LO4: Sound Effects File

 Unit 16 - Sound Effects - All foley sound effects created - On their own.

Astralite: A History - First Draft. No sound effects/extra sound effects added at this point.

Astralite: A History - Final Draft/Completed Film. Sound effects/extra sound effects now all added. 

https://youtu.be/EEuVlG0HcO0

Feedback: - https://forms.gle/rQ9NnvghrcPihCad7

Responses:

1:

Evaluation and Audience Feedback:

When creating the foley and sound effects for my documentary, I made sure that I had sufficient pre-production work in place including a Location Recce, Mindmap, and Recording Log where if any risks impacted my editing or recording further down the line I would be able to recover. My original idea for what my sound project would pair with was my Unit 14 - Radio production, however I struggled with the timing and logistics of what foley and sound effects I would be able to create, I therefore chose to use my Unit 5 - Short Film instead. My Unit 5 is a short historical motorsport documentary. This choice gave me more creative liberty and diversity in regards to what sound effects and foley I could create, the film would also be significantly longer than a radio production and therefore would give me more opportunities to input sound effects alongside the existing diegesis. I began recording my sound effects at home using my home microphone, laptop and the audio program Audacity. This was a better option than recording at UTC as I had access to a wider array of items/props to use for Foley work which meant I could have more divisiveness about the sound choices I made. I also didn't need to seek permission to access the recording studio (so I could record whenever possible.) I recorded multiple takes of each sound effect and played them alongside my documentary to check if they matched the existing audio. My foley work included someone coughing/clearing their throat, paper being shuffled, paper being stacked, and metal being dropped/ worked with. This all combined to make an efficient and effective post-production process. 

The feedback I gained from my Google Form questionnaire suggests that the sounds used in my film made a noticeable different to the audience's experience/enjoyment of the film. Such as the music being suitable for the time period that the film is set in. However, in some areas I turned up the volume of the music to add more impact. The overwhelming majority also said that the sound effects I added were all necessary to the overall diegesis and they all added something. Sound effects I added in included paper rustling and coughing, again, the same with music I changed the audio mixer in areas so it sounded cleaner but not overpowering that it takes away from what the interview is about. People also noted that the sound effects matched the time of when it is set. Another thing I would change based on the feedback that I gained from my audience is that I would make time to record sounds of machines as someone stated in the feedback that I could have added motorcycle sound effects. The main reason for this is that I was worried that it would sound too loud and overpower the documentary, this means I could have also experimented more with foley sounds. 

Something I would change or do differently compared to the path I took for this sound project would be having more respect for time management and planning documents that aided that such as a production schedule. This is because I discounted the time it would take to complete all of my pre-production documents and planning as well as how long it would take for recording and editing. This came particularly apparent up until my deadline for unit 5 where a big project took a similar amount of time to finish as the Unit 16 did which was supposed to only aid in its creation. Not adhering to an effective time schedule meant that some parts of my sound project took longer than they should have done and detracted my attention from the more important (and lengthier) parts of my project such as the time it would take to edit and evidence my editing alongside it. This ultimately resulted in my unit drawing too close to a deadline when it really shouldn't have. If my time management had been better and I had focused my attention on the more difficult parts of my unit I feel that some more advanced sound effects could have also been added, which would have elevated the quality of my documentary and created more immersion and escapism for audience members watching. 

The foley effects that I created definitely enhanced my motorsport documentary due to the fact that they were well edited, well timed and fit the conventions of my genres. This is reflected in both my own evaluation as well as the audience feedback I have obtained from the protentional audience and my peers. The effects help create immersion and escapism, and also connote the documentary as being well produced and up to a professional standard. The first sound effect that can be heard is the clearing throat. I listened to the foley effect at a mixture of different pitches and speeds to see which one fit the tempo and speed of my documentary the best. I made the settings similar to how the original was as I had purposefully shuffled the paper slowly as the background diegetic music has a slow tempo too. The second foley effect I put in was paper being shuffled, arranged and flicked through. I added this close to halfway through my documentary to indicate that either historical documents or the script was being looked through. This creates further immersion for the audience as it creates connotations of them being there in the room and even as part of the production process. The fact that it resembles historical documents also elevates it again to the professional standard of production and suggests the documentary to be factual and trustworthy. I created my third sound effect the metal dropping effect to be short and sharp mimicking the form of a sting. this separates it from the rest of the diegesis and creates a sense of suspense and enigma for the audience raising questions like 'was that a deliberate effect?' This is purposeful as it is meant to connote the dangers of working in a workshop like Tony has for the majority of his life as well as emulate the crash of a motorbike. I put this effect further to the end of my documentary as it is meant to match the section of the documentary where Tony has already invented the Astralite Wheel and has put them into production. 

