© 2014 Robert Jones

My Reflective Summary

This process has truly been incredible. I had doubts at the start as to whether I had picked the right option but now I have seen the project to the end I have no regrets and I believe it has made me into a more well rounded student.

Successes in my role include the use ADR which I feel everyone doubted our ability at, including our tutors. However I agree that their doubts were justified in that it is hard to pull off, but if it is done correctly it can work really well. I feel we have pulled it off. Interestingly this success originally came out of problem in that we could not record good enough audio on set. Reflecting back, we could have rehearsed more to prepare for these scenarios but in reality with the wind being as strong as it was it was almost impossible to record decent audio. I imagine a film with a bigger budget would have either; chosen to record on another day, changed location or used ADR. We chose the latter as it was the only option for us and we simply did not have the time frame or the funds to record another day or change location.

However a reason why our ADR may not be as successful as it could have been is that we only received the final picture lock after our ADR recordings so the media group actually changed some of the shots. This resulted in a few cases of slightly out of time dialogue as some lines were previously off camera so weren’t required to be exactly in time and  focused more on the performance.

This fact got even worse after the media group actually altered the picture lock which undermines the whole concept of the picture lock. This meant all of our sounds that had been placed in the mix had to be altered to the new video as we had been mixing to a completely different video. We did overcome it eventually and it all turned out pretty much as well as we could have done it. In the future though it would have been great to have the finished film to work with as soon as we started out on audio but I imagine due to the time constraints of this project and the fact that the courses align in terms of deadlines this makes this prospect almost impossible.

In terms of Learning Outcomes, I feel I have addressed all of them and even surpassed some statements.

My first statement was that “I will have a better knowledge of the practices of on set recording.” I believe I have definitely achieved this, especially considering before this project I had never learnt about on set recording, let alone partook in the process. I learnt more and more as the project developed as stated in a previous post where I mentioned that it has almost become second nature. If I ever record on set again I will know the exact process to go through in terms of determining the room, the actor, the levels and various other factors such as recording internally or externally. I would not have considered these aspects before which is why I have addressed this Learning Outcome.

My second statement was “I will further my abilities at writing music for film and to a specific brief.” I can definitely say I have achieved this as well as my compositions in the final film show. I contributed with details in each song and wrote two pieces “Explore” and “He’s Gone”. I understand how to develop an idea and realise that if something gets turned down its not necessarily all bad it just needs adjusting to match the directors vision. Bearing in mind these are my first client based compositions I believe my abilities at writing music for film to a specific brief have improved dramatically, however I would have liked to receive I bit more direction before we pushed for it.

My third statement was ‘I will spread my workload throughout the semester in order to avoid rushing.’ I can honestly say that overall, this is the most spread out my workload has ever been in a single project. However for the first month or so we had very little to do so the majority was crammed into the last month and a half. I understand though that this is the nature of taking on a project such as this and the media students need time to develop their ideas and cast actors etc. Over the time we had though nothing felt rushed as we literally worked on the project every single day for a month with no real breaks, especially the last two weeks of post production where Luke, Ben and I have lived in each others pockets. So in regards to my learning outcome I have spread out the project as best as I could have done given the time frame. In that context it has not been rushed (apart from uploading my blogs as we finished earlier today!) so I feel I have met my L.O.

My next learning outcome was that, “I will have a greater understanding of professional client based projects and my role in the process.” It has definitely taught me a lot about this in terms of dealing with clients, and being a client for someone else. We’ve had to be the clients for actors in the ADR recording and as the post on twitter by Claire suggests we did a great job!

Screen Shot 2014-12-18 at 15.08.59

I have also learnt about dealing with clients. It has lowered my Ego, and I am less attached to my personal work and I want what is best for the group. I understand where I am in the process and I know when to stick to my role and suggest ideas. At times it could get frustrating when the group were giving mixed messages towards the end such as saying the final music piece was too happy then complaining it was too morbid when we changed it. However, ultimately we are providing a service for them and are role is determined by the work they give us so I was grateful for the opportunity and thus I feel my understanding of client based projects has been increased.

My final Learning Outcome was that “I will keep in regular contact with all members of the group to aid communication and efficiency.” I have done this throughout the project and although I do not wish to share the facebook group on here for concerns of privacy I can guarantee there was contact of some sort between a member of each group at least once every couple of days. I have all their phone numbers in my phone so I’ve been able to contact them at will. I have also attended numerous group meetings with them in the library, edit suites and sound theatres throughout as well as the weekly meetings with Chris Hainstock. They have also been keen to stay in contact with us so there was a constant line of communication for the duration of the project. Therefore I have also achieved this learning outcome. 

In summary I feel my Audio Project 1 has been a great success and on reflection I have achieved all of my learning outcomes. The confidence I have got from producing in the sound theatre and taking a prominent role in the recording process has helped me in other aspects of University life as well. For example Bryan Rudd asked me to pitch a Marketing and Branding presentation to 2nd years and I genuinely believe before this semester I would have turned it down. The process have given me a more questioning attitude. I found myself increasingly asking myself, what if? What if we try this? Why don’t we give it a go? This allowed me to put the project first and put my Ego aside.

I have enjoyed every minute of this project and when I look back and re-watch the finished product, I shall do it fondly and be proud of what I have achieved in this semester. Thank you for the opportunity.

Robert Jones.

 

 

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