Unit 5 by Tom

Targets: 16th December

thomas_gamble — 2015-12-16 11:22:48 UTC

-To understand the copntents of units 5-6

- Identify the purpose and contents of a brief

- Be able to analyse an audio based problem in creative media production

- solve problems with audio and assess methods to resolve issues

- Identify your own personal target for the session and review at the end:

To become more confident on how to use audio software to edit the sounds

- Homework: Reflect on the learning process in audio developmental diary on padlet.

Unit 5 learning outcomes:

thomas_gamble — 2015-12-16 11:28:56 UTC

Be able to analyse an audio based problem in creative media

Be able to use an intergrated approach to audio based creative media problem solving and production

Be able to evaluate solutions to an audio based problem in creative media production.

Personal Target for Week 1

thomas_gamble — 2015-12-16 16:31:20 UTC

I feel like that I am more confident with how to use audio software, although I don't know how to change audio levels, I do now know how to identify the audio issues, and I will have to research how to go avbout editing them.

Audio Developmental Diary 1

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Targets week

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Be able to analyse an audio based problem in creative media production

Understand the use of music within various media forms

Identify key elements and their purpose within musical scores that reflect character/mood

Solve problems with audio and assess methods to resolve issues

My personal target for today is to understand new musical terminology to help me create audio for my project.

Skills week 2

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Group work

Experimenting with sound

Audio Developmental Diary 2

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Homework:

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Targets

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To be able to analys van audio based problem in creative media production

Identify key vocal elements and their purpose within media that reflect character/mood

Solve problems with audio and assess methods to resolve issues

Peraonal target: become more confident with voice overs.

Skills

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Group work

Expe ire ting with voice

Listening

Communicating

Recording

Pee paragraph on the film Whiplash

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The scene reflects character throughout as it shows the struggle of the drummer against the conductor, and how he tries to trick him by switching up the sheet music, however the drummer comes back and controls the orchestra through his own piece, and finally gains the respect of his instructor. The atmosphere is tense, for example at the start of the scene, he is playing the wrong music and the audience are all staring at the drummer as he ihad been set up to fail. This creates the tension as in the scene the drummer knows he is doing it wrong but there is nothing he can do, so he has to make a fool of himself. The tone of the song is upbeat,can't it reflects the struggle the drummer has gone through and how he had come back and we won over his conductor.

Synopsis

thomas_gamble — 2016-01-13 15:15:42 UTC

The story tells the tale of a young monster who is afraid of the dark. When his parents turn the light off for him at night he goes to turn it on again, but he can't. He goes searching around his room to see what he is afraid of, and sees tall dark figures. When he eventually turns the lights on, he realises there was nothing to be scared of.

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Sound Sample 1

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Sound sample

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Sound sample

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Audio Developmental Diary 4

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Targets

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Personal target, to ensure that I create a working script ready for my e-book

Meeting minutes

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Audio developmental diary 5

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Targets

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To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual/ audio based problems

To apply Practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual/ audio based problems

Personal Target: to ensure that I can work well with my team member so that the work will get done, and To complete the narration for the e-book.

Today me and Rachel managed to work well in our group, and we managed to get the majority of our backgrounds done for our scenes, and we managed to complete the production schedule. After creating this, we have found that we didn't need to do our full narration for today, as we are doing it scene by scene.

Production meeting minutes

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Producion Shedule

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Audio Dairy

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targets

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To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual/ audio based problem
To identify practical Skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual based problem
Today my persona target is to get The animation started to make sure the book is on target.

Audio Diary

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Targets

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Production meeting
Personal target for the session: to edit more scenes for our e-book.

Agenda

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Diary

thomas_gamble — 2016-02-10 15:44:49 UTC

Today in the lesson we continued with our editing for our e-book. In this lesson we added all of the effects and images into final cut, so all the scenes are

Audio Diary

thomas_gamble — 2016-02-23 22:20:07 UTC

Targets

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To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual/audio based problem
To apply practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a video/audio based problem

Personal Target:
To make the finishing touches to our video to make sure everything will be completed on time ready to be evaluated.

