October 2015 – Mihail Sustov – AP1 Production Blog

Project Presentation/Tutor Meeting – 15.10.2015

October 21, 2015November 27, 2015 Mihail Sustov

On the 15th of October during my weekly tutor meeting I presented my project to my supervisor. Outlining all of the roles involved in audio pre and post – production, my role specifically issues and problems + solutions. I also proposed a weekly workplan which got approved by my supervisor.
Slides from the presentation:

Film sound recording and design is effectively broken down into five key phases:
1. Research and study of the script, consultation with the director and producer (LO1) + (LO2)
2. Field and Location recording (LO1) + (LO2)
3. Sound effects
4. Building and operating a Foley sound stage (LO1) + (LO2) – (side note: not particularly necessary for our Documentary production but still useful in case the Director decides to include foley in the production)
5. Digital post-production, sound design, multi-track layering and mixing with musical composition, and final mix-down. (LO1) + (LO2)

(Crook, 2012; 173)

“It is recommended that you produce sound for film in a team as the technical and creative demands of film operate on an industrial scale of production” (Crook, 2012; 172).

I also provided rough-cut samples with synced and slightly edited audio from the first shoot on location. My supervisor was satisfied with the recordings and with the progress. As this was a interview shoot and future recordings will include interviews he suggested adding one more microphone to the person who is asking the questions which is sending signal to a spare Zoom H4n just in case if we need to put the question in the mix. This way I will have clearer audio with better levels and less noise from the person asking the question on location in stead of doing it as ADR later in post (which would be time consuming). Such techniques will be very useful during the next location recording as it will be done in quite a noisy environment. As preparation I have also ensured that I have a wind jammmer and noise isolator for the boom.
During the meeting we also discussed the distribution of the negotiated budget for audio. My supervisor also helped me find examples of sources I could use to find high quality affordable music and audio for the opening and closing sequences.

It was a very productive meeting – I presented the project and received feedback straight away after the presentation which was more than useful. It helped me figure out what I’m doing right and what I could improve on right away. The tips I received about recording interviews will also come very handy in the preparation for the next location shoot which will be on the 24th and 25th of October in London at the MCM Comic Con.

First Location Shoot – Interviews – Sun 11.10.2015

October 21, 2015November 17, 2015 Mihail Sustov

On Sunday the 11th of October we were on location at the accommodation of the two interviewees – 2 Cosplayers. The aim of the recording session was to capture an interview with the two participants and to film them whilst they are building/creating their next costumes.
To record the audio I used the Sound Devices 633 Field mixer (it has very good reviews from industry professionals – Ed Capp , Mary Milton, Sound and Picture Report featuring David Ruddick) – (LO1) , it provides multiple input options and separate + stereo summed tracks which is more than useful. I also had a spare Zoom H4n just in case I need more tracks or the Sound Devices 633 runs out of battery. The microphones i used were –
RØDE NTG2

AT Pro70

I set up 2 AT Pro70 microphones to record the interviewee’s voices (they were sat down in the shot with limited movement included, the mics were on clips on their shirts). This way I could get a closer perspective on their voices typical to the Documentary style dialogue:

The girls spoke slightly quiet but as they got more in-tone with the recording process their audio levels improved and I ended up with a consistent piece of dialogue.
(LO1) Clip mike/tie-tack mike
Smaller microphone designs developed, that have proved to be the solution to many sound difficulties. A small electret or a dynamic microphone with a clip attachment the ‘clip mike’ or ‘tie-tack’ mike has become a favorite device in productions where it is unimportant whether the viewer sees it attached to someone’s tie or coat lapel.
The clip mike (miniature capsule mike – elerect/dynamic0 – A single mike is clipped to the necktie, lapel or shirt.

(Millerson, 2001; 112)

I also set up the Rhode NTG2 as a room microphone to capture any other movements or some room ambience to improve scene consistency in post production. At a later point during the shoot I switched to a boom operating set-up as the interviewees had started to make their costumes and movement was involved (camera movement as well) and I also captured some spot FX on set.

(LO1) “The shotgun microphone is designed to pick up sound within quite a narrow angle (arround 50 degrees), while remaining much less sensitive to sounds from other directions” (Millerson, 2001; 109).
This makes it ideal for directional SFX capture

I listened back to all recorded audio after each scene recording to make sure everything sounds good and to see if any adjustments need to be made.To Synchronize the sound later in post we used verbal sync-points which include short scene description and take number + a clapperboard
At the end of the session it was concluded that we have captured good audio and video recordings.
Issues that occurred:
– house noises (creaky boards, doors)
-outside noises (cars, ambulances passing by)
-microphone was rattling/ another microphone had battery problems

