the pub and the chatter going on in the background suggest a happy atmosphere
however when we go to the characters perspective, all we hear is the hiss and the barman. This does
well to show the disconnection from the world around him. Visually, the same effect is made too, the
pub is a colourful place and with the desaturation of the picture, we see that even this is lost on him.

7: Not much different.

8: The character evidently feels like he’s wasted a day, he feels like he’s had another day to do
something and ended up doing nothing. The first person sound shows that he’s dwelling on little
things that he should ignore.

9: The character is evidently very depressed and sick of who he is. The actor portrays this very well
and the contrast between first person and the rest of the world is done in such a way that we learn
how he sees the world differently from what it really is.

29 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 30

Figure 7:

1: Quite effective

2: The heartbeat sound underlined well the potential anxiety that the main character might feel
when he’s about to go out.

3: He seems to be quite oppressed

4: Remembering the following part, it is quite an important part

5: Yes, it follows him until the end

6: Do not know

7: Oppressive surrounding

8: He appears to be in a worse mindset than at the beginning

9: Well, the use of subjective sound has been well put together although perhaps the use of non
diegetic sounds could have been used to underline the overall feeling of the sequence

Figure 8:

1: I think it is extremely effective.

2: It helps set the mood for the whole film. The repetitive beep works well. Feeling monotnous and
dreary. Reflecting in the main characters outlook.

3: I would say it looked down. Possibly bitter.

4: I think it was very important. The sound and limited dialogue help develop the mood from the
beginning of the film.

5: Yes. I think it adds to the spiral of negative reinforcement the character seems to be subjecting
himself to.

6: Yes. The pub background sound is jovial. With people casually chatting and lively music playing in
the background. Compeltely at contrast to the main characters apparent outlook/mood.

7: Quiet. Monotonous. normal.

8: Subdued, distant, self deprecating.

9: Someone young in their life with obvious issues that the film doesnt go into depth about but
obvious is having alot of trouble dealing with. You could even say they could be self destructive in
those problems with the constantly self berrating and looking down on himself. yet seemingly being
detached emotionally to the world around him. Definitely someone with issues.

30 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 31

Figure 9:

1: Good tone/fixed overhead shot underlines his unchanging misery along with fade up of foley
noise which get quite loud in the mix.

2: I would say the shot is too long by modern cinema standards (1 minute is a long time for an
audience) and the point could be made in 10 seconds both visually and sonically.

3: The switch between b/w and colour works well with the foley of 'voices in his head' and I like the
tape hiss sound to reinforce his unhappiness.

4: It's very important in establishing his inner world and how that contrasts with colour of the
'normal' world.

5: The film is from his point of view so we sympathise with him.

6: The vibrancy of the pub foley is a stark contrast with his monotone inner world - it sounds well
balanced when listening with good headphones.

7: The footsteps and ambient sound show his isolation and the unending monotony of such an
empty life.

8: Despite his attempts to connect with the outer world, the sound of his inner life prevails and we
sense a kind of circle which underlined by the sounds.

9: Life is joyless and attempts at connection with 'reality' prove futile.

Figure 10:

1: I feel that the character has been unable to sleep but finds it hard to face another day so just
lays in bed while the alarm clock goes off.

2: He sleeps in his clothes and the 1st thing he does is to put his head in his hands before
opening the curtains like he is forcing himself to deal with the day ahead

3: He seems schizophrenic and self-defecating

4: It emphasizes how much he seems to loath himself

5: No if he had played football i think it would help him but otherwise it is encouraging the
downward cycle

6: It plays on his loneliness and his distrust/fear of people

7: It makes me feel as though he is empty like he does not feel anything not depressed or
happy just empty

8: same shit different day, the character seems depressed and just wanting to get by one day at
a time

9: Depressed, schizophrenic and self-defecating

31 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 32

Figure 11:

1: It’s okay, rouses curiosity.

2: Not really.

3: Disturbed, emotionally unstable I guess.

4: Between the characters encounter with the footballers, to the first sight of the men on the bench,
how important do you think the sound has been used?

5: Not sure.

6: Not sure what you mean.

7: Same, highlights sense of isolation.

8: Same.

9: As a lonely, depressed person who is sinking further into isolation.

Figure 12:

1: Yes

2: Not sure how to elaborate more.

3: He seems to be depressed.

