November 2016 – Cognition

Location Sound- 14th-16th November 2016

November 29, 2016December 6, 2016Filming Process

So the day had finally arrived to start filming ‘Cognition’. For the three day shoot we rented the following Equipment :

Sound Devices 633 Mixer x1
Tascam DR-100mk11 Recorder x1
Sennheiser Radio Microphone x4
Boundary Microphone x1
Sennheiser MKH416 Rifle Microphone x2
Carbon Fibre Boom Pole x2
Rycote Wind Jammer x1
Line Input Cable x3 (for the radio microphone)
Rode NT4 Stereo microphone x1
XLR Cable x3

From my research, I understood that there were many consequences using lav microphones as there can be phasing issues, frequency drop outs and interference between the microphone and cloth. Therefore we made the decision to use the Sennheiser MKH416 Rifle Microphone as the main microphone to boom, use the boundary microphone as a second choice and then use lav microphones as a last resort.

As the script had very little dialogue, we used the opportunity to record on-set foley. We made the choice to do this as it would give us the option to eliminate the need to record foley in post-production and it would also give us a guide track to record foley too, if it was needed.

Me, Dan and Sam split the roles into three; production sound mixer, boom operator and sound assistent. We alternated the jobs throughout the shoot so it would give us all the opportunity to learn and become more knowledgeable in each role.

What I achieved and learned in performing each role:

Production Sound Mixer

The role of production sound mixer is to mix and record dialogue into the mixer/recorder. In this case, the recorder was the Sound Devices 633 mixer, but usually you would also/either have a mixing desk with physical faders, routed to a monitor for you to track when to mix certain microphone levels to the actual picture. Since this is a low budget film and we don’t have the equipment to do this, we only used the Sound Devices 633 mixer. Throughout my time as production mixer on ‘Cognition’, I had to keep in mind the 3:1 rule to solve any phasing issues or frequency drop outs that might of occur when using the lav microphones. This requires you to deactivate any microphones that aren’t needed to be used whilst recording so there isn’t any inference between them. This also applies to any phasing issues between plant microphones. This commonly occurs when using a lot of microphones, so luckily we didn’t have this issue, but as a production mixer you need to be aware of these problems so you can quickly fix them.

Boom Operator

As a boom operator, it was my job to make sure the set was quiet and ready to record clear dialogue. I was to mic the talent, communicate to the sound mixer and sound assistant about good and bad takes, follow the action and cue booming when recording, position my boom correctly, decide what techniques needed to be used for certain shots and positioning plant microphones in zones if needed. From previous shoots, I felt confident with the role of boom operator, but new sets come with new challenges to overcome. The challenges that I faced as a boom operator were:

Noisy Exterior- Even though we were shooting everything inside, we still had to battle with traffic noises from outside. Originally, we were to film in a bedroom in a house on a quiet street, but since our location changed to Lincoln Big a few days before we were to start shooting, we had to adapt and rethink our techniques for our new location. Lincoln Big is in the centre of Lincoln and the main noisy sound source was traffic. To counter act this, I made sure that in each shot I positioned my rifle mic the opposite way to the traffic, this way the rejection from the side of the microphone would reduce the traffic picked up. This didn’t eliminate the traffic entirely, but it reduced it dramatically as to not potentially cover the dialogue.

Not knowing the particular framing of shots- This was an issue due to the change of location. As it was decided only a few days before, I didn’t know what was going to be in the frames. This meant that I couldn’t prepare where to boom from, and whether I needed to scoop or boom overhead. It also prevented me from knowing exactly where I could place plant microphones. This wasted time on set, which is precious. To overcome this I had to make quick decisions to reduce time wasting.

15060253_1318863304793314_1300580689_o — Booming- Following talents movement for foley guide track

Sound Assistant

When performing the role of sound assistant, I needed to act as a second boom operator when needed and create a chart that consisted of the scene, the shot, the take and a comment section on the take. By making this chart, it allowed me to take notes on what takes in certain scenes had good audio and which didn’t. This had to be communicated between me and the mixer. I assisted the boom operator if plant microphones needed to be re-positioned and assisted on cable management.

