Dual System Audio

One thing that the video tells us about dual system recording is the difference between balanced and unbalanced cables. A balanced cable like an XLR, its signal will travel further than an unbalanced cable, such as a mini-jack. This allows for more distance between the recorder and the talent. Another thing to remember is the settings that the recorder is set to. If the trim on the recorder is set wrong, the audio may peak and become distorted. The last thing to remember is to set the right power settings for the microphone you're using. Some microphones need phantom power in order to work, so without the right power settings you'll get no audio. With all of these different aspects in mind, setting up a dual system recorder is super simple.

External Camera Audio Settings

One thing to remember when setting your camera up to record audio is to make sure that you're recording a mic level signal or a line level signal. Normally, you'll use a mic level signal when you have a microphone plugged directly into the camera. Line level signals are boosted levels and are normally used when something that isn't a microphone, like a mixer, is plugged into the camera. Another thing to take note of is if your microphone requires phantom power. If it does, you'll need to flip a switch to a Phantom or +48V mode. Finally, you always want to check and make sure if your camera is using the internal or external microphone. The internal mic on a camera is normally a lot worse than external ones, so its important to check which one you're recording with. All of these different settings allow the camera to record proper clean and quality audio for your project.

Camera Audio Menus

The first thing to remember when setting up your audio on your camera is to know if you need to turn on the wind or high cut filter. Like the name implies, the wind filter helps to cut out any wind that the microphone is picking up, letting you record cleaner audio. Another thing mentioned is to check which channel the microphone is recording on. If the external microphone is set on both channel 1 and channel 2, then it'll use both of those audio tracks to record sound instead of just one. With 2 channels, 2 different microphones could be plugged into the camera to record from 2 different qualities or 2 different characters. Lastly, the mic trim feature allows for the audio mixer to decide if their levels need a little bit of a boost. If set lower, it'll automatically turn down louder noises, such as a concert audience. All of these settings are important because they allow for a lot of customization when recording good quality audio.

Zoom H6N Audio Recorder

The 3 main functions of the Zoom H6N is its 4 audio inputs, its module mic design, and its ability to record in mp3 and wav formats. The Zoom's 4 audio inputs allows the used to control the levels of 4 individual microphones and record them right onto the SD card. Another top module can be attached to add 2 more XLR inputs, letting the user have even more mic options. Another advantage of the Zoom is the previously mentioned module mic system. The top of the recorder is able to swap out with different parts, allowing for different built in mics. One last advantage is its ability to record in 2 different formats. These formats are a compressed mp3 format and a high quality uncompressed wav file. All of these different advantages and more let the Zoom H6N be a great recorded for almost any situation.

Getting the best sound for your lav

One main thing to remember when using a lav microphone is the type of lav you're using and its pickup pattern. Normally, an omnidirectional lav is the best for all situations, picking up the users voice from every angle. If the subject is in a louder and busy environment, a cardioid style of microphone, letting the mic pickup only whats in front of it. Another thing to keep in mind is how the mic looks on the talent. If you're in a position where the mic shouldn't be seen, then the lav should be placed underneath the subjects clothes. This, however, can also bring up the next problem. Lastly, if your talent is moving a lot, you'll need to find a way to decrease the amount of clothing movement into the microphone. Keeping these three key aspects in mind while using a lav microphone is very important to the quality of the sound.

Lavs Mics

One thing to keep in mind when using a lavaliere microphone is the placement of it one the subject. Place it too close or far away from the microphone and the sound might be inaudible. Also, if the mic is placed somewhere underneath the subjects chin, the sound might become muffled, leading to lower quality audio overall. Another tip to remember when using lavs is to hide the microphone well. Even though a lot of people are used to seeing lavs on peoples shirts during interviews or YouTube videos, it would look a lot better if the mic was hidden. One strategy is to hide the microphone underneath someones shirt, allowing them to be heard and also keep the mic  away from view. Finally one more thing to remember about lavs is if their wired or wireless. A wired lav gives the subject less room to move around, while a wireless lav allows this. The main problem with wireless lavs is the frequency that they use. One question I still have is how to properly set up a wireless lav. I've set up a wired lav before, but I have almost no experience with the wireless ones.

