Video and Sound Production - Project 1
Chan Wan Qing / 0350928 / BA of Design (HONS) in Creative Media
Video and Sound Production
Project 1 (Exercises)
INDEX:
LECTURES
Week 1 / 29.8.2023
In week 1, Mr Martin briefed us about this module and we were introduced about what we will do in this module. After the briefing session, we tried using Adobe Premiere Pro to arrange some clips into a full version video as we will need to use this software in our assignments throughout this module.
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Adobe Premiere Pro Timeline
Week 2 / 5.9.2023
In week 2, we had a lecture on framing and storyboard. In the lecture, Mr Martin taught us about different shot sizes through a few videos he showed us. For example, wide shot is used to show location; medium shot is used for storytelling.
After the lecture, we had an shooting exercise about the different shots we learned. We were paired up into 2 persons one group, then we edited the shots into a video and also add captions. Besides, we were required to do a Premiere Pro exercise. We were tasked to edit a video with provided footages that are not finely edited according to the story of the original video Lalin, following the tutorial video by Mr Martin. The video need to be 35s sharp, there are 2 storyboards we can choose either one and edit the video.
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Lalin Exercise
Week 3 / 12.9.2023
In week 3, we learned about storytelling in film. In this lecture, we learned about the 3-act structure. The 3-act structure contains 3 parts, act 1 - beginning; act 2 - middle; act 3 - ending. The beginning tells us the introduction of the story, the middle is about the confrontation of a problem, the ending is about the resolutions of problems. Plot point is the major twist that push the story to the next act. There are 2 plot points, the first one will be at the ending part of act 1; whereas the second plot point is at the ending part of act 2.
After the lecture, we had exercises on analysing the 3-act structure and plot poins of two videos, Guang (2011) and Lalin (2005). We watched both videos together in class and analyse them together.
In the class, we learned about film sound before we started our audio dubbing exercise.
Week 4 / 19.9.2023
After the lecture, we had a discussion within our group that was divided for shooting exercise in Project 2. We divided ourselves into different roles, including producer, director, lighting crew, camera crew, art director, actors and so on. We then proceeded to the photography studio where Mr Martin shows us the steps of shooting and the responsibilities of each roles. Mr Martin let us to try one scene in our storyboard so that we can understand the shooting process better and we are able to shoot the remaining scenes next week.
Week 5 / 26.9.2023
In this week, we have no lecture class. We had a group production film shooting for our Project 2, so we filmed as a group around the campus.
Week 6 / 3.10.2023
This week, we learned a little bit about sound design where Mr Martin showed us a video about background music and sound effects. Then, we learned about colour correction. Although the shoots happened in the same place, but there may be different colours due to the exposure. So, we had to adjust them through colour correction. Colour grading is for the whole scene using adjustment layer. We did exercises of colour corrections on the footages we filmed last week for production film.
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I tried to adjust the footages to look similar in tone and colours, I adjusted the exposure and contrast. Mr Martin advised that if we are beginner on learning colour correction, we should focus on adjusting exposure and contrast only, after we are more familiar, we can try to adjust highlights and shadows.
Week 7 / 10.10.2023
This week, we learned about sound shaping. First, we learned about the concept of frequency range, dynamic range and mono/stereo sound. Mono sounds are recorded using single audio channel, while stereo sounds are recorded using two audio channels. We used the audio provided by Mr Martin and did exercise of sound shaping using Adobe Audition. We also need to do this for our Project 1 Exercise 2 using our own recorded voice.
In Adobe Audition, we used parametric equaliser to shape the audio. Parametric Equaliser effect provides maximum control over tonal equalization. We made muffled effects and phone call effects using parametric equaliser. We also learned to use reverb effect to create echo which sounds like the audio is in a cave. Reverb effect simulates acoustic spaces with convolution-based processing. It can reproduce acoustic or ambient environments such as a coat closet, a tiled bathroom shower, a concert hall, or a grand amphitheater.
Week 9 / 24.10.2023
We learned about stop motion this week. For this week, we will be learning the theories of pre productions first. And then we will try editing stop motion with the provided images.First, we tried using Premiere Pro to edit the still images into video. We need to adjusted the settings first before importing the images.
Then, we also tried using After Effects to edit the still image into stop motion video.
Final result edited from still images:
Week 10 / 31.10.2023
In week 10, we learned to shoot stop motion using our phone frame by frame. Mr Martin required us to bring our tripod, ideally tripod with remote into the class because we need them for shooting. Mr Martin needed us to try 2 ways of shooting the stop motion, one is by our camera and edited the images in Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe After Effects like what we had learned last week; the other way is to shoot directly with stop motion application, where we can edit the images straightly from the app. We are grouped into 4 in a group, our group decided to download the application called Stop Motion Studio to use later.
We needed to shoot 2 different scenes with the theme Halloween as today is the 31st of October. Our group used clay to create the characters and use the props provided in the studio to shoot our stop motion. We first decided the storyline, where we used the character in Among Us to create a storyline where one of the character is being stabbed. And for the second one scene, it is about the negotiation of buying pumpkins.
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Editing in Adobe After Effects
Shooting Stop Motion Using Application
We showed Mr Martin the outcome of shooting by application, Mr Martin advised us to be careful of the character being out of the frame. I think shooting by application is more convenience, however, the resolution is a bit low. So, I'm planning to use the first way to shoot my final project.
