Foley project

Original clip:

 

Process:

Firstly I recorded sounds with David and Brandon in the recording studio in time with the clip (foley session). We wrote down which sounds would be made in the clip:

I recorded sounds for:

• the wind
• the barrel clang
• dialogue for Sam

and then edited it together using Adobe Audition:

Firstly I imported all my sounds and the clip into adobe audition:

I then found and looped my background noises (waves and wind):

Then I added the footsteps in which were recorded in time with the footsteps on the screen, making them easy to line up:

After this I added in the barrel clang:

and then the noise of the pickle hitting the water:

I then wanted an underwater noise effect for when it cuts to the fish underwater so I researched how to create it using this source:

anonymous. (2018). filtering sounds to make it appear underwater .Available: https://sound.stackexchange.com/questions/24644/filtering-sounds-to-make-it-appear-underwater. Last accessed 31/01/2019.

and took this answer:

and tried it out:

first I spit and moved the part of the clip I wanted for the underwater scene:

I then added a chorus effect:

And it was successful.

Afterwards I added in the sound for the storm clouds:

and reduced the volume slightly as it was a bit loud when we recorded it:

I then added the sound of the burgers falling:

after this I realised i needed music for the background so went online to download some copyright free tracks:

filmstro. (2019). royalty free shocking music. Available: https://filmstro.com/music/shock. Last accessed 31/01/2019.

and downloaded some music tracks and added them in:

I then needed a sound effect for when Flint gets hit in the eyes by Sam’s feet so i researched and downloaded one:

Koenig, M. (2009). squish 1 sound. Available: http://soundbible.com/511-Squish-1.html. Last accessed 31/01/2019.

and added it to my project:

Now i needed to add my dialogue so I imported it into my project and added it in the right places:

I then exported it to premiere pro to sync it with the video, ready to upload to youtube.

afterwards I uploaded the final piece to YouTube:

ands this is the final outcome:

 

Reflection

This project was a bit difficult as it was something very brand new that I had never experienced before but I think the final product turned out very well and creating the sounds was a lot of fun. I found syncing the audio to the sound effects a bit difficult as well but once I got some practice it became easier and easier.

History of film sound design

Many film companies tried and failed at producing and recording sound for their movies. It wasn’t until 1926 that movie ‘Don Juan’ among others successfully added sound effects to their production but no dialogue. A year later ‘The Jazz Singer’ was produced with sound and dialogue using a Vita phone.

Filmmakers using the Vita phone:

After this, optical sound (sound on film) was preferred and more often used as it was easier, up until sound became more digital based.

In the 1970’s George Lucas teamed with Dolby to create Dolby Stereo, where several speakers would play sound to make the sound better. It was the first of it’s kind and revolutionised sound production.

In 1991, Dolby remained supreme in the sound industry, premiering its Dolby Digital 5.1 in ‘Batman Returns’.

In 2010 when Toy Story 3 came out, post production supervisor Paul Cichocki wanted the audio to live up to the visuals, and so used the Dolby 7.1 sound system to record the sounds.

Shortly after this, Dolby Atmos was produced, which made sound become an object, playing at certain time from certain directions at different levels to make the sound seem ultra realistic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography 

Kushins, J. (2016). A Brief History of Sound in Cinema. Available: https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/movies/a19566/a-brief-history-of-sound-in-cinema/. Last accessed 25/01/2019.

Audio research

• What is production sound?

Sound recorded live on set while recording.

• What is Ambience?

Background sounds present in a scene. E.g. Birds in a park, cars on a road etc.

• What are Library effects?

Pre-recorded sound effects people can pay to use or use for free.

• What is Foley?

Sound recorded live consistent with the sounds created in the film.

• What is it for?

To create sound not picked up or not well picked up by the recording at the time of the shoot.

• Why do film makers use sound effects?

To make a scene seem realistic or to add mood/atmosphere to a scene.

• Why is it called Foley?

A guy names Jack Foley first came up with the idea so they named it after him.

• When did filmmakers first start using Foley effects?

In the early 1920’s.

• How is it usually recorded?

In a studio with a ‘Foley artist’.

• Where did it initially come from in history?

Universal studios.

• What films are famous for using it?

Show Boat was going to be silent before Foley was discovered.

