Elizabeth Hamson
Creative Media L3
EVALUATION
What recording techniques did you use? What was successful? What can be improved? What equipment did you use? Describe problems you had in recording in different locations.
Recording techniques that I used to create sound for my animation were having the sound of a twig snapping to make the sound of by character cutting a branch down also recording the sound of water going down a drainage pipe which sounded like the character collecting water in a metal bucket. The sound of the water getting collected sounded very realistic although I didn’t use it as I didn’t use that part of the animation. The sound of the twig snapping also sounded very good and it was quite clear. What could have been improved is some of the sounds weren’t completely clear. I also have sounds that had a lot of background sound or that weren’t very load. To improve this I could have had the microphone a lot closer to the sound or made sure it was quite where I was recording. Also some of the sounds didn’t get picked up but luckily I recorded more than one of the same sound that I wanted to create. The equipment that I used were a hand held stereo recorder and a hand held microphone. The problems that I found with recording in different locations was the wind as the microphone would pick it up and muffle the sound. Also the rain wouldn’t help as it would be a background noise and in certain areas where there was a lot of people where you could get background sounds of footsteps or people talking.
How did you edit the sound effects? What techniques did you explore in Audition? How can this be improved?
I edited my sound effects on audition. I didn’t really explore many techniques in audition as I hadn’t used audition before. Although I had learnt how to change the volume of each of the sounds which, came in quite useful when some sounds were quite loud and sharp where others were very quite. It helped me balance out the sounds and helped me control which sounds I wanted louder and which I just wanted in the background. I also learnt how to make the sound slower or faster which came in useful when some of my sounds were too slow and didn’t fit with my animation in which my character is very slow. I also learnt how to change the pitch of a sound although I haven’t used it much. I also learnt how to cut certain bits of the sound as it was too long. I can improve by learning more effects to add to the sounds and use a lot more of a wider range of effects to make the sounds more interesting and realistic.
Explain how you imported the Foley effects into the animation. Describe any problems.
I first downloaded the sounds that I had recorded onto the computer. I then went onto audition and imported all the sounds that I had recorded. The problems that I had faced from importing the sound was some of the sounds had saved in a different format. Luckily for a few of the sounds I could open them and re save them in the right format. Although I did have a problem with two of the sounds which I wasn’t able to change the format. I also had a problem with sounds which were sent to me and once played none of them had any sound. To fix this problem I imported the sound using a memory stick although some of the sounds didn’t have any sound which I think was due to the actual recording.
How were you influenced by research into Foley artists?
I was influenced by research from sound and Foley artists by how they used sounds that would seem very complex to make but, are actually quite easy to make using simple everyday objects. For example to make a sound of screeching tires you can use a hot water bottle that is blown up and you drag it against a table. Another example would be to snap celery which make the noises of bones breaking. I also learnt how changing where you make the sound makes a difference. For example the Foley artist used pasta in her mouth to make the sound of bones breaking inside your body and the more she opened or closed her mouth the sound changed quite differently. I also learnt different ways in how to get into sound and Foley and what different job roles there are.
How did you use audience feedback to help guide your project?
The audience feedback helped me learn which sounds that I had recorded sounded better than others . For example one of the sounds that I recorded didn’t particularly sound accurate to what it was meant to sound like so I slightly added effects to it to make it work better with the animation. They also helped me choose which animation would have been best for me to do.
Final Evaluation
Peer Feedback
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Which actions in the animation have they made sound effects for?
Cutting plants, dragging scissors, putting objects down, clock ticking and ambience.
How well have they matched sound with animated action? Can you suggest how to improve it?
The ticking of the clock matches, the sound of the scissors dragging is very well done.
What practical techniques have they used for making foley? How have they been influenced by Caome Doyle?
Used muffled sounds, influence by Caome Doyle muffling her sounds.
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How effectively have they used Audition to edit their sound effects?
Changed the pitch and used echo,slowed down and speed up sound and made it quieter and louder.
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Can you suggest ways to enhance and improve the foley and sound effects?
Make gaps in the background noises to make it more realistic and less repetitive.
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What technical problems have they had in making foley? Suggest how to solve these problems?
They need to make gaps in the background noises and break it up, cut different parts of it to vary noise.
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Watch the animation with/without the new soundtrack: what does the sound contribute? How has the sound made the animation more entertaining?
It made you understand more what was going around in front of you and in the background.
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