Task 7

Task 7 - Adding Non-diegetic music.                                    Amara Senior 

Using a short film clip I had to create music i feel supported the narrative and enhanced the mood and meaning for the audience. For this task i had chosen to do the American history X - Danny dies scene as its quite an emotional scene and uses a variety of different music. 

Firstly, i downloaded the clips from youtube and put it into Garage band. From this i created different types of music which complimented the original movie. The music i created was to create a moment of suspense when Danny was in the bathroom before he got shot as it would relate to the audience more. Apart from this i added loops from Garage band which helped to add suspense, i  mainly used the intense strings section as the original music consisted of dark violin music and i wanted it to sound similar in a way. I also downloaded sound effects of YouTube such as gunshots, footsteps, children playing in the background and a driving car. These sounds helped to identify what was happening in the scene and grabbed the audience's attention. I also used sounds i had recorded for a previous task which included more footsteps and a closing door, i had used these as they match the mood and meaning of my sequence. I had the original soundtrack also to help me try copy the sounds and music being used as closely as possible.

In conclusion, i feel that this task came out good as it has a variety of sound effects and music which was successful in adding mood and meaning to the sequence. Also, with this task i had done a lot more in terms of the length as i rounded it up to 1 minute instead of 30 seconds to get the best possible results. 

Task 6

Task 6 - Recording diegetic sound effects and presence.                    Amara Senior

Moving image sound effects are generally used diegetically, and there are a number of ways of recording or locating them. For this assignment i had to practise and experiment with a number of these in preparation for my final soundtrack creation project. During the time spent on this task, i had to record my own version of background presence and crowd sound into a downloaded movie/YouTube clip. I had to use as many diegetic sound effects as possible which i created myself alongside a number of library sounds. 

Firstly, I had converted the Love in London vox-pop doc from YouTube using www.clipconverter.cc. 

I had the. Made another folder in my user area to store all of my clips i had used for this assignment. Following this i had inserted my original movie clip into Garage band and muted it so i could then work on editing in my diegetic sound. Recording the diegetic sound was pretty straightforward as i went outside to the courtyard outside the college where there was a lot of people talking and recorded my script so there was original crowd sound in the background. Once this was done i had inserted the clips into reaper to maximise the volume of the clips, although, i did not have to edit anything else on the clips. Afterwards, i inserted these clips in the correct place in Garageband which meant they sync to the actions shown on screen and added a music bed to tie everything together which was the final stage of production. 

After viewing other students work i had to assess the sound effects in terms of the ones i had thought were more difficult to create, although i only had done both the crowd sound and background atmosphere in one location, meaning it was very easy to re-create. 

Overall, i feel that my final clip was very good as the voiceovers synced directly to the actions shown on screen, and also the music complimented the actions and background sounds. Although, i feel i could have added more diegetic sounds and if i were to do this task again in the future i would pick a clip that i could add a lot more sound effects to. 

task 5

ByTask 5 – Recording live dialogue on location          Amara Senior

Task 5 was based around spoken word for moving image soundtrack. Spoken word for moving image soundtrack is recorded live on location in many contexts, such as news broadcasts, live television debates, interviews and dialogue for television drama and film.  In this task we had to create a 30 second movie clip from the recording we had done on location. This included vox pops, a TV interview and a film clip, this was also done in pairs.

The first one I had completed was the film dialogue. For this task I had used the ‘Where’s my door, Mum?’ scene from Freaky Friday. Firstly, I had to research and download the following clip from YouTube using www.clipconverter.cc, which allowed us to insert the clip into Garage band.  Once the clip was in Garage band, I had saved the file in the soundtrack production folder in my user area, which allows me to access my work from any computer.  

Following this I had then started to record the dialogue for the movie clip using the most suitable microphones and locations that match the original recording as closely as possible, with my two partners Christal and charlotte.  Each step mentioned above was then applied to the other two tasks, which was the vox pop and the TV interview. The recording of the dialogue for freaky Friday was not as straightforward as we intended it to be as Christal was struggling to record the main dialogue, which meant we had to switch to charlotte recording. As a result of this, we had to start the recording process

Again, which took a lot of time as the voiceover recordings did not sync with the movie clip. In terms of the location we used to record, we had done this in an empty office, which insured that the recording of the voiceover was done to the best quality and issues such as reverberation and sound surfaces were eliminated. When recording we made sure the voice recorder was approximately 13 inches away from us to ensure the sound quality was the best it could be.

