P2: TITLE - DESCRIBE HOW THE SOUND ELEMENTS ARE PRODUCED
Foley Artist
Named after Jack Foley. Foley is the reproduction of everyday sounds used with unorthodox tools to make these sounds and these sounds are added to film in post production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds can be anything from footsteps to houses running to even creeking doors. Sounds can be created by beating an apple, dropping a phone book or can be computer generated. It is a very technical process, which requires precise timing and can convey a characters emotions through the sounds that are created.
This is a video of foley artists and the process they go through to make sounds and the different people that are involved in the foley process.
ADR
ADR stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement. ADR is used a lot in films, this is process in which an actor can re-record his or her dialogue after the production process is done. This is used whenever the actors voice cannot be heard or the sound is disorientated or that background noise seems to be louder than the dialogue. The process is done where an actor will stand in front of a screen and the scene they have to re-record is on so they match their voices to the dialogue on screen of they can . To help with the timing a timer will beep 3 tomes before the scene is played. This process is time consuming, mainly because it may be required for the actors o say the dialogue again and again to make sure it is in time
Wild Track
Wild tracks are mainly used to establish the atmosphere, it is recorded after the scene, but is then added in later to add realism to the scene. They are recorded by non-directional microphones so that the mic picks up a lot of what is happening. An example of a wild track is adding a track of birds tweeting in a park or garden or a track of people chatting in the background if the scene is shot in a generically 'busy' place like a market. Its just adding that extra bit of sound that draws the audience in and makes the scenes seem more realistic and full rather than just dialogue.
Sound Formats and File Types
WAV/ Waveform Audio File Format - A wav file is an uncompressed, lossless format so is very high quality. It is used for video and music production purposes because it offers the highest quality and is the most common, when it comes to recorders, almost all record audio in wav. Being uncompressed and lossless also means that it takes up a lot of file space so is sometimes difficult to distribute because it takes long to upload or transfer as it is such a big file size.
AIFF/ Audio Interchange File Format - Is another high quality format because it is lossless so directly copies the original audio source. AIFF is however, a Apple format so only plays on their products unless it is converted into a different format that is compatible.
FLAC/ Audio Interchange File Format - This format is compressed but also lossless so has the quality but doesn't take up as much file space as a wav or AIFF format which is why it is very popular. FLAC is also a 'open source' which means it can be altered by individuals or companies as they wish.
MP3/ Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 Audio- This is the most common lossy format, and is used a lot because it requires so little file space. A lot of people store mp3 file on their phones to play music, it is also common on the internet for downloading and uploading of files, this is because it takes a very short amount of time as it has such a small size. The name 'MP3 player' come from this format because all the songs stored on a MP3 player are in this format. Mp3 however, is a lot lower quality than wav or AIFF files so would not be used in films or music videos because the quality is just not there.
To create and record sound elements professionally, compression is a very important part of the production process. It is needed to reduce loud sounds while keeping the quieter sounds the same. This is very important in orchestra recording because all the different instruments are at different volumes and need to be kept that way to make the music how the composer intended. It's also very useful in dialogue because some actors/actresses will be quieter then others while some will be a lot louder and compression will need to be used to make sure the sound is natural and without distortion. If part of the sound is too sharp like a loud sound, then it has to be dampened. If part of the sound is quiet, then it must be made louder depending on the dynamic range. The dynamic range is the average signal levels between the quietest sound element and the loudest. A lot of people use 'Dynamic Range Compression' (DRC) which just does the compression automatically and evens to the sounds and volumes however, if the particular recording is uneven or complex it wouldn't work as well.
Other key terms and forms of compression are:
Downward Compression - Basically when the louder sounds are changed and moved down while the quieter sounds stay the same, there is usually a particular decibel level where sounds below that threshold are left alone where as, sounds louder are changed.
Upward Compression - This is the opposite, so sounds quieter than a particular decibel level are changed where as the ones louder than that threshold are left alone.
Lossless - This is compression when the data from the original recording stays the same, this results in a higher quality like a wav format because it is uncompressed.
Lossy - This is compression where the quality is reduced because some elements of the recording have been taken away. This results in a lower quality format like a mp3 file however, it does mean that it is a smaller file size so takes up less room and can be distributed easier.
Storing Audio Files
There are many ways to store audio files on digital drives. When importing files into video software such as Adobe Premiere or audio software like Adobe audition, it is important to back up files on either, USB or flash hard drive, Hard drive, Cloud (Microsoft one drive, Google drive, Apple iCloud, Cloud 9, Dropbox
I believe hard drives are the best method of storage because they can hold lots of terabytes depending on which one you get. This means it can keep the quality of work because it has the space for it. Hard drives are also very portable and compact so I can keep it in my bag.
USBs and flash hard drives usually don't have the space to hold the file size I want and cloud services have a limit on file size so again, don't have enough space for the files I want saved.