Agenda

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Focus group Questions

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Targets

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Personal target: to complete the evaluation to a professional standard

Podcasts

thomas_gamble — 2016-03-02 12:00:41 UTC

The first podcast goes into extreme detail in particular scenes of the film and analyses as much as how the facial expressions impact the film. This is useful as in my podcasts I can go into detail with witeverything we have done during the day, and I can go over how particular scenes of the e book were made.
The second podcast went over a general idea of the film and how good the casting was. This is good for the start of my podcast

Audio Diary

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Audio Diary

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Audio diart

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evaluation

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Introduction:

The objective of the Bloomsbury brief was to create a short children's animated e-book that had to be up to 5 minutes long. Our task was to then find a suitable story for this brief that would appeal to a large audience of a certain age range. To do this we had to conduct a focus group and conduct some primary research to understand what people would enjoy to see the most. We had to go to a public library and see the children's books to see what common themes occurred that we could also include in our books. We had to work in teams without much guidance, and solve problems to learn how to work independently.

Bloomsbury Brief:

When I first read the brief, the first problem I faced was that I didn't know how to animate so I wasn't sure how I would create a children's e –book. This was a problem as if I couldn't animate I wouldn't be able to complete the set task. Whilst actually creating the product, at first I found it hard to get used to Using Final Cut Pro to animate as I had lots of problems with the key framing to get my characters to walk across the page. This was a big problem, as at first when I created my characters and made them move, they would fly around the page rather than walking in the path that I wanted to set them. I easily solved this however once I head learnt how to use key frames to create a walking path for each of the characters to walk in. We also had problems with the audio equipment at one point, as we didn't know how to use the boom mic to record our sound effects. This was a problem for us, as we needed to record the sound effects to include for our Foley. To solve this problem the sound effects we used weren't actually on the boom mic, we used recording software on our phones to record our Foley effects. Although not as professional, the sound turned out well. I feel that our ability to solve see problems was good as whenever sketching came up that was tricky we didn't give up on the e-book, we looked how to solve the problems differently.

Research:

We had to conduct a range of research for our e-book before we could create it so that we could know what our target audience would be. We conducted a focus group to ask people what sort of ages they would read on their own, and what they were into at that sort of age. We also asked people what they thought about an educational book, and they seemed to like the idea. This research was important to us because it allowed us to see what were the most popular options, which then allowed us to achieve our plan. From my focus group I conducted, people thought that an educational book would be best for the set target audience of 5-6 year olds, as you can make something interesting that could teach them something at the same time. They thought that would be good because it is interesting and educational at the same time, which can help Children whilst they are learning the basics of reading. My research was successful in generating ideas for audio and visual problems, as we immediately came up with the idea to make a book about the fear of the dark. To do this the room would have to go from light to dark, so we would have to solve the problems of working out how to make a light background go to darkness. This was a problem for both of us as neither of us had worked on animating before, so we would have to research how to do this on final Cut. This problem was easily solved when it came to making our e-book however, as when it came to changing the room from light to dark, we just made the same background image with black walls instead of white, then did a cross fade effect so it looks like the lights were turned off.

Visual Problem Solving:

The most challenging visual/animation problems that we came across whilst making our e-book were trying to get the characters exactly right when the backgrounds changed, as they would disappear too quickly and the background would be there and the characters wouldn’t. This was another problem, as when the backgrounds changed for the next scene the characters would disappear too quickly, so when you watched it through they would disappear too quickly. I believe that I was fairy successful at solving this problem as when I went to solve it, we zoomed in on the timeline so that we could see each millisecond of the video, and extended the character across the timeline so that it was in line with the fade effect, so that they would fade at the same time as the background. Next time however, I would solve this in a more simple way, which would be to compound the clips together as one, then put the cross fade on them both so that they would disappear at the same time. This I couldn’t do however this time around as somehow the characters and backgrounds had attached themselves to the audio clips, so when I compounded them together the video and audio would go out of sync. To change this however, I would have to compound each scene separately as a clip so that they wouldn’t all attach themselves together, and it would make it easier to edit as when I edit one clip it wouldn’t then change all of the others.

