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WELCOME TO MY BLOG

Welcome to my Location Sound journey. My blog aims to talk about the creative process of mywork which I have undertaken in my Location Sound Module for Sound Design. My blog includes what I have learnt, the reason behind me choosing my project, background inspiration and reflections, what went well, what I would do next time better, sound equipment used and locations used. In this Location Sound Module I got to understand different types of sound equipment and I got to know their pros and cons about using them. Getting to understand the equipment was very important to me because it will help me with my future projects in sound, especially in the film industry which I want to be part of and excel in.  

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WEEK 1

The first class for Location Sound introduced me to the module, assignment brief, books relating to sound and equipment available at the Media Helpdesk in the James Graham building at Leeds Beckett University Headingley Campus. My tutor Dr Matt Green showed sound equipment to the class and explained to us the advantages and disadvantages of using some of the equipment. We then got into groups to get familiar with the equipment. We all shared knowledge of which equipment we were already familiar with.

I was already familiar will some of the equipment for example the ZOOM F8 because I had previously used it for my Film and Media Bachelors course. The Zoom F8 is an eight-input, 10 channel solid state recorder. It is perfect for recording more than one sound at a time. I learnt that if you want to get good high quality sound, you can achieve that by using the Zoom F8.

The book I was introduced to was Audio Visual: Sound on Screen by Michael Chion 1994. I took this book out from the Library and started to read it. Michel Chion talks about audio visual media since sound is the revolutionary debut in 1927. He discusses how sound and image can transform perception and also talks about how “added value” is the key to understanding the complex between audio and visual components in film.

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WEEK 2

In week 2 of the second lesson of Location Sound I was introduced to Paul Virostek’s recording who is a Field Recordist. We all listened to his sound recordings on https://www.creativefieldrecording.com/sound-effects/and https://www.airbornesound.com/

My main objective this week was to create a sound library, I took out sound equipment from the media help desk to practise with some of the sound equipment. Before taking the equipment home,  I had to fill out a risk assessment form to get approval for me to take the equipment home.

After the lesson, I went to listen to more of Paul Virostek’s sound recordings, and one which I found really interesting is called ‘Jet Fighters Maneuvers’. This sound recording has many different plane and helicopter noises, and you can clearly hear each aircraft take off and land. What makes this sound recording interesting to me is that each aircraft has its own specific sound and you can hear every detail in the aircraft. You can also hear wind and atmospheric noises when the aircraft takes off and lands which is very interesting. 

We were given a task to do  Field Recording and we had to come up with an adjective for The …… City. Me and Bhean chose to do The Autumn City. We chose to do the autumn city because we were already in autumn and also for this there was a lot of sounds we could experiment with for example: rain, wind and leaves.  

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(Eman Shah) The Autumn City: Wind 

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(Eman Shah) The Autumn City: Wind and Branches

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(Eman Shah) The Autumn City: Walking on leaves 

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(Eman Shah) The Autumn city: Rain with wind 

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WEEK 3

The Week 3′s Location Sound class took place with the Filmmaking and Documentary MA Students at the Northern Film School. We got to talk to the filmmaking and documentary students regarding their projects.

The equipment introduced were:

- Radio Microphones: This type of microphone works by transmitting an audio signal from the microphone through radio waves. The transmitter takes the microphone output audio signal, converts it to a radio signal and then broadcasts it through an antenna. I learnt that this microphone is good as the person who is talking can move around freely and also the microphone will be hidden so you won’t be able to see the wires on them.

- Zoom F8: As I have previous knowledge of this from using this device before, a new thing I learnt about this was if I was using more than one microphone in the device to pan them different ways. This is because if there was a problem I would easily be able to identify it.

- Shotgun Microphone: These microphones are mainly used for dialogue and you can aim it anywhere, for example if I was recording dialogue on set I would make sure I aim it near the persons mouth to get good quality sound. A good thing about this microphone is that it picks up less sound from behind.

- Hydrophones: This is an underwater microphone that detects sounds waves under water. A typical hydrophone works by converting a sound wave into an electric; voltage by detecting changes in pressure in the surrounding environment. The speed at which the sound wave will travel from through the water will be proportional to the pressure changes which will demonstrate the nature of the electrical output that is transmitted.

After we got the equipment shown to us we got into groups and started recording sound outside. We took out a radio microphone, the zoom F8 and a shotgun microphone. We made sure that the shotgun microphone had a wind shield on because when recording outside the microphone can pick up a lot of wind noise, so this is why it was important for us to put a wind shield on the shotgun. We recorded in a busy area outside where cars were driving past and people were walking. We first did a practise recording to make sure we had the correct levels which was up to -12 anything above -12 is considered as too loud when we got the correct level we were ready to start recording.

I found this class very knowledgeable as I got shown equipment I had not used before. My objective for next weeks lesson was to get used to the equipment from The Northern Film School. So what I did before week 4′s lesson I took out a Zoom F8 recorder and a boom microphone and recored sounds in busy areas of buses and cars driving past and people talking. This really helped me get experience with my ambience recording.

