Workshops

For the second half of this term, you will be completing a series of practical audio workshops and recording and analysing the results and the skills you have developed every week on the blog.  This will help prepare you for the next section of the unit where you will be re-recording complete audio soundtracks for moving image sequences using a range of different techniques.

WORKSHOP 1  : Adding a voiceover

Individually or in pairs, find a scene from a film or TV programme without a voiceover.  ( 1 minute approximately)

The scene should be one where there is enough space in the sound mix to allow a voiceover , and where you can add meaning to the scene by adding one.   There are examples you can use in

 ART-MEDIA / MEDIA / 20172018/ 1  2018 SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION 

Write a script for a voiceover of the thoughts  of  one of the characters that adds mood and meaning to  the scene.

Drag the video file of  the scene into Garageband  and record your voiceover using your phone,  a voice recorder or directly into Garageband.

The voiceover  should  be recorded over a relevant part of the scene and combine effectively with the visual content and the existing sound mix. .

You can then save and export the edited video sequence .  Save the video file in a relevant folder.

Complete a blog evaluation about the workshop, explaining the software and processes you used, your intentions with the voiceover, its placement within the scene and the sound mix , and an evaluation of its success and the audio techniques you used. Explain how your voiceover added meaning or mood to the sequence.

WORKSHOP 2  : Dubbing Dialogue

Your next task in your workshop assessment series in to dub dialogue over a scene.

You will be muting the original audio, then  recreating  the spoken word content of  short  film scenes   and dubbing it over the original moving image sequence. 

For this workshop , your main focus should be timing and technical accuracy in lipsyncing and editing : you will not be graded for how similar  your voices or acting  are to the originals. 

Select a suitable  film sequence from

ART-MEDIA / MEDIA / 20172018/ 1  2018 SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION/DUBBING WORKSHOP CLIPS 

or download your own from Youtube ( convert to mp4 using a Youtube converter).  The scene must have some onscreen dialogue .

Write a script of the  spoken word content of  the scene ( if there is a lot of dialogue, you can use just part of the scene ).

Complete a blog evaluation about the workshop, explaining the software and processes you used and an evaluation of your success in terms of timing and technical accuracy.

WORKSHOP 3  : Recording and Adding Sound Effects

You  will be  replacing and adding suitable background ambience  and  original diegetic sound effects ( rainfall, traffic noise, gunshots, footsteps etc.)for  a film or television sequence  

There are video files available on ART-MEDIA/MEDIA/SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION/ 

You can also use a scene you have previously used for another workshop. You may want to use a scene without dialogue as you will be probably me muting the sequence.
If you want to make a long scene shorter , you will need to edit in in iMovie before adding to Garageband. This workshop requires a lot of editing so your chosen sequences can be fairly short.


REGISTER WITH FREESOUND  and use the website to search for and download suitable sound effects,



Drag the video file into Garageband and mute the original audio if necessary.

You should use a mixture of library sound effects ( freesound, Youtube etc.) and  at least three Foley sound effects (effects you have recorded yourself. )  The advantage of Foley sound effects is that you can make them precisely fit the scene , rather than relying on existing sounds. You can record homemade sounds such as footsteps, room ambience , turning pages etc. using the sound recorders or your phone and then import them into your Garageband project.


Import and edit your sound effects in  Garageband  to make them sync to the visuals  and match the mood and meaning of the scene  as accurately  as possible. This may involve changing the length or pitch of the sound , or by adding effects such as reverb in Garageband. These can be accessed by clicking on Edit in the window on the right in Garageband and choosing from the list of effects.


When you have finished recording and editing the music , export the movie . ( Share/Export movie file )


Write a blog evaluation summarising the technical processes you completed , which sounds were the most challenging to recreate, how the Foley recording was achieved and the overall technical success of your edited sequence.

WORKSHOP 4  : Original Non-Diegetic Music

You will be creating suitable original non-diegetic music for a short television or film clip. There are video files available on ART-MEDIA/MEDIA/SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION/ 

You can also use a scene you have previously used for another workshop. You may want to use a scene without dialogue as you will probably be muting the sequence.
If you want to make a long scene shorter , you will need to edit in in iMovie before adding to Garageband. This workshop requires a lot of editing so your chosen sequences can be fairly short.

Find a  television or film videoclip (1 minute minimum)  that does not contain music from the Art-Media drive.

You will be creating suitable original non-diegetic music for this sequence using Garageband to add mood and meaning to the sequence.

Record your soundtrack using the instruments in Garageband.  Remember , music for the moving image does not need to be complicated , but should help create a mood for the viewer that matches the narrative, characters  and genre of the sequence.

Look at this tutorial and the help files in Garageband to get familiar with how it works.

TIPS :

You should turn off the metronome in the Control tab.

Play your notes by turning on Musical Typing in the  Window tab.

Change software instruments in the right pane....orchestra and strings are particularly good for film soundtracks.

When you have recorded your masterpiece , export it using the Share tab.



Edit and combine your recording with the videoclip in Premiere or iMovie and export as a mov.

Upload the completed sequence to a blog post entitled "Workshop 4:Original Non - Diegetic Music".

Write a short evaluation summarising the processes in Garageband you completed, the reasons for your choices , and the affect you feel the  music had on mood and meaning.

FINAL TASK!!

Now that you have completed all of your workshops, share your blog address to someone else in the class and ask them to write a comment on your four clips assessing the effects of the sounds you created on mood and meaning.

You should write comments on at least one other students blog as well.