Posts

Sound Design - Cinematography Production

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  One problem (or what I thought would be a problem) I faced early on is that my camera bag was missing its boot-- aka, I couldn't use the tripod. But in the end, it ended up working for the better as I was able to get better shots of my mum cooking using a stool and holding the camera in my hand. It was a very unique experience capturing something that is so common in my household. Loved shooting this project where I was given complete creative freedom over the direction of the shots.  

Sound Design - Soundscape Production

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Sound Design - Soundscape Pre-Production

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  Inspo:  Picture Credits: Alvin Zhou on Youtube

Sound Design - Microphone Types and EQ

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 The difference between dynamic and condenser microphones is that dynamic mics use a diaphragm, voice coil, and magnet to pick up sound waves and convert them into electrical signals. Whereas condenser mics use an electrically-charged diaphragm, which vibrates, and an electrical signal is generated proportional to the sound/vibration.  Microphone directionality is the direction from which a microphone gets its sound. Some microphones can only pick up sound from one direction, while others can pick up sound from all directions. The lavalier microphone is ideal for recording audios like dialogues because of its proximity to the speaker's mouth and the signal-to-noise ratio is optimized. It is also convenient due to its size and the fact that it can be attached to the speaker's clothing.   A shotgun microphone is helpful in capturing sounds that come from a distance as they have a long reach and a narrow pickup pattern.  Dynamic microphones are capable of handling ...

Sound Design - Dynamic Range and Metering

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 The dynamic range of any recording is the ratio of the loudest peak to the lowest peak, expressed in decibels or dB.  The dynamic range comes into play with audio recordings as dynamic ranges that are too wide (bigger difference between bigger and smaller peaks) can be very dynamic but they don't have the "loudness" that is required for a normal listening experience. And recordings that have a narrow dynamic range can be overly compressed and make the recording very loud and eventually remove the energy from the original dynamics.   Audiometers are used to measure levels in some capacity or another. Each type of meter has different "ballistics", meaning just how fast the meter responds to the sound it's measuring.  Meters help us see the gain of the recording and the loudness of the tracks when we mix and also the dynamic ranges of the mixes when we master them.  When the meter runs over level, it's like a warning that says level it out, as most often t...

Critique Reflection - Avant Garde Film

 The comments I’ve received on the film my team and I made were fairly positive. There were a lot of praises for the composition of the shots and the tone of the shots.  I think my team and I did a really good job with the exposure of the camera, as the shots don’t look weird or incomprehensible and create a nice effect for what we were trying to express.  My classmates really liked how many of the shots were composed with a lot of thought and depth behind them even if they look like simple and plain shots.  I feel like I personally need to improve on my editing and explore more shots that involve the camera moving much more fluidly.  I feel like classmates felt that the story itself could’ve been more abstract and the acting could’ve been more mature. I think our weakness are not exploring the cameras and other shot techniques enough and I certainly would try to include other shots that use a dolly that create a really neat effect instead of trying to get every...