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WEEK 4

Week 4′s lesson took place again at the Northern Film School, and focussed on recording ambience outside. First Laura Taylor took us on a walk around Leeds city centre to identify certain sounds for example road noises, cars driving past and people talking. We then came back to the Film School, and took out equipment I took out a Tascam and a Shot gun microphone and also I made sure that I took out a wind shield to put on the shout gun as I was recording outside. As I went on the sound walk I recorded sounds which were interesting for example building works happening and road works that were going on. I also recorded the sound of cars and buses driving past, and I could hear people talking in the background which was interesting. We then went on a third walk, this was the same walk and here we had to listen back to the sounds we had recorded in the exact same spots and see how it sounded like.

I felt as though this week my ambience recording improved greatly because I had been practicing recording ambience the week before. From listening to my first ambience recording to my ambience recording now I could tell the difference.

During this week, I started to come up with ideas for my final project for this module. I was thinking about doing a podcast about fashion as it is something that reflects me as a person. So I had started to research podcasts about fashion. My main objective was to write down ideas for a fashion podcast. I had thought about different kinds of sounds to put in for example, music, camera shutter clicking, interviewing a model, sound from a catwalk and talking to people in the fashion industry. I had began to research podcasts and I did find a few interesting ones.

https://soundcloud.com/uchenna-chukwuka/fashion-podcast

https://soundcloud.com/user-526076794/tfvp2

https://soundcloud.com/cmonsonthepodcast/cmon-son-the-podcast-episode-110-complexcon-summer-series-fashion-geek

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WEEK 5

In week 5 we were shown two documentaries. The first one was called Leviathan (2012) which was shot on the North Atlantic and is focused on the fishing industry. I found this documentary really interesting because the sound was very significant because I could hear everything clearly. I could hear metal noises, tools being ready to use, fish being tossed in the sea and chatter in the background. What I found really interesting was sound being recorded underwater. For this they had used an under water microphone to capture the sound of the water splashing. The detail of the sound was very good and I could tell different types of microphones had been used to record the sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP1eC55tW4w&t=460s

The second documentary I watched was called Sleep Furiously (2008). This is about a poetic journey of new beginnings and endings. I found this documentary really inspiring because it shows how people live and what they do in Wales. It also showed the cultures in Wales which I found fascinating. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP1eC55tW4w&t=460s

At the end of the class we were given a task to complete for next weeks class which was to come up with a soundscape which is  ‘weird’.

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WEEK 6

In week 6 me and Bhean wrote ideas down for our task for ‘weird’. At first we had the idea of dropping a glass bottle in a few places, but then we thought not all places would allow us to do that. Then we came up with a new idea of opening a coke can and spilling the coke, we thought we would get an interesting sound of this, as we did it in a few places. For this we used a Zoom H5 Recorder and connected that to a boom microphone, to allow us to achieve the best sound for this. This really helped me to get used to the practical skills. We made sure that when we recorded the sound of the coke spilling we had the microphone really close to the can so it could capture the sound of the spill perfectly. 

I found this task very useful and it gave me an understanding of where to place the microphone when recording one object. My focus was the coke can, so therefore I had to aim the microphone close to the can. 

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(Eman Shah) coke can spilling outside in park

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(Eman Shah) coke can spilling in bathroom sink 

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(Eman Shah) coke can spilling outside. 

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WEEK 7

Week 7 was care week, so this meant that there was no teaching this week. This week I planned out what I was going to do for my project. I was meant to be making a fashion podcast but watching the documentary ‘Sleep Furiously’ inspired me to create a podcast which reflects my cultural background. I chose to make a podcast about Indian food, mainly focussing on one dish which is Chicken Biryani and spices that go into this dish. I chose to do this because I was inspired by the documentary Sleep Furiously 2008, which shows some of the culture in Wales. This inspired me into making a podcast about my cultural background, focussing on food because everyone knows Indian cooking can be really spicy.

So this week I came up with a plan. I planned to talk to my mum whilst she cooks biryani. I will be talking to her whilst she is cooking. The podcast will be done in one location. It will take place in the kitchen where my mum is cooking.

ZOOM H6 RECORDER WITH SHOTGUN MICROPHONE

I will be using a Zoom H6 Recorder, which I will connect to the shotgun microphone, to record sound effects of unpacking of the bags, sound effects of vegetables being cut, rice being washed, rice going into the pan, background sounds whilst my mum is cooking.

Sennheiser Radio Microphone

I will be using radio microphones on me and my mum whilst we are talking to one another whilst my mum is talking. I chose these microphones as these will be the best for my podcast as we both can move freely around, and will get no microphone noise. They will also pick up high quality sound of both of our voices.

I researched different kinds of soundscapes which are an audio recording of sounds that are created in an acoustic environment. I had watched youtube videos of a few soundscapes.

‘Heart of the Jungle’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZgi8Hs4WLs

This is a 3 hour long soundscape set in the jungle. This soundscape really stud out to me because there were many interesting sounds, I could hear water, birds, rivers flowing, owls and other nature sounds.

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WEEK 8

In week 8 I took out a Zoom H6 recorder and a shotgun microphone and I started to practise sounds in my kitchen for when I came to do the real podcast. I captured sound of water, draining rice, stirring and frying. I did this a few times, to achieve the best audio. I made sure that when I was recording the sounds that I was aiming the shotgun directly to the action so for example when I did the soundscape activity with the coke can. When my mum was cooking I made sure that the shot gun was aiming close enough so I could capture good quality sound.