 

LO4: Creating and recording my foley and sound effects

 Evidence of creating sound effects:

When recording the Foley for my documentary, I used my room at home as it is dampened to the rest of the house. I set up my microphone and mic stand and connected it up to my laptop. Next I opened my Audacity application and got my materials/props I was going to use to make the Foley ready. In Audacity I was able to replay the sound effects as much as I wanted in order to chop and change the clips I used. I could also adjust the audio gain of my clips if they were too loud or too quiet. I opened up the draft of my film Astralite: A History (that I had uploaded to YouTube) to give me inspiration as to what sound effects to create and where to put them in my documentary. I also connected headphones to my computer so I could check the audio quality of my clips more easily and make sure they sounded dietetically accurate.

Equipment used to record creating Sound Effects:

Once I had recorded my first sound effect I rewatched my documentary back through and played my sound effect at the same time to see if they did match up with the existing diegesis. Once I was satisfied that they did, I saved and exported my sound effects in MP3 format and emailed them to my UTC Sheffield account to be edited there. I used my microphone with a cover on for my paper sound effects and for my coughing sound effect, this was to make it sound more muffled and subtle. For my metal effects I took my guard off to get a clearer sound effect.  

Evidence of recording sound effects:

Props used to create sound effects:

After filming the 'easier' sound effects of shuffling paper and coughing both of which were made naturally (paper with paper coughing with actually coughing) I had to think of objects to make metallic sound effects. I followed the same technique as I had earlier where I rewatched my documentary and thought of a place where a metallic sound effect could go and what it could sound like to match the diegesis. Eventually I recorded to different metallic sound effects. The first Foley effect was created by dropping a metal spoon from different angles and different heights next to my microphone. I replayed the effect each time in Audacity to check if it was the sound I wanted. I needed a sharp first hit followed by another softer hit so that I could later edit to sound like a heavier metal object being dropped. 

My second Foley technique took more inspiration still. For this effect I wanted a lighter or duller metal sound. I first tested a metal sharpener but it didn't match what I was looking for. Eventually I chose my metal chain that carries The One Ring. As the heavier ring hit my desk and was followed by the duller thud of the chain soon after. In post - I edited the audio gain and added a sharper pitch. 

LO3: Evidence of Editing for My Sound Project

 Here is the audio files I started out with. My first editing choice was to reduce the volume of each of the audio clips. This was due to them all being much louder than required, though I could do this later in Premiere If need be it made sense to change the volume alongside the other editing whilst in Audition. 

Next for my metallic sound effect I added a delay effect which extended the section of the clip that had the sound effect in it. The extended effect creates more of an impact for the audience. 

In this clip I added the distortion effect to my metal sound in order to make it sound like a heavier piece of metal than it actually is. This helps the sound effect appear more realistic to the audience. 

Here you can see me modifying the different elements of the echo effect such as how long the echo lasts with the delay, how strong the echo is with the feedback and how loud it is with the echo level. 

Here you can see me modifying the volume of the sound effect by manually modifying it. In order to listen to how loud the effect was and match it to what I wanted it to sound like as best as I could I used the loop tool. The loop tool allowed me to listen to the sound effect on repeat and match what I wanted exactly. 

In this screenshot I had moved onto another sound effect of 'clearing throat.' In this sound effect I was using the Stretch and Pitch tool to extend how long the sound effect was. I also increased the audio gain alongside the stretch and pitch to make it sound more realistic and for it to better match my documentaries volume as well as the volume from the rest of my sound effects.. 