– through good communication between the production team we re-recorded anything that had background noise that was disrupting the dialogue (despite the fact that there wasn’t a lot of audio pollution from the outside in most key recordings). I booked 2 Rhode NTG2’s for a reason, one of them had a loose bolt which held the microphone’s hardware together and it was creating rattling noises which disrupted the audio ( I didn’t have a screwdriver handy to tighten it up) so I replaced it with the spare NTG2 I brought. One of the Clip mics had a faulty battery pack ( I tried changing the batteries but it still didn’t sent a signal to the field mixer), I also brought spare clip microphones so I replaced that one as well. (LO4)

In conclusion I could say that it was a great day on set. We conducted ourselves as professionals adhering to all the rules for recording on set/location. We learned that we work well as a team and that we could reflect off each other and identify problems during recordings. I learned that it is always good to bring extra equipment just in case something goes wrong. This was quite useful as we are shooting in London MCM Comic – Con next and now I know to prepare extra equipment.

Millerson, G. (2001) Video Production Handbook. Oxford: Focal Press

Tutor Meeting 08.10.2015

October 13, 2015October 26, 2015 Mihail Sustov

On Thursday the 8th of October I met with my project supervisor for the first time and we discussed the brief outline and my role within the group. Speaking with my tutor I understood that as I am expected to deliver a full audio package I would nee to look at finding someone to assist me during parts of the production process. This will help with workload distribution and time management as it is not easy for a single person to deliver a full audio package – that would suggest 1 person taking the role of several production positions such as – music supervisor, location recordist, post production etc. In relation to that I have spoken to some of my course mates and they have agreed to provide assistance if they are available at any suggested times.
I also informed my tutor about the first day of filming on the 11.10.2015 and was told to bring samples of video and sound for the next tutorial.
Our group is also traveling to London on the 24th of October to film at the MCM Comic Con event there. I am in the process of booking equipment and clearing MAP forms.
I also let my tutor know about my own and the groups working schedule and he approved.

Group Meetings and Guest Lectures

October 13, 2015November 17, 2015 Mihail Sustov

During week 3 of Semester A we had a guest lecture by Lol Hammond – music supervisor at Vertigo Films.

Music Supervisor - Vertigo Films — Lol Hammond, Music Supervisor – Vertigo Films

From his talk we learned about spreading out music budgets for big and small productions. He made it clear that many parties are involved when it comes to choosing the proper musical arrangements for any production – Record companies, publishers and so on.
A good pointer was that a good idea would be to contact the artist directly as they might like the project it self and would like to be involved with it which makes the process of getting their music easier. He also reflected upon how using a composer is much cheaper than using an existing piece of music. All in all it was a very informative talk. (LO3)
What I learned from the lecture is that it would be a useful thing to discuss with my group an audio budget and make a proper budget layout so that I know where I stand with the scoring of the documentary. I also learned that when asking to use an existing track I have to formulate a list of criteria to give to the relevant people to let them know how their track is going to be used. Furthermore a good point was made that sometimes music could take attention away from the scenes and the actions on screen – the concept of “Sometimes Less is More”. (LO3)
This week I also met with my group and ironed out what was expected of me. We also prepared for our first interview shoot. We discussed equipment, work plan and details about location and duration of the shoot.
THE INTERVIEW:
2 Local cosplayers making parts of their next costumes and preparing for MCM Comic Con London 2015 held this October.
The equipment I booked out was – 2 lapelle microphones to close mic the interviewees and also a Rhode Shotgun Microphone to capture some room ambiance, spot FX and also some of the dialogue when the interviewees move around the room. To record I booked the Sound Devices 633 Field mixer and a Zoom H4n portable recorder just in case. –

In field and location recording, a team of three people can work together to achieve balance of microphone positioning (whether by boom or lapel), live sound mixing where more than one microphone is being used, and record keeping of the sound log. Well established professionals in film sound production argue that there can never be enough sound recorded in terms of correct positioning, sound direction angles, ambiance and keeping the sound track recording going long before the assistant director’s shout of ‘action’ and ‘cut’.
(Crook, 2012)

This week I also had a look at similar documentaries to help me brainstorm ideas on how to score the piece.

Crook,T. (2012) The Sound Handbook, Milton Park/Oxon: Routledge.

Introduction

October 6, 2015October 26, 2015 Mihail Sustov

Hello Everyone,

My name is Mihail Sustov and I am a level 3 Audio Production student. For one of my projects this semester I will be working with four level 3 Media Production students to create a 20-25 minute documentary about Cosplay. What is cosplay ? The official description of it is:

cosplay

ˈkɒzpleɪ,ˈkɒspleɪ/

noun

1.

the practice of dressing up as a character from a film, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga or anime.

Naruto Franchise characters

For this project I will potentially be delivering a full audio package consisting of location sound recordings, music supervision & (may be) composition, post-production and sound design. The aim of this blog is to track my working process and my progression throughout the course of the project.