Major Production: Sound Test

Multi-sound Shoots

Now that I have created a document regarding which DoP equipment is needed for which scene, I've noticed there is a few scenes which require a multi-sound shoot. Therefore, I've decided to rehearse one of the scenes to focus on the sound - to make sure when we film that the sound is maximised and we don't have any issues.

The Shoot

To rehearse this, I chose one of the most complex scenes within the script - the party scene. As you can see below, Scene 30 involves six characters, where all of them say atleast something (although some more than others). These characters are (ranked in order of most amount of dialogue):

   - Chantelle

   - Jordan

   - Maddie

   - Jamie

   - Alex

   - Ruby (doesn't say anything however leaves the scene so it is essential to capture her movement)

This can make maximising sound reasonably difficult due to the limitations we have with our equipment - I will only have the Sony and the Zoom hand corder to put inputs in, meaning I can only have 4 inputs. Each clip mic is one input as well as the boom having one input, meaning I'll be restricted to only having 4 inputs for sound. This is where my test shoot will come in handy: I will be testing two set-ups, which are:

   - 2 x Boom Microphones. A boom microphone focusing on the conversation within the kitchen, and
     the other boom microphone to focus on the movement of Chantelle, Ruby & Jamie. A shotgun
     microphone will also be attached to the Sony for extra coverage.

   - Or 2 x Clip Microphones. and 2 x Boom microphones. The 2 clip microphones will be on
     Chantelle and Maddie. One of the booms focused on the conversation in the kitchen whilst the
     other on the movement, like previously mentioned. A shotgun microphone will also be attached to
     the Sony for extra coverage.

Below is a script excerpt so you can gain a better understanding on the dialogue spoken:

Results from Test Shoot

All in all, the test shoot in my opinion has proved very beneficial. Instead of following the script, I used a similar style but used normal dialogue as it wasn't very essential. The rehearsal went as followed:

- Two characters talking as if they were Maddie and Alex in the kitchen

- Another character comes along and joins them (like Jordan joins Maddie & Alex)

- The character then leaves and pretends to be someone else (Chantelle entering the scene)

- Andy was acting as Jordan and then Chantelle, Tim was Maddie, and Mark was Alex.

The reasons for this was mainly due to it being much easier to use the same setup but make up the dialogue on the spot, as I am trying to maximise the quality of the sound rather than the actual acting. This is the same for the camera work: I didn't want to focus on perfecting the c

amera shots as I wanted to make sure we were recording the best sound possible.

The results shown will now enable me to feel confidence with the quality of sound throughout the whole shoot, without having to worry about missing any vital parts of dialogue. For complex scenes such as this one (Scene 30), I have decided to use two boom microphones, and the additional shotgun microphone for the Sony.

Two Clip Microphones & Two Boom Microphones

The reasons for this decision were mainly due to the reliability of the clip microphones. As we are planing to hide the microphones for all scenes apart from interview scenes, it proved difficult to position the clip microphones quickly yet efficiently without having the microphones muffle when the actors talk. As well as this, it proved impractical and more importantly more risk-worthy by having two clip microphones and two boom microphones. This is due to all of the wiring: a set up would be needed to connect the clip microphones to the zoom recorder, and there was a restriction on camera movement due to their being two boom microphones connected to the camera. 

More importantly, it also proved difficult for the sound operators (I used Vic and Ruby for this test shoot, who will be our sound operators for a couple of our shoot dates) in terms of hearing which sound input they were listening to through their headphones. For example, it took us a while to finally set up, as the sound was interfering with the clip microphones.

2 Boom Microphones

Nonetheless, it is clear that having two boom microphones work to an outstanding extent for capturing all of the dialogue. As you can see from the video, there are no signs of muffling, and the quality of the sound was loud, and at a high quality. 

Additionally, because we weren't using the clip microphones, there wasn't a restriction on camera movement due to the boom microphones now being connected to the zoom recorder rather than the Sony. This makes our shoot much more practical, and even works to a better advantage as the volume

levels from the headphones and the input can be monitored during the shoot: much more practical than having me (on camera) to adapt the sound when trying to prepare for whatever was being filmed.

Below are the key pros and cons on using just the boom microphones.

Pros

   - The quality is generally much more ambient and has less chance of any muffling
   - Less batteries are needed, due to the clip microphones no longer being needed (minus interview
     scenes)
   - Sound can be directly monitored through the Zoom microphone rather than using the Sony
   - Having less inputs makes matching audio through editing much easier, as there is less to match
   - Camera movement is much more free due to the sound operators not being connected to the
     camera, meaning for a scene like this there is a much larger range of walking distance.

Cons

   - It is more likely for sound operators to be in shot, however this will be covered in my next shoot,
     where I am planning to film this scene at the actual location
   - If using the Zoom, the recorder beeps at low battery, which you can hear in the 2 x boom sound
     test. Therefore, it is essential to make sure we have enough batteries to avoid this happening.
   - If using the Zoom for the Boom outputs, it may be difficult to match the boom audio channels
     with the shotgun audio channel, and may even make it sound too ambient and sound like an echo.

Therefore to conclude, I will likely do another sound test shoot to maximise the potential of the boom microphones, and to see whether it is best to run the boom microphones through the Zoom recorder, or to run it directly through the Sony so that it can easily match the shotgun audio.