Audio Problem Solving:

The most challenging audio/Foley problems for me were recording the narration on the Boom mic in the animation room. This was because although we were in a separate room the microphones would still pick up background noise, and sometimes not record everything that I was saying clearly. This was a problem as when we came to importing it into our final cut file, some of the audio was missing so we couldn’t use it. This meant that we then had to go and re record our work, as it didn’t save onto the device. I feel that we could have done a better job at solving this problem though as all we did was re record it and stand closer to the microphone, so that it would pick up my voice better. To do this differently next time we could go to a room where the sound is kept out, so that it wouldn’t pick up any background noise from anybody working in other rooms nearby. Another problem that had occurred whilst we recorded our audio was our Foley. We couldn’t record it in the animation room as there was a group using it at the time that we wanted to record our sound, so instead we used audio software on an IPhone to record the Foley effects. This was not the best choice as it may have not been the most professional option, however luckily the sound came out clearly, so the audio clips could be used.

Time Management:

The way that we originally planned to manage our time was with our production schedule that we created, which was a document that allowed us to plan out every day that we were working on our e-book, and what exact things we would do on those days. Each day we would also conduct a production meeting to check what we would be doing, and if it was different to what was on the production schedule. I feel that as a group we were good at managing our time, as our e-book was completed ahead of our production schedule, so we had time at the end to go over it and make any improvements if need be. I feel however that the production schedule wasn’t useful for us, as what we planned out we didn’t stick to, as we planned to get a scene completed each day, however we managed to get a section of work done each day. For example, in one day we managed to get all of the backgrounds done, then all of the audio etc. This was good for us as it allowed us to get our work done faster.

Teamwork:

I believe that in our production team, our communication could have been better, as I feel we could have spoken more for the production meetings each day. However, I feel that these were relevant, as they helped us to discuss exactly what needed to be done each day. I feel that if my partner and I spoke more though we could have been slightly more organised with our work each day. I feel that we could have communicated more outside of college to make sure that the work got done, and to split the workload more evenly between the two of us. For example, we could have spoken on social media such as snapchat to take photos of what we have done, so that we could compare the work with one another to ensure that we had everything.

Tasks:

I feel that in the production schedule we split the tasks evenly so that we could both work on each part of the e-book, audio and visuals. However when it came to actually working on the e-book it was harder to split it equally as all we wanted to do was make sure we got it all done by the due date. However we both managed to work on both parts of the e-book, the audio and visuals, so that we could experience every part of creating it. We both worked on every part, but each of us worked more on one half than the other, as we found it was better to get the work done on time. I believe that we could have been more successful at collaborating as when we worked, we didn't sit together and do the work we just each got on with the tasks that we were set on e production schedule and the agenda each day. We did follow the production schedule to a certain extent, however we changed the way we worked on our tasks each day to ensure that it could be completed each day. For example, when we worked on the sound and narration, this was the only time we were both together working on the same thing at the same time, and when we did this it was better as it allowed us to get the work done quicker, and to a high standard.

Future tasks.
If we were to complete a similar task in the future, I would like to work better as a team, as I tend to normally work well on my own, so if I worked with groups more often, I feel I would be better at splitting the work evenly, rather than doing things myself. From our production, I would like to start the editing process as soon as possible, as coming from the project we have just completed, I feel that that is the process that takes the longest to complete, so if we start that as early as possible it can be completed sooner. With the animation I would especially like to make sure if it is a scene based video that I am compounding each scene as soon as it is completed, to ensure that they can't go out of sync or mess up as soon as I complete it. I would recommend also communicating outside of college to do your work also, as you can compare what you have and haven't done to help one another out, rather than just me making sure I have done everything I need to. This will be better as then at the end of the production we would have more time for conclusions and evaluations rather than playing catch up with the documents we haven't yet completed.