In this screenshot I had selected my audio-clip and was decreasing the audio gain to better fit the diegesis and volume of my documentary and other foley sound effects. 

LO2: Know the techniques and processes used to create sound elements

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011.)

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn was released in 2011 and is based on the Tintin short stories by French writer and cartoonist Herge. In the film we follow the hero Tintin and his dog snowy after he buys a model ship called the Unicorn he is kidnapped and thrown into a world of enigma and violence. The foley department was essential in the film due to the fact that all diegetic and non-diegetic sound has to be made artificially as no sound occurs naturally in an animation. Therefore, in an animated film or TV show all sound that goes into the overall diegesis. The main foley artist for the film was John Simpson. Equipment used in order to record the sound they included a variety of microphones. They decided to use the condenser microphones for recording clear sound up close. When recording sound effects that relied on them being outside or not up close they used boom microphones on boom poles. The sounds had to be recorded in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations to emulate the sudden changes of location in the film. The majority of scenes were recorded in spacious echoey spaces/studios this was done to match the diegesis of the dominant locations in the film such as the library, the boat/Karebujan, and Marlin Spike Hall. 

Because of the settings in the film being mainly echoey indoor locations (The Library, The Karebujan, and Marlin Spike Hall) the sounds were mostly recorded in indoor echoey studios. In order to create the sounds for the row boat that Captain Haddock and Tintin use to escape the foley team used old wooden furniture. When the decoy boat ends up getting smashed in half by the Karebujan the foley department had to use a variety of old wooden furniture including chairs and the back of a wardrobe in order to mimic the snapping and bending of the boat. They used a boom mic in order to record the effect from a distance because the camera starts off at a distance to the boat and therefore the sound needs to be muted. When the camera and the boat are close-up they used a shotgun condenser microphone to capture more detailed sound.  The use of far away to close-up created a cross-fade of sound in editing; connoting enigma, and suspense as to which boat is getting crushed and if the protagonists will survive. The variety of sizes and shapes of the wooden objects they used could all be converged into one sound clip in order to synergise with the different parts of the boat that would be snapped and therefore makes the scene create verisimilitude and therefore appear immersive. In order to emulate the sound of gun shots particularly of Tintin's pistol was also a foley effect. The smaller rounds of the pistol were created by layering the sounds of a screwdriver being stabbed through a metal bucket and a plastic tarpaulin being pulled both ways and 'snapping'. The sounds were crossfaded and edited to appear lighter for Tintin's pistol and other 'heavier' gun sounds were slowed down or increased in volume. 

The main Foley artist for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn was John Simpson. He is a successful Foley artist who has worked on many projects including Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grandmaster, The Lego Batman Movie, and The Hobbit trilogy. John Simpson puts simply that 'we make noise here, basically, we get paid to make noise.' This vastly diminishes his talent, with having more films under his belt than most in the industry The Adventures of Tintin directed by Steven Spielberg was just one more to add to an already impressive repertoire. He and his team make every sound effect imaginable except from the voices you here of course, that is left to the voice actors. In front of a microphone he will replicate any and every sound needed to be added to the diegesis before meticulously editing it to fit the action on screen. Some are more conventional such as having to make the cow hoof sounds in the dock scene of Tintin. For this he used coconuts wrapped with tape. Whilst for something less conventional such as a nose or finger being broken during a fight scene is actually created by snapping vegetables such as a stick of celery. The use of  violent sound effects like these helps create tension because it shows there is a real chance of injury and death for the protagonists we are routing for. 

LO2: Foley Report

 What is a Foley Artist? 

 

A Foley Artist is someone who create sound/ sound effects in order to create emotion or to add to a scene in a media product such as a film, TV show, or animation. They create said sound via random materials and objects from their surroundings often collected in a Foley Studio. It often takes a team between 2-3 people of Foley Artists to create the sound and then also 1-2 Mixers will record and mix the sound effects to incorporate them into the scene. The Mixer often presents the Foley Artist(s) with a clip of the aforementioned film without any sound at all in order for the Foley Artists to use their instincts and art of deduction to work out what sound effects are needed and at one point in the scene should they begin and end. An example of possibly the most famous Foley Artist in history would be the first Foley Artist ,who the role is named, after Jack Foley. Foley is credited as the founding father of Foley Artistry, creating a unique method of performing sound effects live and in sync with the picture during a film's post-production. His most famous films include Spartacus (1960), Dracula (1931) and The Phantom of Opera (1925.) The key tools for Foley are high quality microphones and isolated often dampened studios. 