The Boom Microphone

The biggest function of the boom is to record the dialogue of characters as best as you can without interfering with the shot. The pole of the boom allows the operator to freely move the pole to follow the actors as they speak. Another key thing about boom microphones is that they pick up heavy amounts of handling noise. Just slightly moving your fingers up and down the pole can be heard by the microphone. Finally, a boom microphone can be held in many different postions and still capture great audio. Aiming below the subject is a great and more relaxing position, but it could pick up more noise from the ceiling. One question I still have about boom microphones however is the different types of microphones you can use on a pole. Could you use the Zoom H6, or even a cardioid microphone like the Shure SM58?

How to record great audio

The main benefit of using a microphone on a boom pole is having your actors move around the set while still capturing good audio. The boom pole lets the boom operator move and angle the mic around the set with simple arm motions, letting audio always be in reach. A lav microphone has many different uses, mainly used in either used in interview situations or longer shots where a boom can't be used. The only situation where the microphone on a camera is a good option is when its your only option. Even though most microphones capture good quality audio, its important to find the right microphone for the right situation.

Mic Pickup Patterns

The four main pickup patterns that are shown in the video are omnidirectional, cardioid, hypercardioid, and figure 8/bidirectional microphones. An omnidirectional microphone picks up sounds from all around it, making them good at picking up ambiance when placed in an area. Cardioid mics have more of a heart shape to them, making them more sensitive to sounds coming from the front. Hypercardioid mics are similar to normal cardioid mics, except that they're more directional. This lets them pick up sounds at a more specific range, but leave them to pick up sound from the back. Figure 8 mics only pick up sound from the front and back, and none from the sides of the microphone. All of these different microphones have a different purpose, allowing for sound mixers and creators to have a large amount of options when looking to record sounds.

Wrapping AV Cables

The reason why some cables are wrapped over/under and over/over is because of the cables memory and the inside of the cable. If you wrap a cable in a different way, it could mess up the inside copper in the cable. A/V Cables are wrapper over/under because they tangle more easily than power cables. Power cables are wrapped over/over because it keeps their copper in the proper place, preventing shortages. If you don't wrap a cable the correct way, it could break.

It's Foley Time

When creating sounds for a movie, how the sounds are created is up to the foley artists. A foley artist's job is to create sounds for objects or people in the movie, such as footsteps or punches. One thing to keep in mind is to be creative. If you don't have the right tools to make the right sound, its always good to improvise ways on how to get the sound. Another thing to keep in mind is properly edit the sound effects you record. If a sound of you hitting vegetable doesn't sound like a punch, editing the pitch and timing of it might make it sound more realistic. Finally, its good to remember to learn what different things sound like. You may not know what the best vegetable is for the job.

Iron Man Without Music

The ambush scene from Iron Man without music makes the scene feel more like a full on war movie than a super hero movie. As Tony falls to the ground after being blasted, there's almost no feeling to the part, almost like his near death means nothing. Without its music, the scene becomes a somewhat bland gun fight without any intense moments. The main aspect that feels missing without music is the emotion behind the scene, making the encounter feel empty and insignificant. Without music in these intense scenes, action movies wouldn't feel like action movies.

Tron legacy SFX

Tron without its effects is very disappointing. Because of its setting, the film almost needs these digitized effects to make the viewer believe the films world. One major thing that I noticed is how different the screams are before the digital effects are applied. In one scene, a person is hit with a disc and dies, so there needed to be a scream attached to it. Before adding the effects, the scream seemed almost like a stock sound effect, but once the effect was added on, it became more real in the films world. Another thing I noticed is how unexciting certain scenes are without music. Even though the light cycle scene is cool, without its music, each elimination doesn't seem as satisfying. Lastly, I noticed that some characters reactions are added in later, rather than them saying them during filming. With all of these aspects combined, Tron Legacy makes the viewer believe the movies world even more.

Man Of Steel And Music

The Man Of Steel trailer almost needs its music and voice over to make sense. When watching it without music, I knew who Superman was from past experiences, but from the trailer I couldn't recognize any of the emotions that were being shown on screen. When music and voice over is added to the trailer, things start to make sense. The overall story is better shown once the viewer is able to connect with the emotions that the characters feel on screen. Music is the one thing that helps to bring the viewer closer to how the character on screen really feels: facial features and acting can only go so far. Without music in the actual movie, the audience would have no connection to the characters or their actions.