• Describe a Foley session.

Different materials are gathered to recreate sounds for the movie. The movie is projected silently while the Foley artists use the materials and themselves to recreate the sounds as they are happening. Things like footsteps, door handles, floorboard creaks etc.

• What do you notice about the microphone placement in the 1970s Foley session?

I notice that there are several placed in different places in the area of the Foley artists’ feet, hands, above their heads and in front of them.

• Why do you think they placed the mics like that?

In order to catch every sound created to make the most realistic effect.

• What is ADR?

Dialogue that isn’t picked up during recording must be re-recorded. That actor must reproduce their audio in sync with the movement of their lips so watch the same clip on a loop until they do.

• Why is it used?

To replace audio that wasn’t picked up during live filming.

• What does ADR stand for?

Automatic Dialogue Replacement.

• Describe an ADR session?

The actor will sit in a recording studio with headphones watching their clip on a loop and re-doing their line in sync with the clip until they get it right.

• What does ADR allow you to do?

It allows you to get a better quality of dialogue recording without having to re-do the performance.

• What do you need to consider when organising an ADR session?

They need to consider whether to do partial ADR or replace the whole scene. Also the time it will take to complete and if the audio really needs to be improved.

• How ‘automatic’ do you think it really is?

Not very automatic as it takes a lot of planning and production time.

 

Term	Useable Definition
Diagetic	A sound from a source on the screen
Non Diagetic	A sound with no source on screen
Ambience	background sounds
Spot (ie: Spotting audio effects)	going through the film and accounting for all sounds that need to be added in
Spotting session	audio team going through the film and thinking of sounds that need to be added in and how they will be added
Dubbing mixer	people who put together all recorded sounds into one soundtrack for the film
Sound designer	person responsable for collecting all sound effects and setting up playback equipment
ADR / “looping”	Dialogue that isn’t picked up during recording must be re-recorded. That actor must reproduce their audio in sync with the movement of their lips so watch the same clip on a loop until they do.
Dialogue	audio of speech
Foley stage (job)	recreating sounds from the film using materials and yourself
Dubbing mixer (job)		people who put together all recorded sounds into one soundtrack for the film
Foley mixer (job)		someone who puts together all foley recorded sounds
Sound designer (job)		person responsable for collecting all sound effects and setting up playback equipment
Foley artist	recreating sounds from the film using materials and yourself
Foley	Sound recorded live consistent with the sounds created in the film
Production sound	sound recorded live while filming
Post-Production	anything done after the film is filmed
Bleed (microphones)	when a close mic picks up sound from another source
On-Axis (Microphones)	audio source which is directly in front of a mic
Underscore	music being played quietly under other louder sounds
Sting	a use of short piece of audio to create a change
Cardioid (Microphones)	mics with a heart-shaped pick up. louder from the front, less powerful on the sides
Omnidirectional (Microphone)	equally sensitive to sound from all directions
Dynamic (microphone)	Dynamic microphones are microphones that convert sound into an electrical signal by means of electromagnetism
Boom (microphone)		a microphone attached to a boom
Lavalier (microphone)		a mic hanging around the neck or on the person
Condenser (microphone)	miss with a greater frequency response and are more sensitive to loud sounds
Phantom Power (48v)	method of sending an electrical current through a microphone cable
Gain	a measure of the ability of a two-port circuit to increase the power or amplitude of a signal from the input to the output
Amplitude	the furthest a vibration of sound can travel
Frequency	the rate at which the sound travels, also defines the pitch
Hertz (Hz)		what sound is measured in
Pitch	degree of highness or lowness in tone
Dynamics (volume)	how loud or quiet the music is
Dynamic range	the lowest and highest dynamics for sound
Envelope	the way the amplitude varies over time. The attack. Decay, Sustain and Release.
Transient	high amplitude, short-duration sound
Attack	changes occurring before the sound reaches its steady-state intensity
Decay	decay is the rate at which it fades to silence
Sustain	steady state of a sound at its maximum intensity
Compression (volume)	stabilising the dynamics of sound
Reverb	giving a sound a slight echo effect
Gate (noise gate)	an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal.
EQ (equalisation)	boosting or reducing the levels of different frequencies in a signal to make them level
Delay		a from of echo effect