Evaluation

This project was a chance for me to explore and expand my experience with the sound equipment I was already acquainted with but also helping to broaden my knowledge of the art of sound effects. My minor project consisted of researching the historical background of sound effects as a concept as well as collecting a Foley database of sound effects and implementing those sounds and effects into Stevens’s minor project. I used the in-depth research I collected on the water-phone to shape and inspire my creative choices when it came to choosing and creating certain noises based on household objects and items.

Researching for this project was a combination of searching and discovering the history of sound effects as well as looking more deeply into an instrument that inspired my passion for this minor project called the Water Phone that creates eerie and atmospheric music that happily accompanies scenes of horror. While looking into that I discovered its inspiration, the Tibetan drum which make a very similar sound and pitch but has less control over the sounds it can create unlike the Water phone. I looked more closely into the art of Foley sound and the man who created the art and creation of the Foley collection of sound effects; Jack Foley. I found no issue with the researching area of this module as I pitched my own guidelines for this module and knowing I could research these topics freely.

During the first test I discovered the very importance of location in relation to background noise as well as the volume to some sounds through headphones in comparison to what is actually recorded. I tried experimenting with recording the sounds of a heart beat with the microphone pressed against my chest, I heard it through the headphones and believed it had recorded but when I checked the recording it had not picked up. On the subject of background noise I was filming within my kitchen and didn’t pick up on the humming the boiler was making till when I was revising my sound effects I had collected already.

With the second test I experimented more with different sounds in particular, more to do with combat and contact sounds as I know they are important effects that must sound realistic. I kept the microphone close enough to the action to capture its effect but far enough away so it wouldn’t have any negative effects on the recording. I chose the most soundproofed room to record in especially after the first tests issues, I chose to record ambience in that room specifically because it wasn’t just the quietest but it had a bit of subtle character to the silence that would help give a scene more than just ambience. I sat in the silent room and recorded each sound with precision and care, there are some sounds better than others but that is why I made sure to get multiple of each sound, with intensity, duration and different surface areas. If I had to improve anything about this particular test I would have made more exploration with more equipment as well as collecting more unique and interesting sounds.

With the experiences with Stevens’s project there wasn’t any large problems to do with the filming in particular, there were only minor issues but to each issue there were solutions round each corner. I had a particular issue with the ambiences either being tainted or having an interruption at some point in the timeline so I made duplicates of the small ambient pieces and made them fade into each other. I made sure to listen to peers during filming and recording as I was very open to new suggestions about different sounds and different ways to capture the better sounds. The entirety of the filming process was simple enough and felt professional yet also relaxed.

Editing the sound and its effects for Stevens film challenged me in certain way because I was not used to editing sound so I kept to Avid making sure that I was on a program I knew and trusted to explore and experiment with editing sound. The problems I came across during editing were non problematic and had simple solutions, such as an issue I had with the sound effects, I needed the sound of a bat swinging and hitting someone which was a sound I did not have, the solution was to use one sword swinging clip I had and combined it with the sound effect of the bat hitting a pumpkin then cut them in a certain way so it synced in.

In conclusion I would summarise the entirety of the project module as a pleasant success. I experimented exactly how I set out to and I learned the skills I had set out to acquire. I would however state that if I were to do anything differently relating to this project I would have thought more carefully about my first tests location so that way the second test could have been more about another area that was possible to explore. This was a successful module in my eyes because I met the aims and outcomes with gracious embracement. If I were to improve my work in any way, I would have organized my time and locations better as well as spreading my technical knowhow with more equipment.

I encouraged myself to preform experimentation and creativity with my work with audio and it’s many techniques. I was able to extend my critical and cultural awareness within the context of the creative process because I looked at the water phone as well as the Tibetan drums origins. I set out during this project and made sure my Foley work was independent to any other work I was helping with and I kept a pro-active, problem-solving mind-set when thinking of different sounds and if I couldn’t capture them what else I could capture that sounded like them. I developed new and creative methods of using sound in editing by using two completely separate sound clips to serve one sound purpose which was based upon my experimentation and practice of trailing through my own sounds trying to make new techniques and inspiring myself to make an original creative outcome.