Sound Design

One major thing that I learned from the video is the use of real world sounds. When designing an object like a gun, its something that the viewer should believe is from the real world. By using these real life sounds, it can help something fictional stay grounded in reality. Another thing I learned from the video is to keep your sounds clean. If a sound doesn't sound any different with one part removed, remove that part to make the whole effect sound better and cleaning. Finally, different effects can be used on different kinds of sound. For example, they use a voice filter on a power drill noise to make a sci fi sounding effect. Without sound design, films wouldn't have a unique identity.

Silent Film Status

Currently, my silent film is in the editing stage. I recently just finished my assembly cut of my film and I'm now beginning to work on the visual effects such as green screen and color correcting. The most successful shoot we had was our last one, where we finally finished the "Pie in the face" scene with Fatty Claus. Previously, we couldn't get the scene down. Everyone had different ideas on how to make shooting it easier, but we agreed on one way and got it done. The main challenge we had was finding costumes for the actors to wear, so they'd look like their from the actual time period. I think the biggest flaw of the final product will be its length. My assembly cut is already very close to 5 minutes, so I need to find a way to cut it down more. My plan for today is to finish my final touches on my assembly cut and finish all of my effects.

SFX For The Screen

A foley artists main job is to create different sounds that correspond with actions that are happening on screen. One thing that I learned from this video is that foley artists make almost every single sound used in the film. Even though sounds could be pulled from a vast library of sounds, by creating the sounds in a studio, they can more accurately portray each character. Another thing I learned from the video is that foley artist are essentially acting. They need to step into the characters shoes, sometimes literally, in order to properly show that characters personality. Finally, foley artists also have very unconventional ways of creating some simple sounds. For example, when a character is stepping on slightly rough ground, they pour coffee grounds on the floor to give the surface a rougher sound. Without foley artists, films just wouldn't sound right.

Sound In Film

In a movie, there are three basic types of sound, the dialogue, the synchronous and asynchronous sound effects, and the music in the background. The dialogue in a film can be one of the most important aspects of its sound design. Dialogue is the words spoken by the characters to push the story along, so if the viewer can hear it, they might not understand whats happening on screen. Dialogue can also change around the mood of the scene with different tones, like a villain using a raspy voice. When implementing sound effects into a film, there are two types that sound designers use, those being synchronous and asynchronous sounds. Synchronous sound effects are sounds that correspond with the visuals on screen, while asynchronous sounds are not matched with things on screen. The music in the background of movies also helps to determine a tone for the film. Without these sounds, a movie wouldn't work right.

Diegetic Vs. Non Diegetic

When recording sound for films, there are two main types, those being diegetic and Non-Diegetic. Diegetic sound is sound that's visible or implied in the movie. Something like rain falling on the main characters hat or two characters talking to each other would be an example of shown diegetic sound. Non-diegetic sound is when the source of the sound isn't present or implied in the films universe, such as the music or a narration on a film. These two types of sound help build the world of the film for the viewers.

Mono Vs. Stereo Sound

When recording audio, there are two main ways to record it, those being mono and stereo channels. A mono audio track is when a recording is played back through only one channel. A real world example would be a single speaker for a concert of people, where sound is only coming out of one speaker. A stereo recording is when sound is played back to recreate a sense of multi directional sound. Another difference between these two recording methods is their difficulty. For mono audio, its fairly easy to record, only requiring a single microphone to record quality audio. With stereo audio, it requires the right setup of equipment for everything to work together. One thing that I found interesting about the article is the different methods on how to record the audio, such as the X-Y technique and the A-B technique, requiring 2 different mic setups for similar sounding audio. With all of these different options for recording audio, it gives film makers a wide variety of ways to record the audio they need.

Musicals in Film

Musicals have been a form of entertainment ever since the entertainment world began, but it took a while for them to be implemented into film. Films only started to implement sound in the later in the 1920's with the talkies. The first kind of musical was The Jazz Singer, which was one of the first films to have dialogue. One of the first full musicals ever put to film was a 1933 film called Forty Second Street by Warner Brothers. A musical was also one of the biggest evolutions in film, the first one to ever be shot in color, The Wizard of Oz. Without these musicals, parts of film wouldn't have developed a soon as they were.