November 2016 – Cognition

Ambience, Foley and SFX Practice

Tuesday 11^th October – Sunday 20^th November

Callback

David sent an email around asking if anyone wanted to help with post for a short film with a graduate of this course, Matt North. Myself, Dan and Rob all took on the challenge. Matt explained that all he needed from us was to source Ambience, Foley and SFX, the Dialogue he was happy to do himself, and the Music was already done. We understood that we were helping as Matt was too busy to complete the entire project himself.

Through discussions with Matt, we eventually decided to split the film up into four reels, and set the target of one reel per week – the reels were roughly equal, around 5 minutes each.

We got on very well, the locations in the film included a café, Eaton Park in Norwich, a quiet suburban street, the coastal town of Cromer in Norfolk including the beach and the arcade, another park, the interior of a house and another café. The cafés were great to source, as we also included the traffic noises of the busy street outside, with sounds of cars whirring past. We layered all scenes, such as the café ambiences, the birds, trees, wind, cyclist in the park, the wind, sea, waves, seagulls at the beach, etc.

There was a lot of Foley to do, the footsteps of the characters on several different surfaces, such as concrete, sand, stones. Other Foley included cloth movements, the rolling of dice, high-fives, mug handling, etc.

We sent the film off to Matt and he finished the Final Mix a week later. He let us know that as the film was entering festivals, we could not see the final product yet.

This was a very enjoyable project and a new way of working for us. As Matt was completing the final mix himself, all he needed was a premix of our Effects session. This meant that we made small level adjustments and edits throughout, but the bulk of this would be done by Matt. It was an odd concept to send him half-finished work as I have been used to completing a project start to finish, this gave me a great insight into how real-world pre-mixing works. I am very excited to see the final product and gained additional experience working on Foley, layering Ambiences and sourcing SFX.

November 25, 2016December 15, 2016

Sam JenkinsLeave a comment

Guest Lecture 5

Monday 21st November

Helen McCarron and Claire Butler

Today was the turn of Helen McCarron and Claire Butler to lead our guest lecture, which was focused towards Freelance and Self-employment.

Helen began the talk by informing us that according to the Creative Skill Set Website: 67% of audio, sound and music workers are freelance, while 30% of last year’s Audio Production graduates also went freelance. This highlighted the likelihood of freelance work, and how vital it is that I improve my knowledge into this career opportunity.

After this, Helen and Claire conducted a 10-question quiz to test our knowledge on everything freelance and self-employment-based. Questions varied from how many BECTU advise a sound freelancer working in film should be paid daily, to when and how many times a year tax is due, to what sort of expenses can be claimed back through business work. On the quiz I scored a mere 5/10, suggesting that I definitely need to enhance my knowledge! Claire took us through the answers at the end of the quiz and explained the questions in more detail.

Succeeding this, Helen gave us useful resources in similar areas, such as BECTU’s YouTube tutorial, “Accountancy Q+A”, while Claire lists the many pros and cons of freelance work. Interestingly, Helen and Claire suggested freelance work was a great opportunity to follow post-graduation, in order to build up experience and portfolio work before heading to an interview with a client. This way, you have more to offer the client as they can see the skills and experience you have earned. This directly challenges what Lucy Johnstone suggested in the first guest lecture, when she stated that starting lower down in a company could be a better way to go, in order to get your foot in the door, before working your way up the ladder in a company, which would in turn provide more experience and work for your portfolio. From this, I have taken the notion that it is possible to go either route I prefer, as they both have their pros and cons and have been argued as equal routes to take, it is more up to which way I would prefer to go.

Finally, Claire informed us about a £2 500 grant students can receive when graduating from university. The scheme was created in order to help fund start-up businesses in buying equipment, office space, etc… and is eligible to anyone on the Audio Production course, limited to 30 places. Students must undertake a series of masterclasses which Claire outlined. It is not essential to attend all, but it would be most useful. Then students must pitch their business ideas for why they believe they should be given the grant, and the panel will decide if one is successful or not.

I found this lecture incredibly useful, as demonstrated I do not have great knowledge in the area of freelance and self-employment. Even though it was only an introductory lecture to this topic, it was very informative and also detailed the many other student workshop masterclasses and resources we can go and find in order to enhance our knowledge. Freelance work is definitely a possibility I must consider as I am looking for location sound or post-production work, and this seems to be a very popular and successful route than many graduates and experts in the industry follow. For example, even though Lucy started at a company, she now does work freelance. This implies to me that within this industry there is a high possibility of working freelance at any time, whether that be at the start, in the middle, or at the end of your media career.