The recording for the TV interview was a lot less complicated than the film clip, as we only had to do this two times before we got it to sync exactly in time with the clip. Issues such as reverberation and sound surfaces were avoided as we recorded in a closed environment, which meant that there was no background noise. The recordings came out very clear which meant minimal editing was done in reaper. Also, to ensure that the recordings came out to the best possible sound quality we left the recorder approximately 13 inches away from us whilst recording.

The recording for the Vox-pop was also very easy to do, as we had the clip in front of us and copied the voiceovers as we went along. This ensured that we made no mistakes the first time round. We also recorded into Garage band, just to have a backup copy of the recordings. This is an advantage as it means we would not have to upload the clips to Garage band and place them in the correct order, as this was already done. The sound quality of the voiceovers was good as we recorded in the courtyard, which meant we got the background atmosphere and crowd noises we needed to make the vox pop seem more realistic. Due to the fact that we had recorded in this location purposely, we did not have to edit the clips.

 

                                                                         

After this stage I had uploaded the different voiceover clips to the mac and edited them in reaper. This included normalising, equalising and compressing the clips to minimise the amount of background noise and to increase the volume of the original clips before inserting them into Garage band. The freaky Friday clips had to most editing to do as we needed to make the original clips louder and clearer. Also whilst doing the editing in reaper, I had to be careful not to distort the sound when increasing the volume.  Editing the TV interview clips in reaper was quite minimal as the sound quality was already quite good, although we still increased the volume to ensure it was a lot easier to hear. Editing the vox-pop was also very minimal as it had background atmosphere and crowd noises, which meant we did not need to edit these out and only had to increase the volume of the entire clip.

Once the voiceovers and movie clips was in Garage band for each task, I added additional sound effects such as, footsteps, screaming, and crowd noises. This added an extra effect the movie clip as it made it seem more realistic.  I had to ensure that everything was in sync with the original movie clip. I also added music in garage band, which was similar to the original music to make it sound as good as possible.

Overall, I feel the freaky Friday task went quite well minus the complications, and sounded quite well at the end. Although, if I were to do this task again I would make sure that we recorded the voiceovers correctly the first time around so that I did not have to re-record it so many times. Also, I would have made sure that I used a different music bed to ensure that it sounded more professional.  In terms of the vox-pop, i feel that it turnt out really well as the voiceover sync directly to the actions shown on screen, also the music and crowd noises really tie the whole vox-pop together. What could have went better is my time management as it took a while to get things started and also i could make it abit longer in the future. Finally, the TV interview turnt out well as the sound quality was good and everything was in sync. What could have went better is using a different scene that had more audience noises. In conclusion, i feel this assignment as a whole turnt out alot better than i had thought it would have and i enjoyed making each one of these moving soundtracks productions.

task 3- factual television analysis

Task 3 – factual Television Analysis         Amara Senior

A) Television programmes can be watched/ listened to through many different devices. Some devices are more ideal to watch TV programmes due to the sound quality. In this analysis, I will be explaining which devices have the best quality of sound in comparison to others. The three devices I have chosen to analyse are, TV, Ipad, and Laptop.

