Use the internet to research how SFX are recorded:

 1. Footsteps:

• For grassy footsteps use newspaper in a plastic grocery bag and softly tap the bag. 
• A wet sponge or rag with the right timing (heel / toes).
• Old cassette tape - unravel a few tapes and put the tape on different surfaces (carpet, stone etc) and walk on it. Also just rotating it between your hands.
• Record yourself banging a boot or a heavy shoe against a heater. You can use a pair of boots to simulate a walking pattern.
• Photocopier sounds are good for robotic hydraulics/footsteps.
• Lay a strip of carpet on top of some gravel, then pace over it to make a cool walking on snow effect.

2. Rain:

• Plastic bags, polythene etc.
• Salt dropping on tinfoil 

3. Punch:

• Rolled up newspapers being hit with a (soft wooden) stick are meant to be good for body and face hits.
• A regular old bull whip crack is good for those over-the-top Street Fighter type punches.
• Hitting real meat, use a baseball bat to hit leather jacket wrapped around baseball gloves, add breaking of chicken bones.

4. Seashore:

•  Pouring a fizzy drink onto tarmac or any floor is supposed to be very good for sea (used in Jaws) 

5. Vomiting

• Take a large bottle of salad dressing (chilled to make it more viscous) and a gallon juice bottle filled with water. Take the dressing (with the cap on and tip it quickly and hard for the stomach internal sound then in quick succession dump the water on whatever surface you want (sidewalk, toilet etc..) add a little "ughh" on top . You can even do a few heaves before dumping the water for added realism.

Preparing to work with sound effect (SFX's)

Why do you think that we use SFX sound in film and TV productions? 
I believe that we use SFX sounds when editing our Film and TV footage because it helps to improve and enhance the sound quality as well as making the footage seem more interesting. Without SFX sounds the background noise would be uncomfortably quiet and boring.


What are the advantages of using SFX sounds in Film and TV productions? What do they add to the overall production? 
The advantages of using SFX sounds during post production is that they can help to improve the sound by covering up the bad background noise that you don't want. Also sound effects can help to enhance sound, so when the audience are watching the film or TV show they are more enticed and impressed. It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these background noises, films feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable. An example of SFX improving a production is the children's cartoon 'Tom and Jerry' without the sound it would be incredibly boring. 


What are the disadvantages of using SFX's in TV and Film production?
The disadvantages of using SFX sounds in a film or TV show is that they are never going to be exactly the same as the sound you are trying to achieve. The SFX sound won't always be exactly the same amount of time as what happens on the footage which can make it hard to sync. Also they take a long time to create which can sometimes interfere with production. The people that create them (foley artists) are also quite expensive. This could be a big disadvantage if you have a small budget as they have to work for a long period of time.


What is the job description of a foley artist? 
A foley artists job is to recreate the realistic ambient sounds that a film or TV show portrays. The props and sets of a film do not react the same way acoustically as they would in real life. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of a film during production that might take away from the scene at hand, such as overflying airplanes or passing traffic. 

Sound Track Post Production Assignment 3

During this task my group and I learnt different ways to improve sound when filming at a location. We also learnt what to do if the sound contains lot's of background noise e.g. use wild track or film again whilst using different techniques to improve the sound. We discussed the best way in which we could improve the sound e.g. extend boom pole, switch phones off and turn macs off.  This helped us to film our footage with better sound for the second time.

Firstly when filming for the second time we tried filming the presenter footage indoors near the balcony cafe. But whilst being there, even though we tried filming at a different time when we thought it would be quieter it was just too noisy.  So we decided that the only way we could film was to  change to a similar location that was further down the corridor near to the class rooms so that it was less busy and quieter. When we got to our different location we all turned off our phones and made sure that we weren't near noisy lights or radiators.  We also tried to put the mic closer to the presenters mouths so that the sound was clearer and there was less background noise. this helped us a lot because of not being near to the stairs, we didn't have the noisy footsteps or talking in the background. Also it was a bonus that being in that location meant that we could hear the noisy computer just up the corridor which improved the sound greatly.

When filming in the classroom we had no problems at all after doing the things that we had discussed previously. After we asked everyone in the class to switch their macs off there was no noise coming from them typing or going on youtube. Also the noise from the macs fans wasn't on the footage either which was a big improvement. We also asked the people in the classroom to switch their phones off, even if  they were on mute you can still hear a noise when the person receives a message or a call. But we couldn't really do anything about the lights. 

When filming outside we came across  a few problems but it was a lot better than before. Firstly a thing that we noticed when checking the sound during editing was the improvement in the amount of noise coming from the car park, because we filmed at a different time during the day it was less busy and the sound quality was better. Also there was a lot of people in our location this time smoking and having a chat near our filming location so we decided to move a bit further down the path. we also improved the sound by checking that our phones were switched off  and the boom pole was extended to be as close to our mouths as possible. But it was a windier day than before and even though we checked the weather on this occasion we couldn't do much about filming on a different day. another problem that we still had was that the tree's were noisier and we couldn't do a lot to stop the noise being on our sound. 

My team and I worked well together. the only problems we had were the absences from Dan and Molly. But even though they weren't in for a few lessons we still managed to get on with the work and finish it in time for the deadline. We all worked well as a team, listening to each others ideas and agreeing on roles when filming.