Star Wars

In one of my first Blog posts I discussed the Sound Designer Ben Burrt and his work for the Star Wars films. Now on the 16^th of April a teaser trailer for the new Star Wars film was released. Now you know I love all things sound so that is what I am going to talk to you about. So firstly, I am sure you have seen it but here is the trailer so it is fresh in your minds.

So let’s get down to business. Just before we come out of a blank screen we get the opening melody of the Ben Kenobi Death/Tie Fighter attack. It is a very soft melody, and along with its intensity our memories are awakening, we are taken to a crashed ship and the deep breathing of Darth Vader is heard. Yes, this is all within a minute of the trailer. We have a voice- from Luke Skywalker talking about the Force and his family and at this point we have a low level of music and the voice is guiding us. The voice is setting the mood, taking us back. Once he says “You have it too” we are back into the Ben Kenobi Death/Tie Fighter attack music and get to see and hear everything you could possibly expect from a Star Wars trailer – flying ships, Lightsabers, explosions and battles. Now you must have been living under a rock if you didn’t know Harrison Ford was returning as Han Solo, but what makes this trailer so good for me is its sound. Again we are ending on a blank screen, and hear a voice we all know, and we love, “Chewie” and then we see the much loved and missed Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Well my thoughts on the trailer – well I love it. It is actually rather simple, doesn’t give that much away. You get to see much loved characters and there is just a familiarity and nostalgic mood that it creates. I think, regarding the sound, I really appreciate and respect the fact that it isn’t the Star Wars theme tune that we hear soft music which creates a juxtaposition to the elements on screen. I personally can’t wait until Christmas.

Boom Operating

So I briefly discussed in my catch-up blog how I have been doing some exciting work in the last few months. I have been very lucky in seeing and being part of a full budgeted production as well as a budget production. I got to see the differences in their working styles and I also learned the important and valid lesson that you need to get on with your job quietly.

The first piece of work was for a low budget film for the Television Workshop and an adaptation of the play Othello and my role was in sound. I learned a number of lessons on this 5 day shoot and editing process. Well first of all because it was a low budget production I had to use University equipment. So here are the lessons for working on a budget film.

Lesson 1

DON’T TRUST THE EQUIPMENT.

Unfortunately everyone, and that includes first year students who can be a bit clueless, get to handle the equipment. Fortunately I am a massive paranoid freak and over-booked, however even with my over-booking things still went wrong, especially on a cold night shoot on a beach. Yes, sand and cold air do not mix well with audio equipment. You learn that you have to think quickly. I came prepared with massive amounts of batteries and spare zoom H1 as emergency back-up.

Lesson 2

YOU’RE A SMALL PART OF A BIG MACHINE.

Yes, a key lesson when you study something like audio and all your roles are in audio you get told a lot how important audio is. Speak up if something is wrong and something needs doing again because there was a band during that line. Actually I learned fairly quickly that while my role was important the Director and Producer on this shoot cared more about lights and camera which is fair enough with it being their film. So I kept quiet, got as close as I could and most importantly kept out the way. Of course when there were big issues I spoke up and things were redone but for the smaller things I just kept quiet.

Lesson 3

YOUR SCHEDULE DOESN’T MATTER.

Yes, this one is key. You will receive very last minute calls regarding instructions and notes for an edit you asked for about a week ago, and it needs to be handed over the next day. My advice? Coffee and a deep breath. People are busy and take time to get back to you and are consumed by their film. Also a series of jobs have to be done before they get to yours, so just be prepared for the last minute editing calls.

So, next is a full budgeted production. I got to work as a runner on a BBC R&D production as well as helping on their sound design. People like the BBC get students to work on films knowing they are not paying them. so they like to have a few perks. They had already asked for my help in the sound post so knew my passion for sound and allowed me to work with the Boom Op and Sound Recordist on the shoot. You learn very quickly that you’re playing with the big boys now and everything you have done before can hardly compare. However, you see the same things as on a low budget – equipment breaking or something going wrong, sound being rushed to get a job done quickly and again your schedule doesn’t mean that much.

Both experiences have taught me a lot. I guess that is why they call it work experience – you learn on the job and you quickly work it out. It’s not like Uni or school where you can email the tutor and say something went wrong. It is real life.

Catch up

So a little catch up…….. When starting the new University term in February my first week back was the usual – lots of talk about what the new term has in store. I had spent my whole Christmas holidays reading up on the subjects and was excited to get started. I was speaking to my friend on the sister-course to mine and she told me they were working with clients and making a film for them, as well as doing a post-piece. I thought long and hard after a tutor on my course told me they had no contacts available for work experience. I was finding it difficult to gain any contacts on my own, and I began to realise I was going to leave my course with 4 essays and one Audio post-piece and little real world experience. After speaking to my tutor I made the move to the course Visual and Audio Social Technologies. Yeah, a long name. I still get to specialise and focus my studies on Audio but I now come out of University with 3 pieces of work of which I am proud as well as the experience of working with a client and some very exciting work experience.

