Author Archives: Jack Webber

Posted on by

Equipment

Related to LO1

 

The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers, has a chapter on building a field recording package. The chapter goes through 3 packages of a typical set-up, depending on the professionalism you want and you budget. The pages included a basic recording package, standard recording package, and professional recording package.

Because I want to record high quality and highly professional recordings, I want to get as close to the professional package as possible. This includes:

A field recorder

Profeshional grade batteries

Compact flash card

Headphones

Stereo microphone, wind protection and shock mount

Shotgun Microphone, wind protection and shock mount

Microphone stands and adaptors

Boom pole

Cables

Carrying bag

However this equipment can be very expensive. Therefore i am somewhat limited to what i can use. I personally own a zoom h4, (which is a highly recommended handheld recorder) and a rode NTG2 shotgun mic (quality budget microphone.) Therefore I will use this equipment as a backup and use the facilities from media loans as a primary set-up.

The setup will include:

Sound devices 633 Mixer recorder

This was highly recommended by Grant Bridgman. The product highlights include:

  • Three High-Bandwidth XLR Preamplifiers
  • +12, +48, and +10V Digital Phantom Power
  • HP Filter, Pan, Fader, Trim Controls
  • AES3 and AES42 for Digital Microphones
  • Digital Mixing
  • Records to SD and CompactFlash Cards
  • USB Computer Keyboard Metadata Entry
  • Multiple Simultaneous Power Sources
  • Built-In Save Battery and 2-Second Boot
  • Lightweight Molded Carbon-Fiber Chassis

Because it has phantom power, it means i don’t have to worry about sourcing power to the microphones that need it. It records onto SD cards, which means its easy to transfer the data onto a computer for editing. The multiple inputs and bag it comes with means i can connect multiple inputs (in this case would be a boom mic and 2 radio mics and a stereo mic) and mix them live.

Sennheiser MKH416 Rifle Mic

This was also recommended by grant Bridgeman

Rode NTG2 Shotgun mic

zoom H4 recorder

Rode Stereo Videomic

For a more atmospheric recording, rather ran specificity for recording dialogue.

1-2 boom poles

2-3 radio mics

A backup one in case one breaks or stops working.

Headphones

Batteries

Duracell Industrials, cheap and disposable. I found through previous projects that the equipment eats batteries fast, therefore I purchased alot of industrial batteries in preparation.

The next step is to loan out some of this equipment for primary research into using this equipment in practice. I have booked it for Tuesday 27th of October, and will have some test recordings to post.

 

Viers, R. (2008) The Sound Effects Bible. Michael Wiese Proudctions: US

 

Posted on by

Grant Bridgeman

Grants Past workshops

Related to LO1

 

Last year we had a number of guest lectures from Grant Bridgeman, an industry expert with regard to sound for visual, and specialising in location sound recording. Therefore it seems a good idea to refer back to the lecture he gave last year. He is also holding a refresher course on the 11th of November, of which I am booked on to participate. (If the shooting dates don’t conflict.)

The link to the presentation is as followed: Location Sound 2 – Revisit

Grant started by explain the definition of location sound: “The art of capturing sound on location (generally dialogue) without compromising the image.” (Bridgeman, 2014)

Grant then explains the importance of concentrating more on recording the dialogue than everything else. This is mainly because any other sounds made, can be recreated. However the actors voices can’t, (unless they use ADR, which isn’t time or cost efficient) therefore it is important to get clean quality dialogue.

He then explained the importance of the location you are recording in. His slide asked the questions:

 

• Is it quiet ?
• Is it controllable ?
– Why is this a problem ? – Editing
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles
• Reverberation
– Why is this a problem ?
• Wind Noise – can be prevented

These are all issue i will need to consider with regards to recording the audio. I will need to liaise with the media production group to insure that I have a more controllable location. The group also mentioned a tunnel scene. This would be a issue, regards to reverberation, therefore ADR may have to be put in practice if it is bad quality.

Grant then went into the features/details/things to think about with regards to some of the equipment.

“Equipment 1 – Shotgun
• Shot gun (or short gun) Mic and Boom
Pole
– Sounds Open (Natural)
– Very sensitive
– Directional – (on axis)
– Wind Protection
– Phantom Power (+48V)
– Handling Noise

Equipment 2 – Personal Mic

• Personal Mic’s. (Tie Clip / Lavaliere / Wire)
– Sounds “closer” (too close?)
– Wires can be restrictive to movement
– In View / Hidden ?
– Clothes Rustle / Movement Noise
– (Radio mic’s too)
– More prone to wind noise…

Equipment 3 – Recorder

• Sound to Camera or Separate Recorder
• To make the best of having two microphones record
them to two channels.
• Allows comparison
• Stops a single problem ruining both audio tracks.
• Place the personal mic at the sternum
• Keep the boom mic pointing at the dialogue
• (aim the mic ‘at the chin’ of the person speaking)
• Don’t play back both mic’s at the same time!
• Phasing – Picture editors often don’t know this. ”

After considering these points, it might be a good idea to consider using a boom microphone and personal microphones. In post production I can then use the better quality sounding microphone, or a mix of them both. The boom mic is effective if the actors are moving around alot, as personal mics will pick up clothes noise. However in big wide shots, it might be difficult to get a boom cloth to the mouth of the actors.

Grant also talks about sound levels. Sound levels are really important because if levels are troo quite, there will be alot of background noise, however if it is too quite, it will be prone to distortion. The pictur below demonstrates the perfect levels for certain loudness of sounds.

grant slide

 

 

Grant also mentioned a technique of using a boom microphone pointed away from the actors, and a personal mic blended together, so that the sound of the radio mic doesn’t sound like its so close. However i do not remember the details of this technique so will research more into it.

