Hello! Miriam here.
With the first phase of the edit almost complete, today we watched the film in order to keep finding ways to improve it. This led to a discussion about the voices and the effect that we hope they'll have on the audience. When researching for the story, I came across different videos that voice hearers had put together in order to show how the voices can be perceived. I found these videos very effective as they not only gave me an idea of how the voices might be heard, in some cases they made me feel anxious. Often it was hard to understand what was being said and, at times, the voices were speaking at the same time.
In Selective Listening, we are able to hear the voices and they are present through the majority of the film, except from the moments in which Harrison manages to control them. Each voice has its own personality and agenda within Harrison's life and they want to be heard. As filmmakers, one of our challenges is to make a feature-length film that portrays the realities of what it is like to be in the position of a person who hears voices and balance that with a sound mix that will remain watchable and enjoyable for audiences. It takes judement without agenda and isn't quick to do so although it remains interesting and enjoyable! Of course, we had the choice of words and timing under control and so now it's a matter of having Ean Currie, our sound recordist, sound mixer and score composer, contributing with his expertise. Can't wait!
Blog for the British indie comedy-drama film, 'Selective Listening'.