November 21, 2016

Sam JenkinsLeave a comment

Location Sound Process

Monday 14th – Wednesday 16th November

Location Sound Process

After all the meetings, preparation and organisation for the film, the time had finally arrived to get shooting. We had three days to capture all the footage and sound we needed to give to Tom, the editor, before he gave us the final picture lock, when we would begin work on post production.

Equipment

All three of the team had been reading Ric Viers’ Location Sound Bible (2012), a brilliant resource for learning everything we needed to know, from what location sound is, to what mics to pick, to boom techniques, to set etiquette, and so forth. Because of this, we were all feeling confident about the shoot. The equipment we decided to rent from Media Loans included:

Field Recorders
Sound Devices 633 Field Production Mixer (inc. 3 x Line Input Cables)
Tascam DR-100MKII Linear PCM Recorder

Microphones
2 x Sennheiser MKH 416 Shotgun Mics
4 x Sennheiser SK100 Wireless Mics
Rode NT4 Stereo Mic
Boundary Microphone

Accessories
2 x Carbon Fibre Boom Poles
2 x Rycote Modular Windshields
3 x XLR Cables

Most of the audio equipment used while shooting.

Location Change

However, a few days before the shoot (Friday 11^th) we were informed that a last-minute location change had been confirmed. This was after a discussion between the Media Students and their tutor Mikey. The location had moved from Hannah’s spare bedroom to Lincoln BIG, a large office building with a lot of unused room and space. Luckily for the visuals, Lincoln BIG had an attic space which had not been used for a long time, and when dressed the set looked very aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately for the sound team, the building is located only a few steps from the A15, a constantly busy, loud main road which was very audible from the attic.

This sudden change of location meant that the crew were now very rushed when shooting. Not only because we had the actors for just three days, but also because the storyboarding and light plans from the spare bedroom were scrapped. In turn, this meant that we had less time and information to experiment using plant mics and there was less time to put lav mics on the actors after their makeup was done.

Plant Mics

Nevertheless, as the third day was primarily scheduled as a reshoot day, we were afforded some extra time to use plant mics in the morning. In the opening scene, Susan wakes up in the hallway, walks down a corridor, up the wooden stairs and into the attic. For this section of the film, we planted and moved radio mics to capture the sound. We attached one lav mic to one of the door frames to capture her heavy breathing as she walked through. One to the ceiling of the corridor, and hid the boundary mic just inside an adjacent room to capture the footsteps and reverb of the corridor.
After this, we moved one lav to the wall above the doorframe of the stairs to capture the opening swings and creaks of the wooden door. The other was placed at the top of the stairs positioned down the steps to capture natural reverb of the boxy staircase, and hid the boundary on the inside wall of the staircase for footsteps and stair creaks. The radio mics were fixed with tape and concealed out of shot.

Dan and I attaching lav mics to the walls. Another plant mic can be seen attached to the doorframe. — Dan and I attaching lav mics to the walls. Another plant mic can be seen attached to the immediate doorframe.

Boundary mic hidden inside adjacent room. — Boundary mic hidden inside adjacent room with the aim of capturing footsteps.

Dan and I again, this time attaching the boundary mic to the inside wall of the staircase.

Boundary and lav mics being planted out of shot. — Boundary and lav mics being planted out of shot, capturing footsteps, stair creaks, heavy breathing and natural reverb as Susan walks upstairs.

Fortunately, we were able to use the boundary mic to record some dialogue. While Susan was sat at her desk, we hid the microphone underneath a folder. This captured some very nice audio but we’ll have to wait until post to see if we can fit it in. Additionally, on the second day of shooting we were able to mic the actors with lavs. However, this scene included a fight and a lot of struggling, which didn’t come out great due to the position of the mics rubbing the cloth of the actors, as well as being very loud (there was some shouting), and one of the mics was possibly knocked by the actors during the struggle.

Boundary mic on desk being hidden beneath folder.

Booming

For the dialogue, we mainly concentrated on using the boom mic. As there were not many lines to capture, we were able to get several takes of each and in some instances, we could also double boom with the Sound Assistant stepping in. With the location being an attic, it was very small and enclosed as you can see from the photos. This was good for some shots as we could get in very close to the actors to capture the cleanest dialogue possible, but for the wide shots which included most the room, we had to get into some strange positions (see below). Fortunately Viers’ book had prepared me for such occurances! Additionally, the low ceiling meant that we did have to scoop some scenes, which was not the most effective way of capturing the dialogue, as some high end is lost in the process. Unfortunately, the small location did not allow us to utilize all of the techniques listed in Viers’ book, but we were able to practice our pole movement which was great.