4: The inside the head sounds are important.

5: I think it shows his mind state.

6: The sound seems to be used to show the main characters disconnection with reality.

7: It sounds realistic to the environment he is in.

8: Unhappy and depressed.

9: As someone suffering depression.

32 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 33

Figure 13:

1: Very effective, get a sense of mundane, not wanting to get out of bed and start the day, feeling of
lack of motivation and disinterest. The general white noise effect is good as it seems to suggest that
any other noise in the background is cancelled out and all that can be heard is the repetitive alarm.

2: No answer

3: Low mindset, low self confidence

4: Sound good, lack of a lot of back ground noise to me compliments the numbness of his mind.
Going into the white noise and the characters ‘taunting’ conversation then allows an insight as to his
perception

5: To an extent, the taunting conversation repeating itself shows how the characters mood changes
his perception of things but I would perhaps add to the voices something along the lines of “why
would they want a game, I’m useless, they only want to take the piss” sorta thing.

6: Yes there is the upbeat music being used alongside the white noise is effective, in order to make it
more so consider having him in black and white in the colored backdrop with upbeat scenery, silence
some of the white noise but use this as an excuse to listen to the voices in his head over the music
“why am I even here, no one wants to talk to me, no one likes me, no one wants to listen.”

7: The lack of noise and activity to me symbolises the numbness and isolation he feels.

8: Negative, very focused on what has been said to him during the course of the film through his
illnesses perception of the events.

9: A sense of low hope and despair, very negative view of self and low confidence. The use of black
and white and white noise is effective in showing a depressives general lack of interest in the life
thats going on around them and the change in perception of things their illness causes.

33 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 34

Figure 14:

1: I found it a very powerful and effective opening scene

2: The scene portrayed elements of unknown and focused the audiences attention, intriguing them
to want to know more.

3: Uncertain, low-self esteem, unconfident

4: I think the sound is evidently a key part of the production. The voice-overs effectively portray the
characters feelings and emotions.

5: Definitely, I feel that it portrays the characters thought process and feeling of low-self worth well

6: I think the sound portraying the atmosphere of the pub is used well. It is not the surrounding
which brings the character down but in fact the characters perspectives within himself. I am not
sure whether or not the white noise was particularly effective however as it blurred the characters
speech I feel.

7: The bird song has been cleverly used to portray an air of calm and peace. The voices inside the
mind of the character however re-emphasis the feelings of self-loath within his own thought
process.

8: I believe the same thoughts are reiterated in the characters mind as before only adding to his dark
thoughts.

9: I think the character and his thoughts and feelings are portrayed well to the audience.

Figure 15:

1: The flanging of white noise was a rather unorthadox way of getting the point across that the alarm
is adding to said white noise but it generally was effective.

2: The increase in volume of the alarm works well, perhaps increasing the high end to make it more
piercing to get across the annoyance of an alarm.

3: Self Doubting, negative….a manic depressive really

4: It worked as an internal monologue with the delay and subtle laughter but there are dubbing and
leveling issues that are noticeable when it comes to the footballers voice in real time. The bench
section was slightly was a bit hectic but I feel that may have been the point.

5: As manic depressives go, its just another brick on the wall.

6: During the pub scene, would you say that there is a contrast of perspectives with the sound, and
how would you describe the sounds’ usage?

7: Not much different from what I can see

8: Enforced if that makes sense. Really effective actually

9: Overwhelmed and Depressed

34 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 35

Figure 16:

1: I found the alarm clock very irritating. I watched the scene a couple of times,
once with the sound on and once with it muted. Also,It didn’t need the flanged white
noise.

2: With the sound muted I felt that I was in a similar frame of mind as the protagonist.
My thoughts drifted with his.

3: I get the impression that the protagonist has some level of anxiety but I wouldn’t
say that it’s a full blown episode of major depression. If the protagonist had stayed
in front of the mirror for an extra 30 seconds longer and had hatefully stared at
himself whilst the voice of the inner “demon” was tormenting him I would have a
better sense of exactly what mental illness was trying to be portrayed.

4: It was used well, especially picking up on the negative words being said i.e
“fucking twat” etc. I still found the flanged white noise irritating.

5: Of course, when we are depressed we pick up on the smallest details and they
can overwhelm and dominate us.

6: Yes, there’s definitely a contrast with each of the two perspectives by the stark
difference in external sound and the way the protagonist perceives them.

