WALL-E Audio Project Evaluation
I was given a silent audio clip edit of Disney’s ‘Wall-E’. I was then asked to make my own original sounds and record them on an audio recorder with a small group of other students. We then went out and recorded our sounds. I made a tapping sound on a fire extinguisher. This was the idea that I had for WALL-E tapping the box. Me and my friends worked well in the group. we all contributed well to the task. there was no disagreements, as everyone had their own individual idea.
What I did: I downloaded the audios to my files. I then imported those audios into my work on an audio editing and sound making software called GarageBand. I was then asked to edit those sounds into an audio version of the Wall-E clip.
I watched the silent video before recording my audios. This then allowed me to create some ideas of what kind of sounds that I was looking for. I then went off with a group of friends to record our sounds. We then all used those audios within our own individual ways for our individual projects.
How/what I edited: I edited my audios to make them sound more realistic and for them to fit right in. This was accomplished by distorting, splitting parts, and changing the pitch of my audios. This provided the audios to fit well with the movement. After continuous watched of the video, this allowed me to be able to edit my sounds; making them in time and the correct time lengths for the parts of the video they were needed for. I re-used some of my previous sounds, but edited them slightly differently to (again) fit in correctly. The sounds that were spilt, were edited that way, so that they could repeat themselves in time with the eye blinks, as they were so quick.
What I spent the most time on: I spent the most time on my project in general; as well as editing my audios. This was because I had to keep re-watching the silent video clip to make sure that all my sounds fit in time with their part of the clip. I also spent a lot of time on editing the lengths of my sounds for the movements. This way, my project would be perfected.
What didn’t go well: At first, it was very difficult for me to grasp how to edit the sounds. This was simply because I was new to editing as a whole. I have never had to make my own sounds before either. I also had no previous experience with the GarageBand software until now. During my editing, I noticed that just copying and pasting the sound for the blinking of the eyes had to be split. This was to make it work appropriately. This was because copying and pasting the sound would not work. This was simply because it wouldn’t sound realistic enough or in time with the blinking of the eyes.
What went well: Once I had caught the hang of the editing, I was able to work rather well independently. It was actually quite straight forward and enjoyable. However, the project was very time consuming, which in this case it was a good thing. Firstly, this was because, it helps to ensure that my project will be well graded. Secondly, for the project to be a success, it demands to have a lot of time, effort and patience put into it – for it to make a real difference. Finally, that grade will then count towards my final grade (my most important grade of all) at the end of the year. Therefore, the time spent on my project will be very worth it in the long run.
What I would do differently next time: If I was to do this again, I would try not to get as frustrated with myself as I did the first time. I used to frustrate myself when I couldn’t do something correctly after multiple tries. This stopped me from focussing properly, which caused me to mess up even more. I know that I can’t do everything. I just need to remember that sometimes. I should also just take a breather, and then get back to my editing when I feel as if it is stressing me out. I am aware that there will always be challenges ahead for me that I will encounter. Therefore, my advice to myself would then be; “Don’t frustrate or overcomplicate it for yourself. If you feel that you keep going wrong with the same things, and it is starting to stress you out – take a breather and then go back to the work and stay calm”. Don’t forget; Practise makes perfect. You will perfect it over time. Just never give up! Always keep a positive outlook on things.
Overall, I am very happy with my final result. I believe that I have done well on my final project.
My Research ~ Foley Artists.
For my research, I was asked to find video examples of Foley artists.
A Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media in post-production. This enhances audio quality and other media in post-production. You can also create your own original sounds for the needed movements. Here are some video examples.
(Academy Originals, 2020)
(Great Big Story, 2020)
(Variety, 2020)
Video 1: In this video, the foley artists of Warner Bros. (filmmaking company) explain what a foley is and how they create sounds for their movies. They also describe how the art of foley was discovered by Jack Foley. One example that the artists used for making their films was creating footsteps by simply just walking on a surface similar to the surface being walked on in the film and the same shoes or similar ones to create a realistic sound to go with it. They show in the video how they use a big screen to watch the scenes that they need to create the sounds for. Another example used by them was how they use a bed sheet and they wave it around to create a cape moving in the wind sound effect. (Academy Originals, 2020)
Video 2: This video describes how Foley is used to create original sounds in a Foley studio to put into filmmaking. They also describe how they were originally called “Foley walkers” before being called “Foley artists”. They also describe how in their studios, they have people that listen back to the work to make sure it sounds accurate and fits in correctly. They also show multiple ways to create different sounds with random objects. (Great Big Story, 2020)
Video 3: In this video, the foley artists describe how certain sounds are created for filmmaking. They also describe how certain sounds can hint to what kind of time setting the film is, before even seeing a motion picture on screen. They also describe how they can also work well for you can hear the people that aren’t actually on-screen. An example used by the foley artists for this point was that hearing someone walking. That sound implies that there is someone else on set, but not in shot. (Variety, 2020)
What is a Foley sound effect?: A foley sound effect is a custom made sound during post-production. All of the sounds are made specifically for a specific part in gaming and filmmaking. These sounds are named as ‘Foley’, after being discovered by a man called Jack Foley.
Foley artists create and record their sounds in a studio, using everyday objects (as seen in the previous videos). They use those objects to create footsteps, sword fights, glass smashing, etc.
Why does Foley exist?: Foley exist to make a unique track of sound effects (SFX) to translate films into another language. This way they can be used to dub over the foreign dialogue, to make it understandable.
