Coming from the Screenwriting program and having had experience in writer, director and producer roles (and continuing to do so for web-series projects I’m a part of), I decided that I would take on the challenge of being a part of the technical team for our production group. I definitely feel like I’m a bit out of my depth, but I know that if I work hard and put in the extra time and effort, I can be a great asset to my group.

That’s why I decided to examine the sound readings this week and do further research in the area by collating definitions of sound terminology. The reading that really stood out for me and will be one that I definitely refer back to is ‘Sound Recording’.

An important point I took from it is that in order to ensure sound recording is at it’s optimum, doing a lot of planning and tests well before shoot day is a must. Being comfortable with the equipment and understanding how to fix potential problems on the day, means that practice and doing tests before shooting is important. Doing site checks before the shoot will ensure that you plan to have enough cable length and that you recognize any potential noise disruptions so that you can plan for a slightly different location or shooting at a different time of day to prevent interruptions.

On shooting day, recording a test and listening to playback to hear if sound quality is being affected before recording a take is important. It is too difficult to try to fix sound in post-production, so ensuring that playback is of high quality on the day is the best way to go. Another tip is to test the actor’s speech beforehand so that you can adjust the levels for when they are performing the scene (and ask them to perform at the same volume).

Another important point is to have a fantastic understanding of the equipment you are using. This means ensuring that the audio limiter is switched off whilst testing and setting record levels, then switching the audio limiter on during recording. If the audio limiter is kept on whilst setting the levels, it won’t give a proper indication of whether sound will be distorted, as it will never go into the ‘red’ zone. Making sure that you aren’t being confused by the volume levels of your headphones is also integral as you may think that the sound coming through is loud enough, however your levels may show that they are too low (or vice versa). Trusting your levels and recognizing that your headphone volume may be a problem is important as if you don’t fix it, you will end up with bad sound that can’t be fixed in post.

Overall, the knowledge I’ve gained from all of the sound readings have been very helpful in helping me to understand the problems that you can be faced with and how to go about avoiding them. Performing tests, and understanding how to use your equipment and how to negotiate potential problems are important in ensuring that the best sound is recorded for your film.

The reading that I really enjoyed this week was ‘Writing the Short Film’ which has three, very different, short film scripts.

The first thing that excited me about this reading was the diversity of the three scripts. They would all become very different films, yet they all manage to entice the reader. The character’s predicament is very clear and is put in the forefront early on. Rather than taking a while to set-up the scenario, the characters are thrown right into the action, forcing them to react and respond. I’ve realized that this is crucial to making a short film as there is only a limited amount of time to tell your story and the best way to do this is to put the characters straight into the situation.

The other thing that interested me was the way each of the worlds were constructed. It demonstrates that as long as your world doesn’t contradict its own set of rules, you can create any world that you desire. The way in which that particular world was shown from the protagonist’s point of view was also critical to telling the story. The way that they view the world is integral to understanding their personality, predicament and how they deal with it.

The screenwriting lecture from Jasmine was a good overall summary of the skills of screenwriting.

One point that I took from it was: “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club” – Jack London. This really resonated with me as in order to write you need to keep at it and use as many different writing exercises to develop interesting characters, scenarios and story ideas. Majority of the time, the best and most interesting ideas arise from trying a different approach to writing by using different writing exercises rather than waiting for an interesting idea to pop into your head. As someone who likes to have an overall sense of a character or story before putting pen to paper, the notion of just going with your first instincts and letting the character or scenario take you in any kind of direction is interesting and liberating.

For the first semester of Film-TV 1 I hope to gain a better understanding of the production process of films, from the pre-production stage right through to post-production. I hope to gain an understanding of industry practices which will help me feel better equipped to conduct my own productions in the future.

I want to challenge myself by taking on roles that I’m not used to in production such as trying my hand at cinematography or technical adviser. By pushing myself to learn how to best serve the production from a technical stand point I believe I will become a better filmmaker by not letting fear of technology stand in my way.

I hope to learn from the other students not only in my group but in the other film groups as well. I would like to learn how to be a better editor and to learn skills in lighting and sound, which if I’m not in charge of I still hope to learn these skills by watching and helping other students.

By the end of the semester I hope to be a more well-rounded filmmaker who is ready to take on any aspect of filmmaking.