AV News 175 - February 2009
My (very enjoyable) experience on the Panel at Cirencester underlined that
even some of those exhibiting at International level could well reflect on these
fundamental points, regarding soundtracks.
I appreciated Howard's encouragement to provide ourselves with the most
appropriate but not necessarily the most expensive equipment.. "Buy audio
equipment from decent audio shops, not computer shops". This applies
particularly to microphones and monitor speakers.
Regarding voice recording, he and Suzanne gave a telling demonstration
of three key points: what really matters is not so much the microphone as i) take care where you put it - distance from and angle to the narrator
ii) the first stage of amplification, which is of key importance
iii) 'crap' - pay attention to background noise.
Sound Recording Workshop in Ireland
Then it was Suzanne's turn: choosing music, the value of constantly listening
to music, e.g. on Classic FM, looking out for indigenous music for holiday
sequences, music of the era for historical themes, film music (avoiding
introductory music as too well-known) and especially Chamber music. I
particularly noted her advice to avoid "changing the image on the beat" and
music memorably used by top AV workers!
The instructional narrative of the day was enlivened by a number of
excellent sequences which tellingly illustrated our presenters' main points.
I could go on and on. Throughout the day we gained many useful tips on
using Adobe Audition. Now all we have to do is to imprint them on our minds
through experiment and practice. But I will in future remember two bits of
advice to which, to my own loss and confusion, I've paid too little attention in
the past: establish and adhere to a file structure for sound, just as for images;
and save each sound edit so that I can return to earlier attempts, just as with
the visual side of things.
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