For outdoor sound effects:

For outdoor sfx you'll either need a large-diaphragm condenser microphone or a shotgun microphone. 

Indoor sound effects:

When it comes to recording sound in an interior space. You need a condenser microphone. Examples of possible condenser microphones you could use include:

• Neumann KM185
• Oktava mk-012
• Audix SCX1/HC

Neumann KM185

Oktava mk-012

 Audix SCX1/HC

LO3: My Sound Project - Paired with Unit 5

I will use Unit 16 to help my Unit 5 - Creating a short film or documentary.

Annotated Script and Storyboard

Dialogue/Audio:

Firstly I increased the volume of the sound in my documentary so as to make it more accessible for viewers/listeners who are hard of hearing. I also 

Music:

Here is the link to where I found my music on Freesound.org

https://freesound.org/people/kb7clx/sounds/646718/

 https://freesound.org/people/kb7clx/sounds/646718/

Next I went onto Freesound.org to locate some backing music to go with the documentary.  I decided to choose smooth/backing jazz as the genre of the music. I decided to use sound from Freesound.org in order to prevent the legal issue of seeking copyright. 

Sound effects:

As my film is a short historical motorsport documentary I will include driving sound effects such as revving, accelerating, braking. The creation of the wheel is a main part of the documentary and therefore I must include engineering sound effects such as soldering, welding, and generic sound effects like electrical whirring. The input of these sound effects will make my documentary feel much more realistic and hopefully create better immersion and escapism for the audience. It will also show that my documentary is to a similar industry standard in comparison to other documentaries in the genre. 

Foley:

I intend to create some of these sound effects artificially i.e., through the art of Foley opposed to only sourcing them from the internet through sites such as Freesound.org because it demonstrates my ability.

Annotated Script:

Scene 1: 

Scene One will mainly consist of dialogue with a mixture of videos and pictures added in post. The added media will relate to the subject matter and help the reader understand what Tony is referring to in the documentary. 

Scene One the sun will act as my key light, I will also use a reflector in order to create a natural warm feeling to the documentary, it also connotes the documentary as informal and homely as if Tony is just engaging in conversation.

FADE IN FROM BLACK: 

Title screen with credits plays over footage of different models of the Astralite Wheel on display in Tony's workshop/garage. 

This scene connotes initial intrigue and enigma for the audience as most people watching the documentary will not be familiar with the wheel nor the name 'Astralite.' The workshop setting connotes the documentary is in the motorsport and racing genres. 

Jazz music will play in the background to connote the documentary relating to the past and also reaffirms the calm informal atmosphere. The Jazz isn't a real song as such rather a audio clip I found whilst searching on Freesound.org. I decided to use sound from Freesound.org in order to prevent the legal issue of seeking copyright. 

Once the Title/Credit Screen is over the documentary will properly begin with a fade from black transition which will lead into a medium close-up or close-up of Tony. 

Only Tony's voice will be heard throughout the interview so other people's voices (i.e., interviewer's) need to be cut out. This is to further imitate the format of a casual conversation rather than a formal interview. 

CAMERAWORK:

FADE FROM BLACK:

INT. WORKSHOP - DAY

In focus shot of TONY sitting on chair

Medium Close-up of Interviewer from a slight high angle.

INTERVIEWER

So tell us your background

Medium Close-up of Tony from a slight low angle.

TONY

Anecdote about childhood and growing up

Stock sound of children playing/laughing - Not necessary effect  -but could defienlty add something. 

Medium Close-up of Interviewer from a slight high angle.

INTERVIEWER

And what got you into biking 

Medium Close-up of Tony from a slight low angle.

TONY

Anecdote about biking and the biking scene when he was younger such as his influences, what appealed, what got him into biking.

Recording of engine starting (Sting like - Sound Effect - Should be short and effective)

Medium Close-up of Interviewer from a slight high angle.

