Sound Design Notes

Compression added to master channel, ensuring all sounds have a cohesion on top of the initial EQ mix.

Useful tutorial I found very helpful.

Another tutorial I found very useful in relation to EQ.

Observations:

Stronger presence is created at times by enhancing bass frequencies within certain sounds, however the high end frequencies may be compromised and the sound can become muddy.
Within a soundtrack/song all frequency ranges must work together in harmony, creating a perfect combination of frequencies that work with and around each other, rather than clumping together and creating confusion for your ears.
The act of enhancing/removing frequencies is absolutely imperative for finding space within the mix.
Logic is perfect for soundtracks & songs personally, it has a great workflow but I am currently experiencing difficult RAM constraints.

Paid In Full (2002)

Ace, Mitch & Rico, posing for the camera at an event.

Mitch, Ace & Rico, posing for a defiant photo after attempts were made on Ace's life.

Ace & his girlfriend Keisha.

Ace & his old employer Pip, in the dry cleaners Ace used to work in.

Ace & Rico

An earlier scene of Ace being ostracized.

Mitch's little brother Sonny - later involved in his brother's business and finds a grizzly fate.

Mitch & Rico

Mitch around the neighbourhood.

Mitch becoming more successful.

Film Evaluation:

Paid in Full is an American Crime drama, directed by Charles Stone III and produced by Roc-A-Fella films. Paid In Full is based on friends in the 1980s who become a huge part of the drug dealing industry in Harlem. The protagonist within the film is Ace, who the audience sees change from a dry cleaner's assistant, to a top level drug dealer with a huge amount of money, and many jealous people coming with it. The film is a surreal depiction of urban life in America and truly epitomizes a mindset that a lot of people possess, whether it be in America or the UK. With so much importance placed on money, you see loyalty and disloyalty hand in hand with betrayal as the film progresses. The film is shot realistically, some of the scenes dry and almost as if you are a fly on the wall. The sound mainly consists of dry dialogue (diegetic sound) with the non- diegetic sound being predominantly music, boasting a rap-heavy soundtrack to match the visuals at pinnacle moments within the film. This film has always been a favourite of mine and has recently  been an inspiration for the newest film project I created, subsequently about money, friendships and jealousy.

Project: Shape & Form

Ball & Grapefruit 1 - Ball focus

Grapefruit & paper - paper focus.

Cup & Straw.

Mum's specs.

Buddha 1

Buddha 2

Globe.

Kitchen Flowers.

Showerhead.

Green peppers

CD reflections.

Lock & Key.

Project Evaluation :

During the holidays we were also notified of our Shape & form brief & how we were to experience various types of shape and form through the lens. I took many photographs using a Canon 550D DSLR with a 50mm lens. I took a series of photographs and aesthetically found some pleasing. Overall I found this project non-beneficial for me personally. As much as I enjoy photography I don't feel the need to partake in further projects that are not relevant to my field.

Xmas Project

Johnny Juliano's video, initially seen on Worldstar HipHop in 2011.

Clippers on and recorded directly into microphone.

 Manipulating the sound in FL studio software.

Recording himself knocking on a surface - creating drums.

Playing the modified clipper sounds that have been processed through the midi keyboard.

Kettle hiss included in my recordings, as well as numerous other everyday noises.

Salt shaker used to simulate high hat.

Lower frequencies removed to enhance the sound's treble and sharpness.

Tweaking the eq during playback.

Xmas Project:

During the holiday period we were briefed to record all of our adventures within our respective fields. Inspired by Hip-Hop producer Johnny Juliano, who made a beat with sounds he gathered from home (hair clippers) etc. Inspired by the creative approach I decided to create my own beat consisting entirely of sounds gathered through the festive period, during many occasions and every day activities. I edited the sounds on logic and crafted a beat with numerous sounds, carefully ensuring they work together through EQ. I enjoyed this project as it was a good excercise for me technically.

Film Project (Continued) : Part 3

Further trimming of audio for smooth transitions.

Starting to arrange and appropriately place sounds in order for piece.

Audio Analysis before edit.

Playback for reference, tweaking audio for smoother transition between audio clips.

The finalised correct arrangement of sounds.

Adding effect where appropriate.

Channel EQ, to create space in the mix and enhance sounds.

Enhancing low frequencies within EQ.

Reverb created during experimentation, later amended.

Further EQ, working with previous sounds.

Fading the audio clip for a smooth change between clips.

Tonal manipulation effect added on last song, creating eerie tone.

Compressing master track.

 Project Evaluation :

After my initial planning and research I finally finished my piece after many changes. I created a sound piece illustrating the change of a friendship going from positive to negative with the value obviously being friendship. The factors of change were jealousy and money. I found it difficult to illustrate such a change using such minimal dialogue, with only around 4 words being audible within the piece, none of which were particularly informative. After using my research and drawing from personal experience I was content with what I had created. I managed to finish it efficiently without too much panic although I have modified this project more than any other project I have worked on. I am dissatisfied with my lack of ability to illustrate a change to the level that we were previously shown, but mere audio without dialogue would be incredibly limiting within this feat. Andrew liked my piece during the crit but Seb differed, and suggested I attempted to take on too much within one piece. I agree with Seb and believe I could've helped myself perhaps by removing a few sounds and being more specific in my approach to this project. I am pleased however with the master that I managed to add to the piece, and it was smooth with a lot of body within, ensuring for relatively easy listening given the poor audio resources that we were left with. Overall, I enjoyed the experience but think my form has dropped since the Freedom & Liberty project where I believe I have created my best work so far.

Film Project (Continued) : Part 2

Notes and story breakdown of 'Paid In Full' - inspiration to my Sound Piece.

Breaking down acts and components of friendship in this particular situation.

Sound breakdown of an alternative idea - not as strong as my idea I chose but aesthetically would do well.

Further alternative ideas - aesthetically I am sure I could create the pieces well, but they lack a true emotional connection for myself when compared to my final choice.

Raw files and songs included - to create a motif.

Song 'Pound Cake' also used for Motif but with different effect.

Inititally Importing sounds, inspectiing each clip.

Analysing clips one by one, ensuring the quality is at the desired level and recordings have been captured properly.

Trimming clips where fit, keeping only the most valuable information within the audio.

Using the Solo feature for each channel I begin creating a rhythm using a series of my gathered audio.

Interim Evaluation:

Progressing from last week I decided to continue with my idea on money, friendships and jealousy, and how friendship can deteriorate due to various factors despite generating other ideas. I chose to continue with this idea as I felt the strongest emotional connection due to my own experiences. I began gathering some sounds but have since removed them and have started recording a different set of sounds as an alternative. In contrast to previous projects I am happy so far at how efficient I have been with my time and how I have left myself enough so that I can change my plans comfortably and still give my maximum level of effort. I have also looked further at tutorials and articles explaining EQ at great detail which has helped me to create space within my mixes for my pieces. With my new-found knowledge I have improved with my confidence and have been enabled to create  sounds I didn't know were possible.