Why Foley is better than pre-recorded SFX: Foley is better than pre-recorded SFX because only ambient noises (crowds of people and murmurs) can be edited out for a library scene for example. However, if a book for example being i picked up and placed back down by someone, there is no sound for it. This would then make it look unrealistic to the audience. This is where the foley artists come into it all. The Foley artists will create their sounds in the studio for the book being placed down. That sound effect will then be edited into its specific place to make it sound realistic for the audience.
SFX making is a team effort: Foley artists and Foley makers mix categorise their work into three sections. Those sections are called; walking, props, and cloth.
Waking: Footsteps are essential tasks for Foley Artists. “You don’t want any sounds to be sound repetitive”, as said by Barbanell. As well as capturing the correct mood, Foley artists also need to find the correct surface to walk on and the correct shoes to wear. This is to capture their wanted sounds for the footsteps. This process is more of a trial and error one.
Props: Foley artists have to recreate their own sounds for EVERY move made by the character when interacting with the world. This is because of all the things that the character will interact with. This is also in case while they don’t just get the sound they’re wanting by itself. Therefore, they have to recreate the sound needed and will then mute or cut out the background noise. It will then be replaced with the re-created by the Foley artists. Foley artists will have store-like stacked shelves of all kinds of objects.
Remember, it is ALWAYS important to be on the look-out for new and unique sounds to be used in the future.
Cloth: The ‘cloth’ section of recording is the sound of textiles and other fabrics used to recreate original sounds of things being rubbed/swooshed together, as the characters live their day. This can include the sound of curtains moving to the sound of dresses being blown around everywhere.
(Roesch, Barbanell and Coffey, 2020)
Elements of Foley sound: Foley sound can either be diegetic or non-diegetic. Diegetic sound is the sound of filmmaking. Non-diegetic is the sound is mainly narrative and music (soundtracks). It is always better to create Foleys as well as the sounds made on set during recording.
Dialogue and Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) may be the obvious ways to create sounds. However, they’re not the only ways to do so. Dialogue and ADR are also different apartments to Foley Artists. There are lots of sounds to consider within filmmaking – Foley is one of the biggest ones.
Foley recording is highly experimental. Hence why Foley artists are called Foley Artists. The “Artists” in their title is used simply for that reason. – all art is experimental.
Foley artists are the most under rated for when it comes to the art of filmmaking. This is simply because, if it wasn’t for their creative expertise, filmmaking WOULD NOT be as amazing as it is now.
(Maio, 2020)
Audio-Recording Systems: The first step to creating Foley is finding out if you need a single or a double audio-recording system.
Single Audio-Recording system: A single audio-recording system is used to create audio directly into the camera lens. The camera then records simultaneously with the image. The benefit of using a single audio-recording system is that the audio does not have to be synced up to the footage. This is also an easy way to create Foley. However, the easy option isn’t always the best option to follow through with for the final project.
Double Audio-Recording System: A double audio-recording system is used for the poorly-graded audio input cameras. It also delivers a stronger audio-quality. This is because “double” is a word used for “two” in this case. This creates a louder audio-quality performance. The more samples taken for this is better for the original filmed footage. This entire audio process is called ‘quantization’- Measured in kHz (kilohertz).
Controllable Noise: Controllable noise is a sound interfered on-set during filmmaking. For example, the sounds of fridges, freezers, technology devices, etc – these can all be controlled during this process by being turned off. This will completely prevent interference when filmmaking.
Uncontrollable Noise: As you could probably make out by the name, uncontrollable noise is any kind of sound that can’t be prevented during the process of filmmaking. For example: noises of people walking past when you’re outside, passing cars, aeroplanes passing by, music coming from a nearby building, etc – all of these noises simply can not be prevented.
Audio Cables: Audio Cables are a big MUST for when recording Foleys. The audio cables come in two different sizes – balanced & unbalanced.
Unbalanced Audio Cable: This is the most simple, but effective type of audio cable used for creating Foleys. These devices are either mini jack, phone-tip sleeve, or a rea connector. Most of which carry a mono-stereo. However, there are stereo varieties. An unbalanced audio cable consists of two wires. One wire is the shielding mesh. The second wire is called the hot. This is the cable that is more susceptible of noise capturing – used to cover short distances.
Balanced Audio-Cable: This is the cable used to cover longer distances. To achieve this, Foley artists use an External Line Return (XLR) connection or a tip ring sleeve (TRS). These cables consist of three wires, instead of two. This way, the audio is being transferred down two wires, instead of the audio being sent down one wire.
Cold wire: There is also a cold wire, alongside the hot wire. This is so the sound captured by the end of either one of the wires can reverse itself down to the other wire. This is so any external noise can be cancelled out during the process of capturing your audio. This also helps prevent any noises not being captured, while straining.
NOTE: ALWAYS test run your equipment before usage! It is a primary concern.
(StudioBinder, 2020)
Sources:
Source 1: Academy Originals, 2020. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_tqB4IZvMk> [Accessed 15 December 2020].
Source 2: Great Big Story, 2020. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3N_PRIgX0&t=162s> [Accessed 15 December 2020].
Source 3: Variety, 2020. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6Wjty-MNk&t=211s> [Accessed 15 December 2020].
Source 4: Roesch, J., Barbanell, G. and Coffey, M., 2020. Foley Sound Effects For Beginners | Adobe. [online] Adobe.com. Available at: <https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/video/discover/foley-sound-effects.html> [Accessed 15 December 2020].
Source 5 – Part 1: Maio, A., 2020. Foley: The Art Of Sound Design. [online] StudioBinder. Available at: <https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-foley-artist/> [Accessed 15 December 2020].
Source 5 – Part 2: StudioBinder, 2020. Sound Recording Basics For Video Production. [online] StudioBinder. Available at: <https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/sound-recording/> [Accessed 16 December 2020].