What did I learn and improve on whilst filming ‘Cognition’?

One key skill that I developed more was communication between myself, the director and the producer on set. I maintained a positive work ethic in order to keep on track with the day’s timeframe. By having good communication on set with director and producer, it allowed me to do my job, and for them to do theirs. It was great for me to be able to use my research on plant microphone techniques to be applied on set. Using plant techniques improved my knowledge, allowing me to further my confidence with them. The outcome proved effective as well, but even if it didn’t, it was useful experience experimenting on what worked and what didn’t. I got the chance to hide lav mics in various locations on the talent. One position was directly on the sternum to get the most central position possible. Other positions included underneath the collar of a shirt and one clipped onto the inside of a shirt pocket.

On the set of ‘Cognition’ I learned how to overcome problems when booming and mixing. I gained knowledge and experience with lav and plant microphone positions. I believe my communication with director and producer was professional, allowing us to execute our jobs competently. Overall a successful shoot and I am now looking forward to working on the post-production for the film.

Lol Hammond- Guest Lecture #4

November 28, 2016December 6, 2016Guest Lectures

Lol Hammond is a Music Supervisor at Vertigo Films. He explained his career within the film industry and what he is currently working on.

A music supervisor works very closely with the director of a film. They work together on deciding what music cue is needed at certain points in the film and also what genre/mood of music it needs to be. Lol explained the importance of music within film and how it drives the narrative and also how certain scenes can fall flat without it. But, there is a skill on knowing when music is not needed also, as it can make the contents of particular scenes seem too busy. He has worked on variety of low budget projects and high budget projects such as Sky’s new television show ‘Britannia’, which is currently under production and has an estimated cost of £4 million per episode.

He explained the licensing process of using selected music and how he has to have a good relationship with record companies to reach a deal for using their music. Usually when the music is given to the film to be used, more often than not the record companies don’t allow them to chop and rearrange the music.

An interesting aspect of Lol’s work process was how he had to figure out what mood certain scenes were without actually seeing the final cut. He has to look at quick snippets of the scene and look at story boards to determine what music should be used.

Overall, Lol’s lecture was incredibly interesting. It was refreshing to see learn something new in the industry that I haven’t considered before.

Helen McCarron and Claire Butler

November 25, 2016December 17, 2016Guest Lectures

This guest lecture was all about careers and employability. It showed you an in depth look into the world of sound design and how to make yourself employable. We were showed support services for self employment.

A report form Creative Skill Set Work Force stated the ‘30% of people working in creative media are freelance’ and that 67% are in Audio. So a lot needs to be learnt if you want to go into freelance.

If you want to go into freelance you need to register with the HM Revenue and Customs as a sole trader. You usually make two tax payments a year, one on the 31st of January and one on the 31st of July and that you must keep records of at least 5 years after your first submission on the 31st of January.

You can also include travel costs, telephone bill and uniform as business expenses and you can claim for business expenses within those costs. If your phone bill cost £200 and your business is using £70 of that, you can claim £70 of that back.

The anual threshold of tax is £11,00 so you start paying tax when you are earning more than that. If you are working both as freelance and as a part-time worker, you still need to declare your tax on both jobs.

A fantastic look into the world of freelance from a business perspective. It was a refreshing take on freelance, telling us what to expect when it comes to paying the bills and organising your finances.

Recording Foley

November 21, 2016December 17, 2016Research

The art if foley is to record the diegetic sounds that are seen on screen. Take Walter Murch’s perspective on foley; ‘It isn’t technically perfect and it should fool the listener in thinking it is really the production sound’ (Vanessa, 2009, 86).