Set Etiquette

When we became aware of the location change, I remember thinking back to Viers’ book about being ready, adaptive and flexible to change – and this is exactly what was needed for this situation.
Onset, I believe we were all very professional and hard-working. Hannah is an excellent producer and excellent time-keeper. Many times she would warn us we did not have much time for the next shot, so we would pull together and work our own areas before combining together to shoot the scene as efficiently as we could. Everyone got on very well, and on the whole there were not many disagreements and no arguments or falling out on set. I shall be giving the team the feedback forms to fill in soon.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe the we did the best we could with what we had. The location itself was very loud, mainly because of the traffic nearby, or occasionally because office workers downstairs could be heard chatting and walking around. Because of the lack of info on the location, such as storyboards, we were unable to plan plant mics as often as we would have liked, but I am pleased that we at least got the opportunity on the third day to be experimental and creative with them.We were also able to use the boundary mic for some dialogue which was great. The communication between everyone was also very good. Again, because of the lack of storyboards we were constantly asking whether or not our boom was in frame, the movement of the actors, etc. but we overcame this challenge well, wasting little to no time from the director telling us what she wanted, or the DoP telling us where we could/not position ourselves.
We were able to practice some booming techniques but not as many as would be easier in exterior locations. I really enjoyed the shoot and I’m looking forward to working on the post-production.

November 20, 2016December 16, 2016

Sam JenkinsLeave a comment

Tutorial

Friday 11th November

Tutorial with David

In this week’s meeting, we informed David that we would be missing next Mon-Wed due to these being our filming dates. Fortunately, we will not be missing a guest lecture, although we will miss the Creative Enterprise session taken by Jason Bradbury on Tuesday. Also, because we will be missing these dates, we need to fill in absence forms.

The key information in this session was us letting David know that our film group have had a sudden change of location in the last couple of days. Originally, we were all set for shooting in Hannah’s spare bedroom. However, after a meeting with Mikey this week, he suggested they try to find somewhere else in their spare time if at all possible. This led to the film crew going on another location scout all day Thursday, before settling on an attic room in Lincoln BIG as a definite for the location of the film. Luckily, Dan had visited the attic in the morning before the tutorial, so he could inform us of the traffic noise and low ceilings which would cause a problem when shooting. However, these are challenges to work through and can be reflected upon in our final summaries, as it is out of our control whether the director changes the location at the last minute, as she has done here.

The weekend will consist of preparing for the shoot next week, ensuring we capture the highest quality of audio we can on location for the film.

November 13, 2016November 21, 2016

Sam JenkinsLeave a comment

Location Sound Prep 2

Wednesday 9^th November

Set Etiquette Research

Again, as the shoot is nearing I honed up my skills on set etiquette, as this is included within my location sound learning outcomes. I set out to achieve extra information on how to behave on set and work with a film crew.

I learned many things while reading this resource. Mainly, it has highlighted to me that while sound is as equal to picture, you will never be treated that way. All of the focus is on camera, e.g. out of 40 crew members only 2/3 are dedicated to sound – the rest the picture. Viers illustrates the importance of having a good attitude and not being a “know-it-all mixer”, as well as being punctual, prepared, a team player, being safe (incredibly important), being dressed appropriately, and working with others. That is, understand that directors, DPs and actors are all likely to have some sort of ego, it’s the role they are in. It’s their vision so they are important, supposedly. This means personal skills, the ability to bite your lip, get on with it, get paid and move on is extra important.
This has addressed great skills to acquire, but so far working with the film crew, there has been no issue with egos, communication or not being prepared or willing to work in the team, which is a healthy positive.

I have also learned to know my place onset. Unfortunately Sound Mixers and Boom Ops are treated as secondary, and the director has the final say. Directors, DPs, lighting crew, etc. are not worried about the job I will be doing, but trusting that it has been done correctly. “Understand that nobody compliments the sound in a production when it is good. They only complain about the sound when it is bad. Get used to it. It’s a thankless job”. Personal skills are also very important. Being easy to get on with, good with communication and being willing to be a team player are as, if not more, important than being an “audio-genius”. Viers suggests a know-it-all with a bad, strict attitude will not be hired compared to someone who knows less, but is easy to get on with, friendly, knows their place and their role and gets on with the job.

Aims

In conclusion, I am aiming to use and improve these skills on set. To know my place and while offer my opinion to the director, understand it is their vision and they have the final say. I will be willing to help wherever I can as part of the team, and I will be prepared to expect the unexpected, and be adaptive to any changes or challenges we may face. I will assess my set etiquette and behaviour onset after the shoot via a feedback form filled in by the crew.

Reference List

Viers, R. (2012) The Location Sound Bible. California: Michael Wiese Productions.

November 10, 2016December 19, 2016

Sam JenkinsLeave a comment