INTERVIEWER

Who are your biking heroes?

Medium Close-up of Tony from a slight low angle.

TONY 

Talks about biking heroes

Medium Close-up of Interviewer from a slight high angle. 

INTERVIEWER

How did you come up with the idea for the Astralite Wheel

Medium Close-up of Tony from a slight low angle.

TONY

Retells about the creation of the Astralite Wheel 

Recording of engineering/building/welding/soldering (grounds the documentary - Foley Created) 

Medium Close-up of Interviewer from a slight high angle. 

INTERVIEWER

And how was it used later on?

Medium Close-up of Tony from a slight low angle.

TONY

Goes on to explain what happened with the Astralite Wheel how it was used and how people recognise it in the biking world.

Sound effect of crowd cheering or bike starting up - this could either be foley or stock sound effect. 

Medium Close-up of Interviewer from a slight high angle. 

INTERVIEWER

Well Tony, thank you very much for your time today.

Medium Close-up of Tony from a slight low angle.

TONY

Always a pleasure. Thank you for listening.

FADE TO BLACK: 

Soundtrack Mindmap:

Production Schedule: 

I aim to start recording (and editing) all my foley and stock sound effects after I have filmed and started to edit my Unit 5. This is because I want to make sure the sound effects I create match the theme of my film and also are the right length in comparison to how much film I record. This should be in the 8-10th week of production of my Unit 5. 

Recce Sheet:

Location Recce:

Dining Room:

Lighting wasn't ideal due to the bay-window behind where camera would go. Other camera spot had similar issues with being too underexposed or overexposed with their lighting. The dining room table was too messy in order to use as a set piece and therefore table would have to be either out of shot or edited out in post-production.

Kitchen:

Having the chairs in the kitchen up against the wall wasn't much of a desirable option either due to again the over exposed lighting from the bay window. The other camera angle would have also been over exposed due to it pointing into the light. The scene was also like the dining room quite messy and over filled. 

Lounge:

I decided to use the lounge as my set due to the good exposure of lighting. The room being on the second floor meant that the sun wasn't able to shine in nearly as much as it could downstairs. Also there was a large curtain which, if the sun got too high, could be used to dim the set down again. There were also multiple artificial light sources such as the over head big light and three lamps which could have been used to increase the exposure if necessary. The scene is also much cleaner than the other two available sets where meaning it fits the prim, proper and professional codes and conventions of my documentary. Having the interviewee/Tony sit on a sofa or armchair also looks more informal and personal denoting that it is in his house rather than a studio.

Legal and Ethical Issues:

Legal: In order to prevent the legal issue of copyright I decided to use sound from Freesound.org in order to prevent the legal issue of seeking copyright. This includes background music and the stock sound effects I used. Data of all crew members and talent (particularly of those that are under the age of 18) was protected properly under the legislation of the Data Protection Act.

Ethical:  Regular breaks where given to crew and talent both in front and behind the camera and microphone. There are no mature themes in my documentary so it will be a low rating such as U or PG. It is also unlikely that anyone who watches the documentary to be able to recreate the racing done in the stock footage, and therefore I do not see any need to express a warning. This is partially done by Tony in the documentary as he talks about how many years of experience it took him to get to racing motorbikes. Credit was given to all parties involved i.e., being added to credits.

Recording Log:

Equipment Lists:

Microphone - I will capture my sound with this microphone from either up close-up or from a distance. 

Laptop -  I will use my laptop and the application Audacity to record the sound from my microphone.

Microphone Stand -  I will use the microphone stand in order to hold the microphone still and move it closer or move it further away easier. 

Spoon - I will use a spoon to make a metallic sound. 

Paper - I will use paper to make folding, and crinkling sounds. 

Folder - I will create sound effects to emulate opening something and taking paper out. 

The One Ring to Rule Them All (Movie Replica) - I will create lighter metallic effects or multiple drops in one effect. 

LO2: Paper Man Short Film Notation

Paper Man

• wind

• train

• papers

• paper hitting face

• laughter

• paper in wind

• papers hitting desk

• paper blowing out of window

• slamming desk

• slamming window

• opening window

• folding

• cars