In what ways could we have improved (our production)

with sound?By Jack Archer

Online courses...There are many courses available online that

could potentially broaden my knowledge of sound and effectively, improve my usage of sound when studying Media Studies at A2.

Some of the types of courses available include:

Free Available Online Courses...Advanced Structural Dynamics and

Acoustics: This is the study of acoustics and how sound moves and how it is perceived. This would possibly help us choose the correct microphone to use, depending on the distance between the camera and our actors and also the shot location.

Digital Audio Courses: This course allows individuals to learn, create and share digital audio which caters for those who require further skills to keep up with technological advances. Students are able to use digital software (such as Final Cut Pro and Audacity) to edit, record and produce renditions of soundtracks. This course would be especially good, as we produced a rendition of a rendition of a song for our final production. Therefore this course will enable us to gain a better understanding on how sound can be manipulated and edited together, in case these skills are required for A2.

Any more?!The technology of music courses: Similar to

Digital audio courses, this course introduces students to technical software and advances on how to make and edit music/ sounds. Students learn how best to store a music file on converged devices (such as computers) and how to send out audio too (via web 2.0 etc). Therefore, this course would be good for us too, as it could also improve our understanding of how soundtracks and sound clips are put/ edited together, to further improve mainly our editing skills at A2.

What resources are available at school??

The Editing software for sound that are available are:

Final Cut Pro X Audacity (although we didn’t use this for our

production.)

The types of Microphones that we can use at school to record sound include:

Lapel Microphone Rode Microphone Boom Microphone [The actual camera- although the sound quality is not

as good as if microphones above are used.]

Which ones did we use for our production??

For our production “The Longing” we used all three microphones mentioned on the previous slide. We didn’t use the actual camera as a recorder of sound as the quality was not as crisp as if we used the microphones available.

How could our use of microphones have been improved??

Our final draft of our production excluded a lot of planned dialogue that we originally used in our first couple of drafts of our production. This was mainly to increase the pace of the opening sequence and reflect a media product catered more for a niche, sophisticated audience who would not need everything explicitly told to them. However , another reason for this was because we had issues with recording dialogue. We had correctly connected the Rode Microphones to the cameras (and turned them on!!) but when playing the footage back, there was no sound recorded (not even background noise!) Therefore we weren’t effectively able to practise our sound skills. ?!

So... When recording sound what elements do we need to consider when choosing the most appropriate microphone to

use?

LOCATION.If we were using a Rode microphone and a dolly, for

example, we would need to consider location as the surface on which the dolly would roll on might cause the dolly (and effectively the camera) to shake and make the associated sounds. The Rode microphone would pick this sound up and affect the quality of the recording. This was an issue we found when we initially filmed dialogue whilst tracking on uneven concrete.

In addition, whether the location is inside or outside would fundamentally affect the acoustics created as a result of the sound made. Therefore, for outside spaces a Rode or Boom microphone would be the better option. For indoor spaces, a Lapel or Rode microphone would most likely be best.

WEATHER CONDITIONS.Windy conditions can cause disruption and

affect the quality of sound from Lapel and Rode microphones, therefore decreasing the quality of the recorded sound. However, the Boom would be an appropriate option, as it comes with a furry protective jacket to impede air flow.

These precautions would obviously not apply to interior locations.

CAMERA TO ACTOR PROXIMITY.The amount of space between our actors and

the camera would affect the type of microphone that is best used.

Normally, if the actors are a fair distance away, a Boom or a Rode microphone would be the better option as these microphones are able to pick up sound over longer distances.

If our actors are quite near to the camera, a Lapel microphone would be sufficient.

QUALITY OF SOUND PRODUCED.The Lapel is probably the best way of gaining

crisp and clear sound footage, as the actor/ speaker is within a closer proximity to the microphone than with the other microphones available at school.

But, if a location shoot is purposely done when it is windy for example, the sound would possibly need to be slightly muffled to reflect the nature of the weather conditions. Therefore, the Boom would be the most appropriate choice.

Let’s hope that for A2:The camera and Rode microphone are able to

connect with each other. (!)That after considering the elements

mentioned and explained previously, that we choose the most appropriate microphone to use and produce the best sound quality possible and that is appropriate to our task.

That we’re actually able to show off our sound skills without it affecting the pace of our product (and the overall effect on our audience.)