Connor's Film Blog

The presenter says to know what kind of cable you are using. For unbalanced cables, he recommends them being around 20 feet, no longer than that. For balanced cables, you can make them stretch very far without having an issue. This is very important because, if you stretch unbalanced cables too long, you'll start to pick up noise. He also tells us to know what mic we are putting in and to know if it needs line or phantom power. If we don't know this information, then we won't be able to get any audio from our source because the mic won't be powered correctly. He also said that you must use a clapper, slate, or just a clap from the talent's hands before you start recording. This is especially important because if you don't have a way of syncing the audio, then your video will be off pace with your audio, ruining the project.

The presenter talks about needing to make sure the volume dials are set to the right number, to know what you're plugging into the camera, and to make sure you are having the camera record external audio. Making sure the volume dials are set properly is important because if set incorrectly, then your audio will either be too loud or too soft and will make your life so much harder. If you know what you're plugging into the camera, you'll be able to know what to set the camera input setting to, whether it's mic, line, or phantom power. Using mics, you use the mic setting, or phantom power if it doesn't get power itself. For mixers, you generally need the line input, because it is sending a signal that is not directly from a microphone and in a line format. Not having the audio on the camera being set to external when recording audio will render your audio equipment useless, because you would only be using the internal microphone. Also, in the rare instance that you n...

Knowing when to use the low-cut filter is very important because it will help you cut out the wind noise that comes from the environment. Also, you need to know how to make xlr inputs record to certain audio tracks, because sometimes you may want a mic to record to two audio tracks if you are using one mic, but if you are using two mics, then you must have them record to separate audio tracks. Try to boost the signal to your mic as least as possible, because it will make the mic pick up noise and can ruin your audio. I would like to know more about mic placement in long shots and how to get good audio there.

The Zoom recorder is used to collect audio from multiple channels. You can record up to 4 different audio channels with xlr inputs. The recorder can also boost the signal from each track individually. This means you can be doing a little mixing while you record. It also has better preamps than a camera has, making the signal a lot cleaner coming out. I would like to know how to import footage into premiere.

Putting the lav mic under the first layer of clothing will not only protect the mic from wind, it also guts down on a sharp hiss sound that can be heard when using S's or C's. Using an external recorder will let you have more flexibility when it comes to post processing sound. Using moleskin or "hush" lav will help  you avoid noise from the mic rubbing on clothes.

Lavaliers are omnidirectional microphones and are really useful for news reporters, interviews, etc. They are able to be hidden in shirts and jackets in order to get some crisp, high quality sound. They are very light microphones, so it is easy to attach to your talent. I want more clarification on the loop that is used when setting up the lav mic.

A boom microphone is very directional so you will get good quality if you point the tip of the mic at the mouth of the subject. A boom mic can reach very far and will make it possible to get good audio from a distance. Another key function of a boom microphone is that sometimes there will be an internal cable, making it impossible for sound to be picked up from an external cable hitting the boom pole. I would like to know how long you have to hold a boom pole sometimes.

A microphone on the boom will make it easier to get sound closer to your subject, but it is not ideal if you have a small crew or you can't get close to what you are recording. A lavalier mic is useful for interviews or field shooting, but it can be cumbersome and can't record objects in action very well. A on the camera mic is good for very small/single person crews, but you have to be very close to the subject to get good audio, and it's not the cleanest form of audio. A single system recording is when you have your mic plugged into your camera, making the camera record the audio with the video and syncs it up in camera. Dual system recording is when you use an external audio recorder to record the audio separately from the camera. This requires you to sync it up in post using a clapper, but it gives you more flexibility in post and generally has better preamps than a camera.

Omni Directional mic - picks up sound from all directions, cardioid mic - picks up best from the front of the microphone, still picks up from the sides and back a little bit, hyper cardioid mic - takes in less sound from sides, more directional to the back and front, figure 8 mic - captures equally on front and back, almost nothing from the side. These mics all have their own purpose, sometimes you would want to capture from just one side, and other times you want to capture sound from every direction, and you would have to use two different mics for those situations.