Week 11 / 7.11.2023
This week, we were going to practice visual effects (removing, masking, etc) on Adobe After Effects. Usually, we can use rotobrush tool to mask the object, but if the character has similar colours with the background, we need to use pen tool.
PROJECT 1
Exercise 1 - Audio Dubbing
2. List down each scene on spreadsheet
3. List out each sound effects for each scene
4. Record voice with phone, search sound effects online.
5. Place audio files on timeline, sync it with video.
6. Audio track: 4 tracks for dialogue, one character one track. 3 tracks for sound effects, 3 tracks for ambience sound.
Notes:
1. Editing in Premiere Pro
2. Dialogue: Audio track 1-4
(one character one track) (-6 to -12)
Hard Sound Effects: Audio track 5-7 (-6 to -20)
Ambience Sound: Audio track 8-10 (-20)
3. Edit voice
from female to male, male to female, human to cute animal/adult to kid:
Premiere Pro → Audio Effects → Pitch
Shifter → Semi tones
4. Do not include music as it will cover the sound
effects
The original video given has no sound, therefore, we need to imagine what sound effects are there in the video. There are also a few lines from the actors, for that parts, we need to record the dialogues by our voices using phones and edit them.
After watching the video, we need to breakdown the scenes and list out the sound effects in Google Sheets. In week 3's class, we also learned about film sound so that we can proceed to our audio dubbing exercise. Mr Martin showed us how should we edit the video in class. We need to find the sound effects, including ambient sound, hard sound effects, record and edit the dialogues.
Following the list on the Google Sheet, I found the hard sound effects through Freesound. First of all, I searched for the ambient background sound, including street sound and room sound. Then, I searched for the sound effects that suits the scenes the most. It is hard to find some sound because they did not match with my expectation, for example, the footsteps on road, the sound of peeling plastic. For these sound, I downloaded the sound that is the closest to my imagination.
After finding all of the sound effects, I started to edit the sound effects and dialogues in Adobe Premiere Pro. I first added the audio tracks to 10 audio tracks like what Mr Martin suggested us, the first four are the dialogues of 4 characters, audio tracks 5 to 7 are for hard sound effects and the last 3 audio tracks are for ambient background sound.
I added the sound effects, in the process, I used what we learned last week, mark in and mark out to edit the sound effects as some of them is too long. Some of the scenes that have the same sound effects, so I reused them, for the sound of footsteps, I adjusted the speed to match with the character's steps.
I edit my voice for the dialogue through pitch shifter in Adobe Premiere Pro. To change the voice from female to male, I decrease the semi tone; in contrast to get the voice of the girl, I increase the semi tone.
After I finished matching and editing the sound effects and dialogues, I added the ambient background sound. Then, I watched the video once again and observe the ambient. Like what is advised by Mr Martin, I try to keep the ambient background sound around -20, the hard sound effects between -6 to -20 (depends on the sound), the dialogues between -6 to -12.
Final Audio Dubbing Exercise
Exercise 2 - Sound Shaping
In exercise 2, we were tasked to record our own voice for 5 seconds and shape the audio into the 5 assigned sound effects listed.
2. Voice coming from inside of closet.
3. Voice of toilet/bathroom.
4. Underground cave.
5. Alien/ Orc voice.
I record my own voice reading one of the lines of my book, making sure that it's over 5 seconds. Then, I imported the audio track into Adobe Audition. I followed what we had learned in the classes, using parametric equaliser to edit the audio track into the effects of phone call and closet.
I also used reverb effect to create the voice from bathroom and underground cave. For me, bathroom is a little bit challenging because it has echo, but not too strong, so I have to find a suitable value for all of the areas.
The last effect is to create alien's sound, which is the most challenging one for me in this exercise because I don't know how alien sounds like so I search on YouTube to listen how alien will sound like. It sounds quite deep and has echo, so I used pitch shifter, reverb and also parametric equaliser to create the effect of alien's voice.
The 5 edited audio tracks with different effects are in my Google Drive.
REFLECTION
Exercise 1 - Audio Dubbing
The audio dubbing exercise focused on sound effects was a captivating experience that provided valuable insights into the world of audio production and storytelling. Every sound effect, from footsteps to boom exploration, has contributed to the overall atmosphere and mood of the scene. I also noticed that audio dubbing requires meticulous attention to detail such as timing, volume, and placement of sound effects are crucial to making the scene believable and immersive. It required a keen sense of timing to synchronize the sound with the visuals seamlessly. This exercise also encouraged creativity and imagination. I found myself trying out different sound effects to find the perfect match for each scene. This exercise has deepened my understanding of the role sound plays in visual media.
Exercise 2 - Sound Shaping
The exercise of sound shaping has allowed me to explore the art of crafting and transforming sounds. It was exhilarating to experiment with various effects in Adobe Audition and see how they could be molded to create entirely new sonic experiences. This exercise emphasized the iterative nature of sound shaping. Trying out different combinations, effects, and arrangements was not only fun but also necessary to find the most resonant and matching sound with the situation given. I think this exercise showcased the real-world applications of sound shaping in fields like music production, film, and even in everyday life.
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