Posted on by

Production Meeting

I arranged a meeting with the production group on Thursday the 22nd. Overall it was a huge advantage to attend, as well as meeting the group i will be working with, I managed to learn a few more details about the film and have a few of my questions asked. Before i went to the meeting i thought about a few details i wanted to know more about. Things like:

How big of a team i will need for the project

How i’m going to deliver the audio to the editor

When are we expected to record

Any extra responsibilities they require from me

The meeting was very useful and and I pretty much got all the information i came for. The film has only two actors in it, therefore there will be no need for another person to help out with the location audio. With experience in a couple of third year films, i have found that it is doable to location record with one person, as long as theres no need for a second boom. On a previous project i used radio mics and a boom, switching the angle of the boom depending on the actor who’s delivering their dialogue. When three actors are in shot, a second boom may be required. However in this case, i can get away with recording this my myself. However, if i find that i may need a helping hand, there are team members on set that would be able to help with my direction.

Because the university cameras do not have the capability of timecode, in previous projects we have used a clapper board as a tool for the editor to sync the audio and picture. We deliver the audio to the editor and he then synced in up and delivered the OMF file to us. I explained this process to the editor of this film and she said she was more than happy to be provided with the audio in this way.

With regard to when the shoot is going to be, the producer explained that they are planning on shooting in four days on location anywhere in between the 2/11 and the 18/11, depending on location and actor arrangements.

They also stated a few extra points of which they expect. They talked about providing a sound log, sound editing notes and individual research & notes. The group also mentioned a dream scene in which they wanted some surreal soundtrack, so that the audience are aware that the character is in a dream. This is something that i could research into a bit more. With regards to issues, a field scene was mentioned, this could be an issue with regards to audio (weather, background noises) , therefore depending on dialogue, may need ADR. I will find out more soon once the script has been fully written.

The next stage is to prepare for location sound recording. For this I am going to be research various techniques, equipment, practices etc. And putting this into practice by loaning out some equipment and testing it. This will prove helpful in pointing out some issues that i may find.

Posted on by

Proposed Schedule

Before meeting up with the group and confirming my involvement in the project, i wanted to make sure that i had at least 1-2 weeks to be able to work on the post production of the project. Any less than this, and it could jeopardized the overall quality of audio. The producer send me a rough proposed schedule:

 

Screen Shot 2015-10-24 at 14.35.15

The schedule gives me 5 days to work on the audio post production, before the music is scheduled. However i have 11 days before i am required to collaborate with the music composer. Therefore i have 11 days to work on the post-production. I will be working with the music composer closely, therefore when the music and audio is collaborated, there shouldn’t be many changes to make. They have also allowed for 5 days of written reflection and paperwork. Therefore if any issue come around, there may be a slight leeway in providing the audio.

 

I then arranged a meeting with the group for Thursday 22nd October.

Posted on by

The Film

My first step into approaching this project is to find out more about the film i am working on. I was put in touch with a level 3 media production group looking for an audio production student to work with them on their project, by the music composer (Matt Jones).

I was put in contact with the producer of the film (Sarah Perkins) to work on a a film called ‘Schäfer’. The production company is called: Golden Gecko Films. She sent me a detailed email explaining a number for things including: the idea of the film, character descriptions, music styles, what is expected on the audio side of production, and the projected shooting dates. The email was as followed:

“Our production company is called Golden Gecko Films and we aim to produce a 20-25 minute short film project- (working) title ‘Schäfer’.

Logline:
‘Schäfer’ concerns a women;Joan, who’s lost hope in the conventional medical methods, placing her trust in the less than orthodox medical remedies of Dr Schäfer. It soon becomes apparent why Schäfer never was allowed to practice.

Note:
We aim to focus more upon the relationship between the two character’s over the medical techniques of the Dr.

Joan (women) suffers from a rheumatic condition; fibromyalgia (specifically legs), making her unable to move far without assistance and on occasion escapes into her imagination.
Whereas, the Dr. is hospitable and supportive yet perhaps a little too accommodating at times.
Also, if this helps, in relation to our chosen style of music, of which Matt Jones is composing, our intent is to use music that fits the situation and tone of each dramatic/ important segments of the film- (although not played right the way through), yet ensuring that the audience is unable to name each individual instrument used (if that makes sense).However, in reference to your side of the production, I believe we’d want crisp, clear sounds, that are perhaps a little enhanced at times (i.e. a fist to the table would be quite loud and shocking to the audience)- However this is yet to be confirmed with the Director. If you decide you’d like to work with us, I will ensure that a meeting is held with the Director pre-shooting so that you are aware of the style and what we want etc.We are currently in the mist of rewriting our film’s content outline, as we’ve developed the film quite a lot recently, if you wish, once complete, I can send this to yourself.Shooting:
We are due to begin shooting between the beginning to the end of November; all being well, approx. filming days will be between 2/11/15- 22/11/15. Our deadline is the 17/12/15, however the edit will need to be complete a week before to enable my crew to write their critiques.”

With the same deadline for the media project and audio project of the 17/12/15, it means i need to push for the final edited film for around 2 weeks before the deadline. This will give me sufficient time to work on the audio post-production of the film, as well as work with the music composer to ensure our work doesn’t conflict.

My next step is to arrange a meeting with the group to talk about the project in more detail and confirm my involvement.