Extra Credit

Hunting in Wartime

1. Please describe in detail three instances in the film of sound design underneath archival footage.

Note - all of the archive footage (much of it I received through the National Archives and family home movies) in the film comes without sound so everything you hear in those instances needed to have sound design created.

What are you hearing?

How does is add to the mood or feeling of the film?

In one instance archive footage was used during the narration of Donald See. and Ken Austin The aboriginal men were explaining their culture and how it interacts with nature. As Donald was recounting his childhood and his passion for hunting and fishing there are archival footage of the City of Hoonah, which creates a visual setting for the film. It then cuts to Donald, as if answering the audience’s question, “who lives here?” When Ken was narrating his experience with his grandfather there was footage of men in boats and of trees. This creates a direct visual companion to his story.

When Donald was describing what it was like to be in war, and how terrifying it was there were archival footage and photos of men in war. The shots were striking, and horrifying, they create an image to reflect the terror Donald was describing. When he was expressing a recurring nightmare he would have of people running towards him with flares in the air, there is a shot of a nearly black screen with bright red flashes moving towards the viewer. It allows the audience to empathize with the horror that follows him in his dreams.

When Donald was describing his first hunting trip with his dad after he came back, there are several images of shot and gutted deer. This was done so the audience could visualize the intensity of his shooting spree. He described the event as pure war, as the camera panned on to the glassy eye of the dead deer, to draw a comparison to the dead men left on the field.

During the archival footage of the war scenes I heard a lot of screaming and gunshots. A lot of typical war sounds to go with the images. This adds a sense of genuineness to the chaotic and awful feeling of war. It also allows the viewer to sympathize with the subjects of the film, because the footage and the sound accurately capture the same ambience that they had experienced.

2. How does animation and graphic design move the story along? What is it used for?

In the beginning of the film there was an animated scene of Alaska. This introduces the story in a way that evokes a story time feeling. It almost juxtaposes the rest of the film in it’s childlike and peaceful imagery and sound. During the middle of the film there was a graphic that explained the statistics of war. It was informational to the viewer and created an accurate and detailed image of war.