Final Outcomes:

Peer comparison:
Compared to the e-books we saw today, our e-book was different to the others in a range of ways, including the music, art style, and the stories. In our book, we had two songs, upbeat and sad, that played throughout the whole book quietly whilst the narration took place. Other groups included songs at the start, and the end of the books, without songs playing in the whole book. The way that others solved the problems throughout their production process has helped me, as I now know of easier ways to solve errors next time. For example, other groups with their e-book whilst editing compounded their clips as they went through, so they didn't encounter any of the problems that I did whilst making mine, as so,e of my scenes merged together so I couldn't undo them. I also learnt to next time use the boom mic to record our foley effects, as they would have come to be more predominant within the e-book if we had done so.

Feedback:
Based on the feedback that I was given from the focus groups and the teachers feedback, I have learnt about what I could do better if I were to do this again. For example, we were given the idea to improve of the background images throughout the e-book, and we could have taken more time into designing each of our characters. The good things that we found out we're that people thought that the theme was overcoming a fear, which was the message that I wanted to get across in the first place, and people thought that the target audience should be 5-7 year olds, which is the age range that we also were aiming for for the e-book. The feedback we were given in class to help improve our e-book before the final screening today was good as we applied everything that we were told to the animation to help improve it for YouTube. We were told to work on timings and sound levels, and once we had done that the e-book was complete.

Professional comparison:
Compared to the children's tv programme Arthur, my e-book is fairly different in comparison, as the art style, music, and animation is different. The programme contains an up beat theme tune, and really well animated, however, compared to my –book with two of us working on it, they would have a whole team of professionals working on each section each week. Also, they have a much higher budget to work on each episode, whereas we have had 10 weeks to work on ours with two people working on every part of the book, rather than having a large team working on just one section.

Self evaluation:
I feel that in the past ten weeks, my skills within the production process have developed greatly. I feel that I tend to take the lead too much, so that can be improved on, however I feel that with the audio and visuals I worked fairly well. This is because I was already experienced writhing using photoshop, and my weak points with the audio section I soon picked up on, as editing audio was not as hard as I thought it would be within Final Cut Pro. In he future, I will apply these skills that I have gained through the past ten weeks, as I feel I know know what to do when working as a team in the future,came I know not to take charge and presume that we should use my ideas. I also now am more experienced in using Final Cut Pro, so when it comes to editing again I now know what to do. Overall however I feel it turned out fairly well as a project, but the characters themselves could be improved, as writhing the animation I would have liked to have their legs walk as they walk.

Evaluate:
I feel that my skills have developed within the audio side of the production throughout the past ten weeks, as before I didn't know how to record audio professionally, or edit the souls levels so that everything sounded okay for the video. I feel that the final video itself meets the expectations of the brief, as we have set our target audience, created a working animation that includes narration, sound effects and music. This meets the requirements that Bloomsbury have set for the brief, and they then could show this to my set target audience with them hopefully watching and enjoying it.

Project Proposal

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Meeting Minutes

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Matrix Scene Foley effect Practise

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Audio Experiments Foley Effects

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Audio Experiments GarageBand

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Meeting Minutes

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audio Test Analysis

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Statement On character Narration

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I feel that in the process of the e-book, the narration went fairly well, however I feel that I could have expressed my voice more for the final e-book. This is because I feel the e-book didn't have much emotion, and that when it came to watching it back my voice was fairly monotone in structure. If I had changed the voices slightly, then I feel that the e-book itself would have been slightly more enjoyable to watch. If I were to do this type of project again that required narration, I will put more effort into making it sound more interesting, so that it fits the theme of the e-book itself.

Foley sounds

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Foley Sounds

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Foley Sounds

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GarageBand Songs

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GarageBand Songs

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