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  1. Hilton Hotel Scene Finished

    March 21, 2013 by Andrew Kettle

    Last night we had our location shoot for the anniversary scene in our film ‘April’. This was shot in the Hilton Hotel, Lincoln. This overall went really well. My role for this shoot was Audio Recordist as some of the angles the boom had to be held, i could not hold it high enough due to issues with my shoulder injury. We had to overcome problems with loud background noise. This ranged from AC Units to people talking and laughing at the bar etc (which was in the room next door). We easily rectified this by using closer positioning with our boom and getting various takes of the same audio so we have plenty of takes to choose between. This is so we can get the best dialogue sound for the scene. We used the SQN 5 Channel Mixer again along with the Marantz Recorder as we will for the remainder of the shoots. We had to be careful when using the built in limiter on the SQN at the Hilton Hotel. This is due to how loud some of the sounds were which could easily cause the level to limit whilst recording. To Rectify this we simply lowered the gain slightly and went in closer with the boom. Overall it was a successful shoot and I am happy with the clarity of the audio we recorded. This was probably the most challenging scene as we had many extras in shot who were making noise at the same time as the actors were speaking. We have 3 shoots left and then its time for post production to begin.

    Hilton wide

     

    Camera Hilton photo


  2. First Week of ‘April’ Filming Complete

    March 17, 2013 by Andrew Kettle

    Its been a long and interesting week but the first week of filming is complete. We now have completed dialogue for half of our film. The 5 channel SQN Mixer which we borrowed off Ronnie made a massive difference in the clarity of the dialogue. It has improved the overall dialogue sound massively. I am sorting out the audio for backups and will be posting some audio clips of some dialogue takes onto my next blog post. We didn’t have many issues over the course of the week that were time consuming and the audio we have recorded is at a high standard so i am very pleased at this weeks work. The second half of the film is being shot from Monday 18th-Friday 22nd March in various locations around Lincoln. Some of these being – Cafe Nero, Home (Bar), Hilton Hotel etc.

    audio workstation boom and camera shot boom camera shot kitchen boom close up boom close boom inside april Boom Jacoozie boom kitchen me and ash morning scene panaramic


  3. Final Preparations

    March 10, 2013 by Andrew Kettle

    Its final preparation time for the location shoot. Gathering suitable equipment (plus backups) for the shoot on Monday. Re-reading the script and script breakdowns again so 100% know whats going on in each scene being recording. All our sound log sheets are all printed and ready, these we will complete both a paper and electronic version just in case the paper is lost.

    Our full equipment list consists of:

    – 2 Marantz solid state recorders (1 for backup)

    – 5 channel SQN location mixer

    – 2 Boom poles w/ Rode NTG-2 microphones (possibility of taking radio mics with us as well)

    – Many XLR & Jack cables

    – Copy of the script, sound log sheets, script breakdown sheets etc.

    – Lots of batteries

     

    Attached are the call sheets for our location shoot.CALL SHEET 1 CALL SHEET 2 CALL SHEET 3 CALL SHEET 4

     

     


  4. Meeting w/ Grant Bridgeman + Location Research

    March 8, 2013 by Andrew Kettle

    Today we had a meeting with Grant Bridgeman to discuss recording location sound with regards to, do’s and don’ts for getting the best sound and how to use certain equipment correctly so we can obtain a good sound recording. After this meeting we had learnt the correct levels for dialogue recording so that there was plenty of headroom to edit during the post production stages. Using alternate pre amps and mixers with the Marantz recorder to improve sound quality and get a consistent, correct recording level. Grant explained to us about using a 5 channel SQN location mixer. The full epcification can be found here – http://www.sqn.co.uk/5Sspec.html

    This equipment belongs to Ronald Fowler, a Media Production lecturer at Lincoln University. He has agreed for us to borrow it to use for our location recording. Over the weekend i will be reading on how to use this equipment correctly so that when we record location sound (which commences Monday) we will obtain a better sound. Due to this mixer using PPM meters, Grant advised us to research into PPM meters to gather a better understanding on how to level the sound correctly using these meters. Going to be a busy weekend of researching but all should be good for Monday.

    http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun00/articles/metring.htm – In this sound on sound article it explains all the types of metering and how to use them correctly. I will use this to learn and understand how to use PPM meters correctly.

     

    In a blog sourced from online, some vital tips which i can act upon when location recording are; (http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/recording/how-to-record-high-quality-audio-for-film-tv/)

     

    1. Make sure the director and crew know not to shout “cut” or anything else until the scene is properly over. You need a little gap after the last line to make the edit easier.
    2. Make everyone on set turn their mobile phone off.
    3. Check the set for squeaky chairs and floorboards – deal with them before you start shooting.
    4. Capture at least one minute of room tone before or after you’ve finished the scene. Room tone is the noise of the set without any dialogue. It comes in really handy during the edit for patching takes together.
    5. Do a site visit to any outdoor sets. Traffic noise, building sites and other odd noises can make a set unusable

    As well as this, this site also includes some good information about which equipment is correct to use to obtain the best sound.


  5. Location Booked!

    March 6, 2013 by Andrew Kettle

    We have good news to confirm the location for the first half of shooting for ‘April’ has been decided and booked. We are going to be recording in a Roe Deer Cottage just outside of Lincoln for 5 days (11th March-15th March). This gives us access to a location for a full 5 days and nights. Looking forward to recording here as well as the nice hot tub facility for after shooting. 481894_10152587631050567_1071236068_n