A major benefit of changing courses was that they have more connections outside the University. As a result I have worked on three truly exciting pieces of work during this year. I will go into these in more detail in a future blog.

 I guess the main thing I have learned is for a while I closed myself off, I was on a Audio path and learning very little else. Yes, I have still come out of this still wanting to do Audio even more, but I have learned more skills. I am Avid certified, I know how to work with cameras and lights. I know how to edit on other programs as well as making my own graphics. I also learned how to work with clients and how to present myself in a professional way when working. I also got to see the not so nice or pleasant side of the business.

The Radio and Community

Something I have discussed in the past is how I became involved in hospital radio and how this really kick-started my passion for sound. Hospital radio is also something which I am about to become involved in again. It really is an important thing to do for your community, and personally it helped me gain more confidence. I am naturally a quiet and reserved person, but talking to complete strangers during an evening and asking them what they would like to hear on the radio soon changed that. What I soon began to realise was that most of the patients were not bothered about listening to the radio, and what they actually needed was someone to talk to. It was a complete eye-opener and I completely understood the importance of this.

During my third year at University Lincoln I was part of a project which involved going into schools and teaching students about radio. After a couple of months the students then went to the local community radio station, Siren Radio, to produce their own live shows. My group were given 8 years olds, and yes, there was quite a lot of consternation about allowing 8 year olds in a professional studio, but we soon got past that. Of course we went into this thinking they were going to do everything and learn everything about radio, and that it was all about the radio. It soon became apparent it wasn’t. What this project taught me was the personal growth of the students as well as us. I saw the shyest 8 year olds suddenly become little stars. I think for us it became less about the final grade   and more about wanting to see them do a good job.

The point of this post is the importance of community radio in any form. I personally feel it is something a lot more people should get involved in even if Radio isn’t their thing. So I urge you go to your local Youth Centres or Hospitals and help out. It really is rewarding and fun.

Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie

Before the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie wasn’t a name I had really heard of, and the fact she was a drummer who was profoundly deaf was incredibly interesting but didn’t make me want to research her further. As a person studying ‘sound’ this is shocking. It wasn’t until recently when I rewatched the ceremony that I began to think about this. In fact it was only when she started playing that I thought, well surely she would feel the vibrations from the whole place, not just from her drums. Well of course I immediately realised that she was standing on a separate platform, therefore she could only physically feel the vibrations from her drums and the other drummers. But it is a truly fascinating area and I would love to educate myself more on the use of vibration in music. I can only assume that it is to do with the building itself and how it has been constructed. The construction helps the vibrations to travel in much the same way as sound travels, creating the vibrations into musical notes. I will research the subject further and there will be a post with my findings in a few weeks’ time. But for now here is some of Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie’s music.

What is Journalism?

If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago what Journalism was I would simply have told you it is writing for a newspaper. It wasn’t until I attended a recent talk at BBC Salford that I began to think about Journalism in more detail. I think that writing on this subject, as well as my Doctor Who blog are forms of Journalism.   In addition my Radio Documentary about the London Underground can be seen as Journalism. This job title actually spreads across a lot of platforms and areas, which leads to a bit of confusion. In my BA Course at University of Lincoln we were taught about roles for radio which included Producer, BA, Reporter and Presenter. As well as these, for a radio drama it was Director, Producer, Recorder and Editor. When I went to visit a Producer at BBC Radio 2 last summer, he actually worked under a show runner and his role did not match what I was taught. I have gone to various talks given by people in the industry and they don’t seem to even know their own titles. I suppose my point is, how can people like me who are trying to make big choices about their careers really have a clue when the role that interests us does not match what we have been taught. I suppose there isn’t an actual answer and you just have to find out when you get there.

Film 4 Christmas Advert

I apologise for this being a late blog and 2 months after Christmas but you can blame my lack of blog organisation during Masters’ deadlines, but I couldn’t not mention this advert.

If your face is not smiling from ear to ear then, well you’re clearly a bit of a Scrooge and I am not sure what will make you happy. Now in my honest opinion I like this far more than the John Lewis Monty the Penguin advert. This is simple and clever and heart warming, which is what we want at Christmas time. Part of why I love this is related to its sound. Now after doing some ADR recently, I can fully appreciate just how long it took to make this perfect with all those films singing White Christmas. Truly magical and some brilliant work from the post editors.