7: There’s a notable increase in more natural sounds, i.e birds and traffic.

8: I liked the silence before he went to his bed. When he’s in his bed we hear how he
is repeating his day in his mind.

9: Honestly, he seems to be more paranoid than depressed. That said, anyone who is
depressed may show the symptoms of depression differently.

Figure 17:

1: I thought it was very effective.

2: Your eye was drawn to the character and also to the clock.

3: He looked as though he was still half asleep

4: Sound was used very well here – minimal but effective

5: The character seems oblivious to any sounds or comments made so I don’t think it has any
consequence on him.

6: Again minimal and with background noise there seems to be a perfect balance.

7: Surrounding do not seem to matter to the character. He is in a world of his own.

8: He has withdrawn into his own world when he is in his bed. The sound used here confirms this.

35 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 36

9: Throughout the film the character is someone who comes across as being troubled, distant,
oblivious to his surroundings or any comments/sounds around him.

Figure 18:

From: HOUSTON, CRAIG [mailto:0900083@live.abertay.ac.uk]

Sent: 30, January, 2011 15:54
To: Counselling Service
Subject: Honours Project

Dear Sir/Madam

My name is Craig Houston, and I am currently a forth year student at Abertay studying Creative
Sound Production under Dr Kenny McAlpine. My honours project is an investigation into how sound
design can portray a real portrayal of a character suffering from mental illness, specialising in
depression for the film, on screen. It is hoped that the film will raise awareness in the public forum
that mental health is an legitimate illness and is wrong to be subject to ridicule.

To create an authentic character, a study of depressive characteristics is being undertaken. I was

wondering, would I be able to take possibly half an hour of your time, at your convenience to have a
chat with you about some of the scenarios that you have experienced in your line of work, and what
you find to be the most common symptoms of depression.

Any help that you could offer would be great appreciated

Your sincerly

Craig Houston (0900083)

Hi Craig
This is really interesting and I would be keen to arrange to meet up. Can you send me details of your
availability and I will book an appointment.
Above is a link to a site which has a huge amount of information on depression and students with lots
of personal accounts from real students on their experiences. I would recomend having a look at that.
with respect
vaughn

--
Vaughn Roberts M.Ed. B.A. MBACP (Accred.) CSS
Senior Student Counsellor
Stu Advisory & Couns
University of Abertay Dundee
Scotland's leading modern university for psychology research (RAE 2008)
The University of Abertay Dundee is a charity registered in Scotland, No: SC016040
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Vaughn

Thank you once again for the website link, I got a proper read over it last night, great examples of
case studies. Was just wondering if you had found a time for an appointment?

36 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 37

Thanks again

Craig

(Feb 1st 2011)

Hi Craig
I have made an appointment for us to meet at 10-00am on monday 7th feb.
I look forward to seeing you then.
with respect
vaughn

--
Hi Vaughn

Thankfully, the film is now complete, and was wondering if you could give any feedback on it. The
last time we spoke, you suggested using a fade-to-grey. While I really like the idea, the video editing
software that we used did not give us that option unfortunatly, but thank you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YGeqNXN4zo

Enjoy and cheers!

Craig

Hi Craig
Thanks for letting me see this. I found it intersting and engaging.
I liked it- the guy is good, he has an interesting face and the
expression in his bed is sad and affecting. I liked the fact that
you didn't try to be too dramatic about the effort of it all for the
guy, it felt real and had some truth in it about the dullness and
futility of feeling this way. So well done.
I have no technical knowledge but had the following thoughts:
I was struck by the potential of differentiating even more within
the soundtrack between the grey/depressed/internal perspective
sections and the coloured external view
I was wondering about how to increase the difference in sound when
it is in colour and black and white.
The black and white is the greyness of depression and some of the
sounds could be more intensely irritating/jarring annoying-when we
are in colour could there be birdsong? or some other contrast in
sound which is pleasant but he cannot hear it. This would be mean
that the sound collage at the end could be louder and more painful
and mixed in a way that ground you and him down maybe longer louder
and painful in some way. The sound of his footfall was good but can
you use it more effectively to communicate the contrast in the two
perspectives?
I am impressed and wish you all the best with this.
Respect
Vaughn

37 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3
 38

38 | C r a i g D H o u s t o n 0 9 0 0 0 8 3