In comparison to the Ipad and laptop, I feel that the TV is the best device to watch Television programmes/film on, this is because the TV has a bigger picture and the quality of the picture is very good as it doesn’t have to buffer/load and connect to the internet in order for it to be watched. Also, the sound is easier to hear, you wouldn’t have to use headphones, the volume/dynamics can be changed to suit the audiences preferences and because the sound quality, the audience has a greater involvement with the film. Using the TV would also be to a advantage as it has to ability to connect to a 5.1 surround sound system, which enhances the sound quality and creates the perception of space, whereas the other devices (I pad and laptop) are less able to connect to a surround sound system, which means the sound from those devices would not be as good as the TV connected to the surround sound. The surround sound generally has 5 speakers, which enhances the quality of sound. It is made up of the base, left and right speakers, 2 back speakers and sub-woofer, which is a loudspeaker, which is dedicated to the low-pitched frequency range produced by the sound. Another advantage of using TV would be that the screen size varies in inches, depending on how much money you want to spend, although the TV would generally always be bigger than the size of the laptop or Ipad. Also, the TV has a higher pixel range, opposed to the Ipad and laptop, which means the clarity of the pictures would be a lot better. The disadvantages of using TV would be that it is more costly, especially as you have more of a range as to what you can watch, using providers such as Sky, Virgin media and BT which involves additional costs. The TV experience of watching programmes/films would not be as good as going to the cinema, although with the added surround sound system the audience has a better experience that is cinema-like. Another disadvantage would be that it is not portable, which is why a lot of people choose to watch TV on a more portable device.

Advantages that come with the experience of watching TV on and Ipad would be that it is portable so people can watch TV on journeys, opposed to watching it on a TV, also they have access to internet to download films and programmes, although this is limited if they are not connected to Wi-Fi. They can also connect headphones to the devices, to hear more clearly, and reduce the amount of background noises. The devices can also be connected to speakers, which are generally made up of 3 parts. The tweeter is the top, smallest speaker cone, which picks up higher frequencies, the middle cone picks up more mid range frequencies and the bottom cone picks up more lower frequencies e.g. bass, music and sound effects such as bombs and explosions. The disadvantages of the Ipad would be that it has a smaller screen in comparison to the TV and laptop, which means the audience is not getting the best quality experience in terms of picture. Also, due to the fact that it may have to buffer a lot due to Internet connectivity the panning may be slightly off. Also, the battery life on the Ipad would be a disadvantage, as it would have to charge a lot to sustain the amount of power needed to watch many films/programmes. Lastly, the Ipad has a mono-speaker, which picks up a more higher frequency range so the quality of sound would not be as good as the TV connected to a surround sound system.

Lastly, the laptop advantages includes it being portable, it has a hard-drive to ensure that the audience can store films and programmes instead of having to download them all the time. Similar to the Ipad, the laptop can connect to the internet which means the audience can stream film/programmes and they can use headphones to ensure having the best sound quality experience. However, using the laptop can mean that you can connect it to stereo speakers, to further enhance the sound quality if in a controlled environment. However, disadvantages include it has a smaller screen, decreasing battery life and it doesn’t have a deep bass end so the audience is not getting the best quality sound.

In conclusion, the TV is the best for sound quality, panning and is the best for capability for surround sound system. 



D) 
Name: Eastenders
Scene: Bradley's death scene part 2
Date: 19th February 2014

This scene is an example of location audio recording because it is a live episode, which means everything was recorded on location. This is more effective for the audience as they can relate more to the emotions and experience portrayed through the characters shown on the screen. This scene in particular is very emotional and makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the characters and makes them want to carry on watching as it is not as simple to predict what id going to happen next.

Interview 

Name: Hollyoaks

Scene: Finn O'connor interview

Date: September 2014 

In this scene Finn O'connor is being interviewed by a police officer for a rape complaint. This scene massively effects the way the audience relates towards the actor as they can not take him seriously. this scene aggravates the audience as they know he is guilty but he is trying to act innocent. 

Voice-over 

Name: Violetta 

Channel: Disney Channel

This is a programme that uses a voice over throughout as it is originally filmed in a different language. the voice over is used to translate what is being said to english, so that the audience understands what is happening. as a result of this, the speed at which they are speaking and voice over are not in sync. this effects the audience as it gets annoying to watch after a while. 

Moving sound source

Name: Menace ii Society 

date: 26th May 1993

In this scene the main characters are in a car, preparing to start conflict with another group of boys after the death of the protagonists cousin. They are driving to the place, and are also arguing. This scene has an effect on the audience as it makes them think as to what is going to happen next in the film, because it could go 1 of 2 ways. 

Task 1 (moving image soundtrack quiz)

A) To every film there is a soundtrack to accompany it, as without the sound the film may become very boring for the audience making it very uneasy to watch. The soundtrack is probably the most important part of creating a film as the moving images accompanied by the soundtracks can create a story on its own, whereas a film with dialogue and no music would cause the audience to loose interest very quickly. In addition to this, using the 3 elements of sound together in a soundtrack alongside the moving image creates a bigger and more satisfying film for the audience.

