Foley sound effects are produced sound effects such as breaking glass, footsteps, the sound of doors opening and closing that one can create themselves to enhance realism. The role of people who create foley sound effects are called foley artists who are essentially known as the actor behind the sound effect created as the sound has to real and convincing to be able to be used as a convincing sound effect in a film or other production. The reason why foley sound effects are often used is due to the fact boom microphones, recording and camera equipment on set doesn't pick up the sound effect effectively enough this is why the pace and timing of the foley sound effects need to be very accurate in order to syrchonise with the actors actions so that it looks like the sound was created during the production itself and not added in.
Foley artists are very creative people and mainly use day to day objects such as cutlery, tins, jars, glasses and many other objects to create the sound elements required. When it comes to actually recording the sound foley artists create, there is usually a crew that consists of two people which is the foley artist themselves and the other being a sound technician who is able to record and edit the sound in post-production. However, there are foley artists who work individually by setting up a mic and then producing the sound effects and then they edit them. |
The sound of a wild track is the audio that is recorded on location such as the general ambiance recorded when the camera's aren't rolling in a production, the sound is mainly used in television programmes to supply extra diegetic sound to really set the scene. Generally wild tracks are known as off-screen sound because its the sound recorded after the main shots have been recorded, for example there could be a shot taken on a busy roadside but the actual footage may not have many cars or car horns apparent therefore sound technicians record a wild track with the sounds of cars and car horns when they are apparent in the location to layer over the footage to add realism and set the scene.
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The soundtrack is the entire final edit of a productions sound that includes all of the diegetic and non diegetic sounds which form the overall soundtrack. To give an example, Hans Zimmer who is a famous composer wrote the Gladiator (2000) film score which included the incidental music and all the other music apparent. Generally, fans of films often buy or download film soundtracks as they are pieces of music that are specifically written for that film this also happens with TV programmes as people put the song to the programme and if they are fans of the programme they will most often want the soundtrack to be available to them for their own use.
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Voice overs are very common among audio visual productions, they can be either a narrator that is not seen within the visual element such as on films there can be narrators that aren't apparent on the screen but they guide the film and help set the scene this can also happen in advertisements as the voice over can give information over the visual aspects without using character exposition. Voice overs can also be used when a characters thoughts are being expressed where what a character is thinking is being narrated but its not the character saying it out loud this is good for telling the audience what the character is thinking and setting the mood of the emotion.
Scripted speech is another way of narrating a product, scripted speech relies on creating meaning via dialect, tone and accent to ensure the speech is being delivered accordingly to the mood and meaning of the product. An example of scripted speech is on The Archers which is the worlds longest running radio soap opera, the cast rehearse their lines with each other so that they can create a real sense of meaning in the characters reactions to each others lines to make it believable as possible to an audience. |
Studio mono microphones A studio mono microphone is a large microphone that is common all recording and radio studios as they are used for one presenter or an actor to speak into. |
Shotgun microphones A shotgun microphone is a microphone that is mounted onto camera equipment to pick up sound, they can be mounted onto a DSLR camera. |
Stereo microphones Stereo microphones are used to pick up live music and wild tracks this is because they pick up a range of sounds. |
Wireless microphones A wireless microphone integrates a radio transmitter and because it is wireless there is a built in power supply making it useful for on location filming and television broadcasts. |
Lavalier microphones A lavalier micophone otherwise known as a lapel microphone are small microphones used for hands free recording on television, public talking or theatre as they can be clipped onto clothing and easily hidden. |
Boom poles A boom pole is a pole that allows a microphone to be mounted on to be able to more freely and securely which allows easy following of the sound source. |
Headphones Over-ear headphones are a must when recording sound. Headphones allow for the sound technician to hear the sound being recorded. |
Windshields A windshield is a foam cover that is placed on all microphones to ensure the sound softens the intensity of sound leaving a smoother and crisp sound output. |
Acoustic isolation panels and baffles This is a panel of sound proof foam that is placed all around the walls in sound studios to make the studio sound proof allowing no other sounds to be picked up. |
When creating the sound elements it is important to use techniques that allow the best audio quality. To achieve this it is important to know about audio levels, different mics will have different output levels which will mean the mics have different levels of gain to ensure the same level in the camera being used to record. This can be checked by adjusting the levels on all of the equipment being used to record as they need to match to ensure the sound is consistent. It is also important to think about automatic gain control when recording sound, automatic gain control ensures that the sound isn't being distorted.
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The compression process is a vitally important part of editing sound elements, it levels and controls the sound in order to achieve a professional sounding sound. Dynamic range compression is used to control the level of sound across a whole recording, making the level of sound consistent and not uneven. Most compression techniques are used throughout the editing rather than excessive compression just being added at one point, once the sound is compressed it will achieve a crisp, even, less distorted and a natural sound.
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wav A wav file is an uncompressed high quality format mainly used for music and video production. |
FLAC A FLAC format is one of the most popular lossless formats as it is open source and is a smaller file than wav or AIFF. |
AIFF A AIFF format is an Apple ownership format that is lossless, it copies the original audio. |
mp3 An mp3 file is the most used lossy format as its a small file type and is supported by many websites and devices hence why people have mp3 files for music on their phones. |
AAC: AAC is similar to mp3 in many ways, Apple increased the popularity of this format as it has the same compatibility with devices as mp3 does. |
Ogg Vorbis Ogg Vorbis is open source, it is a popular lossless format and is an alternative to mp3 and AAC. |