I just wanted to preface this by saying I’m not obsessed with dogs even though most of my assignments might lead you to believe that, haha. I wanted the dog in this narrative to be more of a stand in for his heartbreak over the relationship, and how lonely Jeff is now.
March 8, 2017 at 2:49 pm
Hi Lindy – I loved this! This was the first piece I’d heard from our class that was dialogue-based, and I thought you did an amazing job. Jeff and Brian’s interaction was so poignant and moving. Even without having to explicitly say that Diane left Jeff for his (ex)friend Brian, we can feel the heartbreak in Jeff’s life, and it really evoked that incredibly painful hole in your chest you get when confronted with the ruins of something that was precious. The distant sound of a dog barking in the background, and the unease and dissatisfaction it provokes makes an excellent underbeat to the conversation, and makes it seem like the shade of Buster is witness to the whole exchange. Even without the final closing line, we can understand that this is a man who feels like he has nothing left, not even his dog. The moment when Jeff says, “he’s not an outside dog” and Brian stonewalls him makes you understand that there is nothing left of the life Jeff had lived, even to the details of how his dog was treated. Wonderful work!
March 8, 2017 at 5:01 pm
Lindy –
I agree with much of what Sarah said regarding your choice to use dialogue for this exercise. I feel many of us have been trying to replace words with image or sound, but your ability to bring light to this narrative through keeping their interaction in the forefront and using the background sound to enhance the script was really effective! Neither elements were a distraction from the other and both allowed me to paint a picture of where this interaction took place. It’s clear that you could feel sadness and heartbreak from the main subject, but there was also tension present between them which is some to do with acting and much to do with the placement of silence and space which you did very well! Using the dog to bridge the gap between theI was brilliant and I was glad to see some element of your previous work integrated into this sound bit. You’ve done very well at giving such emotion to the animals present in your stories and the love you have for them shows through, I love it! I think my favorite part of this was the self thinking that was present at the end. It really tied the interaction up nicely and left the listener feeling sympathetic towards the subject and hopeful for Chester’s new life. The way this was recorded was a clear switch from dialogue to narration and acted as a moment of reflection – really cool effect! Overall great job – I’m continuing to applaud the work you bring to the table!!
March 8, 2017 at 9:17 pm
Hey Lindy,
I liked the narrative that you created. The dog converstion was creative. I really enjoyed the dialougue and the conversation. It’s just interesting, because in a perfect world, I feel like in a sense we all want to be able to have a conversation with our animals and to understand them. I really liked the outside sounds, it really provided a visual of where the conversation was taking place. Good Job.
March 9, 2017 at 3:01 am
Lindy,
The dialogue in your track went so well with your narration. I really appreciate the approach you took. The idea that the heartbreak might not be directly linked to the dog but more of a projection of the heartbreak that came from an old relationship.
Pain and loneliness is so apparent in Jeff’s voice as he hears about all of the aspects of his life that are now gone. You can feel his pain as he makes statements proving that he knows Diane and the dog even though they are no longer a part of his life.
I loved the ending line. The realization that Diane no longer belonged to him but instead saying Buster’s name. So often in life we use less painful experiences to protect us from the more painful ones. Thank you for this. I really enjoyed the way you used sound and dialogue to tell a story.
March 9, 2017 at 5:13 am
The dog theme is working well for you! I enjoyed listening to your audio narrative, and I feel that I got a clear picture of where the dialogue took place and what the atmosphere might have been like.
I heard a lot of nature sounds and dogs barking in the background, which led me to believe that the two gentlemen were outdoors, possibly in a park. If not in a park, I can also see the guys crossing paths in a suburban neighborhood.
I assumed that the two were well acquainted, though their encounter seemed a bit weird. I sensed some tension between Brian and Jeff, especially with the hesitation in both of their voices and the small talk that occurred between the two. While Jeff asked about how Diane and Buster are doing, Brian did not return the gesture as if Jeff did not have any of the sort to ask about. Jeff seemed a bit hesitant to ask how the they were, and Brian seemed cautious with the touchy subject. I realized that the hesitant nature of the conversation was due to Jeff’s loneliness without his woman and his dog who Brian now has to call his own.
I like that your entire premise was summed up in the final sentence/statement of the clip. It was at that moment that I felt very sorry for Jeff. The preceding moments of the audio suddenly made sense to me.
Fantastic job with building this story.
March 31, 2017 at 1:10 pm
I love how you prefaced this with sharing with us you aren’t obsessed with dogs hahah! In regard to your sound piece, I like that you approached this narrative by using Buster as a metaphor for this breakup that Jeff is going through. The conversation sounds natural and Jeff’s emotions are visible in his tone of voice. The scripting and content of the conversation is well aligned with highlighting the awkward mundane conversations we have that may affect us differently while enduring a heartbreak. The background sounds really add to the narrative, allowing the listener to envision the setting and space of where this conversation is taking place. At the start I think a park, then I start to imagine an open living room with windows open or a balcony door open, hearing the wind or maybe the sound of the distant ocean with cars passing by. The last line of the script where Jeff says “It was that moment when I realized that Buster was not my dog anymore, ties the narrative together. It really sums up and emphasizes the underlying narrative. I felt empathy for Jeff while he was undergoing this epiphany in such a casual way. Great work, excited to see how your film takes form!
May 15, 2017 at 8:00 pm
Lindy
Years of consuming heterosexual breakup stories has hardened my queer cynical heart but something about this guy realizing his god is no longer his really struck a chord with me. It’s so sad! Haha. I think listening to dialogue was a nice break from the projects I’ve listened to thus far. It’s really interesting to see what people come up with when they don’t have to visualize their stories. I myself tend to stay away from dialogue whenever I work on a short film because acting is hard and sounding natural is always a challenge (especially if none of the friends you bribe into acting in your films are actors). It’s also interesting to note the difference in perception from when you’re listening as opposed to watching people talk. I feel like, as a listener, you tend to pay more attention to subtle nuances in how people choose to say the things they say and what they are actually saying. Also background noise in audio pieces is more brought more to the foreground than with visual pieces. The dog barking in the background definitely adds even more anxiety to the quiet, passive aggressive tension between the two men. I have to be honest, I didn’t really understand that Jeff’s ex left with his friend Brian until after reading Sarah’s comment. Maybe I would had added a little introductory voiceover at the beginning to place the audience in the context of the story. However, the way the piece is written, the sounds, and how the actors deliver their lines definitely convey something is not right.