There are 3 main elements to every soundtrack. This consists of sound effects, dialogue and music. The sound effects are used to stimulate reality and create mood. This are generally diegetic as they appear to look as if they were recorded on location due to the visuals and sounds shown through the film. For example, the false hero in an action zombie movie is suddenly shot in the head after being infected with the diesease. In this instance, the gun noises heard is fake, therefore no actual sound is coming from the gun being shown. This means that the sounds being used are asynchronous, as they are not matched with a visable source of sound on the screen. In actual fact the sound used is an example of foley sound which means they were pre-recorded natural sounds and ambient sounds which are natural sounds. In typical action films the gunshot noises are created using a heavy staple gun, and pre-recorded noises of the gun being used, although the sounds are combined to create a more realistic and entertaining sound.
The dialogue used in the soundtrack authenticates the speaker as an individual. The dialogue serves to tell the story and expresses the emotion/feelings of the character through the power of speech. Depending on where the dialogue is being recorded different types of microphones would be used. For example, a radio interview in a studio between 2 people would be recorded using a condensor microphone. This is because the mic generally has a better frequency response than a dynamic mic, also there are only two people speaking into the microphones, so the low fragility characteristics of the mic would not be as effected. Also, they are generally omni-directional, which means if there was an audience they would be able to pick up sounds from the audience, however most condensor mics have the option of being omni-directional or cardioid. Although, if a rock band were doing a concert, they would probably use a dynamic mic. Reasons being are that they have a cardioid pick up pattern which means, that noises in the background will not be captured through the microphone and it will pick up noises from the singer and the audience in front. Also, it is more hard-wearing than a condensor mic.
The music used within the soundtrack often use musical elements such as instrumentation, tempo, dynamics, melody and rhythm to obtain a certain mood or emotion. For example, using fast up-tempo music for an action film would be more suitable and appealing to the audience as it uses a cacophony of instruments such as the drums, cymbals and ethnic instruments to create an atmospheric and suspense-filled scene for the film. The two main types of sound are non-diegetic and diegetic. In terms of music, it would generally be non-diegetic as it is music that is being added through editing rather than being recorded on loaction.

B) There are two different types of music when recording for films. This includes diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Diegetic sounds are the ones that are recorded on location and non-diegetic is the sounds that are added though editing. Generally, diegetic sounds are the sound effects, dialogue or any sounds that can be seen on screen, such as explosions, lasers, gunshots and shattered glass. The first couple seconds of the star wars trash compactor scene show conflict between the protagonists and the antagonists, whereby they are using lasers to try defeat each other. The noises produced by the lasers create a futuristic and discordant sound. The laser sounds where asynchronous sounds. However, they produce conflicting musical sounds that audience can tell that it is set in the future. The non-diegetic sounds would be the music. The music helps to create specific emotions between characters and also it sets the mood for the scene. Different types of music create different mood/emotions which helps the audience relate to the scene. This is called sympathetic sound. For example, brass and string instruments would be used for more sad and dull scenes, whereas percussion instruments would be used more for action, adventure and gang films. 

C) Synchronous sounds are the sounds that are matched/synchronised with the visuals being shown on the screen. For example, if a film portrays a character playing the guitar, the sounds of the instrument are projected alongside the visuals of the character playing the instrument. These sounds are used to contribute to the realism of the film and to create a particular atmosphere. For example, the sound of a car boot being shut may serve to convince the audience that the sound is real. However, if the noise was part of a more ominous action, such as a break in, the volume of the sound tends to increase, to engage the audience in a moment of suspense. 
Asynchronous sounds are the ones that are not matched with a visible source of sound on screen. These sounds are used to provides an emotional nuance and also to create a particular mood/atmosphere in the scene. For example, if a group of people had robbed a bank, and had then escaped and started running away from the disturbance, you are likely to hear the noise of police sirens in the background, although the police car is not shown as of yet, this is to inform the audience about the struggles they are about to overcome and allows the audience to paint a picture of what is most likely to happen next in the scene. 


