Audio Reflection

What did you do and how did you do it?

The idea was to create audio that was needed to add realism to the trailer, sounds like; footsteps, door sounds, wind howls and more. I decided that Foley artistry would be the best technique to capture these needed sounds. Audio is massive to a viewing experience, visuals give you the sense of the content but sound adds depth to the viewing experience that brings trailers to life. Getting the sounds through was the preferred process. Originally it was planned that sound samples would be gathered by recording in a nature environment, so for example a park. I attempted to do this for several weeks (during my sound sessions) but with no luck. Almost every attempted was spoiled by background interference or sample wind effecting the audio device during recording. The focus shifted soon after towards creating the sounds in a controlled environment in the sound studio at the college. This was more successful with over 9 minutes of audio recorded and having a large amount of samples to work with. I used wooden planks to simulate walking on wooden flooring, gravel in a container to simulate someone walking in a park or through ruins. Other sounds were capture during this session that were more experimental. 

Does your final audio product meet your original intentions? If it does not match your planning explain why? 

In all honestly, I'm very disappointed in the final audio that was produced by myself. It did resemble in some capacity my original intentions but didn't live up to the quality I hoped for. Sounds that were planned for were captured and sounded well enough individually, however they didn't mix well at all with my team's trailer. This could be down to several reasons but I believe the time management throughout the team was an issue that pushed audio editing to the very end of the production, the narration almost missed the final cut. 

My personal belief is that, if the team had all of the 3D components complete a week prior to the final audio cut, all audio elements would of been present in the final trailer. Since I was proceeding over editing the final trailer I decided the best decision was to cut my Foley sound samples out of the trailer, I believe this was the best decision and this benefited the final trailer.

How did you manage your time? 

I can only criticize myself during this undertaking, management was poor during this task and time was wasted with failed attempts trying to capture audio in a nature environment. Additionally, more samples (and of better quality) could of been recorded in the controlled environment during this wasted time. Furthermore, I attended the studio for additional hours (which is a slight positive) to mix the samples capture, this was in vain however as the samples didn't sound much better and was ultimately unused. If I had to score my time management skills with this task a 1/10 would be more than generous.

What did you struggle with?

On top of time I'd say understanding the software used to created and mix sound, Cubase is a great piece of software but to a none musician it was terribly hard to understand and work with. My tutor helped my with the software and introduced me with the key settings but I just wasn't comfortable with the software, this probably contributed the final product being below my hopes and expectations. Modifying the audio was a challenge in itself, it seemed like there were thousands of different modifiers available and finding one that worked was a headache. Even with the modifiers I chose I wasn't completely satisfy with the feedback. 

Foley was harder than expected also, I love the idea behind Foley and massively respect the professionals in the industry. I'd like to think I'll have a second crack at this unique technique in the future, with this experience I'm sure it'll run much more smoothly.

How does your finished audio compare to professional examples?

Comparing my final audio piece to professional examples wouldn't be fair to professional examples. I removed the audio because it would of been unfair to have included it in the trailer. I'd say it would be hard to find an audio piece even remotely as bad as mine, maybe I'm being extremely harsh on myself but it isn't comparable and comparing it would be disrespecting professionals out there.What do other people think of your finished audio?

It's impossible to receive criticism regarding my audio as it never made the final cut. My teams members felt it sounded rather repetitive and it did since it was mostly walking sounds with only a few sound bits in between. The general response regarding the rest is varied, some positive and others negative. The main criticism is that the soundtrack doesn't work well with the 3D content and it's repetitive throughout. The main positive is the trailer's introduction with PEGI age rating, radio broadcast and story narration.

What could you improve upon?

As stated above, probably nine tenths of the process would be improved upon if this was done again. Motivation would be much higher knowing my mistakes, developing my skills with the software would be up there on the list. Using controlled environments to produce sounds would give me more time to play with the audio and finally having more pieces of tat about to help create the sounds would increase the sound libraries needed for something of this magnitude.
  
If you were to do it again what would you do differently next time?

Again I'd repeat my thoughts above, more motivation, developing skills and definitely more planning. My planning was all in my head and not fully recorded, the 3D was my focus throughout and this may have contributed to the low quality of my sound.

What did you learn?

Firstly, that audio production and this process was extremely stressful but secondly, I've learned that my skills regarding audio need to be improved across the broad. I'll probably never record Foley in a nature environment again and concentrate on creating sounds in a studio setting as the results are far better in my experience. Finally, throwing everything at it (literary), especially when recording sounds can actually pay off.