Sound Tech Dem

Each week we have a Technical Demonstration session (Tech Dem) on a Thursday, this week we looked at the importance. I knew a little bit about sound before coming to university as i have worked in theatre for years, there are many similarities but there are things that are very different at the same time. Sound for the theatre is mostly live where as sound for media particularly film is used in post production and is highly depended on when everyone is finished on set. Sound is recorded in 'bits'- the higher the bit rate the more information is recorded, sound is recorded in layers and the more layers the softer the edges giving a smoother better sound. For Example DVDs have 16 bit Audio, Blurays have 24 bit and DV tapes which we have been using can record 12 bit if you compress the recording settings but you can record in 16 bit on the uncompressed settings.

When working with audio, theatre, festivals, studio and film sets the one audio must is an XLR cable. An XLR cable has two ends one is referred to as the male end and the other the female end. When you see both ends, it’s pretty self explanatory which is which. The male end has 3 prongs this end is known as the output and the female end has 3 holes, this end is known as the input. Maintenance of these cables are very important. There are frowned upon ways to wrap cables, and there is the correct way. The correct way to wrap a cable you basically create a loose loop with the cable you basically nip and loop. You follow the cable when you do it otherwise you can damage the wireing inside the cable. You know that a cable has been wrapped properly if when you go to use it you hold one end and throw it. If the cable lands clearly and unraveled on the floor you’ve done it right.

There are different types of microphones you can use when recording sound the two main types of mic’s we use are directional and omni-directional. When we take out cameras we can use the on board microphone or we can take out a shot gun mic. When we take out the shot gun mics we need to take into consideration how we will power the microphone. These types of mics require power you can power them using a battery or you can use something called Phantom Power. Phantom power is when power is transferred from one device to the microphone. You don’t need additional wires or anything for this as the power can travel through XLR cables. To turn the power additional power on for this on the camera or external recording equipment there is a button normally referred to as the ‘P+48’ button.

Things to bare-in-mind when recording audio:

When using a boom pole it is important to use a cradle or a ‘pistol grip’ at the end to hold the mic to stop vibrations from the pole interrupting the sounds waves. This is because when the sound is recorded any slight taps on the pole travel straight down the pole and along the mic wire, it is also important if following action the move quietly with your feet as the microphones are very sensitive and will pick up your movements.

Remember to record some ‘Atmos’ or a ‘Wild Track.’ At the start of the shoot you should record seconds of atmosphere sounds so that when it comes to editing it is easier for the editor to blend the audio tracks together.

When filming in windy/heavy weathered conditions take a muffler. Most cameras now come with a built in wind dampener, yet these aren’t as effective as using a wind muffler.  When recording the Levels should be within '12-9dbs'. It is important to keep an eye on the levels as the headphone levels are/can be different to what is actually being recorded. 

At the end of each Tech Dem we are given a task to go and use the techniques we develope to create a little film. This week we were given the cameras on the morn to go out and record a ‘Wild Track’ where we had to go out and record ten different sounds and then we would regroup and try and identify the rest of the group’s sounds.

In the afternoon we were given another task called ‘a shot in the dark’ to create a short radio drama involving conflict using folio and we were allowed to use a maximum of 10 words to help tell this story. We used foley techniques to create different sounds like at one point Santa’s sleigh was flying through the sky and you could hear the sleigh, to get the sound for this we used my keys to create the sound of bells. Our story about a young boy going to bed and then once he hears some bells he runs down the stairs to see what Santa has left but to the boys surprise he finds his mother giving Santa payment for the presents. If you know what I mean... we were really excited to hear it back and when we went to play it back in front of the class, it appeared as though nothing had been recorded. We learnt an important lesson during this task. Always use the record button on the side of the camera as the record button on top isn’t always switched on.

During this task we were using Mini DV Tapes and I personally know that now I don’t like working with tapes and prefer to work digitally.