D) Three types of spoken word. 

Dialect - This is where, characters from the film are in conversation with each other, although this could also be referred to a monologue whereby only one character is speaking, which makes tge audience feel more interacted with the film as they feel as if the character is talking directly to them. Dialect is used to give the audience an understanding of current situations and to tell the story. An example of this, would be a couple in a restuarant, conversating over a certain topic and a single character in a play on stage, speaking directly to the audience. 

Voice-over- The voice over, is when someone e.g a narrator is speaking over the visuals shown on screen. This is so the audience pays attention to what is being shown on the screen and at the same time they are able to hear a detailed explanation as to what is happening. However, the visuals and voice-over would not have been done at the same time as they would need to match the visuals to the speed of the narrators voice. The purpose of a narrator is to inform and explain certain point to the audience. For example, the importance of a narrator in a childrens theatre, would be to give them understanding of certain things happening on stage they wouldnt necessarily understand just by watching. 

Over-lapping or multi-voice over - This would be having more than one voice recording at a certain point. For example, if a couple (protagonists) were having a conversation in a cafe and a different couple were arguing in the background, the protagonists conversation would be alot louder, however the conflict in the background would be loud enough the get an understanding of what is happening. Voice-over could also be used in terms of over-daub, which is when a film is made in a different language e.g spanish and they have added an english voice-over in order to broadcast the film in english speaking countries. An example of this would be violetta on disney channel. 

task 2

TASK 2

In this analysis I will be explaining how diegetic and non-diegetic sounds enhance the different scenes in star wars IV and Taken good luck scene and how these sounds have an effect on the audience.

The trash compactor scene starts of with Luke, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Princess Lea in a middle of a fight against the storm troopers. From the sounds of the lasers and the tone of their voices you can tell that they want to get away from the conflict. Luke and Han are telling Princess Lea and Chewbacca to jump into the trash compactor to avoid conflict with the storm troopers. Luke then tells Han to jump in and not too long later follows behind. After this, all of the characters are in the trash compactor together, talking about getting out. Luke then tries to shoot open the door, which is a bad mistake as the laser then rebounds of the walls, which results in the characters trying to avoid the lasers. At this point you can tell the characters are starting to get annoyed with each other as everyone is shouting and arguing, due to the current situation they are in. They then realise they have bigger issues when they hear strange noises coming from the piles of rubbish. Suddenly, Luke gets pulled under the water by a worm like creature, which makes Han start to try and shoot it before it really harms Luke. For a moment everything goes quiet as Luke is still under the water, which indicates that the other characters may have though he had died. As Luke gets back up, the walls of the trash compactor start to close in, causing everyone to worry. Han tries to stop the movement of the walls with a pole, Luke radios C3PO and R2D2, although there is no response, Chewbacca tries to get the door to open, and Princess Lea stands there hopeless. R2D2 then decodes the computer, stopping the trash compactor.

Diegetic sound is where the sound is visible on screen or where the source is implied to be present by the narrative in this particular scene. An example of diegetic sound would be the sounds of the lasers and the robots. The first couple seconds of the scene show conflict between the protagonists and the antagonists, whereby they are using lasers to try defeat each other. The noises produced by the lasers create a futuristic and discordant sound. The laser sounds where produced by ‘mickey mousing’ as the sounds where synced with the actions shown on the screen. However, the conflicting musical sounds that audience can tell that it is set in the future.

The ending fight scene starts of with the protagonist on the phone to his daughter explaining to her that she is about to get taken. He then tells her to explain every detail about the men in the house as they enter the room so he can identify them when he comes to find her. As all of this is happening the daughter is crying under the bed. After this the men enter the room where the daughter is and look around. The protagonist then says that he can hear the men. The men then start talking in a foreign accent as the daughter pushes the phone closer to them so the dad can hear better. Just then, they walk out of the room making the daughter think they have gone, and then she is suddenly pulled out from under the bed. You can then hear her screaming and telling the men to stop. One of the men takes her phone as the dad starts talking to them explaining that he is coming for them. The man replies saying ‘good luck’ before cutting of the phone.