Sound Labs

Since beginning my new Audio studies in Manchester I have been introduced to many new things, whether it’s theory, technology or new ways of thinking. Among these are the possibilities of using different rooms for different work styles; for experiments, recording or even using the room to play a piece. Here is a little more about the Sound Labs at the University of Salford.

Semi-anechoic room

This room basically has the walls covered in soft material and a solid floor. This is done so the sound reflections only come from the floor, rather than the walls. Experiments can be done with putting material on the floor to reduce the sound reflections.

Reverberation Chambers

Well it’s in the title, Reverb, and this room allows the perfect amount of reverberation which is something that is required in places such as concert halls, allowing the singing, or someone speaking and music to be able to travel well. This room has been used for many different sound tests.

 The point is that rooms themselves can effect the way we hear, for instance, a recording studio has to be made so that no outside noise can enter. All the sounds in the room need to travel well which allows a natural reverb. This is why it’s brilliant that the University provides these different sorts of rooms, not just for students but for other companies. It’s important as an Audio Production student to have an understanding of these rooms. I personally am looking forward to learning more and using them more.

Another point to make is what exactly these rooms are testing. Well actually a lot of companies are testing sound. For example car manufactures and oven manufactures spend a lot of time developing and testing the sound of their doors. I realise this must sound strange, but hear me out.  Think about the first thing you would do when you go and look for a oven or car.  You would open the door, so not so silly really. Which is why the existence of rooms like these at Salford University is so essential.

For some interesting tests going on at the moment check out these links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/publications/sbsbrir

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/publications/whitepaper276

Reference

University of Salford (2014) Studios and Labs for Acoustic Engineering, Audio and Video Engineering. Retrieved 12th December, 2014 from http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/facilities/

If you don’t ask then you don’t get!

This blog covers some general advice when being in the Media business. My Mum has always been a firm believer that “if you don’t ask you don’t get.” This motto has been drummed into me and I can think of a few circumstances where it most certainty has paid off. A time where I really put this into practice was while I was at Halo Post TV. I wanted to make it clear, without being presumptious or too pushy, that I was interested in sound. On my second day I asked if I could sit in on some sound work sessions. On my third day they treated me and let me sit in on quite a few sound sessions, even allowing me to sit in with editors who were interacting with clients. This is the point I’m making, you do have to make a good impression to get these sort of opportunities, but if you’re not going to ask you’re not going to get.

A few weeks ago I visited the Media festival at Media city where lots of amazing people were giving lots of amazing talks. I used to find this sort event rather intimidating but now I can quite happily say I can actually network and ask the right questions.

Here is a bit of advice

1. When you first speak to someone shake their hand and introduce yourself, say what course you’re on and at what level.

2. Be polite.

3. Research the person, know what position they’re in, where they have worked previously, what they are working on currently.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for work experience, shadowing or internships.

5. If you’ve been given an email address you need to email them as soon as possible. They are always meeting a lot of people and you want to contact them whilst you’re fresh in their minds.

I hope this is all helpful. I am a student so I clearly I don’t have all the answers but I have had some successes and these are the things I have done to achieve them.

Audio Post

As I have mentioned previously, I am currently working on recreating the sound design for a piece of animation. At the moment I am at the editing stage, as everything needed has been recorded . Next the Audio will be recorded. I am from a radio background and this is something I haven’t done before, but like all good students I have read, researched and practiced the process and what I am going to discuss today is the process so far.

 Starting point

The question I first asked myself is what is the meaning behind the animation. Personally when I make a piece I like to know the message or meaning behind it and I find this helps me to focus on the piece. Once understood, I began thinking about the sounds I wanted and how they could be recreated. I found tutorials and documentaries helpful with this aspect, seeing others doing it themselves you can have more of an understanding.

Now that sound effects were planned, the next step was changing and adding parts to the script. Having the meaning and message behind the piece made it easier to adapt the script which had to be done by focusing on the mouth movements of the animated characters in order to achieve a match.

 Recording

This was done by recording objects in the studio – these were specific sounds for particular parts. The next method for recording was by using a zoom to record background sounds and other objects. These were sounds that could be used in most areas and could be edited and changed for different parts.

Recording actors for an animation was a challenge. The most efficient way to get the ADR process done is for the actors to be able to sync themselves. This is achieved by having the animation playing whilst recording them, and one of the problems is when an actor finds this difficult. What I found easiest was to get them to deliver the lines without the animation. They could focus on their character rather than syncing. This meant that during the editing process the focus could be on syncing it properly.

 Editing

Now to the current stage, editing, which I personally find the most enjoyable part. All the sound effects recorded are currently being edited using pro tools so they sound effective and match the animation. Sometimes it doesn’t quite work or sound how you want it to, however, this part of the process is about experimenting.

I will update you all on the next stage and the rest of the editing process.

This is the animation.

Taken from moviemaniacsDE on Yotube