There are many different methods of recording foley but its all about experimenting with what works well for the particular piece you are recording. There are many different factors that you need to consider; What microphone sounds best and the distance of microphone from the recording source are common examples. Some foley artists like to record close to the source to capture a clear recording and others record further away creating space in the scene. You can record with multiple microphones; one for footsteps and props and the other for room reflection. (Vanessa, 2009, 87)

When recording footsteps the foley artist should consider what type of shoes should be used, the surface they are walking on, the microphone used and the distance from the microphone as it affects the performance of the recording. (Vanessa, 2009, 87) It’s not as simple as using the same shoe as the character on screen is using. You have to carefully trail and select a shoe that isn’t too high pitched or too bright as this will not blend in with the dialogue track nicely. You should also be wary of walking over dialogue tracks as to not cover them. Being subtle is key. (Vanessa, 2009, 88) If the character on screen walks on multiple surfaces in a scene, you need to plan each each so you can change from one surface to another. (Vanessa, 2009, 88) Footsteps are incredibly important as they can add different characteristics to characters.

When recording props, it is good to have as many different samples available. This will allow you to experiment as each different prop will have subtle differences that can add interesting aspects to the picture. (Vanessa, 2009, 111) An example is that not one piece of paper does not have all the characteristics of all paper sounds. (Vanessa, 2009, 111) ‘It’s not always the tool, its how you use it’ (Vanessa, 2009, 117)

You can enhance characters on screen by recording their cloth movement. This is what is called a cloth path. You record it with the dialogue movement of the character. You have speciality cloth such as leather that would be treated as a separate prop. The original way to record cloth was to record it to the movement of the characters seen on screen. Robert Rutledge developed an easier method called a ‘single cloth pass’ (Vanessa, 2009, 120). This when you record cloth to the recorded footstep cue. You can also combine footsteps and cloth in the same cue, recording them at the same time.

The foley mixer is responsible for recording the sounds that the foley artist is creating. (Vanessa, 2009, 145) The mixers job is too (Vanessa, 2009, 146):

Record the foley
Set and mix the levels
Identify any problems in the track
Microphone placements
Assisting with the foley artist

To be a good mixer, you need to know the job of a foley artist. You need a special eye for cues and sync and a great ear for aesthetics. (Vanessa, 2009, 146) They understand good story telling with sound and know how to execute it well. (Vanessa, 2009, 148)

Some mixers like very little room reflection, to get a dry recording so they can manipulate in post production (Vanessa, 2009, 151). Others prefer an open space recording, capturing the natural reverb of the room, reducing the need for artificial reverb.

It’s all about creating reality through the use of everyday sounds without being noticed. You have to be careful not to cover the dialogue track which is the aspect that the audience need to hear and not to be distracted from.

Editing Foley

Editing foley is all about cleaning up any problems that might occur during the recording process of foley. They make sure that each foley cue flows from one to another naturally, not breaking the illusion of the art of foley to the audience (Vanessa, 2009, 160). The editor needs to make sure they do not under cut or over cut the foley cues so the characterisation of each cue isn’t affected.

Tips before editing (Vanessa, 2009, 161)

Listen to the entire cue before editing
Establish the “sweet spot” of the cue
Establish what needs to be heard and what doesn’t

Don’t just cut the cue to the wave form you see. Editors listen to the whole of the cue in fine detail along with the image (Vanessa, 2009, 167). They determine the meaning that the specific sound has to the image. What is it adding to the scene? is it necessary? these are the elements you need to consider when editing foley.

Friday 11th November Tutorial

November 11, 2016December 17, 2016Group Meetings & Tutorials

This session was to discuss our plan before we started the location sound for ‘Cognition’ on the 14th of November. We told him about the sudden change of location for our film and our concerns. The concerns being that we felt it was to noisy with traffic and that it could potentially risk the dialogue. David took our concerns on board and then told us that we’d have to make the best of it as at the end of the day, it was the directors decision.

This left me feeling confident and excited for the challenge ahead.