Semester - 24th Oct

During this semester Neil Introduced some Microphones which i hadn't used previously. We got Shown the RODE NT4 stereo Mic. This Mic uses phantom power and has a cardioid polar pattern. We was also shown the AKG tie clip mic, also known as a Lavalier microphone, which can be used clipped on to the person to capture dialogue, in small cracks where other mics wouldn't fit and can be paired up to capture effects stereo recordings. We was also shown the Hydro-Mic that doubles up as a contact mic. This is good for capturing the mechanics of objects that wouldn't be heard throughout the normal ear. Also with they hydro mic you can capture a whole new world under water.

Also we went on a sound safari and captured a lot of sound recording, I used 2 of the tie clip mics and used them to capture stereo recordings. I was really proud of one of the recordings I captured as managed to hear people pass from side to side and even a helicopter flies over head. As i used 2 tie clip mics and recorded in stereo you can have a sense of space when listening back to the recordings and hear the people and objects moving around as the move away and closer to the microphones.

Task 1

For the first task in our module we are to create the sound for a muted film clip. I have choose the clip from Hana Bi when he is spay painting his car and drives off. I have screen grab be and annotated the main sounds for each shot:

As well as these main sounds there will have to be an overall wild track helping build up the feel to the location. in the exterior shots you can see movement from the wind so will have to record sound of this and add it in. On all the interior shots the floor is still gravel so every time the character walks i will have to use the recorded foot steps of gravel walking. I plan to record the spray painting sounds with the use of an empty spray can, such as deodorant can, to get the spraying sound then record the sounds of the shaking separately then build it up separately.

How to use the Wendt Portable Location Mixer

• Turn Power to INT (Internal), remember to turn off when not using in order to save batteries.
• Press "batt test". If VU meter reads -9 the batteries will soon need charging.

Input Panel:

• Select a Channel
• Is it a mic? if Yes select mic, if No select Line
• Does the Mic need power? If Yes choose 48P, If No choose den (Dynamic)
• Set VU LED to LO, High will drain batteries quicker.
• Turn Limiter ON, will help stop distorting when signal becomes too loud.
• Make sure headphones knob is turned up and headphones plugged in.

Output Panel:

• The output of the mixer must match the input of the recorder.
• Marantz PMD660 - select MIC if recording through a XLR cable
• Camera is best to set the mixer to live and the cameras input to line.

Setting Levels:

• on the front panel you can tune the sound with the knob. sound should be between -9 and -3 when the knob is between 10 and 3 o'clock.
• If seems too loud switch the 0 20 100 switch on to input panel onto 10. This will reduce the the sound by 10 decibels.
• The 140 20 100 switch filters out low frequency 
• set to 100 for voice recordings 
• set to 0 for full recordings

Other Swithes:

• Rtn/Mix switch changes between being able to records and listen back to pre-recorded clips
• LT RT Stereo allows the headphones to monitor both channels (stereo) or just the left or right channel
• L Pan R if in centre this will send the signal to both left and right outputs, if recording 2 voices then pan on elect and pan one right to keep separate.

A Bug's Life

There is a clip in which Gary Rydstrom is talking about the sound design for the wings in A Bug's Life. The main thing they worked on was to create the different types of wing flaps and create appropriate sounds for each individual but depending on their personality. As they wanted to portray the bugs through the viewpoint of their world, they couldn't use the sound of real day bugs as these were too small but instead combined sounds together to build up a greater sound. 

For this scene in which the Grass Hoopers enter the Ant Hill they recorded really close up to a Dragonfly, the cracking of uncooked crab and Plastic bendy straw. once combined together these sound built up the bases of the sounds for this scene.  

When Dim flies and rescues the others they wanted to emphasis his size compared to the other as he is so much bigger so used the recording of flapping bubble wrap similarly to the noise of a helicopter, but when he passes they add in the sound of a real Huey Helicopter 

Sourced From Pixar

Wall-e

When watching the behind the scenes clips from Wall-e about the sound, Director Andrew Stanton talks about how because of Wall-e is an animation they start of with nothing and there is not much dialogue so therefore  each and every squeak, beep and sqaurk means something and have to be very careful not to use them in the wrong places as people will think they mean something.

In one sequence they talk about how in the past companies like Disney would use musical instruments to replace sounds such as when they would smash into a wall or whizz across the screen. This worked well as in the early developments of sound recording the equipment they used was big and heavy and this way they could record these sounds easily and effectively in the studio.

Sourced From Pixar

Foley

The majority of films and other motion pictures will contain a foley track containing the recreated sound effects. These sound effects would be created in a Post Production Sound Studio by using many objects such as shoes, plates, chairs, glass etc. Not every sound would be recreated, the foley artist can choose to enrich the sound with the use of a recreated one or rectorate the sound entirely.

The need to recreate these foley sounds is the add in all the sounds that arent captured during the shoot. The sound recordist on set would focus on recording the dialogue without the noise of the crew and background activities disrupting it. If filming on a set not everything will be real such as the floors, walls and props, therefore with the use of these foley sounds you can emphasis the textures of these materials.

Sometimes if the dialogue isn't the clearest or a noise masks it then you have to do a process called ADR (Audio Dialogue Replacement). This is when in a studio the actor will records anything from a word to a whole scene of dialogue. Not only to patch up glitches in the recordings but ADR can be used when changing the language of a film where actors will re-record the whole film in a different language.

The Foley track can be made up out of 3 separate sound elements. The Moves, Feet and Specifics. The Moves element creates the sound of the movement that a character will make such as the rustle of their jacket and the noise as there cloths rub against itself. The Feet element is the sound of the footsteps as they walk, each footstep can highlight their mood such as scared, happy or if they are creeping around. The Foley artist that captures the footsteps can be known as a Foley Walker or Foley Stepper. When recording these not only do they have to preform the footsteps but they have to make sure everything matches with the clip such as surface and shoes to match up with the expected sounds. The other element that creates a Foley track is the Specifics. This can be anything that the actors are doing, such a punching someone, so all these sound need enhancing to create greater emphasise of the motions.

Sourced from Marble Head