A/V cables are wrapped over/under because the over/under technique will get rid of a twist that is put on the cable using the over/over technique. The A/V cables are very expensive and can be fragile, so it is very important to wrap them with a very little amount of strain on them. Power cables are wrapped over/over because they are more durable, and easier to replace, making the over/over technique okay to be used. The over/over technique will allow for easier unraveling also, making it useful for power cables. These are important skills to have because they will increase the longevity of a cable.

Three essential things that this article tells you to keep in mind is to, always be aware of your surroundings, get creative with how you make and record sounds, and if you hear something interesting, record it for later use. These are important for video production because good sound is essential. Humans would rather watch something with bad video quality, than a video with horrible sound. Terrible sound will make the viewer feel uncomfortable, and will make them want to click off the video. If you always keep the three techniques stated above in mind, then you will be able to record better audio.

The scene feels a very chaotic. You can only hear the gunshot sounds and not much else. The lack of music definitely makes it feel like there is a part that is missing. I think that if music was there in the scene, it would feel more like a whole complete scene, rather than complete chaos. The music separates a scene from being about guns and shooting, from having an actual story with emotion. Considering that this is a Marvel movie, it is quite possible that they would actually do something like this and not include music in a whole scene.

I notice that before the sound effects mix, it is just what was recorded on stage, but before the final mix, the most audible/main sounds are present, but there is no music or ambient/walla sound. The sound effects often included some voice filters on them and some pitch changing to make it sound more futuristic. With the SFX included, you had a better sense of what was going on and how the environment reacted to the actions taking place. The final mix was a more complete version of that, because now you get to understand the tone and the emotion that is taking place in the scene. The music adds in that layer of how you should feel. With the SFX you know what is going on, but with the music you know what the feeling is.

The music completely changes what is perceived on screen. It changes what you understand about the story. With just natural sound, it was unclear what the story was and it was seemed to be a bunch of random shots being put together randomly. With the music and background dialogue added, the story makes much more sense and isn't unknown.

I learned that sounds that come from natural objects can be changed to be completely changed to sound vastly different, naturally recorded sound is better than synthetically made sound, and details in sound matter a ton, even though they often go unnoticed to the viewers. I can begin thinking about sound design in future projects by thinking about how I can do foley work in my videos to enhance the effects.

I am currently done shooting for the silent film, and I am in the logging/editing process. What was successful was following through with our original plans and making sure everyone knew what was going on. Some challenges were last minute changes to our shots, because it made it more confusing for all of us. I have not made the final product yet, so I would not know what were the flaws of it yet.

The foley artists' role in creating sound effects is to reproduce sounds that accompany the visuals on the screen. A foley artist will take an ordinary object and use it to recreate a vastly different sound, but it still matches with the object on screen. There is a mixer that works with the foley artist and will manipulate a sound digitally in order to get it exactly the way it's intended for. A foley artist's work is intended to go unnoticed because that means it was very well done.

Diegetic sound is when you can see the source of the sound that you are hearing, and non diegetic sound is when you can't see the source of the sound. In a film, when you can see and hear two characters talking, that is diegetic sound. If you hear a gunshot in the distance and don't see a gun being fired, that is non diegetic sound.

Stereo is recorded on two independent audio channels, while mono is only recorded on one audio channel. I find it interesting that we can capture depth and direction using only two different audio channels. With so much depth to be found in the real world, one would think that it would take more than just one extra audio channel. I found the part that talked about all of the stereo recording techniques because I did not know that there was that much technical work that went into it.

Musicals first developed with the first talkie, The Jazz Singer , and then constantly began to grow from there. In the 30's, performances were large and grand, but the audience wanted more. Busby Berkeley had the idea to include camera movement in the performance, making the audience feel as if they are part of the musical. Everyone continually tried to replicate that after it was introduced. During WWII in the 40's, musicals flourished because of how the country wanted something a little more cheerful in the depressing times of the war. I believe musicals played an important role in the history of filmmaking because it is a radically different type of film compared to others, and implemented music in a way that was not seen before. The musical also showcased another talent of some actors, singing. I think there has been a revival in musicals in the 21st century because of the accessibility to music everyone has with streaming. This makes us more interested in music, making u...