This process has taught me a lot about the production of sound for film. It has been a great way for me to experiment with location sound and post-production. From the beginning of this process, I clearly stated what I wanted to achieve when the process was over and I believe I have done so. By setting my individual learning outcomes, I then went on to research the roles that I would be undertaking during this project, allowing me to utilise my professionalism when they came into practice.
How did I achieve my group learning outcomes?
As a group we all had one goal when it came to location sound. That is to capture the cleanest dialogue as possible, which would then make it easier in post-production. We all researched what is required when it comes to location sound. I read extensively into ‘The Location Sound Bible’ to be able to know what the professionals do on film and tv sets. I researched a range microphones and the techniques used:
- Boom microphones and boom positions
- LAV microphones and LAV positions
- Plant Microphones and Plant positions
By doing this research, I was able to transfer this to onset practice that would then produce clear dialogue.
For the sound team to achieve a complex sound design, we each took on a role as it would make it easier to spread the work out. I took on foley production so I needed in depth knowledge of the process that goes behind it. Dan took on SFX and Ambience editing and mixing, and Sam took on Dialogue editing and mixing. Throughout post-production we kept each other up to date on what we were doing and helped each other out where we could. This allowed us to share creative ideas, making the sound design a collaborative experience and not just an individual one.
How did I achieve my individual learning outcomes?
- Further knowledge in location sound- From my research section, you can see the amount of research done by using the book ‘The Location Sound Bible’ by Rick Viers. This book has been an incredible insight to the world of location sound and I have been also using it for my career as I want to be a location sound recordist when I graduate. By doing extra curricular activities such as the ‘BioBlitz’ event, I was able to use my research and put it into practice before ‘Cognition’, helping me experiment with what works and what doesn’t. I used Rick Viers as an example I wanted to follow when I did the location sound for ‘Cognition’ as he has worked in the industry for a long time.
- Use varied microphone techniques on set: Plant microphone techniques and Booming techniques- My research allowed me to record with plant microphones and boom microphones as I knew the techniques behind them to get the best possible sound. You can see pictures of these techniques in the ‘Filming Process’ category.
- Develop personal skills to achieve a high standard of set etiquette- To show this, we each gave a feedback sheet to the producer and director. Click the word documents below to read the reports:
- Research and utilise foley recording, mixing and editing techniques- I set a task for myself to be more confident with foley and I believe that’s what I have done. Using ‘The Foley Grail’ has allowed me to excel in foley production. The book is a compilation of foley artist, giving their tips and tricks in the professional world of foley. Reading this book gave me the confidence to be creative and experimental and with the clips that I gave in the post-production category, I believe I have shown this.
What would I do differently?
I believe I was experimental with foley in the timeframe that we had, but if we had extra time, I would re-evaluate some of the clips recorded and maybe change them slightly. One of the footsteps I believed didn’t sound as good as it should’ve done, so an improvement there would have been with my mixing skills and skills as a foley artist. The time frame we have, stretched us for time so I believe with a bigger timeframe, we would’ve been able to execute some of this potential problems such as the levels of the final mix. We received the picture lock on the 5th of December, so we have had only 10 days to do the post-production and I am happy and proud of what we have achieve within those days.
How successful was the whole process?
Working in a team comes easy to me as I have been doing this for many years. But every time I still learn something new. This time it was working not just as a sound team, but as a film production group. In the pre-production of the film we met up at least once a week, discussing research and catching up with what was happening with ‘Cognition’. The sound team researched sound and film team researched film. By sticking to targets and deadlines, this allowed our meetings to be productive and full of content that would then allow us to push forward to the next stages of the film.
The location sound process was a familiar territory for me and I felt confident within each roles that I undertook;
- Production Mixer
- Boom Operator
- Sound Assistant
By using my research of location sound on set, it allowed me to use varied techniques which I could then experiment with to discover what worked and what didn’t. Furthering my knowledge allowed me to be able know when there was a problem and how to fix it. Frequency drop outs from LAV microphones, exterior noises, boom handling, camera perspective, clothing noises and handling noises are all areas that could go wrong on location, so I needed to be aware of how to fix these problems.
The post-production process was a whole new challenge to the location sound becuase to meet our learning outcome, we needed to produce a complex sound design to complement the picture. I wanted to take on the foley stages of the production and I believe I did just that. I utilised my research well and expressed my crreativitive skills and judgment.
I am very proud of what we all have accomplished with ‘Cognition’ and I have enjoyed the process thoroughly.