Getting to know Technology

We went to a sound workshop with CLC to give us a deeper understanding into sound. in my AS Media film, we were unable to experiment with sound, as we didn't have the technical support, however this year everything was available to us. When at the CLC we were given a brief overview into how sound can be portrayed in many different ways and also the quality of the sounds that we here in films by Adele Flecther. We learnt how effective sound can be when watching a film and how it can be used to display effects within the film that doesn't have to be fully visual.

We were guided through the impressive equipment with industry professionals, to ensure we have a much smoother outcome with regards to our audio. we tested out various things that led us to come up with our own conclusions of which piece of technology would suit our film locations best.

The Equipment we Tested out

The Boom Mic and Windjammer

 The Boom mic is used to record sound where by it is held above what is going on in the scene. The Boom mic however is not to be seen in any of the shots and scenes. Its helps pick up sound more effectively meaning it is more sharp than what the camcorder is picking up. The Boom mic will be operated by one person who will hold the Boom steady so that all the sound the actors are saying can be clearlt heard. The wind Jammer is used on the Boom mic to lower the background noise so that what needs to be heard can be done so clearly without having to make out what the characters/actors are saying.

Merantz PMD660 "The Recording Brick"

 The Merantz allows a mircophone,clip on microphones and headphones to be connected . This allowed a quick and easy way of recording a person talking. The features to raise and lower the volume is effective. The Merantz is not however on the small side and can be used with the Boom mic as well. 

An Edirol

This can be seen as a smaller version to the Merantz. With this device you can use clip microphones and headphones. It is more handier and easier to use.

The Result

After  spending the day trying to decide what would give us the best sound, we found that the boom mic would be best as it achieved the perfect balance between capturing ambient noise, giving the strong sense of realism, whilst at the same time have the characters voices predominant. The use of the Edirol would have been too complicated as it had to many wires to handle and positioning of the clip on micorophone would have to be paced specifically.This would be very time consuming. The Merantz would have been ideal but yet again we didnt find it to be effective and we though that it would rather be suited for an intervier/report rather than a drama.

 There was one other piece of equipment that we were shown and that was a device whereby we could record sound wirelessly. The device made it easy for the action to be at a distance and it stil be recored. The range of how far the device can go is effective as it means long shots can be carried out and the cound cans still be incorporated. We may consider using this as it seems to be efficient and effectovely.

 We disregarded the others as we would have two main characters and the wires could get tricky and could possibly slip in and out of shots.The postioning of wires would also be a problem as well as sound quality that many of the remaining devices lacked.